This book was psychologically deeper than I was anticipating. I expected it to be a more grown up version of Harry Potter. I should know better then to make comparisons to things just because they have a passing similiarity like magic and a school because this book has almost no similarities to Harry Potter and for good reasons. Gailey takes those tropes usually in magic school books and turns them on their head in such a beautifully simplistic and bittersweet way.

Magic for Liars definitely isn't my new favorite book but it was a decent read though forgettable. We're in a modern world where there IS magic but no one knows about it unless you are magic so... basically the Harry Potter world. However at least in THIS world, the kids actually act like kids. They do so many dumb things with their magic but what would you expect from high schoolers?

I had problems connecting with any of the characters. I noticed I didn't care what happened to any of them and the only reason I kept reading was because I wanted to know who the murderer was -- which wasn't a surprise at all. I was hoping for some epic plot twist and had a bunch of theories in mind but nope.. it ended super basic.

I was left wanting SO MUCH MORE from this story. I wanted to like it so badly but in the end I was unfortunately left with a very unforgettable book

Lovely and edgy. I enjoyed this book very much and will be sharing it with customers seeking grown up Harry Potter type books like the Magicians.

It's always exciting to find a fantasy novel that's so original. In recommending this book to patron's I like to say that this could have been the story of Petunia Dursley from Harry Potter. A truly excellent read.

Ivy Gamble is called to investigate a brutal murder at the Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her twin sister teaches, which pulls her into a dark and dangerous world of secrets and incredible power. I enjoyed the latter half of this read, but it does start of slowly, which may be because the author is setting the foundation for a series. I would enjoy reading more from the author in the future.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Magic for Liars is a murder mystery set in a private high school for magical students, though it reads a little more noir detective story than Harry Potter-esque fantasy. Ivy Gamble is a PI with a drinking problem and a troubled relationship with her family. She also has no magical ability to speak of – seems her sister Tabitha got all the magic. When a faculty member is found bisected in the library, Ivy is called in by the headmistress who suspects it was more than a theoretical magic spell gone awry…

I’ve seen few reviews of this book and sadly none of them have been particularly glowing. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed this book and found it to be rather touching. Ivy and Tabitha haven’t gotten along for most of their lives – Tabitha manifested magical ability and she was sent away to a prestigious private high school for mages where she absolutely blossomed. Ivy finished out her years at her regular ol’ high school and dealt first hand with stressful family issues that Tabitha dealt with only distantly. Ivy is obviously very resentful of her sister and acutely feels the disparity in their lives from looks to careers. As Ivy investigated the murder of the faculty member (a close friend of Tabitha’s) the sisters make an awkward effort to get to know one another again. Those particular scenes felt so genuine and I wanted so badly for them to get along.

The actual investigation portion almost was second fiddle to what was going on in Ivy’s headspace. She interviews students and faculty alike and she finds some clues, though since magic is involved (something Ivy is unfamiliar with since Tabitha was so distant from her) she has either has to get assistance or puzzle it out on her own. I thought the book ended well and the resolution was pretty satisfying, though I can’t say I was surprised when the picture finally came together. In a way, I’m glad I could actually guess whodunnit and the author didn’t have to suddenly reveal all this information that the reader wasn’t privy to.

Overall, I thought this was a great, somewhat emotionally touching read, the latter of which kind of surprised me. I can see why some people may have found this boring. Like I said, the mystery part is almost secondary to what’s going on with Ivy and her sister and even the budding relationship between Ivy and one of the handsome teachers. Despite this (or perhaps because of this) I loved it.

"Magic for Liars" weaves a standard noir detective novel with magic and fantasy. It avoids the pitfalls of most magical detective stories, and plants enough clues and that the mystery isn't a silly unsolveable mess. But if the story is guilty of anything, it might be packing too much in it - too many tiny backstories that go nowhere, too many clues that lead to the same places, maybe even a little too much noir stereotyping (ahhh, to be an infamously alcoholic detective). Worth a read for sure and engaging from the start, but it may not appeal to everyone.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up Magic for Liars but I had a lot of fun reading it. J.K. Rowling meets Tana French? Or maybe Lev Grossman (but I couldn't get into his books so that doesn't quite work). Even that doesn't seem like an accurate way to pin this novel down. Ivy was full of sharp edges but worked as a detective. It was fascinating to see what choices she made and the repercussions from the fall outs. I loved Gailey's magical world building. There are many people I can think of recommending this too and I look forward to reading more of Gailey's work.

I did not enjoy this book. It had elements that I like: school drama, magic, twins but it was a slog. I didn't really connect with the characters and at times it just seemed silly.

In short: now I know why readers have been raving about Sarah Gailey.

In long: this tale begins as a murder mystery set in an exclusive, private high school for the magically gifted. The first-person narrator is a private detective who’s wearied of digging into cases of infidelity and embezzlement, and both excited and intimidated by her first murder investigation. So much is not all that astonishingly new territory. But this is where the story gets complex. Ivy is an unreliable narrator, whose unerring sense of the truth shines through her layers of self-deception, guilt, and inadequacy. To make matters worse, Ivy’s brilliant, charismatic, and magically talented sister teaches at the school and was romantically involved with the murder victim.

The unfolding of the mystery parallels Ivy’s exploration of her own past, her relationship to her sister, and who she herself might have been “in another life,” if she and her sister had been close, if she had been magical, if she had gone to a good school, if she were attractive and confident, and so forth. The line between Ivy’s wishful imagination and the possibility that she is in the process of unlocking hidden potential is ambivalent, as it should be, making Ivy a complex and utterly sympathetic character. This subtlety arises from superb narrative skill and deep insight into the human psyche, all within the framework of a fascinating familiar-but-new magical world, all the agonies of revisiting high school, and a murder mystery full of twists and surprises.

Strongly recommended.

The usual disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book, but no one bribed me to praise it. Although chocolates and fine imported tea are always welcome.

Magic for Liars is the kind of book that invites you into its world and can’t let go until you’ve made it to the final word. I was mesmerized by Gailey’s take on a magic that feels so realistic. It’s part high school drama, part secret lives of teachers, and part soul-searching as the private investigator protagonist comes to term with her past while perusing the present for answers. I was enthralled and couldn’t put it down.

The sense of realism sparked my imagination throughout. While I love magical fantasies that introduce things like unicorns, magic wands, and mysterious spells, it can be hard to relate to such a world given the mundanity of our own. In Magic for Liars, Gailey brings magic into the real world, along with the many consequences of its use. There are scenes that took my breath away, primarily because of the ease with which they were presented. You can’t snap a finger to fix a broken body. Instead, it requires a fundamental understanding of the human body, of how to piece it back together to make it whole. The various uses of magic are all the more amplified by the seemingly normal setting. It was fascinating to behold.

The combination of genres made for a consistently entertaining read. To start, you have the kind of private investigator fiction that leaves the intense violence at home. This is good, old-fashioned detective work through deduction and interviews. Through this process, we get to know the teachers and students as mostly regular people who just happen to be magical. Drama seeps in heavily when students are involved, adding a glimpse into the messy lives of teenagers trying to understand themselves. We also have the complicated family dynamics between the PI and her sister. They share a painful past and, as it starts to unfold, it holds a key to understanding how each sister grew into themselves.

Above all, Magic for Liars features exceptional storytelling, marked by personable characters and a mysterious thread that surprises at multiple turns. It’s so easy to immerse yourself in this world, and it leaves you with a feeling of fulfillment that you’ve read something special.

Review to be published on 8/8: http://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/08/08/magic-for-liars-book-review

Loved this book! Sarah Gailey is one of my new favourite authors. Really enjoy their writing style.

In this book I liked the mystery part and the magic part made it even better.

Highly recommend!

Perfect for fans of both crime fiction and the urban fantasy genre. Gaily merges the two in this very unique novel readers of all ages are sure to love. It is easy to be seduced by the universe of this book, so much so that readers are bound to want to return to it again and again – both by re-reading and hopefully watching Gailey expand that world.

Magic for Liars is a book with both a solid and fun concept – I mean, a murder mystery at a magic school? – but somehow, it never really manages to scratch either your crime or fantasy itch in quite the way you’d hoped.

Noir Meets Magic
The story centres around Ivy, an alcoholic PI who has difficulty getting close to people. While Ivy herself is a regular Joe, her estranged sister Tabitha is a mage and teaches at a secret academy for magical teens (think American high school that just happens to teach magic subjects alongside the regular). When one of the teachers dies under mysterious circumstances, the headmistress hires Ivy to investigate. A murder case seems like the perfect opportunity for Ivy to test her skills and pick up some well-needed cash, but it also means facing Tabitha and somehow getting a bunch of adolescents to tell it to her straight. She has her work cut out for her.

Ivy Gamble, P.I
As a protagonist, Ivy is basically how you’d imagine a standard noir private investigator to be – never far from a bottle, a loner, unresolved family problems, and accustomed to dealing with unsavoury types. However, she’s also very unsatisfied with who she is and because of this, she spends a lot of the novel acting out different (alternate universe) versions of herself e.g. flirty/giggly Ivy or Mage Ivy. At first, it’s fine, as it shows just how much Ivy wishes she could be like the image she has of her sister, attractive, free and special. After a while, it does start to get repetitive and annoying, especially when it predictably blows up in her face. On the upside, the plot does give Ivy a lot of opportunities to showcase that she’s very good at working out people – when they’re lying, what they want, and how best to manipulate them for information. I really enjoyed this side of her, mostly because it showed just how great of an investigator she is.

Let’s Solve a Murder
The murder mystery storyline takes a while to properly warm up. The first part of the novel deals with Ivy taking her time to learn the lay of the land (working out who the main players are & their stories, and attempting to understand relevant magical principals). Aside from a couple of tense moments during character interviews, there isn’t a heap of excitement during the first half. However, once we get over the mid-way hump, some of the little things Ivy picks up on earlier start to show greater relevance and the plot moves along more briskly. By the time events start coming together at the end, the momentum has vastly increased and everything gets dramatic FAST. You’ll likely be able to guess where things are heading, but as it’s both emotionally charged and makes sense within the context of the story, that’s not such a bad thing. I will say, though, that the ending itself does feel somewhat rushed and incomplete in that some big choices are made, especially by Ivy, and we have no idea what the consequences will be.

Red Herrings (Aka. Side Plots)
Magic for Liars involves several side plots. These weave in and out of Ivy’s investigation to varying degrees. There’s Ivy’s flirtation with the hot physical magic teacher, her fractured relationship with Tabitha, a prophecy about a chosen one, and a mysterious student relationship with a potential pregnancy. For the most part, these are designed to provide the overall book with extra colour and the investigation with some red herrings.

- Ivy’s relationship with Rahul is a cute addition, even though it ends in a rather unsatisfying way. It’s somewhat awkward but sweet to see Ivy try to connect with someone, even if she goes about it very badly.
- The teen pregnancy story is the most relevant to the overall mystery, but I do wish it had felt a little deeper considering it was dealing with something so emotionally heavy.
- I really enjoyed the sections of the novel devoted to trying to repair Ivy’s damaged relationship with Tabitha. It’s interesting to see them attempt to overcome their issues with one another and realise that many of them stem from incorrect ideas about the other or a lack of communication. More importantly, this groundwork ended up being essential to the emotional impact of the book’s ending.
- Of the four, the chosen one plotline is the one I could have done without. It not only feels unnecessary but has a predictable outcome from the moment it’s introduced.

Scientific Magic
Unlike books like Harry Potter, for instance, Magic for Liars tries to take a slightly more scientific approach to magic. In a way, it’s more akin to something like Lev Grossman’s The Magicians but less complicated or fully explained. While I didn’t always understand the terms and principles being thrown around, I still enjoyed the use of magic here and found that it served to ground the story by making the world-building and plot events seem more realistic. Yet, I do wish that we’d gotten to see more of the magical elements instead of having them mostly relegated to the background.
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While Magic for Liars wasn’t the epic crossover between the mystery and fantasy genres that I’d hoped for, it still possesses some solid character moments, a mildly intriguing mystery, and a decent approach to world-building that’ll be enough to entertain some readers.

3.5 Stars

It's like Lily and Petunia Evans enter a Raymond Chandler novel, with Petunia as a private eye. (I've seen it compared to <i>The Magicians</i> meets Tana French, which is also accurate.) The resolution in particular made me think of <i>The Big Sleep</i>. It has that same aching feeling that isn't quite nihilism, but isn't happy, either. When the story is about murder, the unhappy ending has already happened. There's nothing left to hand out but the blame.

Ivy tells herself she never wanted to be magic like her estranged twin, Tabitha. But her resentment and longing at what she can never have are impossible to suppress. Her life as a private investigator is tawdry and banal, so when she gets the chance to solve a murder at a school for magic, the very one her sister works at, there's no question but that she will take the case. Once there, surrounded by the privileged kids who use their gifts to make thunderclouds shaped like dicks, her resentment seems pretty natural. But it drives her to make choices that are...not so great. She's not alone in that. Along the way there's a Prophecy, a Chosen One, and some really ingenious magic.

I love that the library is a grim featured player in the story, with whispering books surrounding the gruesome murder scene. Magic in the story is something like advanced physics, so the list of subjects the library contains makes perfect nonsense: "The shelves of the library were marked with endcap labels that pointed to either side, Dewey decimal numbers and subject matter. I followed Torres past Math and Mathematical Magics; Economics; Fictional Magic and Applications of Magical Fiction; Electricity, Theoretical Electricity, Electricity Manipulations. She paused at Poisons and Theoretical Poisons."

Received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My favorite book of 2019 so far. A diverse fantasy that leaves nothing to be desired. Loved it and can’t wait to see more novels from this author.

Magic For Liars is a brilliant magical noir set at a faux-Hogwarts and dives deep into the millennial psyche. It’s a great murder mystery as well as a powerful examination of the stories we tell about Chosen Ones and magic and siblings. I found myself taking my time with this book, not because it wasn’t absolutely engrossing (it was) but because I found myself confronting some hard truths about my own mindset, my doubts and my fears. I recommend this book often to customers and friends alike, and I will read everything Sarah Gailey writes in perpetuity.

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this one. I felt like it was very intriguing to start, then got really slow, and then eased off until BANG everything happened all at once and not a lot of it made sense.

I felt so-so about the main character and didn't feel like I had enough time to absorb the story- either things should have occurred earlier or it could have used another 30 pages.

I thought about quitting multiple times, but was really curious (because that's what mysteries do) and I pictured the main character sounding like Julia from The Magicians. Overall, sort of meh?

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an early copy, for free, for honest review.
I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. I liked it, but it didn't blow me away. The writing was good, it definitely kept me reading. I was just expecting something different because of how much I had hyped it up in my head.
Ivy Gamble kind of reminded me of a mash-up of Aunt Petunia and Jessica Jones. Aunt Petunia, because she's a little bitter about being the normal, non-magical sister. Jessica Jones for the PI profession and heavy drinking. Ivy Gamble does not possess super strength or a Vernon Dursley. So it's a mash-up of specific parts of those two characters, not the whole bag. Ivy is a very somber character, who is kind of heavy on the self-pity. She's not magic and she's got some jealously about that, jealousy that she really can't get over. She's a bit of a loner too. She just doesn't scream happy or contented person.
Throughout the book, Ivy kind of confused me. She kept acting, trying to be somebody else, while doing the job at this magical school. She wasn't secure in just being herself. And the lies she told ended up coming back to bite her. I just don't really understand why she had to lie about herself.
There were also some weird sections in the story where it gave the impression that this was a past event that she was recounting from the future. It only happened a couple of times, but it was a little jarring.
The murder mystery aspect didn't feel the most pressing at times. It didn't have the punch that I was expecting. The victim was almost just a body, and nothing else. And it wasn't hard at all to figure out who-done-it.
The ending of this book is lacking and not very satisfying. The reveal of the murderer didn't shock me. The reason why they did it was like trying to give them a pass. There were no consequences. To me, it was not a conclusion to the story at all. Even the very end of the book wasn't an end. It was unsatisfying.
As far as the magic school setting went, it was very much understated magic. There were some cool bits, but not many. It was pretty much just a regular high school with just little hints here and there of magic. It was more of a gritty tale than a magical one.
I enjoyed Magic For Liars, but I didn't love it. I was expecting something more from it. I enjoyed the premise of it. I enjoyed the writing. It was an easy story to get through. I'd definitely read more from Sarah Gailey. I just wanted an ending that actually felt like an ending. I need closure in my stories. I'm glad I got to read it.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.7/5
Kind of a Mixed Bag