A Curious Kind of Magic

By Mara Rutherford

"If anyone's looking for me, I live in this book now." - Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of Strange the Dreamer and Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Howl's Moving Castle meets Little Thieves in this cozy fantasy about the teenage owner of a (mostly fake) magical curiosity shop and a girl cursed to turn everything she touches into magic.

Everyone in Ardmuir knows that Willow Stokes is a charlatan, including Willow herself. Her father's shoppe hasn't sold anything magical in decades, and it's only hanging on by the skin of the fake dragon's teeth Willow sells as charms, along with "enchanted" ostrich eggs, taxidermied chimeras, and talismans made of fools' gold.

Until outlander Brianna Hargrave appears and turns Willow's fakes into exactly what they're purported to be. But try as Willow might to enlist Bri's help, she wants nothing to do with Willow and her curiosities.

Because Brianna is harboring a secret of her own: everything she touches turns to magic, and the consequences have chased her all the way to Ardmuir. All she wants to do is find a particular missing grimoire, which contains a spell that can finally put an end to her curse.

Desperate to keep her father's shoppe, Willow proposes a bargain that could save them both. Together with the frustratingly handsome printer's assistant, the girls will uncover a plot that goes far deeper than either could have imagined. But when Willow is forced to participate in an ambitious collector's quest for the rarest magical object in the world--a quest that risks almost-certain death--she learns that not all treasure is for sale, and that true magic is closer than she ever could have imagined.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250359880
• ISBN13: 9781250359889
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Wednesday Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.3" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 13 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Cozy Magical!

Mara Rutherford always has the best looking covers that draw me to the book and hook me into reading it. And I had a very fun time reading this book! I absolutely loved Finlay in this book! Yes, I know he is a side character but he just was perfect and kept up the cozy vibes every time he helped Willow (despite he efforts to brush him off), whether it was keeping the store afloat or baking pies for dinner. I also really liked Brianna, who was so strong, despite being a foreigner and cursed with strange magic. Willow was a bit tougher but it was understandable with the store problems, losing her dad, and trying to keep his dream alive. The story hit all the good points to make it a cozy fantasy, found family, friends who always have your back, a journey to find something lost and discover what is missing from your life, a bit of danger, lots of humorous situations, and of course magic! I loved the whole adventure and I am glad I got the chance to read this. A wonderful cozy tale that I would highly recommend to anyone!