When a new depository is needed for minor magical objects, two seemingly very different women are chosen to lead the mission. Sent to a small depressed village, the two women, who are from very different backgrounds, develop an unexpected relationship and magic starts to happen. This was an easy read that kept my interest from beginning to end. I didn't want it to end, which for me is a book deserving of 5 stars.

Just like The Teller of Small Fortunes, The Keeper of Magical Things was a wonderful read. I love Julie Leong's writing style and storytelling, and I had a great time reading this book! The setting was very cozy, and the magic system was quite unique. This took place in the same world as The Teller of Small Fortunes, and I enjoyed getting to spend more time in this universe. I loved Certainty and Aurelia, and loved watching them become friends and then more! They were both such different characters, and I thought they worked very well together and balanced each other out. I also loved the side characters, especially Gertha. Throughout the book, I particularly enjoyed Aurelia's character development. While I found both main characters to be realistic, I really loved Aurelia and found her quite relatable. I also loved the cats (especially the winged cat). Overall, I had a wonderful time reading this book, and can't wait to read whatever Julie Leong writes next!

Julie Leong does it again! She brings the same cozy magical vibes to this book as she did with The Teller of Small Fortunes. With a gentle FF romance, small-town coziness, and one very interesting cat, you'll never want to leave the small town of Shpelling!

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkeley Publishing Group and author Julie Leong, for providing me with the eARC of “The Keeper of Magical things”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: October 14th, 2025
Reviewed on Goodreads: July 16th, 2025

You had me at CatDragon.
This was such a fun read!

Perfect if you love:
- Sapphic romance
- Romantasy
- Slow burn
- Magic themes

Certainty is a novice, training to become a mage. Unfortunately, her magical abilities are quite weak compared to most mages. She is thrilled to get an opportunity to go off on a new mission- with the promise of officially becoming a mage if she is successful.
What she isn’t thrilled about- going on the mission with Aurelia. A mage known for being cold and mean.
Their month-long endeavor in a small village proves that there be more to Aurelia than she thought.

I thought this was so good.
I do not usually love romantasy books, as I find the fantasy elements to be a bit tiring to read. This changed my mind!
This was such a fun and easy book, and it gave me such a warm and cozy feeling.
I think this would be perfect to read on a rainy summer or autumn day!

The romance between Certainty and Aurelia is very slow burn. I felt like I was dying every time they started to get close to each other, and then pulled away.
A real “kiss the girl already!” moment.
When they did finally get close? Beautiful. Amazing. Perfect.
I loved them together and I was actually so excited to see them finally let loose and let themselves feel their feelings.
The romance is all cute and fluffy. This isn’t a steamy one.

The magical elements here are great.
I loved reading about all of the artifacts, and learning about both of the women’s separate powers/abilities.
This is where I mention again- CatDragon. That is just the cutest little fantasy creature that I could possibly imagine.

Beautiful read overall!
This one is definitely one for my fantasy readers and my romance readers! I think this has something for everyone!

A Studio Ghibli film wrapped in a book! A delight!

A sapphic romance with Studio Ghibli vibes, a dragon cat, interesting magic, and a cozy fantasy atmosphere? Sign me up! I fell in love.

The main characters had such chemistry without being rushed, their relationship grew steadily throughout the whole book. It was also grumpyxsunshine coded and that's my favorite romance trope. It didn't have unnecessary angst, it was the perfect amount of fluff AND angst.

The magic system was phenomenal. I loved the idea of mages, the school for magic, the libraries for magical artifacts, and the assignments mages took. The main character, Certainty, can speak to objects and I've never read a fantasy book with that sort of magic! It was new and fun.

It all wrapped up beautifully in the end without being cheesy or too-good-to-be-true, and I LOVED the epilogue. I'm adding Julie Leong onto my list as auto buy authors!

Review: This was really good writing that was hammered to shjt with pages of lesbian crushing. How is it, that two mages at the same institute are placed within the confines of a farm house on a job to secure magical artifacts and are both lesbians? The publishers description I read did not intimate that this was in that particular genre.

Despite my preference for straight fantasy, this was a very good read. The characters are well built, the magic is interesting and the story line instills a logical benchmark in a land of increasing weirdness. The only downside was the logarythmic increase in gay as the novel progressed to the point where every instance is this inner ruminative lesbian infatuation.

Good Writer

I didn’t expect queer cozy fantasy to become one of my favorite genres—but here we are. Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong completely won me over.

The main relationship is sweet and grounded, but what really pulled me in was the village and the people in it. Every side character added something meaningful, and the whole story just had this soft, comforting feel to it. Like something you settle into on a slow weekend.

If you’re into books like Legends & Lattes or House in the Cerulean Sea, this has a similar found-family vibe but still stands on its own.

It’s gentle, magical, and full of heart. Highly recommend for cozy fantasy fans.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Ace and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I read Julie Leong's first novel at the beginning of the year and really enjoyed it and was really excited to jump back into this world! I was a little confused at first because I didn't realize that the characters were all new ones, but I quickly grew to love them and the story line for each of them. I felt like the plot was a little slow at first but as soon as the first cat made its entrance I was hooked! This was a great story of self-discovery and belonging! I would happily read it again.

Are you kidding me with this novel? An overachieving lesbian ice queen mage meets a hardworking undervalued warm-hearted lesbian novice, and together they set out to complete Guild job but end up doing a full Stardew Valley makeover to a dilapidated village? While they fall in love? And for their pet, they accidentally get a DRAGONCAT? Perfect concept, perfect execution, a perfect addition to the cozy queer canon. Like Legends and Lattes caliber, and that's saying something! I cannot wait to give this book to literally everyone I know for the holidays this year.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Ace and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

I must admit, I was hoping The Keeper of Magical Things would be as good as The Teller of Small Fortunes. I wanted more of the cute coziness, more of the funny towns full of sweet and awkward folks, and more of the magical system and its secrets. I have to say, this has ALL of that and so much more. The MC is more grounded in TKoMT and an absolute sweetheart. I couldn’t get enough of Certainty and how thoughtful and understanding she made a point of being. She’s a wonderful character and I couldn’t put this down because I cared so much about her. The other lesser MC was well-written, entertaining, and grew on me as well. Several of the minor characters were lovely all on their own and their charisma gave the plot an endearing found-family depth.

As for the plot, I thought it was much cozier and a sweet story all the way through. I didn’t feel as if the stakes were too high, but had the right amount of concern for the unknown future of the characters. I appreciated being able to enjoy the story without worrying too much about the outcome.

The story overall was full of magical people, objects, and creatures that all had personality and a spark that kept me wanting more. I’m happysad to have finished it, but hope to purchase a copy for my shelves once it’s released.

A big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, I couldn’t wait to read this one and can’t wait to read it all over again.

Initially, I wanted to read The Keeper of Magical Things because The Teller of Small Fortunes was one of my favorite reads from last year and has stuck with me since. As someone who is a real life archivist that catalogs historic items every day for my career, I felt like this book was made for me.
Certainty and Aurelia are sent on an official mage guild quest to catalog and store magical artifacts in a sleepy little village, where they end up learning more about themselves than the artifacts they are sent to archive. At its core, it's a coming of age story full of magic, found family, and flying cats. I can't wait to own this in print when it releases later this year!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley (Ace) for this e ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another magical, whimsical novel from Julie Leong :) She is a master at cozy worldbuilding and this was another delight. A few parts of the book made me giggle with delight, and the two FMCs are absolutely delightful.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a very sweet read, equally as cozy and magical as The Teller of Small Fortunes! Unlike The Teller of Small fortunes however, it was, first and foremost, a romance book. Sweet, queer, and magical are all things I love in a romance, but I think there were moments when the dynamic between Certainty and Aurelia felt like too much or too forced.
The cozy feeling of the town of Shpelling and the quirky side characters were my favourite part, and I do wish the story left more room for these elements (instead of the romance aspect, espeically in the second half of the book). Still, it was a 5 star read that had me immersed from the moment I started reading it, and every single time I picked it up after.

Julie Leong's debut was one of my top reads of 2024, so I had high expectations for Keeper of Magical Things. Leong took those expectations and blew them out of the water. Reading this was like a warm hug to my soul. Julie crafts characters so full of hope and heart that it's hard not to fall in love with them. Add in a dose of cat dragons and surprise librarianship and I'm sold. Ten thousand stars!

I liked this one a lot more than The Teller of Small fortunes! I have read books before where the main character has magic related to an object, but this is my favorite one so far. It was very interesting the way she communicated with objects to help the townspeople! I also loved the resolution/epilogue of this one. Cute sapphic romance AND flying cat(loved the cat's perspective chapter!)

While Julie Leong's second outing is a bit of a departure from her debut, it delivers a cozy fantasy/romantasy filled with themes of friendship and love and having the courage to find yourself - and your perfect happiness - in places you never dreamed, then holding on to them with all you've got.

I really feel the publisher's description doesn't do this book justice; it seems a bit dry - and this book is anything but! As in her debut novel, Leong excels in world-building; readers will feel like they can step right into this world and recognize its inhabitants. And trust me, they'll want to do just that! I had a hard time putting this book down - there was something new around every corner. I think readers will fall in love with Novice Certainty Bulrush as she strives to find her place in her magical community, even if that means she must partner with the "icy" Mage Aurelia (so called because of her haughty demeanor) as well as deal with the citizens of Shpelling, all of whom mistrust outsiders, magic, and especially The Guild of Mages that Certainty and Aurelia serve.

The Keeper of Magical Things is a standalone with a HEA with a bit of clean Sapphic content. I would highly recommend it to romantasy and cozy fantasy fans - especially during these times when we all need to remember how sometimes little acts of kindness (and maybe rebellion?) and believing in your special magic can change so many things - including hearts and minds.

Ooooooooh! That’s why it was so cute! It’s the author who did The Teller of Small Fortunes! Delightful little cozy fantasy with a gentle romance that was a side plot and not explicit. Certainty Is a nice young woman and the reader is going want things to work out for her. I think this author may be, with this second book, my second favorite cozy fantasy author after Travis Baldree. If you like Legends and Lattes you should totally read this author too. I’ll keep my review spoiler free since it’s a few months until it’s out. Might be the ARC I was happiest to get to read so far this year.

The Keeper of Magical Things follows Certainty, a novice with The Mage's Guild, as she is sent on a quest to the far village of Shpelling. As only a novice, Certainty is accompanied by a proper Mage to oversee the project. The Mage in question, Aurelia, has a reputation for being sullen and stony. When the two women arrive in Shpelling they find a small village surviving on garlic production with no inn or accommodations for them. The two magic weilders must create suitable housing for themselves while carrying out their mission and helping the village along the way.
A gorgeously crafted tale of self discovery, friendship, and kindness; Leong has once again written a vibrant and heartwarming tale. We fall so deeply in love with the cast of characters and the ending is just perfect.
Highly recommend this read to anyone who needs a bit of coziness in their lives.

The Keeper of Magical things follows two MC’s with magical abilities. Aurelia, a mage who can speak to others with her mind and Certainty, a novice who can speak to magical items.

The two are sent off on a task that could give Certainty the opportunity to become a Mage, while Aurelia is forced to be a part of the task when her powers could be put to “better use”.

This cozy fantasy follows their trials and tribulations with a low stake storyline. My take on the novel is that it’s about finding yourself and what truly makes you happy.

I found the storyline to be a bit boring unfortunately. I enjoyed reading the characters growth, and Certainty was definitely my favorite, but I couldn’t connect with any of them. Certain parts of the plot were a bit iffy to me and felt “odd” is the best way to put it.

Overall it was a cutesy, cozy read. I just wished there had been a bit more to it.

Please note: I received an arc copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Much like its predecessor, "The Keeper of Magical Things" is a warm and cozy read that is perfect to curl up and read with a hot cup of tea. And bonus points if you have a cat (winged or otherwise) by your side. The two main characters were lovely in their own rights, with solid characterization and growth. And the slow burn romance was developed well, never over the top. At times, the story felt a little too slow or quiet, but still engaging enough to enjoy how it all unfolded, and with a satisfying ending. I would have liked some more easter eggs from "The Teller of Small Fortunes"!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.