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Modern Magic: A contemporary fantasy novel
Magic? Check. Dragons? Sure. Deadlines? Endless.
Ivy Armstride dreamed of wild, dangerous spellcraft. What she got was paperwork, malfunctioning magic, and a tiger with an identity crisis.
As a junior mage at the Tower of Jackdaw and Spittlelick, Ivy spends her days managing eccentric mentors, misfiring apprentices, and magical mishaps no one wants to admit happened. But when a mysterious tree appears in the heart of the Tower - and a charming client requests the impossible - Ivy finds herself juggling secrets, deadlines, and dragons overhead.
The rules are clear. But Ivy’s done playing by the book.
An Amazon Bestseller in Contemporary and Coming of Age Fantasy, Modern Magic delivers wit, warmth, and satirical bite - perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch, and Jasper Fforde.
Start your next magical escape today.
Ivy Armstride dreamed of wild, dangerous spellcraft. What she got was paperwork, malfunctioning magic, and a tiger with an identity crisis.
As a junior mage at the Tower of Jackdaw and Spittlelick, Ivy spends her days managing eccentric mentors, misfiring apprentices, and magical mishaps no one wants to admit happened. But when a mysterious tree appears in the heart of the Tower - and a charming client requests the impossible - Ivy finds herself juggling secrets, deadlines, and dragons overhead.
The rules are clear. But Ivy’s done playing by the book.
An Amazon Bestseller in Contemporary and Coming of Age Fantasy, Modern Magic delivers wit, warmth, and satirical bite - perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch, and Jasper Fforde.
Start your next magical escape today.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 27, 2025
183 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Beth Williams
1 book1 followerBeth is an Amazon bestselling UK author who writes witty urban fantasy where city life collides with magic. She believes that magic should come with consequences (or at least humorous side effects) and that everything can be improved by a dragon or two.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 31, 2025
The shadow of the late lamented Sir Terry Pratchett looms over every humourous fantasy novel, and especially every British humourous fantasy novel; comparisons are inevitable. This one doesn't set out to imitate him too closely, though the influence is there, mainly in the more-than-Dickensian names, but also in the general feel of the world: diverse people doing their best to get along, noblebright main characters, a lot of imperfections in how things work day-to-day, and yet somehow it all manages to operate.
In a Terry Pratchett book, or even a Tom Holt book, to which this also bears some similarity because of the corporate bureaucracy, the nerdy auditor, Hop, would probably have been the main character or at least the love interest, and Ivy, the actual main character, would have been less capable and less attractive, but still have triumphed through sheer perseverance and good intent. (She does have perseverance and good intent, though.)
The identity of the people behind all the trouble sticks out half a mile, and no tropes were averted or even given a twist in that part of the storytelling.
It is, though, a generous and kind-hearted story, in which more-or-less ordinary, imperfect people trapped in a less-than-ideal system dare to challenge it and overcome at least the worst consequences of the fact that others are abusing it from selfish motives, and those people in turn get some comeuppance. I found it amusing rather than hilarious, but it was consistently amusing, and didn't try too hard for laughs (which usually fails). It was decently edited, too, though with enough minor glitches, mainly vocabulary or simple typos that it doesn't get my "well-edited" tag. It's at the level that should be the average, but sadly is not, especially for books I get via BookBub.
It's a recommendation from me, and I'll be looking for more from this author.
In a Terry Pratchett book, or even a Tom Holt book, to which this also bears some similarity because of the corporate bureaucracy, the nerdy auditor, Hop, would probably have been the main character or at least the love interest, and Ivy, the actual main character, would have been less capable and less attractive, but still have triumphed through sheer perseverance and good intent. (She does have perseverance and good intent, though.)
The identity of the people behind all the trouble sticks out half a mile, and no tropes were averted or even given a twist in that part of the storytelling.
It is, though, a generous and kind-hearted story, in which more-or-less ordinary, imperfect people trapped in a less-than-ideal system dare to challenge it and overcome at least the worst consequences of the fact that others are abusing it from selfish motives, and those people in turn get some comeuppance. I found it amusing rather than hilarious, but it was consistently amusing, and didn't try too hard for laughs (which usually fails). It was decently edited, too, though with enough minor glitches, mainly vocabulary or simple typos that it doesn't get my "well-edited" tag. It's at the level that should be the average, but sadly is not, especially for books I get via BookBub.
It's a recommendation from me, and I'll be looking for more from this author.
September 11, 2025
Awesome read
Love the characters and the setting! We all make mistakes. It's what you learn from those mistakes that defines who we truly are!
Love the characters and the setting! We all make mistakes. It's what you learn from those mistakes that defines who we truly are!
September 25, 2025
This was the read that wasn't finished on time to be my final summer challenge read and it's a pity because it would have made for a great finale. Hey ho, better late than never I guess. Modern Magic is a fun and witty take on academic/corporate fantasy with idiosyncratic characters and a pen pushing auditor at the heart of the story.
Ivy is a junior mage at the Tower of Jackdaw and Spittlelick, which is where she hopes to master wild and exciting magic. Only there's a lot more paperwork involved than she'd anticipated and when she makes the fatal error of feeding time sensitive and important papers to the resident troll Ump, her life isn't set to get any better. The arrival of an auditor drags her into a mystery that proves to be as dangerous as it is baffling however, and Ivy finds herself re-assessing everything and everyone she has worked with.
I enjoyed this, although the pacing could have been a little tighter particularly in the mid-section of the novel which seemed to drag a little. The characters are idiosyncratic and three dimensional, the side characters standing out as much as Ivy herself. The writing is well done, with a humour laced through each page reminiscent of some of Ben Aaronovitch's work. I'd say Terry Pratchett, but then you'd expect footnotes and sadly there are no footnotes. The world-building is a little bit scant, but the Tower is depicted well along with the politics and corruption and of course the paperwork.
It looks like this is a debut novel released this year and it's a very strong one. I'll be interested in following this authors future releases.
Ivy is a junior mage at the Tower of Jackdaw and Spittlelick, which is where she hopes to master wild and exciting magic. Only there's a lot more paperwork involved than she'd anticipated and when she makes the fatal error of feeding time sensitive and important papers to the resident troll Ump, her life isn't set to get any better. The arrival of an auditor drags her into a mystery that proves to be as dangerous as it is baffling however, and Ivy finds herself re-assessing everything and everyone she has worked with.
I enjoyed this, although the pacing could have been a little tighter particularly in the mid-section of the novel which seemed to drag a little. The characters are idiosyncratic and three dimensional, the side characters standing out as much as Ivy herself. The writing is well done, with a humour laced through each page reminiscent of some of Ben Aaronovitch's work. I'd say Terry Pratchett, but then you'd expect footnotes and sadly there are no footnotes. The world-building is a little bit scant, but the Tower is depicted well along with the politics and corruption and of course the paperwork.
It looks like this is a debut novel released this year and it's a very strong one. I'll be interested in following this authors future releases.
December 20, 2025
Corporate shenanigans in a fantasy setting? Sign me up!
Welcome to a fantastical world where the erstwhile mage wars have left the world reeling and a tentative peace has been brokered through a set of accords and four large magical firms compete for the top spot in the market for supporting human (or capitalist) endeavours.
The tale takes the protagonist mage and her colleagues through a eerily realistic corporate setting at one of these firms dealing with unrealistic deadlines, unsatisfying soul-sucking (literally) work, hoary career paths, disastrous performance appraisals, deliberately oblivious and overworked bosses, demanding and loud clients, being dropped into projects with negligible context-setting, corporate red tapism, mountains of paperwork, unhelpful enabling functions, fickle communication devices and much much more. If you have ever worked in the corporate world, you will love this satirical version :)
The best part is that the story is much more than this. There is a mysterious hush-hush project, a strange tree growing in the tower foyer, dragons, a lovable cat turned tiger and so so much more!
This was an excellent beginning to the series and I look forward to the next book.
Welcome to a fantastical world where the erstwhile mage wars have left the world reeling and a tentative peace has been brokered through a set of accords and four large magical firms compete for the top spot in the market for supporting human (or capitalist) endeavours.
The tale takes the protagonist mage and her colleagues through a eerily realistic corporate setting at one of these firms dealing with unrealistic deadlines, unsatisfying soul-sucking (literally) work, hoary career paths, disastrous performance appraisals, deliberately oblivious and overworked bosses, demanding and loud clients, being dropped into projects with negligible context-setting, corporate red tapism, mountains of paperwork, unhelpful enabling functions, fickle communication devices and much much more. If you have ever worked in the corporate world, you will love this satirical version :)
The best part is that the story is much more than this. There is a mysterious hush-hush project, a strange tree growing in the tower foyer, dragons, a lovable cat turned tiger and so so much more!
This was an excellent beginning to the series and I look forward to the next book.
December 6, 2025
Interesting story with some likeable characters, it oscillates between funny and tedious. Especially the first part with so much paperwork, rules and regulations, although I admit that it is sort of funny and a good interpretation of many modern procedures. The second part is more fascinating when Ivy starts to act and not react. I loved the idea that even trees can get angry and smash things, not just animals... all in all, I did enjoy the book and I am curious about what happens next...and if the writing from the second half will continue, it will be great.
September 9, 2025
ModMaj
Excellent story and characters but not fully filled out yet .a good first novella looking forward to next instalment .you also need some prequels for the very interesting hints of history
Excellent story and characters but not fully filled out yet .a good first novella looking forward to next instalment .you also need some prequels for the very interesting hints of history
August 29, 2025
Wonderful book.
December 26, 2025
bit slow to start but picked up in the end, also dragons
always love dragons
always love dragons
September 7, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing is witty and polished and the story is great fun, especially the second half. By the end, I found myself feeling attached to the main characters and I found the blending of magical fantasy with corporate satire innovative and really quite interesting. It’s 5 stars from me and I’m looking forward to the next in the series.
October 24, 2025
Enjoyable
This book is a look at what happens when a natural talent is regulated so severely that it just becomes a pile of paperwork... but with dragons, so totally acceptable.
This book is a look at what happens when a natural talent is regulated so severely that it just becomes a pile of paperwork... but with dragons, so totally acceptable.
Read
September 25, 2025DNF 6% I loathe this kind of whimsy so it is unfair to give a star rating
September 18, 2025
Fun
Quite a different bit of fun. Minimal world building, but nice character development. Satisfactory conclusion with room for more stories.
Quite a different bit of fun. Minimal world building, but nice character development. Satisfactory conclusion with room for more stories.
July 4, 2025
LOVE THIS BOOK! Honestly the best fantasy I've read for ages. Amazing characters and story, some really funny moments, and a blockbuster ending. It's packed full of both excitement and warmth - lots of stories have one of those things, but it's rare to find both. Oh and it's also really well written. I don't often leave reviews but just had to for this book - it's so good!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews