The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic

~Full review found on The Bent Bookworm!~

I was instantly doubtful of this book, but it came recommended by a good friend so I gave it a shot. I am happy to report that the actual reading improved the impression I had drawn based on the cover (gag) and title (odd). Overall I'm giving it 3.5 stars...I am leaning towards 4, but...the sheer length of it is taking a half star off for me. I don't mind longer books, as I read faster than average...but honestly this one could have been edited a little better, starting with less scenes of boring medieval castle chores. The writing itself is of excellent quality, I have no complaints whatsoever! Emily Barker has created a colorful world peopled with interesting characters. I finished it in about 3 days, despite the staggering 570 pages!

I'm a sucker for any books that have to do with books or bookish people, and Nora's grad school/literary critic/teacher occupation intrigued me. Her personal life woes in the beginning are oh-so-very first world, but thankfully we don't spend much time with that before she goes wandering and plunges headlong into the other world. The first, oh, about 60 pages...I felt like I was drunk and wandering around trying to figure out what was going on. At first I was extremely annoyed and though I wouldn't be able to finish the book, but then as I kept going I realized that the feeling was intentional, to make us feel how Nora feels when she first enters the alternate world. Well done indeed. Maybe keep it to 40 pages next time though.