Name: Jasper's review of Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
Item: Magic for Liars
Rating: 4
Author: Jasper

Sarah Gailey

A 2020 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in Magic for Liars, a fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey. Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it. Ivy Gamble is perfectly happy with her life – or at least, she’s perfectly fine. She doesn't in any way wish she was like Tabitha, her estranged, gifted twin sister. Ivy Gamble is a liar. When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister—without losing herself. “An unmissable debut.”—Adrienne Celt, author of Invitation to a Bonfire At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A Novel

Magic for Liars

Jasper

Because it wasn't people who didn't stick. It was me.

We had the crushing weight of things that had gone unsaid for so long that they'd calcified between us. Walls too high to ever turn into bridges.

Maria

2.5 

I expected to like this a lot more than I did. The setting is interesting and pulled me in from the beginning. I did like the writing a lot, it feels fresh and very engaging, and is probably one of the reasons why I couldn’t drop this book despite being bored for the majority of it. I have to say for a murder mystery set in a magical school there is very little magic going on, which left me more confused than anything. The mystery was also very simple, making the whole book unfortunately kind of underwhelming to me.

Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in Magic for Liars, a fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey. Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it. Ivy Gamble is perfectly happy with her life – or at least, she’s perfectly fine. She doesn't in any way wish she was like Tabitha, her estranged, gifted twin sister. Ivy Gamble is a liar. When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister—without losing herself. “An unmissable debut.”—Adrienne Celt, author of Invitation to a Bonfire

wanted to like the premise but the main character was annoying (94/335)

rin 🐇

The concept of this book is what drew me in. Private investigating a murder, magic schools, and a jaded woman? Sounds amazing. 

I did enjoy this book but it just didn't blow me away. The explanation of the way magic works was fun to read about as Gailey does take the time at points to write it in detail. I do wish the ending gave just a bit more closure but overall, it was a good read!

Beatriz Aguiar

this was surprisingly lackluster.
i found the story confusing, the characters rough sketches of what they could be. it didn't even have a satisfying ending. 

i congratulate it only for leaving me intrigued in the mystery but overall everything around it was just missing the final piece that could make this a great book.

 
  BOOKOPLATHON #3
 - letter generator "G"

Jeff James

Full disclosure: Although I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley, I ended up buying the audiobook version and listening to that instead. This post originally appeared at Full of Words.

Magic for Liars has a very cool cover, but I think it led me astray. I was expecting something a bit more dynamic based on that design and the book’s excellent title, but the resulting story was only competent and a bit unexciting. I did like the book well enough, and would definitely be game for reading work by Sarah Gailey – I’ve seen raves for just about everything they’ve ever written – but maybe I’d prefer the ones about carnivorous hippos?

Ivy Gamble is a private detective who drinks too much and has no magical abilities. That last part is a problem because her estranged sister, Tabitha, is such a magical savant that she is a beloved teacher at Osthorne, a local academy for thaumaturgically gifted youths. Osthorne is sort of like an American Hogwarts with far less world-building and shittier teenagers.

When a suspicious death happens on school grounds, Ivy is hired to investigate what many believe to be a murder even though the gruesome crime was ruled an accident or possibly suicide. Ivy gets the gig both because she brings an outsider perspective and because her sister recommends her for the job.

The thing about Ivy is that she is filled with self-loathing and jealousy at her lot in life, so when people at the academy assume that she is magical like her sister, she doesn’t correct them. She can’t help slipping into an alternate, imagined version of her life where she grew up with abilities just like her sister, pretending to be some other, better version of herself.

At its heart, this book is about lies and secrets, but it’s not really about magic. I feel like you could tell almost the same story at a regular private school and all you would miss is a bit of weird flavor here and there. I think that’s why it didn’t quite land for me.

I’m sure it didn’t help that I probably came in expecting magic systems based on lying or characters who are pathological rather than a main character who really just skates along on a white lie. Also, the crime wasn’t exciting or surprising enough to elevate the book above its otherwise standard ingredients.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Xe Sands, who has the perfect dry, world-weary tone for a sad-sack gumshoe like Ivy Gamble. I’ve previously enjoyed her narration on books like Acceptance by Jeff Vandermeer and Wanders by Chuck Wendig, and I would say that she’s definitely one of the better narrators out there. I think much of my enjoyment of the book stemmed from her performance of the character.

Sally Salinas

i really enjoyed this book. murder mystery with magic. I enjoyed the main character Ivy, a non-magical PI investigating the murder at a magical school. Great read!

Nicole Dykeman

I stayed up quite late to finish this and it was well-worth it. The last 50 pages of Magic for Liars were filled with gut punches and twisty reveals, and I really enjoyed the ride. 

I will say that I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more magic. I picked this up expecting something like an urban fantasy, but really, it was more like a mystery thriller with a few fantastical elements. However, the fact that I enjoyed it even though I have a rocky record with mystery thrillers speaks volumes about the characters, who I fell in love with. Their relationships were complex, their emotions felt real, and I was genuinely invested in their stories. I’m surprised how much style and substance Gailey managed to fit into less than 350 pages.

mighty dragon 

ah. all the things we'd do for love.

by the way this was so underwhelming and i was so excited for it since it was released so it was a let down. i wanted to give it 2 stars but the conclusion was so hilarious i can't stop laughing about it for five minutes. and for a light read, it could be enjoyable.

Dahlia McGarvey 

I’ve read this book, I’ve watched this movie, binged this tv show a thousand times, but always from the wrong perspective. A murder in a magical school? A chosen one prophecy? A host of suspects? Of course the kids are going to try to solve it, but who ever thought the detectives POV would be so interesting?

A really good book about liars and magic and a plot line full of twists yet not nearly as important as the lesson learned by the end. Very glad I picked it up. 4 stars

Celeste Richardson

The cover and synopsis and title of the novel were all immediately intriguing to me. Magic for Liars is a murder mystery on a magical high school campus, told from the perspective of the nonmagical private eye who finds herself on the case. You can see why I was intrigued, right? Noir novels can be very hit or miss, but this one was definitely a hit. It was everything I was hoping for, and more than I was expecting.

Ivy Gamble is a wonderfully developed character. She comes across a bit as a down-on-her-luck gumshoe detective at the beginning of the book, but she grows and changes so much throughout the book. When she is approached to look into a mysterious death on the campus of a magic school, the campus where her magical twin sister teaches, no less, Ivy is incredibly conflicted. She has no real relationship with her sister and doesn’t want to encroach on her world, but the pay is too good for her starving coffers to pass up. Ivy suddenly finds herself trying to balance a rekindling relationship with her sister, a burgeoning romance with one of the school’s teachers, the teenage drama running wild in the hallways, the questionable death that brought her to the school in the first place… and lies. Lots and lots of lies.

The mystery elements of this novel were really fun, but my favorite aspect was the setting. I’m a sucker for any kind of school story, especially if that school is magical. What I loved so much about The Osthorne Academy for Young Mages is that it’s not Hogwarts. There’s nothing mystical about it. Osthorne is exactly like a real life preppy, private high school, but where magic is taught alongside your average subjects. I thought the lack of robes and moving stairways and haunted forests was incredibly refreshing, even though I adore all of those elements. I also really liked how scientific the magic was, and the medical implications that were discussed throughout. And the fact that our main character is an outsider looking in on this magical world was a wonderful change, as well. I enjoyed getting to see magic from the perspective of someone incapable of using it.

I really liked Magic for Liars. Is it a book that I’ll remember forever and add to my shelf of lifetime favorites? No. But it was a fun ride that I would have no problem recommending to others. It’s great for what it is, and well worth reading.

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.

GOODREADS: The Hottest Books of Summer 2019 OMNIVORACIOUS: 10 Most Anticipated SF and Fantasy Books of Summer EW: Books to Read in June POPSUGAR: 21 New Books You Need to Read GOODREADS: Meet the Rising Stars of Science Fiction and Fantasy LITHUB: Ultimate Summer Books Preview REFINERY 29: The Best Books of June 2019 AV CLUB: Books to Read in June BUSTLE: 50 New Books of Summer 2019 GOODREADS: The 24 Most Popular Sci-Fi & Fantasy Novels of 2019 THE VERGE: 11 New SFF Books to Check Out GOOD HOUSEKEEPING: Best New Books to Add to Your Summer Reading BUZZFEED: 29 Summer Books to Get Excited About Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in Magic for Liars, a fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey. Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it. Ivy Gamble is perfectly happy with her life – or at least, she’s perfectly fine. She doesn't in any way wish she was like Tabitha, her estranged, gifted twin sister. Ivy Gamble is a liar. When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister—without losing herself. “An unmissable debut.”—Adrienne Celt, author of Invitation to a Bonfire

The type of book you know won’t have the happy ending you’re rooting for, but you keep reading anyways. Where it leaves you kind of heavy-feeling but also satisfied? 

And a side note - queer characters included. 

Sophia 

The type of book you know won’t have the happy ending you’re rooting for, but you keep reading anyways. Where it leaves you kind of heavy-feeling but also satisfied? 

And a side note - queer characters included. 

Fraser Simons

The expectations I had for the book may have led to the 4 stars instead of 5 stars. While it is a murder mystery...the majority of the fiction is dedicated to non-magical and P.I Ivy's past, and the state of her traumatic and complex relationship with her magical twin sister. Estranged from her at a young age, taking this case dredges up unresolved feelings beneath the issues that inform Ivy's life. 

Fitting within the P.I mold, Ivy has some... bad habits, particularly alcohol as a coping mechanism. I liked that this trope actually had some heavy bearing on the majority of the fiction. Sometimes it's just a given that a P.I has these coping mechanisms and it's sort of handwaved. Ivy dredges up her own past in a peripheral way when she takes the case at the same magical school her estranged sister goes to. Both never truly dealt with some seriously heavy issues in high school, and they start to reconnect as the investigation proceeds. 

There is an unreliable narrator aspect of the story that does a bit too much hand waving for my tastes, though. Ivy doesn't have a very professional approach to the case, in that she inserts herself into some of the people's lives in a way that completely compromises her investigation. It's a trade-off. There's a lot of interesting drama and the writer is fantastic at expressing Ivy's inner thoughts and feelings--and tying them to the unfolding narrative. 

My quibbles are small. There was a satisfying ending, it's well written and interesting. But I'm a sucker for magic systems and the title sort of implies there's going to be one? Instead, it's essentially just if you're magic, you "get it"; if you're not magical--you just will not get it. It was very unsatisfying. This, along with the unreliable narrator aspects that hand waves a bit too much, downgraded my rating. 

Ultimately I really liked the overall tone that was coupled with a believable sense of honesty that comes with the unreliable narrator aspects. It's very heavy and quite sad. I liked that the expected catharsis that comes along with these types of stories was elegant and, again, quite honest. It's a messy ending and I really liked that about it.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read the unedited version of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Jana Jenkinns 

Well written and enjoyable but didn't capture me the way I expected a novel about witches to and by that I mean it wasn't a novel I just couldn't put down. Definitely would recommend you add it to your TBR.

elif sinem

Perfectly paced, amazingly written, and a godtier protagonist... this is a must read.

Francis Buggey

more of a 3.5 than a 3... but tbh this book made me mad. i had an idea of who did it early on, which is fine, but it was kind meh

Caellum

The author is obviously talented. Ivy is an incredibly real, nuanced and heart breaking character. I ache spending time with her. But something about the pacing is just off. It's so hard to churn through. I don't need a fast paced, action rich, plot. There's just something very aimless about this. I wish I enjoyed it more. I can see some really, really, good bones here. 

Sheila

3 stars. This was a short, fun urban fantasy/mystery that was a kind of cross between Harry Potter and aged-up Veronica Mars. 

I appreciated this book most for its 'teens being teens' doing stupid things like making penis clouds and magic, permanent graffiti; the kind of dumb stuff we should've seen the kids at Hogwarts doing! Ivy's resentment that clouds her narrative the entire time she's at Osthorne can be annoying for a lot of readers, but I could understand its source. It's not easy being the fundamentally unspecial twin.

Where this book fails to meet expectations is in the mystery. I honestly had the murderer pegged near the start which made a lot of the interviewing exposition a bore for me. The circumstances of the murder were left to a surprise at the end - which was nice - but this book didn't bring anything I haven't read before in a mystery. With the worldbuilding details being played fast and loose I was hoping for a little more in this aspect, but I think Gailey didn't mean for us to be focusing as much on the murder than on Ivy and her twin.

I'm glad that this book was as compact as it was. Not a bad showing, but I appreciated the play on the genre!

A wonderful story about what happens when your sister gets to go to magic school and the rest of your family just have to muddle through a very unmagical existence. And we do love a lady P.I. 

Jordan Heustis

I liked this book. I was really looking for an adult fantasy. I wanted something that didn’t feel like a childish fantasy but also didn’t really have heavy sci-fi elements. I really enjoyed the mystery of the story too. I will say (without giving away spoilers) I’m still slightly confused on the whole “Ivy Gamble is a liar thing” I don’t think that was addressed super well. I do recommend trying the book!

Cameron Austin

this book started off strong and then it became very boring. I honestly could not tell you any of the characters names or why the person who was murdered was murdered or even if it was actually a murder. it’s a 2.5 star book.

Emily S

Really liked the narrator, both in the writing and in the audiobook format. I almost guessed the end but noooot quite, so it still kept me guessing. Overall, enjoyed! Quick read.

Ruby Huber

A truly kinda dark detective story with some magic tossed in just for the heck of it. I found this audiobook to be not that great, the performance just didn't hit right for me.... I think if I had been reading it I would have liked it a lot more. The magic system created in this is really interesting, and the ending had just a touch of ??now what?? which I really love. Also there was some gay stuff, and it was very regularrrrr like there needed to be some sort of relationships going on for various different characters and sometimes they were just gay, not to Be Gay, just like people are gay so!!! Let some of your book characters be gay!!! and not to get carried away but theres A BISEXUAL MALE in this and its NOT EVEN A WHOLE THING you might not even notice it if you skimmed a little over that sentence. so I'm mostly extremely excited about just some non-heteronormative CRUMBS whatever thank you Sarah for writing a book where LGBTQ+ people just ~are there~ that is all I ask apparently.

Allison Urban

This book was a fun and easy read. The main character, Ivy Gamble, was quite likable and pretty relatable. She's struggled with the fact that her sister lives in this magical paradise and she does not have the same abilities. I think the best part of the book was how it portrayed what the reality of magic would be like. Even though the synopsis sounds similar to Harry Potter, it's not even comparable. This story shows what teens would ACTUALLY do with their magic, which I really enjoyed. I also really liked the authors writing style; I would definitely pick up their other work in the future. Something I was not too fond of was the pacing. The story takes place over a week's span, but it feels like much longer. If you are not a fan of detective stories and the process of detective work, this is definitely not for you.

Anastaciya

I liked it. I didn't have high expectations, and I wasn't disappointed, but I still feel the book could be better. The concept of the magic is absolutely fascinating, so good, but we get so little of it :/ Ivy, the main character, was washed out somewhat. I didn't feel connected to her, and as a result I barely cared for her, which is sad, because she went through many things, and some I could relate to, yet this wasn't enough. One conflict was left unresolved (although I wouldn't say it's a drawback really, it's just something I wanted to know). And the one thing that can quite upset some readers - it was predictable. Again, I don't think it's a bad thing necessarily, might actually make you feel smart, hehe, I just know that some people want all the twists and turns, and while this book has some of those, I feel the main mystery is clear 🤷🏻‍♀️

Jasper &
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

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