The Hocus Pocus Handbook by Ann Aguirre: A Delightful and Meaningful Adventure

I met Ann Aguirre at Morganstern Books in Bloomington, Indiana on September 8. She was a playful and hilarious speaker. I loved The Only Purple House in Town and I was psyched to read The Hocus Pocus Handbook.

Click to buy from Viewpoint Books.

Thea is a changeling with powers that siphon emotions from those around her and a penchant for mischief. Kerboros is “the dog” of the winter court, an enforcer coerced into the role via both magic and blackmail. When Thea’s pranks catch up to her and result in a forced marriage, and her fiancé goes missing, Kerboros must accompany her to find them.

However, he has loved her from afar for years. Now that they are actually spending time together, tehy are inextricably drawn to each other, and the task at hand becomes all the more inconvenient.

Masterful dual POV

 The book is told from both points of view in first person. Each of Thea’s chapters starts with a chapter from the spell book her adoptive father gave her, and each of Kerberos’s chapters begins with a description of one of his carvings. The technique enriches their characters and removes any possibility of getting confused about who’s head you’re currently in. I did not have to check even once.

Well-researched spell work

Aguirre said the spells at the beginning of Thea’s chapters doubled her writing time, but the research paid off. She described reading and synthesizing books written by practicing witches.

Taking a photo with Ann Aguirre!

“I used the conventions, like in terms of appealing to the elements, the language used, the components that are used for invocations. Like, I studied all of that in order to create something new and original, so each spell is used consistently according to the way practicing witches work, right? And they also serve a lot of purpose in the story other than being original stories. They’re a love letter from Thea’s adopted dad to her, and the in a way they’re also a disability aid, right? Because Thea is a changeling. She was taken from the mortal realm and brought to faerie. That means she did not have the innate ability to cast magic the way native-born fae do. So she needs help in order to focus her will and to access the fae magic. And her dad loves her so much and believes in her so much that he wants to help her to access her magic to live better. So that’s why he writes her these spells.”

She described one encounter with a fan in Minneapolis.

“A woman came through my signing line, and she brought chocolate, so that was amazing. She was also a practicing witch and she told me that the spells in the book were the most accurate and mindful spell craft she had ever seen in fiction.”

The spells are, indeed, inviting and meditative. All ingredients exist in our world and most are accessible in metaphysical shops, except perhaps for the golden censer. These chapter intros could, in fact, be used as a spell book of their own, which makes the title all the more inviting.

Descriptions worth a standing ovation

Some of the descriptions blew my mind.

“Out here, there’s earth and moss and peat and the complexity of so many flowers that there’s a war of enticing scents. Darkly luscious inkberry mingles with the bell ambrosia, marrying the appeal of darkness with a silvery sheen, an aromatic echo of the swirls of scintillating light in the sky.”

“Giant mushrooms like the one Da turned into Miremorel House rise and there, caps polished with wind and rain. Their undersides glow with phosphorescence that lights the deadwood and damp leaves below.”

"Beneath the water that surrounds the small peninsula, just of dark root tangle with white flowers growing upward toward the light. Above, green most drapes the branches like bridal veils and pixies flutter in gossipy clusters on iridescent wings.”

The characters are also vivid and wonderful. The side characters are fully fleshed out with their own flaws, traumas, and brilliances. There is a nonbinary character whose brilliance could only reflect Ann Aguirre’s own; their incredible political maneuvers reflect her own clever storytelling.

Romance that left me wanting more

The romance loses something in the second half. Up until a certain point, the journey is intimate. Each step that Kerberos and Thea take toward each other is an experience for the reader, as well. Sometimes in cozy fantasy, however, higher stakes and phases of violence are told in summary. Part of their love story gets caught up in this summary as well, and it feels much more distant. As much as I love my cozy these days, I wondered for a minute if this story would have been better told with a full range of wonder and horror. It would have been quite the challenge to weave romantic scenes into violent summary, and it might not be possible at all to do it tastefully.

Even this arguable flaw, the prose is exquisite and the storytelling is rich and clever. This book deserved a hardcover with sprayed edges and endpapers. Aguirre spoke at length about her various interests and manifold projects, but it isn’t like her writing quality suffers for her multitalented genius. I hope the sequel comes soon – she hinted at who the pairing might be, and I’ll freakin’ write it on AO3 if she doesn’t. Don’t make me.