It’s time for the next installment of the Book Nook. From my favorite mystery novel to a book about magical cocaine (content warning), I’ve read them all and encourage you to read them as well. 

The first book I have for you is A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. In this world, or in these worlds, the story revolves around four parallel versions of London. Now, there are several worlds in this book, in particular named after colors: Black London, White London, Red London, and Gray London. Our main character has a coat with a thousand sides and maybe a mind of its own. Anyway, he and a secondary protagonist are chasing, then hiding a magical artifact that’s weird. Personally, I enjoyed reading the interesting world-building and magic.

On to Wax and Wayne, characters from The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson. As you may have guessed, it has two main characters named Wax and Wayne. Both are magical cowboys, one silly and one serious. This book is one in a series, and I encourage you to read all of it. It is a story about betrayal, secrets, and Harmony and Autonomy. Yes, those are proper nouns–a hint for the themes these characters explore.  The train heists are also really funny. Honestly, it’s a great book with even better characters. I really do hope you give this a read.

The Lives of Christopher Chant is a complex book about smuggling powdered dragon’s blood as well as mermaid parts because they are both profitable (I’m not sure what parts). Oh! Throgmorton is there too, and they are the single greatest cat ever written. Christopher, the protagonist, is rather inexperienced for the majority of the book and faces countless perils. Will the government find out and punish them, or will they be let off the hook and maintain their secrecy? The style of writing feels older, kind of like Sherlock Holmes, so if you happen to like that style of writing, then you will enjoy this book. 

A Study in Scarlet is a classic, and in my opinion, the best of the Sherlock Holmes books. It’s a really interesting book full of twists and turns that you’ll never see coming. A big part of the story, though, is told in the past tense because they are recounting past decisions that have led up to current events. While I love it, I must admit that it isn’t for everyone. It relies heavily on the Holmes-Watson dynamic, so if you aren’t a fan of things like that, then you should skip this. I wouldn’t say this is the best on this list, though it is the one I remember the most.

Happy reading, everyone!