The magic is in reinvention in this charmingly witchy adult fantasy from Maron (author of Lucy & Dee middle grade series). Self-help scribe Olivia Furie has made a career out of helping women rediscover themselves. But, in the wake of her husband’s funeral, when she discovers his debts will cost her—and his mistress, Felicia—everything, Olivia could use guidance herself, especially since objects around her suddenly have a habit of bursting into flames. With her scene-stealing, enigmatic cat Magnus, she makes for Rowanswood, where she has inherited a cottage from her long-deceased grandmother. She hopes to reclaim her life, but what she finds beggars belief: a town protected by witches, populated by magical creatures, and most jarring of all, a legacy connection that goes deeper than a cottage. Olivia might be the Fire Crone that the Rowanswood Crones need to keep the town safe from the human-enslaving High Fae.

Fans of cozy fantasies and compelling adult women protagonists who find purpose—and fabulousness—in nature, magic, and new connections will adore the laid-back, lavender-scented vibes as Olivia goes from destitute loneliness to settling into the charming village of Rowanswood, whose scones, teas, crockery, beasts, magic, and ritual all are described with inviting relish. Olivia’s journey to Cronehood is nuanced, her struggles endearingly human as she finds her path toward letting go of her old life to embrace the new. Less compelling is the familiar Fae plot line, though it does push together Olivia and half-human/fae prince Gaelin for a slow-burn romance.

“Exploring our vast potential to reinvent ourselves,” Maron paints Olivia in vibrant, messy, and ultimately relatable colors. She struggles, often fails, but never truly gives in; it’s an uplifting, yet serious look at what starting over can feel like on the inside. Beneath all the magic and whimsy beats a very human heart, and The Chic Crone boasts such engaging atmosphere and characters that readers of the genre will be eager for another serving.

Takeaway: Cozy paranormal fantasy with a complex heroine and inspiring themes of reinvention.

A cleverly rendered fantasy of unexpected reinventions.

When author Olivia Furie’s husband dies, she learns that the man had spent years covertly spending their collective wealth—including her book royalties—on a secret second family, leaving her mired in debt. Without a house to live in and barely a cent in her bank account, the 60-year-old writer of the popular Chic Woman series takes her cat Magnus and heads to Cornwall, where she’s just inherited a cottage from a relativeshe doesn’t remember in the village of Rowanswood. Unbeknownst to Olivia, Rowanswood is a special place, one that can only be found by those who have business there. It’s the one village in Britain where humans live side by side with the Fae—fauns, mermaids, dryads, and the like. The spells around Rowanswood are ministered by the Crones, a group of advanced human witches with powers over various elements. Olivia’s invitation to Rowanswood is no accident—it has something to do with the strange happenings since her husband died, like the witchy streak that has appeared in her hair and her lawyer’s office curtains bursting into flames the moment she learned she was broke. The invitation may also involve Gaelin, the handsome man who keeps appearing in her life and who represents a very different sort of Fae from the ones in Rowanswood: a secret race interested in bending humanity to its will. Rowanswood is a wonderland for a certain type of cozy, pagan-curious reader; a place where a diverse coven of women gather to drink tea and pore over magical texts with their petlike familiars. (Some of Marion’s richest language is reserved for the scones in the village cafe: “It melted in her mouth before the tartness of the lemon hit her taste buds, followed by the sweetness of the flaky pastry. The lavender brought a subtle, herbal undertone to the mix.”) While the pacing is a bit slow at times, the author finds a happy medium between contemporary comedy and gossamer fantasy that will please many readers.