Entering the Hidden Fantasy World

Holy Door St. Peter's Rome

Does any fantasy book ever capture that complete magic of the first time you read about a world that ran alongside yours?

There's nothing quite like the idea that you can climb into a wardrobe or tap a brick in an alleyway and wind up in a magical world that runs parallel to yours. As a plot device, it packs a lot of magical punch this way. Because you, as a reader, get to discover the world as your beloved characters do.

Those were my favorite books as a kid, precisely for that reason. Harry Potter, The Lion, The Witch and The Warcrobe, and The Golden Compass (to a slightly lesser degree) accomplished this goal. Truly none of them did it as well as The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, though.

It's been so long since I read a book like that, that I kinda thought they didn't exist anymore. At least not for adults. And, definitely not, in a world where we're jaded to feel like we've seen every story, read every type of book.

And then, Stephanie Garber released Alchemy of Secrets. Her first adult book. Which also happened to be a harkening back to that child-like feeling of wonder as you discover the magical world inside your own world. If there's one reason (Narrator: there are many!) to read this book, it's if you loved discovering magical worlds inside your own and have been longing to find that again.

This book opens up so many possibilities to search for magic. Child or adult.