Born Magic: The Diary of Scarlett Bernard

Disrupted Magic #4

by Melissa F. Olson

After the events of SHADOW HUNT (and the short story "Nativity," found in COMPANION PIECES), Los Angeles null Scarlett Bernard finds herself more out of her depth than ever before. Cleaning up crime scenes and juggling supernatural politics is hard enough, but now Scarlett must face changes to every part of her personal and professional lives. What happens when the world's most powerful null goes on parental leave? And what will the Old World have waiting for her when she comes back? This all-new, novel-length story is structured as diary entries, recorded by Scarlett as she faces her most terrifying trial motherhood.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Vampires, Magic, Paranormal, Audiobook, Witches

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 30, 2020

About the author

Melissa F. Olson is a writer and film professor. Her work includes the comic ARCHAIC, the feminist horror novel The Other Frankenstein, and more than 20 urban fantasy novels and novellas, including the Scarlett Bernard series and the Boundary Magic novels. Her journalism and academic work has been published in The International Journal of Comic Art, the compilation Images of the Modern Vampire, Tor.com,  and the Everyone's Gone to the Movies series.
Melissa has been a writing teacher, English professor, and TEDx presenter, but she now divides her time between writing and conventions, where she speaks about issues related to genre, feminism, writing, and parenting. Read more about her life and work at MFOlson.com.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this 3 stars because although it wasn't bad it just didn't make it to my must read list.

⭐⭐⭐

First of all this is all about Scarlett navigating her life as a new mother and wanting to share her experiences with other Nulls, so instead of actually reading like a diary it actually reads more like a collection of letters. So she starts off every page dear Cory this was a bit off putting because not only was it supposed to be for any Null not just Cory but it was supposed to be a dairy.


That being said I did enjoy the read and was glad I picked it up as the series is finished.

Happy Reading 📙📓📚📕📗📓📚📙📓📒📘📓📚📙📕📗📓📚📙📓📒📘📔📗📓📘📚📙📖

[Darren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Olson's stories a lot, but I didn't like the journal format of this one. I kept being jerked out of the story by comments about "When you read this" or "When you called tonight, I didn't tell you..."

On the other hand, seeing Scarlett as a new mom is wonderful! I loved all the parts about the baby. I note that other commenters did not appreciate these parts as much. For me, it brought back both the absolute-bone-tiredness and the pure joy of my children when they were infants.

[Dominique · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melissa F. Olson is one of my favorite urban fantasy authors. I think I read all of her series so far... but Scarlett Bernard will always be my ultimate girl from Olson's universe. She's prickly and stubborn, and I totally love her for it.

Scarlett takes the back seat again for the past couple of years (after Shadow Hunt) because Olson focuses on her other Old World series, which features boundary witch Allison “Lex” Luther. But readers know that Scarlett has her baby girl and settling down with Jesse Cruz. So I am HIGHLY excited that Olson decided to release Scarlett Bernard's diary entries -- which previously only available for her patreon members.

Structured as diary, Scarlett decides to write down her days after having Annie (her baby girl), as letters for Corry. And of course we get updates about what happens in her life.

Not just Scarlett dealing with motherhood, but also how she tackles boredom because of maternity leave, reuniting with her brother Jack, navigating meeting with 'in-laws' (a.k.a. Jesse's parents), talking back with her ex, Eli (who is definitely angry because MY GOD SCARLETT HAD A BABY!), oh... and a problem with someone targeting the werewolf pack with wolfberry.

I may miss Jesse's thoughts, because he usually gets his own chapters in Scarlett's books, but It's a lot but still fun to read. I love knowing what's going on with Scarlett. And that epilogue... wow...okay... JESSE PROPOSED, people!!!

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Oh my gosh! It feels like forever since I've been back in the Old World, and back in it with Scarlett. I want to say right away, that I wasn't THRILLED with the way this book was formatted - the journal entries that at least started as journal entries and then just progressed to an al out letter to Corry.

But, I digress. I listened to this on Audible and Amy McFadden returned as the narrator to this book. She has been the long time narrator for this series and to me, she has become the voices for the characters that I have come to love and admire...and in some cases...DISLIKE...very heavily.

But, between comments about diapers, breasts, feeding schedules, etc (which for those of us that are mothers can attest to the fact that it was extremely accurate) but in the middle of all of that, there is an actual problem going on in the Old World.

This book showcases some of the challenges faced by a new mother - thankfully, not in any other way than just pointing out some of the emotions that are so erratic both in pregnancy and then that continue AFTER your child is born. Now that is truly something that I was never told about in any books I read (granted my kids are 27 and 24 so a lot has changed) but Scarlett being Scarlett, finds a way to juggle things and be the asset that she alone can be.

I LOVED seeing Jesse as a new Dad, and we also got cameos of all of our favorite characters. Other than wanting to shake Jesse's parents several times (no spoilers, remember) I fully immersed myself in this book and enjoyed the heck out of it.

Can it be read as a stand alone? I'm not sure. I mean, if we are being literal, ANYTHING can be read as a stand alone, but really - will a new reader know what a Barghest is? Will they understand the dynamic between Eli ad Jesse? Heck, will they understand the relationship with Eli? And Molly, and Shadow...? See, the list goes on and one.

If you haven't started this series...Go back to the beginning and start with book one. You will not be disappointed. There are a few spinoffs from the original series - there is Lex in Colorade (that's a fun one) and I think there is another...I can't remember. See...I can't even blame pregnancy brain on that...

As I mentioned in the beginning, I wasn't a fan of the writing format of this one, but I got over that pretty quickly. What are you waiting for? Go......

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarlett is back!

I'm a HUGE fan of Melissa F Olson and I support her on Patreon and Scarlett Bernard is one of my favorite fictional characters. So this is by no means an objective review. But if you're an Old World fan, you'll be so happy to get another adventure!

This was indie published unlike the other books, so the formatting isn't as polished and there's the occasional typo. But Scarlett is still here and it's a delight to get her...unique perspective on motherhood and glimpses of her daughter's powers, plus the usual Old World shenanigans. I had a delightful time reading it and I'm just sad to leave the Old World again note that I've finished reading.

[Alix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in the series!! My own kid is not so old that I have forgotten those early days with my infant, so this brought back a lot of memories. However, I wish there had been a bit more attention to the mystery/situation and substance beyond parenting/new mom stuff.

The narrator, though, is fantastic as always :)

I’m sad that this is the last solo book for Scarlett :(

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope it's not being selfish to BEG FOR MORE OF THESE IMMEDIATELY MELISSA I NEED MORE SCARLETT IN MY LIFE

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, I took a bit of a long break between the previous book and this one, but knew I would circle back eventually. I ended up picking this up in audiobook format which I found really entertaining. I did scroll to a few other reviews to she how folks who powered through the whole series found it, and I guess I’m in the minority?

Diving right back in to Scarlett’s life was relatively easy. I completely forgot just about everything about this world, but the diary format of this made it easy to weave in summary info for folks like me. Scarlett’s narrative voice is great and very relatable. While I can’t relate to the whole new mom vibe, she just seems… authentic. Her and Jesse trying to navigate living together (with vampires), figuring out their careers, next steps, family drama, etc. was really entertaining. When I found the book winding down I was so sad to see it wrap up for good. I loved being in their world.

So, other than baby stuff, is there a big storyline? I guess it’s a series of mysteries that, of course, end up all being tied together in a supernatural way. If I had come straight into this book from the previous one, maybe I would have been dying to see where everything ended up, but for me this was almost starting fresh and that was nice. I think I am going to need to look up other books by this author!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just kinda 'eh'

By comparison to all of the dozen or so other books I've read by Melissa Olson, this has been my least favorite, sadly. I kinda felt like there just wasn't quite as much passion and effort there. I still enjoyed getting to read more adventures with Scarlett, but I mean...the editing was the sloppiest I've seen from her and her crew and I feel like there was more to say that didn't get said, like she just either hit her word count and tied it off or she just got tired of writing or something. I also wasn't much of a fan of the "diary" since the format pulled me out of the story multiple times and it forced a lot of the writing to either comply with that format or leave you feeling like you just read an awkward moment. I 100% appreciate her trying the new format as a challenge, but it just didn't work for me, which REALLY made me sad to not enjoy this most recent book as much as I'd hoped. I was REALLY excited to get to it, which makes the disappointment that much worse. I really do hope she's working on something new or in her usual, better-fitting style with the Old World books or even the BPI series that will make up for the sad disappointment left behind by this diary-formatted book. We'll see, I'm sure.

[Sue Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of the Old World order Melissa F. Olson has created in her various series, but I was disappointed in this book. I've never been a mother. I'm not a big fan of infants. My eyes glaze over when my friends start going on and on about every detail of their baby's or grandchild's life. This book was like that. There was very little mystery. The first 40% of the book was mostly whining about lack of sleep and sore boobs.

The so called "journal" was more like a series of unsent letters. The format cut down on suspense because you knew as she was writing it that she had survived the few moments of interest, suspense, or excitement in the book. The final chapter was just downright awkward as she was writing to the person who was supposed to receive the journal about an event that person had been part of.

And this has no bearing on my low rating, but there was very careless Kindle formatting. There was no table of contents, which probably isn't a problem for most readers, but since I don't like to read in linear sequence it was a problem for me. Also, it was not possible to gauge how much time was left in each chapter—only how much time remained in the book.

[McKyla · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book was a journal Scarlett was keeping for Corry about advice for null moms, what it ended up being was a journal full of TMI. The most idiotic was Scarlett writing about Old World secrets and LA's current plans and private information ON PAPER and carrying this security risk around with her everywhere she went. Oh, and writing Corry's name and address in it so if Scarlett dies somewhere, humans or civilian authorities will know who to give it to. Seriously!?!? Oh, but she wrote in a passage that this is just a premise for a novel haha, police who find this, obviously not real!
Jesse had it right that LA's biggest weakness and liability was Scarlett. Also, in addition to that it was mostly a bunch of dumb ramblings and complaints about being a mom. I'm not a fan of kids, I'm 38 and have no interest in babies, so I rolled my eyes and skipped through the monologs on "tummy time" (eye roll), breastfeeding and all other cringy baby stuff I have no interest in. I only read this so I'd have reference if anything came up in subsequent novels related to this.

[Anna Beste · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would not have appreciated this book as much as I do now just a year ago. As a new mom this book made me laugh, Scarlett tells it like it is. All of the wonderful, chaotic, funny, scary, and annoying moments of having a baby. As I write this review at 4 am with a baby who should be sleeping but instead it's babbling away, I am thankful that he doesn't have supernatural powers! The storyline about the issues with the werewolves is a bit anticlimactic but it works because the book is written in a dairy style that is supposed to be more about motherhood advice and guidance for Corry. Overall I loved listening to this book during night feedings, while picking up the living room that looks like a mini tornado went through, when folding the hundreds of onesies, pumping, and while snuggling my precious little baby as he finally falls asleep. My parenting advice: get a comfortable headset and read/listen to a bunch of books during those long nights, it makes it a bit easier to stay awake. Just be careful not to wake the baby by accidentally laughing and out loud.

[John E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scarlett's ramblings

This story is written in the style of the title. I really tried to like it but it just didn't flow for me. The thoughts of Scarlett and her role as a new mom of a potential super baby is interesting at times but it really does read like a diary. The main characters we know are mentioned but there is no growth other than Scarlett coming to terms with motherhood. There are interesting tidbits about the other characters that have been part of this series and a plot that is barely a short story. Overall, read this if you have read the other books and if you want to learn about Scarlett's transition to motherhood and you aren't expecting an old world novel about the LA mixture of vampires,werewolves and witches. This is purely Scarlett's ramblings about motherhood and family and, thankfully, love and acceptance.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was an interesting idea...to write a book...as if it was all written in her journal. It is a unique view of what goes on in a person's head AND what she is willing to tell someone or someones of what is going on in her life.

It didn't work the best, for no one writes the type of detail to keep a narrative and a plot moving. It started to feel artificial and what it really was. A ploy and an idea...that outlived its usefulness IMO.

I still like Scarlett and I still want to know what is going to happen in her life with her newborn baby. Is she going to become a good Mom, and is she going to handle going back to work and balance the time at work and her other full time job, of being a Mom...and all that that entails.

This was fun, but I hope she goes back to the normal narrative structure for the next books.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Scarlett Bernard book so far. For two reasons: the humor and the bald honesty about parenting. Olson has always let a sense of humor permeate her stories, no matter how serious the plot, but in this book she cuts loose a little more perhaps because of the second part. Parenting - or good parenting, at least - absolutely requires a sense of humor, wry, dry, or even shades of gallows, to keep parents sane enough to let the crazy love they feel let them focus on their child and do the best they can for them. It is a humbling, agonizing experience in a way nothing else is. It is also irrevocably transformative and inexpressibly fulfilling in a way nothing else is. Reading this book was a powerful reminder of that. And, you know, witches, vampires, and werewolves. Readability 7. Rating 7.

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarlett Bernard is a Null. This mean that Werewolves, Vampires and Witches have no power while in her radius. She works for the Old World cleaning up crime scenes to keep Old World business out of the radar of the Police. She also does some free lance work, as an example escorting vampires to any meeting or daytime event they need to go to.

It is very unusual for a Null to become pregnant but Scarlett and another Null manage to accomplish this in one night. Then he is killed. She is living with Jesse, a human as they raise the baby. The book is written in the form of a diary about Motherhood for a Null.

I found the book enjoyable. Love these stories about Scarlett and Born Magic had enough Old World story to keep it interesting.

[Melindeeloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scarlett Bernard the Mommy Diary;)

Written as journal entries this chronicles the first months after the birth of her daughter - of course her maternity leave is interrupted by a threat to the old world so Scarlett gets to juggle feedings and someone who is targeting the shifters all while sleep deprived. I enjoyed this but those who don't remember the days of feeling like mommy the moo cow might be a bit put of of the fairly realistic portrayal of life with an infant. I liked seeing Scarlett bonding with Jessie and actually getting some respect from Daschel. It really struck me how far Scarlett has come since the first book.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epistolary, novel length, kind of interstitial. Scarlett is out on parental leave, writing a diary ostensibly to pass on to Corry, and trying to slowly wade back into her job. It’s less fast paced and intense than the regular books, because a) she’s a brand new mom recovering from having a baby and b) it’s more internal coping than mystery solving/crisis averting. But the characters and wit are there and there IS a mystery, and you know if you’ve read the other… 11? … you might as well dive in, you’ll probably enjoy it. Unless you’re usually there way more for the plot than the characters, in which case I suppose you could skip it.

[Tracee Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommend you read the new companion book before this one. It explains a few key points that tie the first and previous book to this one together. I liked that the author wrapped up scarlett's story so I can get back to Lex who is a much better adult character. Scarlett's stupidity and immaturity gets soooooo old, but luckily the story and supporting characters especially the males help keep interest.

Key negatuve issue with this book....it incorrectly describes the status of a main character which directly opposes the previous book ending.

The concept of this being a "diary" story ruins the book and sadly distracts.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

If you have been reading the Scarlet series, don’t miss this one. It is a great story with a different format. I wasn’t sure I would like the story in a diary format but Melissa just does it right. We get a day to day look at Scarlet’s new life, a great story and all the characters we love. The best part is Melissa kept the dry wit of Scarlet too. I hope this will be an independent ebook success for Melissa Olson and she will choose to self-publish more Scarlet stories.

[Peggy Richter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some errors

This is another of an excellent series but there are two major errors in the last story. One. Scarlett told Jesse where she was going and she HAD to know he would not call on anything trivial, let alone try it three times. Scarlett is just not that dumb. Two. A ten foot fence is nothing. A military working dog can clear twelve. The palisade jump is actually a part of protection sport competition and some dogs can virtually scale a wall. Shadow could have hopped that fence anytime. Scarlett shouldn't have been shocked.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epistolary novel in the form of diary entries from Scarlett to Kori (not sure how to spell that as I only listen to audiobooks of the series). It strains credibility in some places, like after a magic event devastates Scarlett and Jesse's home, but she explains the diary was in her purse.

Otherwise, good plot that shows me how big the Old World is and how many stories it could contain.

As far as I know, Olson is done with the Old World, but I totally believe she could do a Next Generation type thing with Annie and Charlie. It would be pretty awesome.

[Lisa Frincke · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s so confusing

*SPOILERS* I don’t mind the diary format, however it seesaws between that and a regular novel. There is no way anyone would detail the dialogue the way things are in this (especially as a new mom, with an infant). And what happened to the previous Alpha Will? The Boundary witch series was my first reading of this author, and I really liked those, but Will appears towards the first end of that series. He did not die. Was it suppose to be a secret?? The plot also feels very anticlimactic, so I had to doublecheck the audiobook that it was indeed finished.

[Adnil · Rating 1 out of 5]

It Sucks!

Don’t get me wrong I love Scarlett Bernard books but this if you take out all the breastfeeding, nappies/diapers, burping, self doubts as a new parent and the eternal moans about lack of sleep your left with about 10 pages of a mystery. It took me a lot of determination to read this, it has to be the worst book I’ve ever read. I’m just delighted I’ve finished reading it.

[Sho · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book doesn't make sense if you haven't read any of the previous books.

It's sort of like an epilogue and gives glimpses of the lives of the characters after the big event. I loved it. It was a lot of fun reading about how Scarlett is juggling taking care of her baby and her not so ordinary work. It was also touching to find her overwhelmed by leading a life she never thought she would have.

I think I need to go back to the beginning and reread the series again.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t judge this book by its cartoon cover. It’s a solid installment in the adult supernatural Scarlet Bernard series. This book is written as a journal from Scarlet to fellow null, Corey. The mystery was good but I had hoped for more of what we were used to, with more character depth and a deeper mystery. 3.5 stars for this one. Im looking forward to the next and hope the cover art goes back to what we’d seen in the past.

[Tressa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible

What a disappointment. It was like a different author wrote Born Magic. Scarlett used the f word or g dam word in every sentence. It was superfluous and cring worthy. Also the first 180 pages was about breast feeding and her boobs. The last 30 pages finally had a plot. I do use the f word when I get mad but this was just redundant and rediculous. I will not be reading anymore of Melissa Olsen's books.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Olson's Old World books and really enjoyed our first look at baby Annie and her family. I thought the journal/Dear Cor format was fun and gave it a different twist.

I do have to say that I'm not a big fan of the cover. I understand what the cover artist was attempting - to give it the feel of a journal. But it just didn't work well. It doesn't look like a journal and the drawing is amateurish rather than charming.

[Riana Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally wasn't looking forward to this installment

I originally wasn't looking forward to this installment when I read that it was going to be
a) in "diary" format rather than the regular narrative style all the previous books have been in and
b) all about Scarlett's thoughts about being a new mother and what that meant for her job as a murder scene etc cleaner.

Trust Olson's characters to bring humor and intrigue to the fore