• Stray Magic
• written by Kelly Meding
• published by Harper Voyager (2018)

It turns out there’s a reason Kelly Meding’s name sounded familiar when the opportunity to read her newest novel Stray Magic presented itself. She had a story in the fantastically creepy Carniepunk anthology, released in 2013. I ordered one of her Dreg City novels after finishing Carniepunk, but the series drifted off my radar after that, not because I lost any respect for Meding’s writerly abilities but simply because that’s what happens when you have a TBR list that would wrap around the circumference of the Earth a couple of times and is both electronic and physical (remember the to-be-read chair? It’s a shelf now).

I’m really pleased to have been reintroduced to Meding and her stories.

I went into Stray Magic expecting a pure popcorn read. Which, quite frankly, people don’t take nearly enough time for. One of the best feelings in the world is to lose yourself in an impossible story with out-there characters, one which allows you to forget about… well… pretty much everything for a while.

An even better feeling is when it turns out your popcorn is actually dark chocolate-salted caramel – still a joy to consume but with unexpected depth and sophistication.

I’ve read a lot of urban fantasy, much of it focused on either official, or independent, law enforcement folks, and there are certain expectations of such characters, certain tropes most authors use as shorthand to construct personalities and relationships rather than taking the time to develop actual backstories or give their characters any vague tinge of actual humanity. Same holds for vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, etc. Especially when the urban fantasy is coupled with its fraternal, orgiastic twin “paranormal romance.”

Meding does not take shortcuts with Para-Marshal, Shiloh Harrison’s, origin tale, even though she covered much of it in her Carniepunk contribution, Freak House. But she gives enough of a recap in Stray Magic that it isn’t an issue if you missed the short story. She does so in context, during the course of events, which is so much better than an info dump or dream sequence or an intense, midnight conversation. All of her players, and Shiloh in particular as the voice character, have depth and variation, and none of them, neither heroine nor villain, is the paragon of their respective role. Every character who walks through this novel is a person, though they may happen to be undead or a demon who escaped hell, a djinn or someone who can turn into a stag with a muttered incantation. What they can do and what Shilo, Tennyson, Jaxon, and the rest of the crew are is less important to Mending than who they are, which allows the plot to play out without getting hung up on expectation or trope. This takes a heck of a lot more work and skill on the part of the author then the formulaic stuff, and I, for one, rather appreciate it when I come upon it in one of my favorite genres.

I also really enjoyed the ways in which Meding plays with mythology and folklore. Shiloh, for example, is half djinn, which means she can do djinn stuff but… Tennyson, the vampire master, is neither a psychopathic killer nor does he *shudder* sparkle. Novak, the incubus, can control himself… most of the time. The elements are disparate, but Meding weaves them together in a story tapestry that’s internally consistent and, more importantly, works as a story world. The fact that the world builds as the tale does, that the world building herein is almost exclusively “show” rather than “tell” serves to modulate the flow of the story and keep the reader engaged and attentive.

Also, believe it or not, and you probably won’t, our erstwhile heroine has two living parents and has a good relationship with both of them. *gasp* I know, right? I couldn’t believe it either.

Short version: Stray Magic is a really excellent, fun, well-structured, fascinatingly populated  novel that you should go preorder and not lose on your e-reader or under a pile of books. I’m already anxiously awaiting the second installment, which has a title (Stray Moon) but no release date as yet. The blurb suggests it involves a group of werewolves mentioned, but not focused upon, in Stray Magic. I can only hope there will be some swearwolves among them.

Oh. And in case it isn’t obvious, this one isn’t for the little Bots. Parental units need treats sometimes too.

Stray Magic by Kelly Meding (Harper Voyager) drops on June 19th in e-book and as a limited edition paperback.

(Disclosure: The Roarbots received a copy of Stray Magic from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)