2 Entertaining Novels You Will Want to Read

by Donna Huber

Do you ever read outside your comfort zone? I occasionally dip my toe in genres that I think aren't really my thing just to see if my tastes have changed. After all, there are foods I wouldn't touch when I was a kid but love now (and vice versa). Two books that I recently read were on the edges of what I normally read and I have to tell you I really enjoyed them. 

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner

September 2024; Ace;  978-1984805881
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); paranormal mystery

I'm kind of in a phase where I want to read every book that has library or bookstore in its title. So I accepted this book for review without looking too closely at it. It wasn't until I was doing some re-organization of my review pile that I realized that it said "demon-hunting" and I was like oh no, did I get some kind of dark fantasy novel. 

Short answer - no it isn't dark fantasy. It is a fantasy novel though I would probably consider it more of a twist on the paranormal cozy mystery genre. While I read a lot of cozy mysteries, I don't read very many paranormal cozy mysteries (they are usually reserved for Halloween reading). The paranormal cozy mysteries I have read usually feature a witch (occasionally another type of paranormal being) as the amateur sleuth. 

In The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society, the sleuth is a normal middle-aged librarian who soon finds out her town isn't exactly normal.

In the beginning, she solves the crimes easily and makes several references to Murder She Wrote. And it is a little like a sitcom in how everything wraps up so nicely. Within a few pages, I was thinking this feels like The Truman Show (the movie starring Jim Carrey). I was not sure if I should include that reference in my review because I was afraid it would date me or my readers might not know the reference. However, when a few chapters later one of the characters had the same realization (that it felt like The Truman Show), I knew I was safe using it.

The plot was unique among the cozy mysteries I read which was a nice change. 

I liked the main character. The murder mystery was kind of secondary to the mystery of why the town is demon-possessed (and how to get rid of the demon). Both mysteries are wrapped up by the end of the story.

I'm not sure if this is the start of a series. The main character makes a comment at the end of the book that very well sets them up to tackle another mystery. At the same time, it works well as a stand-alone novel (another thing that is unique to cozy mysteries in my experience). 

If you are looking for a non-typical cozy mystery, this is a great book to pick up.

Buy The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society at Amazon

The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone by Audrey Burges

January 2023; Berkley; 978-0593546475
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); magical realism

From the description, this book was a little more outside of my comfort zone as I don't usually read magical realism. When I was asked to review this book my Facebook feed had been showing me all these groups for miniatures (I think my mystery book club had just read a nonfiction book about a woman who made miniature crime scenes to teach forensic science). So I was intrigued by the miniature house in this story.

I enjoyed this story so much more than I thought would. Myra is a very likable character. And her interactions with Alex are adorable. 

It is a bit of a story within a story as Myra shares stories about the mansion that she learned from her step-grandmother. The timeline also shifts through the novel as we go back to WIlla and Rutherford, Sr (Alex's grandparents). 

I loved how all the threads weaved together and the prose is beautiful. I hated it when I finished the book because I didn't want to leave the characters. It isn't often that I want to re-read a novel once I finished it but while I write this review I want to go back and relive the experience.

The magical realism really worked well with the story and it felt like it really could have happened. It added to the beauty of the story.

If you haven't read this book yet, you really should.

Buy The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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