Food critic Sarah Greenberg is a normal thirty-nine-year-old content with her ordinary life. In fact, the only real excitement she has is the occasional hand she lends at her family's Chicago magic shop.
Until one day when the ordinary becomes extraordinary and a simple introduction to her boyfriend's teenage daughter unearths a family trait long dormant in Sarah.
Without even trying, she can do magic.
Her newfound, though late-blooming abilities make her part of a world she never imaged and her family's long lineage of Magycians unravels Sarah's world.
But when she discovers her family’s store is danger of being taken away by an old acquaintance named Zondra Bex, Sarah is forced to face an enemy more skilled and decades older than she.
Sarah must learn to develop her skills to protect her family from a foe that wants to wield the power embedded in the store’s location and rule the Magyckal world. But will embracing her newly discovered abilities eradicate everything she believed herself to be?
Part rom-com, part The Dresden Files with a dash of Jewish mythology, ENCHANTING SARAH GREENBERG is a funny, fantastical look into a woman’s struggle to find herself, believe in herself, and prove to everyone that she is extraordinary in her own way.
Jennifer Inglis studies comedy writing at the Training Center of The Second City and is a member of the Chicago Writer’s Association. An alumna of Northern Illinois University, Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts and recently earned her master’s degree in Education. Most recently, she worked as a public school teacher, instructing her students in English Language Arts and Drama, and has worn a variety of hats in professional theater in suburban Chicago, including that of playwright, actor, director, and producer. She lives in Chicago with her cat, Daisy, and several plants that refuse to remain alive.
My Overall Thoughts - 4/5 Sarah Greenburg has spent her life as the Mirabel Madrigal of her own family…the one without magic, except for the glaring fact that her family has kept this little trait of theirs a secret for all thirty-nine years of Sarah’s life. She is a Chicago food critic, a writer, and in the midst of falling in love with her boyfriend. The sudden appearance of magic was NOT in her plan, suffice it to say, but now she has no choice but to deal. This book was a lot a fun. The writing is clever and contemporary, the characters were enjoyable, and the relationships were heartwarming. The read, itself, was rather enchanting.
Character Development - 3.5/5 Sarah seems like she was born to be the heroine of a contemporary romance novel and instead found herself the heroine of a fantasy novel…in the best way. She was scrappy and fun, family loving and career minded. She felt very fleshed out, like a real person I could sit down and have a coffee with. Some of the secondary characters were far better developed than others. Esra was wonderful and his quirkiness was always something I looked forward to in a scene. And while Colin was a great, supportive boyfriend, he was a bit flat and uninteresting as a fictional character.
Story Structure - 4.5/5 The structure and pacing were superb. I loved that in the final chapter, everything was brought full circle in a way I did not expect.
Tone/Style - 4/5 Inglis is studying comedy writing, and I think she sprinkles the humor and banter very well into the narrative. She’s not beating you over the head with her ability to sound hip, but the characters, teens to middle-aged, all sounded utterly believable in modern America. A couple of times, Sarah or Raya would say something that I totally say all the time and I’d chuckle.
World Building - 3/5 The bit of the Magycian world we see in the book is interesting, but it’s so obviously just a bit of the grand scheme and I would have loved to know more about the magic world. At no point was anything confusing or problematic, but it felt like worldbuilding in general took a backseat to plot and character.
Representation/Diversity The Greenburg family is Jewish and one of the Magycians uses they/them pronouns
Content Verrry mild language
My Final Thoughts I’d love to keep reading more from this world! I think this book would appeal to fans of Garth Nix’s The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, and C.J. Archer’s The Watchmaker’s Daughter, and anyone who likes some light, fun, contemporary adult fantasy.
Book Review Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Romance | Sci Fi & Fantasy Author: Jennifer Inglis Format: Digital
I was excited about reading this arc after seeing the blurb but unfortunately, for me, it fell short of the mark. The style of writing was a bit too simple and more suited to a younger audience. Although the pace of the story was good, I found myself wanting more out of the characters and the world building - the use of magical threads and energies was a great element though!
I did like Sarah. She was interesting, funny, a tad kooky and wonderfully sarcastic and definitely someone I’d have on my friends list. Colin, for me, was dull, boring and weak. A pretty forgettable person. The secondary characters I liked a lot (especially Dave, Esra and Raya). I would’ve enjoyed more of a backstory about them.
I’m confused as to what genre this book belongs in. It feels a little ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’ to me. That said, it was a pleasant read, a bit of light fun with some laugh-out-loud moments.
Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press, who provided this ARC. This is my own voluntary and honest review.
Sarah is a normal 39 year old. Working as a food critic in Chicago, she happy enough and will occasionally pop in to her family magic shop to lend a hand. Sarah has never really had more than a passing interest in magic until one day when without even trying, she accidentally changes the colour of her boyfriends daughters hair.
Sarah's new talent is a big deal as she is quickly introduced to a world that she had no knowledge of before now. Her family are from a long line of Magycian's and Sarah finds out that the shop is in danger of being taken away due to an ancient rule.
Quickly, Sarah needs to learn how to protect her family, friends and community of magycian's from the woman who will do anything to get the shop.
Throughout all of this, Sarah also needs to come to terms with the fact that she is beginning to have feelings for her boyfriend - something that she has always managed to avoid until now - and his daughter and realise that she's actually capable of much more than she ever believed.
I really enjoyed this book although I don't think it was particularly well written. The conversations between characters didn't flow and the attitude / sarcasm that Sarah uses didn't come across in the way that I would have expected it to but this does seem to be true of most books that are written by people from North America - perhaps, their sarcasm is different to that of the UK.
There is also a nice little group of secondary characters who I would have liked to have known a bit more about - but there is always the possibility perhaps of the author giving them their own novels.
DNF I could not stand this FMC. Firstly, the mother telling her child you can't do this or that. Choose something easier/less risky. ICK. But the last straw was the trope where you don't tell the truth and you make things so much worse. I couldn't take the foolishness. What should have been comedic was so stressful had me shouting at a fictional character. I tried but reached 20%.
This was cute and had some charming moments, but overall it didn’t leave a huge impression. The magical elements were fun, and I liked the idea behind the story, but the execution felt a bit uneven. Sarah was likable, though her journey didn’t feel especially fresh or surprising. The romance was sweet but predictable, and some of the dialogue felt a little clunky. Still, it was a light, easy read with a touch of whimsy—just not one that’ll stick with me for long.
I've been reading and enjoying Paranormal Women's Fiction, and this is another good entry in this sub-genre. The MC, Sarah, is 39 years old, works as a food critic for a local Chicago publication and unbeknownst to her, belongs to a family of Magycians (people who can manipulate natural energy and "threads" to perform actions that would be considered magical by most). Sarah has always felt like an outsider in her family. All of sudden, after she unknowingly performs a magical act herself, she learns of her family's heritage, something that was never shared with her growing up because she was thought to be a "dud" with no inherent magical ability. Finally, her magic has made an appearance but it comes with all kinds of complications, including a business rival of her father's who is trying to get her family's long established magic shop. Sarah is starting from zero and has a lot to learn if she's to be able to fend off this challenge. Meanwhile, she's finally found a man who seems to be perfect for her, but how is he going to react to this secret magical world?
This was an engaging and relatively lighthearted paranormal fiction, more of a journey of self-discovery for Sarah, with Magyck and some romance thrown in for good measure. I loved the solid cast of family and friends supporting Sarah, and that Sarah's Jewish heritage was woven into the plot and the magical system. Although some of the plot and characters were inconsistent, it was all in good fun and I enjoyed it all. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.
What a fun book Jennifer Inglis' Enchanting Sarah Greenberg is! This is a kind of revisited fairytale, an evil stepmother/ugly duckling story that beautifully depicts the coming into power of the (almost) middle-aged heroine, Sarah.
I’m sure many of us have wondered what it would be like to suddenly find out we had some incredibly powerful talent we’d always wanted but thought we didn’t have. Inglis has really captured that feeling of initial overwhelm that Sarah Greenberg goes through when her talent presents itself to her, and has so perfectly depicted Sarah’s learning process that the fantasy milieu of “Magyck” feels very real.
I also loved the characters – a Jewish family whose members love, accept, and support each other. Too often we read about dysfunctional families and main characters, but in this case Sarah is more of a late bloomer, who, when she needs to come into her own, does so unflinchingly (mostly) and, in proper fairytale fashion, lives happily ever after.
Thank you to Storyorigin and Publishers for this eARC of Enchanting Sarah Greenberg.
The novel follows Sarah, who is a 39 year old food critic in Chicago. Her father is a well known magician and occasionally helps in her family magic shop. Sarah is as far away from her father as possible, she never had an interest in magic and believes she's not got the magic gene. However that all changes after an accidental hair change. Sarah now faces challenges with her new found magic as well as trying to save the family magic shop. I enjoyed this book, though I felt some of the conversations between characters didn't flow well and the sarcasm that Sarah uses didn't come across on paper as well as it maybe should have. I felt the pacing of the story was good and the side characters were each given their roles that played well within the story.
Our heroine thinks she knows what is going on in the world, but a chance encounter proves that is not true at all. Not only is the world more complicated than she realizes, but she can also do magic. It is going to take some effort to come to terms with all that.
This is an urban fantasy story with a dose of Jewish mythology thrown in. The story is well written, easy to read and lots of fun. There is a fine mix of magic, mystery and humor throughout the story that keeps you engaged and entertained at the same time. The characters are well done, and I particularly enjoyed watching our heroine trying to deal with having her world turned inside out. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to more from this author.
Highly recommended . I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes
"I'm not trying to hide anything from you! Everything is normal!"
Enchanting Sarah Greenberg by @ is a hilarious urban magical fiction set in Chicago with a Rom-Com subplot where one of the characters has a half-dragon half-chinchilla.
A 39-year-old woman discovers that she can do magic. During these early stages, the scenes with her family (who are all Magycal) and her boyfriend who is very much not are hilarious. The humor, the romance, the antagonizing forces... All are well-balanced.
When Sarah is finally learning and getting the hang of her magic she will have to step up to save her family business and her family.
You will want to read all about this strong Jewish family. Wait until you meet Dave.
I love reading books with magic that are set in my neighborhood. I feel closer to the characters. The dinner scene? I laughed out loud. It should be a movie as well.
I just finished this book, and it was so delightful that I had to write my review immediately to get my thoughts down as soon as possible. Sarah was a delightful character who isn’t perfect, has an imperfect life, and finds out it’s not what she thought it was. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments, I couldn’t believe it. The picnic was especially fun. While this book isn’t perfect, I still found it so fun that it was perfect enough. I hope we get to see more of Sarah, Colin, and really all the characters again. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Imagine you're in your thirties and you discover you not only have powers, but that you're actually a late-bloomer in a family full of Magycians...a fact and facet of the world literally EVERYONE you love has been keeping a secret from you your entire life.
It's really no wonder Sarah Greenberg struggles through a "not-so-midlife" crisis. This book is such a fun read, especially for us older kids still hoping to get our Hogwarts letters in the mail one day, and does a great job showing the complicated emotiins that come with any big change in life. Plus, Inglis's humor never fails to make me bust out laughing. I would definitely recommend.
3.5 stars Enchanting Sarah Greenberg was very interesting. I quite enjoyed it! Much like other books in paranormal womens fiction, Sarah is ok her late 30s and very suddenly develops magical powers, much to her surprise, her whole family is magical and had kept it a secret to protect her. As she is learning about this new magical world which is also related to her faith. (Judaism) As Sarah is growing into her power, she learns of Ms. Zondra Bex who has come to claim the magic shop as her due, since the eldest (Sarah) is non magical. Seeing that Sarah has grown into her magic Ms. Bex tries to make it difficult for Sarah to inherit the shop.
I love Sarah and the supporting character Esra and Raya. It was such a fun read and I’m always here for older heroines!
Sarah Greenberg appears to be a normal person. But you, the reader, notice soon enough some things are rather weird. That is fun. A large part of the book consists of Sarah, and her environment, coping with the fact that she is Magyck. She has to learn, and to learn fast, because someone threatens her family. I liked the book, even though it was sometimes too easy to detect something weird and even though there was at least one continuity error. Notwithstanding that all, it was fun to read, so the book gets three stars.
I loved this book. It was hilarious and creative and brilliant. The characters are so real and yet completely magical. A Douglas Adams level of humor and imagination but somehow more approachable. It feels real, like the the MC is you or your best friend. Tiny spoiler... My favorite bit is when the MC, Sarah has to dig out an old "emergency" tampon from the bottom of her purse to use as a magic wand in an epic magic battle. I highly recommend this work to everyone!
I really enjoyed this book. It took a while to get into the writing style but when I did it was easier to rea. I liked the developement of the characters and liked the fact that they had flaws and imperfections, and the world builidng was good. This book was also really funny which I didn't expect so that was something else I really liked. was it a perfect book or reading experience no but was it an enjoyable one - hell yeah. I cannot wait to read more by this author.
Sarah access her magical abilities later in her life than most do. She doesn't get much time to learn to use her skills before an immortal woman threatens her family and puts the world at risk. I am not knowledgable about Jewish mythology and found that inclusion in the book to be fascinating. Several genres are enmeshed in this book and the result is intriguing. I read this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really loved this book! It made me laugh and I loved the magical elements! What a great and refreshing twist on witchy magical fantasy! I devoured it in one sitting!! Sarah is a great character that I could connect with! The world building and characters led the charge here! I was able to immerse myself into the pages!
Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for access to tis ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a lovely book! The characters were really well done and the storyline was satisfying. Sarah was an imperfect heroine, full of doubt and feeling like an outcast. Her own family did an unfortunate job of this, as Sarah was born without magic. They took great pains to keep this from her, but in doing so made her feel inadequate and unloved. It would have been insightful to know why Sarah's magic manifested after meeting her boyfriends daughter, but maybe it was love? Sarah had just let down her barriers and realized that she could really love this girl and her magic appeared. I think Sarah had spent years being closed off emotionally from everyone because of how she was treated, and when she let go that little bit with a teenager (who maybe was 'safer' than adults), her magic appeared. A sweet book full of really lovely characters, I had genuine tears at the end and a sadness that the book ended. I would love to read a sequel.
This is a great read, I totally loved it! I was drawn into the story right away with great writing. It’s interesting and magical, I highly recommend reading it! I hope this will be a continuing series!
I received this as a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I will start with the positives. I enjoyed the interactions between the characters. And enjoyed some of the humor in it. I did feel though the storyline did drag a bit in some places. But was overall enjoyable.
🎧 Audiobook Listening on Everand app Narrated / more like Performed by Eva Wilhelm 🥰 this lady has been added to my favorite Narrator list. Yes! I have a list 😁
The book was ok. It should be labeled young adult. It was a cute story that kept me entertained while traveling the roads.🚛
Funny, cosy, easy book, with interesting characters, memorable MC, decent plot. The ending was a tad rushed and could’ve been wrapped up with more detail and explanation, but overall really enjoyed and even found myself laughing out loud which is really rare for me when reading.
While I enjoyed reading this book, the writing felt like it was written for a very young (teen/very young adults) audience. Whereas the MC and her struggles comnected with me (early 30's).
Worldbuilding and plot was whimsy, making this a fun lighthearted read.