A Far Wilder Magic

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If simmering romance between two people with their walls all the way up is your jam, then this book will win your heart... Romantic but not romanticized, A Far Wilder Magic suggests that the true quest isn’t hunting the mythical beast, it’s finding the truth within yourself.” — NPR.org I definitely saw my own insecurities in her and I’m sure more people will find hope in her journey, as I did. Margaret Welty is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, and he is completely and hopelessly in love with her"

I loved her debut, DOWN COMES THE NIGHT last year. But if DCTN was "gothic winter" embodied, then A FAR WILDER MAGIC is a dream of "dark fantasy autumn." It has a more historical tone than its predecessor, with a setting that reminded me of the 1920's or 30's ... minus the alchemy and hunt for a magical monster, of course.The grand prize is money, glory, and the hala’s carcass. Most hunters would treat it as a trophy, a thing to be stuffed and mounted. But Evelyn needs it for her research on the alchemical magnum opus. According to her mother, long-dead mystics theorized that if alchemical fire were to incinerate a demiurge’s bones, the prima materia—the base substance of all matter—would remain. From that divine ether, an alchemist could forge the philosopher’s stone, which grants immortality and the ability to make matter from nothing. Narrator Jesse Vilinsky offers mesmerizing performances of two odd young folks who are proving their worth to the world and each other" -- AudioFile Magazine (Earphones Award Winner) Although they make an unlikely team, they soon find themselves drawn to each other. As the hunt looms closer and tensions rise, Margaret and Wes uncover dark magic that could be the key to winning the hunt - if they survive that long. But the rules state that only teams of two can join the hunt, and while Maggie is known as the best sharpshooter in town, she needs an alchemist.

Wes and Maggie’s story is one that is definitely heavily focused on romance, but for me, above all, it’s a story of these two characters and the internal conflict they have to work through. Their emotional journey and growth is the heart of this book and though it’s definitely character-driven, too, it’s undeniably emotionally driven as well. Plus, though Wes definitely helps Maggie in her journey, her struggles weren’t romanticized at all. It wasn’t like he came into her life and everything was okay, but she really had to learn. She had to learn how to accept love after what she’d been through, and especially learn that she deserved it.Besides, there’s only one surefire way to kill a demiurge that she knows of. The alchemy it requires … She’d sooner die than see someone try it again. I really enjoyed Saft's 2020-release, Down Comes the Night. It was an impressive Romantic Fantasy debut. In A Far Wilder Magic, I feel like Saft's writing has really blossomed. This is a complex story and it was so well executed. Other than that, I was pretty easily swept away by the story and characters. I liked the mythical, magical hunt, though I think I kept waiting for something else to happen with the hala, for it to turn out to be not what they expected. And I guess in some ways it wasn’t, but not in the ways I thought it might.