Changes

|title=The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic

|sort=Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic, The

|publisher=Penguin

|date=July 2014

|website=http://emilycroybarker.com/

|summary=A modern fairy tale for grown ups, following Nora as she accidentally stumbles upon another world and encounters magic, spells, fantasy lands and unusual characters. This novel has a lot of potential to transport the reader to an exciting fantasy world full of adventure and jeopardy, but unfortunately, does not quite live up to it.

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Feeling the need for a little escapism and fantasy reading, I chose this debut novel by Emily Croy Barker, expecting an enchanted but modern fairy tale for grown ups. However, I have to say, I was a little disappointed. The book starts out brilliantly, introducing us to Nora in her mundane life as she struggles to write her university thesis whilst dealing with a relationship breakdown, then by chapter two, suddenly transports the reader to a magical other-world, rather like ''Alice in Wonderland'' or ''Harry Potter''. We then follow Nora as she meets the enchanting, beautiful, Ilissa in a land where everything turns out to be too good to be true and looks are very much deceiving. Nora is literally locked into marriage with Ilissa's son Raclin and we learn that her only way out of this entrapment is through the help of magician Aruendiel, an enemy of Ilissa and from another land named Uland. A promising start, suggesting unexpected events, conflicts, a fast paced story and twists to come. Unfortunately, for me, the intrigue soon faded and the exciting plot beyond this never really materialised.