From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Magic Mansion

Jordan Castillo Price

Start date: June 1, 2012

Finish date: June 30, 2012

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Apr 12, 2012 Jordan Price marked it as wrote · (Review from the author)

I'm stunned this massive novel has come to fruition so quickly, but here it is: Magic Mansion, the reality show where the serial readers actually got to vote magicians out of the Mansion!

Not only is the novel action-packed and fun, but the emotional notes hit some surprising depths. I feel like it's the most romantic story I've ever written. ...more

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Apr 17, 2012 ttg rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m, reviews, favorites

This book is DELICIOUS.

That's what I kept thinking as I read--I would come up for air occasionally, and feel filled with giddy awe. This is a wonderfully addicting, suspenseful, hilarious, and romantic story about a very diverse group of magicians, "picked to live in a mansion and have their lives taped" as they perform in a Top Chef-like reality show to see who will win the big prize and be named the Grandmaster Magician.

Will the winner be one of our two main POVs? Professor Topaz, a regal "o This book is DELICIOUS.

That's what I kept thinking as I read--I would come up for air occasionally, and feel filled with giddy awe. This is a wonderfully addicting, suspenseful, hilarious, and romantic story about a very diverse group of magicians, "picked to live in a mansion and have their lives taped" as they perform in a Top Chef-like reality show to see who will win the big prize and be named the Grandmaster Magician.

Will the winner be one of our two main POVs? Professor Topaz, a regal "old school" magician being pushed towards retiring to Vegas shows, or the younger Ricardo the Magnificent, whose love of magic hasn't been dampened by the lack of good gigs beyond the bachelorette party circuit (and who just found out that he'll be auditioning alongside Topaz, his idol.) Or will it be one of the other ten contestants--who include a posing street magician, an off-the-wagon escape artist, and a "Math Wizard"?

The author adeptly juggles more than 12 characters without having the story (or the reader) feel overburdened. Quite the opposite, it's an exhilarating book to read, and it's just as addictive as when you find yourself caught in hour 4 of some 12-hour Bravo reality show weekend marathon.

The main difference is that as the reader, you get the luxury of being in the characters heads as opposed to being the TV viewer, who has to watch a constructed "real" story that is provided after careful editing and the inclusion of melodramatic background music. You're reading from the contestants' viewpoint, and feeling the same confusion, fear, excitement, and loss without understanding yet the weight of how their stories might be later manipulated for TV. (The author also could work for TV because she created some realistically terrible reality TV show stunts. You really feel for the characters as they move through the competition, but none of it felt over the top. It felt horribly real, like it's probably happening on TV right now…as you read this.)

There's a lot of great humor (I found myself usually laughing out loud at whatever Muriel the medium would say), and a very tender, sweet m/m romance between our main characters, the development of which is as riveting (if not more) than the ongoing competition.

There are also a lot of neat themes and underlying commentaries—about sexism in the field of Magic (and the entertainment world in general), identity, and being yourself, even when that self is in the public eye.

If you've read JCP's works before, then you probably already know that she's an excellent writer--this book is just one more example you can point at to illustrate it. It's an enthralling and engaging story, fantastic characters that each shine with their own authentic voice, and a romance that I can simply describe as "heart-warming" (with a sigh.) I even got all teary in the ending chapter when one of the last Truths was revealed.

Highly, highly recommended. My only other recommendation is maybe try to reserve a solid block of time before sitting down to read--once you start, it's really hard to put down. (Enjoy!) ...more

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Apr 15, 2012 J.L. Merrow rated it it was amazing

There are books you race through, desperate to find out what's going to happen in the end. And then there are books you find yourself reading more and more slowly, because you never want them to end.

This was definitely one of the latter kind. Classic JCP. ...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Clare rated it it was amazing

Shelves: keeper

I'm a great fan of both magic and reality shows, and this combined both themes with JCP's superb characterisation and vivid prose. John - Professor Topaz, and one of our main protagonists - was truly dear to me by the end of the book. ...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Lori S. rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance-crossg, lgbtqa-et-al, 2012_challenge, american-authors, authors-jordan_castillo_price, humor, magic-users_psy, fantasy-urban, fantasy-pnr

A surprisingly sweet romance built around a reality TV program called "Magic Mansion". Normally, I would avoid anything to do with reality TV because it's so sordid, but I really enjoyed reading about Ricardo the Magnificent, Professor Topaz, Kevin Kazan and all the rest of players in the story. ...more

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