There’s Magic in the Air
Romantasy is a genre that blends romance and fantasy, but the books in this review span even more genres. Magical disasters aren’t usually the building block for a Romantic Comedy, but it is in The Geographer’s Map to Romance. Add a heavy dose of occult fiction to romantasy and you have The Black Bird Oracle. Although the books are on completely different spectrums for romance and humor, they are both well-written and very entertaining.
Geography Has Never Been This Funny
The Geographer’s Map to Romance by India Holton (2025) is the second book in the Love’s Academic series. It is set in 1800s England.
Two professors at the same university are experts in magical disasters. They are technically married but have been estranged since a misunderstanding happened shortly after their wedding (of convenience). Professor Elodie Tarrant still loves Professor Gabriel Tarrant, although he’s more frustrating than fun. Gabriel still loves Elodie, the biggest disaster he’s ever met, but he can’t bring himself to tell her.
For a year, Elodie has managed to avoid him, but a tsunami of magic has erupted in a Welsh village, and the duo have been sent by the university to contain it before it spreads to Britain. Lives are at stake, and time to stop chaos ticks away.
The impending magical disaster puts the Tarrants in close quarters, and they have to push their differences and feelings aside to focus on the task at hand. Easier said than done—especially when they have to share the last room at the hotel. Besides that, a few scheming people try to stand in their way.
India Holton’s books are always fast-paced, full of action, romance with a flair for the comedic, and lots of laughs. The Geographer’s Map to Romance checks all those boxes. I enjoyed the story and looking forward to book 3 in the series coming in 2026.
Witches, Vampires, and Higher Magic
The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness (2024) is part of the Occult fiction, Romantasy All Souls series.
Vampire geneticist Matthew de Clermont married witch Diana Bishop against a covenant set up by the Congregation, a magical ruling body that has been in place to keep a check on magic for thousands of years. The Congregation sets rules that allow witches, vampires and daemons to live among humans peacefully without humans knowing they exist.
The marriage was their first hurdle, but now the couple faces a bigger one. The Congregation wants to test the magical abilities of Diana and Matthew’s young twins Pip and Rebecca. The testing caused problems for Diana as a child, and she doesn’t want the twins to have the same fate.
In the meantime, Diana reconnects with a great aunt who lives in a magical town. Her aunt promises to help Diana unleash her talent for higher magic. She also learns many secrets of her family’s past. It seems no matter which path the powerful witch chooses, there is always another witch who wants to stand in her way.
If you have read A Discovery of Witches and followed the series, you will enjoy this book, too. All the major characters make an appearance and some very interesting ghost ancestors. The setting changed to a farm that’s been in the Bishop’s family for centuries.
Enjoy the recommendations and leave any magical book recommendations in the comments.
