A Forty Something Fury

by Paige Andrews, Bryon Cahill

Forty-something Angie Daly does not have time for ancient prophecies. Especially ones that come from wisecracking fae creatures.

An overworked, overtired owner of a struggling bookstore, Angie juggles two twenty-something kids who won’t move out, a husband expressing his mid-life crisis via a sea-shanty garage band, and a best friend going through a bitter divorce.

When two snooty elves, an aggravated fairy, and a miniature giant show up in her kitchen and tell her she HAS to help them with a psychotic warlock, she refuses. She’s pretty sure it’s a lucid dream, anyway.

But when her best friend vanishes, leaving behind an ominous warning, Angie reconsiders. She agrees to help the magical folk if they help her find her missing friend.

And so Angie plunges into a hidden world she’s never even imagined, popping through portals, sipping ghostly spirits, and reluctantly coming into her birthright as a bonafide warrior witch in the hopes of stopping whatever evil the warlock has planned.

Midlife crisis? Try midlife magic war, and Angie’s about to lead the charge.

A Forty-Something Fury is the first novel in the urban fantasy series by Paige Andrews and Bryon Cahill. If you like fast-paced action, quirky characters, and a main character with serious attitude. Start reading today!

Published October 24, 2024

Reviews

[SelkieReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun start and end but long middle

The premise of a non-teenage hero is extremely promising for any reader who is not also 18! Ha ha
At this point, I think most of us are damn near desperate for anyone over the age of 25 managing to save the day.
So, the idea of someone in their 40s being the key sounds like a great idea to me!

I definitely liked that the authors did not have her just up and leave her family, I like that she consistently fought for them and it wasn’t that she had to leave her world in order to save it. A lot of fantasy books seem to have the hero leave their family and life as it was in order to save the world, which is a certain type of cruelty.

The middle of the book got kind of long-winded for me, and I felt that what little action did take place could have been more succinct.

The ending wrapped up pretty nicely, so I’m not sure if it’s going to be a series or not, but I don’t think I’ll be continuing with the series, it was a little too slow paced for my extremely ADHD self

[The Keepers of the Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angie is a struggling owner of a bookstore. Juggling her two grown kids who won’t move out and her husband only adds to her struggles. When a grumpy old person chews her out for her selection of fantasy books, she doesn’t think anything of it until a grumpy fairy, two snooty elves, and a miniature giant show up. Giving her a sword with her name on it, they say she HAS to help them defeat Mordeth, a psychotic warlock who happens to be the same grump person from before. They say he is capturing magical folk torturing them, and taking all their magic. To defeat Mordeth, she’ll have to pass through portals, deal with sipping ghost, dodge corrupt cops, and more. Will she embrace her identity? Will she learn to use her powers in time?

The plot is engaging, well written, and full of twists and turns. The characters are well written, entertaining, and draw the reader into the novel. The world building is well drawn and believable. Fans of fantasy, magical realism, and mystery will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections.

Please Note: A copy of this book was given in exchange for an hones review. All opinions expressed are our own. No other compensation was received.

[Kasia V · Rating 1 out of 5]

“The authors busted out the thesaurus but forgot to also consult a dictionary” me talking about this book, 2025

It’s so hard to find fantasy/urban fantasy books with characters over 20 so I had high hopes for this. These were dashed pretty quickly but I decided to persevere. After all, the occasional mistake (eg. using sheaf instead of sheath) can be overlooked. Unfortunately by the 80% mark the occasional spelling mistake had turned into grammar shambles and nonsense sentences.

“The cavernous air crackled with raw energy; it pulsated with the essence of attainable intensity.” -pg 231

This quote is all you need to know about this book. Chunks of it read like it was written by AI. Perhaps it was.

The star is for Edgar, the miniature giant, who is the sweetest bean and the best thing about this collection of almost random words masquerading as a book.

[Mina Reads All Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfect book for readers who want a main female character who isn’t in their 20’s. Angie is a 40 something main character who is so relatable because she’s already married and is dealing with older kids. But she still goes and accepts the call to adventure much like all of us who juggle jobs and kids and husband/wives. I enjoyed the break from a the typical fantasy formula and read this book quickly. It’s fun and has a good world building. Definitely recommend to fans of the Forty Proof series by Shannon Mayer

Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angie Daly owns a used bookstore that the internet is slowly killing. Then two snooty elves, an aggravated fairy, and a miniature giant show up with a magical sword to help stop a warlock from draining their powers. When her only employee and close friend disappears, she is convinced the Warlock had something to do with it and she turns into A Forty Something Fury (paper from ‎ Sterling & Stone) complete with armor to fight in the magical version of her small town she never knew existed. Paige Andrews and Bryon Cahill tell a fun tale and sequels are promised.

[Ravendarcluv · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Sterling & Stone and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.

I was not feeling this book. This story could not capture my attention and was quite boring. I feel that this story could be so much more. The premise of the story is something that I normally read, but I could not connect with the characters at all. I skipped over quite a few chapters in hopes that the story captured my attention.

Unfortunately, this was not a book for me.

[Dots · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads like a middle school grade novel but with a 40-something year old FMC and also curse words. I also desperately wanted to like this but goodness I did not. It was so dull, even though there were magical creatures and a "chosen one" plot.

The writing is mid. The authors used "the jingle jangled" at least three times 😭. I couldn't really get into the characters at all. The plot and pacing was also everywhereeeee.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC, all thoughts are my own.

[Graisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Paige Andrews, Bryon Cahill, Netgalley and Sterling & Stone for this free ARC in exchange for a review.

It's rare to find new novels these days which have distinct characters and a story-line which holds attention, but this book does that, and does it well.

I hope this will turn into a series, cause I'd keep reading even if I didn't get an ARC.

[Reece]

ARC from NetGalley

DNF @38%

I quit this book so long ago that I can't even remember exactly why I put it down. If I recall properly, it was just too juvenile, and at the 38% mark I still felt we weren't really going anywhere. I won't bother to rate it because I can't actually remember liking it or hating it at all, I just wasn't into it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this book, I was slightly disappointed. There is a disjointed feeling to this book, some of it may be intentional because the title character Angie Daly is thrust into a world she doesn't fully understand, but there seems to be something we as an audience is missing.
This is a good start to something and further books may clear up some of the questions I was left with after reading but many readers will not give it the chance.

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to suddenly find out you're the chosen one? I have... countless times. That being said, the older I get the more I realize why the chosen one is usually a teenager or a young adult... just like our MC, Angie. Angie is a fortysomething bookshop owner who is tired. Her two kids are still at home, her husband has a different cash grab job opportunity every week, and her bookshop is struggling. So when she wakes up in the middle of the night because there's a noise in her kitchen and finds a fairy, two elves, and a miniature giant...Will she accept the call or, naturally, refuse?

I loved this book, it was funny, relatable, and engaging. The MC is likeable and so, so, so, relatable. She reacts exactly the way I think I would if I suddenly became the "chosen" one at 40. Heck, I'd feel the same at 34. I loved the world building and magic system. The writing style was on point, and having an "older"* character be the chosen one was so fun! My only issue with the book was that the middle lagged.

I'd definitely recommend this to fans of Paranormal Fantasy and people who want to read books with "older" characters. I'd also recommend this to fans of Paranormal cozy mysteries.

*I keep saying "older" because Angie is not the typical 15-18 year old chosen one.

[Paige Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, funny, cute story. Woman who’s 40 with teenage kids finds out she’s destined to save the fae realm. Funny banter with the characters

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie this book was quite refreshing if not quite slow paced. Because of the pacing it did take me a bit longer to read than I had really hoped it would take. While I did enjoy the story I did have trouble keeping my attention on it for very long, but that's completely a me problem as I do prefer my stories to be just a little bit faster paced than this offered. Having the FMC be a slightly older woman with a family to also take care of was interesting and completely added to the story. I did enjoy the story for what it was, and would say that if you're looking for a good fantasy adventure with a slightly older main character you would likely enjoy this one.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

[Brigitte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this book but did like some of the humor and fantasy aspects of it.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out ok with an interesting premise. Then I struggled to finish the last 2/3 of the book. I wasn’t invested in any of the characters and wasn’t sure if it was meant to be funny or not. There were inconsistencies throughout (an example is in Chapter 14 where she hears the footsteps and door close after a loud gunshot that has her ears ringing). The banter was kind of strange.

I was given a copy by the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!) and all opinions are my own.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, A+ for having an actual woman for the main character and not some teenager. There really needs to be more FMCs over the age of 25 in the fantasy genre. That alone skyrocketed this book in my opinion. Poor Ang didn't sign up for any of this and dealing with the Fae was a huge headache. Most of the Fae in her little group were butt nuggets, though. Except Edger, that is. Edger deserves the world and I would die for him. Prim on the other hand...Prim can take her little pixie butt back to her home world and stay there. And, no, I do not care if she calls me speciest for that. Ang is a better woman than me, because I would have cleaved half of them in half with that sword of hers before I even got halfway through the book. I also probably wouldn't have felt bad at the free customers...yeah, there's probably a reason she's the not-chosen-one. I really recommend this, though. I thoroughly enjoyed it.