The Library Coven

It’s our final episode (!) , and w e’re discussing A Tempest of Tea,  the much anticipated new novel by Hafsah Faizal.   We meet Arthie Casimir and her crew who run a tea-house-turned-blood-house called Spindrift in the city of White Roaring. When Spindrift is threatened, Arthie is forced to make alliances and pull off a dangerous heist. There are vampires, colonial shenanigans, forgeries, a...

Show announcement: several months ago we decided that it’s time for The Library Coven to come to an end, so this will be our final season. Over the past nearly 6 years we’ve loved making the show and forging connections with folks we never would have met otherwise. But it’s time for our HEAs*. Whether you’re a new listener or someone who’s been with us since early day...

Today we’re talking about House of Marionne by J. Elle , which introduces us to 17-year-old Quell who has lived an itinerant life with her mother for *reasons* (namely, the forbidden power Quell wields), but is then forced to go directly into the belly of the beast…the magic boarding school at a lavish estate near New Orleans. Will Quell be able to fit into the debutante society and hide her secre...

In this episode we discuss the first book in the Nampesheweisit series, To Shape a Dragon’s Breath   by Moniquill Blackgoose. We both listened to the audiobook narrated by Charlie Flyte. J starts the show giving it 4.5 stars but revises the rating up to 5 by the end –– this book rocks! Recommend if you like… How to Train Your Dragon ofc Magic school books generally Mythology stories. T...

Our season 6 winning streak continues with  The Wicked Bargain   by Gabe Cole Novoa . We both LOVED the audiobook narrated by the incomparable Vico Ortiz (Jim from  Our  Flag Means Death ). The novel  tells the story of Mar, a magical enby/genderqueer/trans-guy whose father made a deal with the literal devil that comes back to haunt everyone. It’s a book about chosen family, survivor’s guilt, alch...

Y’all, we’re on a winning streak with the books this season! That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams is the first book in the Forage and Fracture Saga, and it’s set in 1600s England.. It’s got Fae, Orisha, Shakespeare, a cool magical system, and a gorgeous cover! Get thee to the library for a copy! Recommend if you like… Legendborn  and  Bloodmarked  by Tracy Deonn ( E...

We  absolutely loved The Girl from the Sea   by Molly Knox Ostertag ! This graphic novel is a quick and cute read that digs into the nuances of coming out in various contexts and relationships, among other conflicts (*cough* rich people and their yachts *cough*). And the illustrations are beautiful!  Note: k’s audio is a bit weird on this one, but we tried to mitigate it. Sorry about that!!...

In this episode we discuss  Foul Lady Fortune   by Chloe Gong , a novel in her “Secret Shanghai” series. While technically preceded by  These Violent Delights  and  These Violent Ends , we didn’t start with those and still very much enjoyed  Foul  Lady Fortune.  The sequel,  Foul Heart Huntsman , is out now. Thanks to the publisher for sending us some of Chloe’s books! Reco...

In today’s show we are mixing things up and discussing the short story anthology  Fit for the Gods: Greek Mythology Reimagined  edited by Jenn Northington and S. Zainab Williams. It has robots, AI, reincarnations, spaceship races, climate catastrophe, horny gods, post/other-than-human consciousness, and much more! Recommend if you like… Beneath the Moon: Fairy Tales, Myths, and Divine Stories from...

In this episode about A Crown so Cursed , we’re back in the world of the Nightmare-verse in the final (we think?) installment of the series that we started reading all the way back in the show’s first season. Alice is facing a new types of nightmares, learning new histories about her family, and trying to protect both our world and wonderland. Chaos obviously ensues! Recommend if you like… P...

it’s that time again! see below for a massive link round up (some of the books link to our bookshop affiliate page) Fiction we couldn’t put down (Jessie) The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree Wildfire by Hannah Grace The Golden Frog Games by Claribel A Ortega Love, Theoretically by Ali Ha...

 This week we are discussing  the graphic novel Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall (with additional contributions by Bex Glendining and Ariana Maher). This story follows a wide cast of characters in 1930s Mississippi, where magic is restricted based on race and class. Broom racing is outlawed by the state, but clandestine competitions offer much needed prize money. Mattie and Emma are two Choc...

 This week we are discussing Family Lore   by Elizabeth Acevedo, which was suggested by patron and friend-of-the-show Deanna. Both of us loved Acevedo’s novel-in-verse  The Poet X , but we had some differing opinions about this newly released adult novel.   Recommend if you like… magical realism, generally Isabel Allende Cien años de soledad by Gabriel García Márquez and/or The Inheritance o...

Season 6 has officially begun! We’re back with a historical fiction novel suggested by our beloved patron Grey (@grey_reads on insta):  The Magnolia Sword   by Sherry Thomas. This is a retelling of the legend of Mulan from Chinese folklore.  Recommend if you like… Mulan retellings, generally (Disney films included) Hafsah Faisal’s novels ( We Hunt the Flame  and  We Free the Stars ) Be...

A few weeks ago, J and I had the pleasure of interviewing Rachael Lippincott in advance of her upcoming release Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh (August 29, 2023 from Simon & Schuster). You might know Rachael as a co-author of Five Feet Apart , which was also made into a film. We haven’t read her newest novel yet, but we both enjoyed our respective interview prep reads – Jessie even cr...

We’re finishing out Season 5 strong with this discussion of  Skin of the Sea   by Natasha Bowen .  Simidele has been transformed into a Mami Wata (aka mer-person) by the orisa Yemoja, tasked with gathering souls of Africans who fall, jump, or are thrown into the sea from enslavers’ ships. Chaos ensues when Simidele strays from the brief and rescues Adekola (or Kola for short) from drow...

In this penultimate (!) episode of season 5, we’re discussing A Magic Steeped in Poison   by Judy I. Lin . The novel tells the story of Ning, a young girl who is headed to the capital to compete to become the empire’s new master in the magic and art of tea making. Ning has an ulterior motive, hoping to gain the princess’s favorite to potentially save Ning’s older (and curre...

Episode 82 is dedicated to Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko , which follows Tarisai, a half-ehru half-human, girl who is bound by choices her mysterious and mostly absent mother has made. We discuss empire and the imperative to assimilate, fantasy parenting fails, and ofc we have thoughts about magical travel technologies!  We LOVE a duology (yay brevity!), and the sequel,  Redemptor , is already out. H...

In this episode, we discuss  The Final Strife   by Saara El-Arifi , which was recommended to us by Melisa, one of our patrons (hey!!). Please consider supporting this work on Patreon for early episodes and a direct line to J & k via the podcast Discord.  Note: this is an  adult fantasy novel that has a lot of explicit violence on the page. Repeat, this is not young adult / YA! The Final Strife...

It’s episode 80!! That means we’ve done 80 of these long-form book reviews and discussions over the past 5+ years. Whether you’re just finding the show or have been here since the early days, we’re glad to be in your orbit.  In this episode, we discuss  Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray . Koffi, an indentured beastkeeper with hidden powers, and Ekon, a warrior-in-training with an empa...

hiya, everyone! We’re discussing The Witch King by H E Edgmon in today’s episode. Both of us listened to (and enjoyed!) the audiobook, which is narrated by Dani Martineck.  Trans masc witch Wyatt has run away from his magical home and commitments, being taken in by Briar and becoming besties…but those of us who read fantasy know that it’s not that easy to get out of a faerie bargain. When Em...

Hey, book lovers! It’s been busy over here in our respective worlds – hence the episode delay We hope you enjoy this conversation about  Bitter  by Akwaeke Emezi , one of our fav contemporary authors. Better late than never, right?! In the novel, we follow our MC, Bitter (who we know as Jam’s mother from the first book  Pet ), as she learns the various ways to be part of a social movem...

Y’all, we’re excited to bring you this episode about A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger , a (relatively) newly minted Newberry Award honor winner!! Worlds collide when a group of animal spirits (including a cottonmouth snake, a pair of coyote twins, a Cooper’s hawk, and a magpie) crosses over to the human world in order to save their wee toad friend from death/extinction. Y...

Our winter podcast hibernation is over, and we’re back with fortnightly episodes starting with a discussion of  The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, an adult fantasy novel about  six magical adults who join a secret(ish) society.  Again this is a book for adults, but it could be an ok fit for a mature teen as the story does deal with some pretty heavy topics at times. We chose this book because it...

It’s that time again! We’re hitting your airwaves with a recap of our year in media. Thanks for sharing spacetime with us in 2022 with gratitude, Jessie & kelly P.S. The podcast feed will be in hibernation until February 7th, 2023, when we’ll be back to fortnightly releases with an episode about  The Atlas Six  by Olivie Blake. Until then, feast upon this plethora of links! B...