Book: Wizards, Heists and Other Ways to Steal a Spellbook by Meg Pennerson
Reviewed by Michelles_Cosy_Booknook
Rating: 4/5
What an absolute joy it is to be back amongst the sass, scheming and wonderfully questionable decision-making of Katherine and Imogene!
This is the second book in the Hornsboggle and Dodge series, and our intrepid duo are already itching for another adventure. Well... Imogene certainly is, and it doesn't take too much persuasion before she talks her good friend Katherine into accepting a new case.
The job sounds simple enough: find and retrieve a particular book.
That's it. Just collect a book.
What on earth could possibly go wrong?
Famous. Last. Words.
Because naturally, things don't go remotely according to plan. It turns out they're not the only ones with their eyes on this particular book, and before long Katherine and Imogene find themselves being pursued by some rather unsavoury characters who are very keen to relieve them of it.
With their options rapidly disappearing, they turn to an old wizard friend for help — and what follows is a delightfully whimsical magical adventure filled with danger, mischief and just the right amount of chaos.
Much like the first book, what I loved most about this story is the friendship at its heart. Katherine and Imogene are an absolute joy together, with their sass, loyalty and determination to prove that something as utterly mundane as age is certainly not going to stop them from having just one more adventure. Or, let's face it, probably several.
There's something wonderfully comforting about this series. It's cosy without being uneventful, whimsical without becoming twee, and beneath all the magic and mayhem is so much warmth and heart.
If you've ever read Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club and thought, "This is fabulous... but what if there were wizards and a magical realm?" then congratulations, because I think I've found your next read.
And if you've never had that particular — and quite frankly fabulous — thought? Don't worry. This is still the kind of charming, funny and magical adventure that'll have you promising yourself just one more chapter long after you've taken the final sip of your bedtime cocoa.
Cosy. Chaotic. Magical. And proof that you're never too old for one more adventure. ✨📚