5 books about magic to read that isn't Harry Potter

 

So, my last post was about Harry Potter, and I had so much fun with that, I hope you enjoyed it. If you haven't read it yet, you can read it Here. I promise you, it's a great read. Don't forget to leave a comment if you loved it.

Moving on, Harry Potter made my childhood, and I needed something to fill that void harry potter made I was done with the series, watched all the movies, I needed something to give me the same feels harry potter did, and you know what I did? I went on a quest! Turns out the quest wasn't that difficult because there are tons of books with magic that are not Harry Potter, and dare I say it, maybe even better than Harry Potter. That's a lot coming from me, as I'm a huge Potterhead. So here are my recommendations of 5 books about magic that you should read that is not Harry Potter. Let's begin!

1. A Great and Terrible Beauty

I feel this book is actually one of the best series I've read. It's a really good book, very descriptive, and I was really invested in it, I seriously loved every minute I spent reading it, it's beautifully written, and it's a beautiful mix of historical fiction, fantasy, romance, a little bit of horror, and mystery. If you haven't read this book, you really should. Libba Bray did magic. It really pulls you in and you get so engrossed with it. Here's a summary

It's 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to? 

2. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

I love love this book, it's a book about the arthurian legends. It's got magic, romance, friendship, and diversity in a way that it's not a main plot line, it just feels natural, and refreshing, and I think a lot of people will agree to the fact that tracy deonn nailed the ending. I'm excited for book 2! Here's the summary guys.

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

3. The Magicians by Lev Grossman

 A lot of people call this book "the Harry Potter" for adults, and erm, I don't really think so. Like, there's the school setting, but they don't stay there for the rest of the series. Also, the characters are deeply flawed, they're complex, and angtsy, and I think that's what makes me enjoy it so much. The main character can be really annoying and maybe pretentious, it's really nice to see the characters grow. Who wants to read a book where everyone is so likeable? Not me, that would be boring. Okay, so here's the summary.

Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart..

4. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman

   Holy cow!, I absolutely love this book, the story is awesome, the characters are awesome, the writing is so good, such high quality writing for a book geared towards children, it had so many things I loved about adult fantasy novels. Someone said, this is definitely one of those "this is not a children's book"children's book. Here's the summary

Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal--including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.

Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.

5. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

A Deadly Education is set at Scholomance, a school for the magically gifted where failure means certain death (for real) — until one girl, El, begins to unlock its many secrets.

There are no teachers, no holidays, and no friendships, save strategic ones. Survival is more important than any letter grade, for the school won’t allow its students to leave until they graduate… or die! The rules are deceptively simple: Don’t walk the halls alone. And beware of the monsters who lurk everywhere.

El is uniquely prepared for the school’s dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out millions. It would be easy enough for El to defeat the monsters that prowl the school. The problem? Her powerful dark magic might also kill all the other students.

My Honorable mention: Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis

That's all for now. If you liked it, let me know in the comments, tell me your favorite books that you think I haven't mentioned yet. Enjoy your week everyone!