A review by lish_reads
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

dark emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Ivy Gamble is a 30-something Private Investigator with a bit of a drinking problem and a talent for lying to herself (and everyone else). She's also the magic-less half of a set of twins; her sister, Tabitha, is a Theoretical Magic phenom and molder of young minds at the Osthorne Academy for Young Mages. When a teacher at the academy is found dead and the headmaster recruits Ivy to investigate, she's thrown into the magical world she could have belonged to, if only she was the twin with magic.

What follows is a fever dream of an investigation, complete with mad ramblings, a Chosen One, and more nitty-gritty explanations of magic than Ivy knows what to do with. It's a fun, wild, sort of trippy ride, though the ending was a little anticlimactic. This is my second Sarah Gailey book, and I love their casually queer, diverse worlds. I will definitely be reaching for more of their books!

If you like soft SFF à la V.E. Schwab's VICIOUS and VENGEFUL; Tamsyn Muir's methods of explaining magic; or Simone St. James's blend of fantasy and mystery, this book is for you. 

CW: Harry Potter reference(s)
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