Collection Review: Ordinary Magic novellas by Devon Monk

Note from VBC HQ: We don’t typically review novellas on their own, but we love Devon Monk’s Ordinary Magic books so much we had to. Below you’ll find reviews of the three latest novellas: Rock Candy, Paper Stars, and Scissor Kisses.

Ordinary Magic Novellas
Devon Monk
Review Source: Purchased

Reviewed by: Amy

Note: While this review will be spoiler free it will reference the previous books. If you haven’t started this series yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, Death and Relaxation.

Rock Candy (Ordinary Magic #3.5)
Published: September 30, 2017 (Odd House Press)
Purchase: Amazon

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Halloween is typically a time of fun and magic, with various celebrations of death (and life) throughout the world. So I think it’s safe to say that Ordinary, Oregon brings Halloween to a whole new level, and on a normal day Police Officer Jean Reed, youngest of the Reed sisters, loves it. But lately Jean has been questioning the status of her relationship with Hogan, her boyfriend of nearly six months. And that’s the problem: six months surpasses all of Jean’s former relationships, and there’s the fact that she hasn’t divulged to him about Ordinary’s extraordinary citizens yet. But when an infestation of zombified garden gnomes (with a penchant for Gnock Gnock jokes) invades Ordinary, Jean ends up learning there might be more to Hogan than meets the eye.

Paper Stars (Ordinary Magic #3.6)
Published: December 3, 2017 (Odd House Press)
Purchase: Amazon

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

While Delaney Reed is not one to believe in the magic of Christmas, she enjoys spending time with those she loves including her boyfriend Ryder. It doesn’t matter that they haven’t yet said those words to each other, right? The fact that Ryder has been away for two months on business, and their conversations are growing evermore distant, hasn’t helped Delaney’s peace of mind at all. But, any worry about the state of her relationship gets put in the background when an errant god, a dragon in the guise of a pig, and the demon who holds her soul decide to make this Christmas one Ordinary will never forget.

Scissor Kisses (Ordinary Magic #3.7)
Published: March 18, 2018
Purchase: Amazon

Rating (out of 5): 5 stars

For middle sister Myra Reed, Valentine’s Day is turning out to be the loneliest time of year. Especially now that both her sisters are in relationships. Myra’s solution is to throw herself into her work. Namely, once and for all figuring out how to get Delaney’s soul back from the demon Bathin. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the curious way she’s drawn to him, nope not at all. It turns out that Valentine’s Day has more planned for Myra than meets the eye as Cupid himself decides it’s time to take a vacation. Myra begins getting strange tokens of “love” from a mysterious someone, and has to deal with a cookie-crushing crook all while sorting out her true feelings for a certain demon prince.

All three of these novellas are a delight, and I love that they take place at different holidays, and especially seeing Ordinary during those holidays as the small town—home to vacationing Gods and other supernaturals—is a wonderful setting.

I’m very happy that with Rock Candy and Scissor Kisses Jean and Myra finally get to be in the limelight since the full-length books up to now have centered on Delaney. I’d have to say though that Scissor Kisses is by far my favorite due to the fact that the zap/pop chemistry between Bathin and Myra was so ever present in Gods and Ends I knew immediately I wanted more, and Devon Monk certainly gives more. In fact, it seems like this novella is only a precursor to Myra and Bathin’s own full-length story coming out in the fall. Yay!!

I liked that Devon Monk didn’t shy away from answering some questions and giving us some juicy reveals in these novellas. Probably the biggest comes in Rock Candy as Jean examines her relationship with Hogan. I loved all the developments that unfold within each of these stories and how they hint at interesting times to come.  

While these novellas can definitely be read on their own, it’s beneficial to read them in order, as well as read them after the main series as they are all continuations of previous events. This series is super fun and quirky. While the full-length reads got more serious with each book, I feel like the novellas were able to focus more on the light-heartedness.

Favorite things: zombie garden gnomes, Demon-pigs, and Cupid as a grizzled biker!

Sexual content: kissing, references to sex