Twig's Traveling Tomes NY Gryffin Murphy: Rave Review

Twig’s Traveling Tomes

Age: 13+ for light sexual themes

Stars: 5

Teacups: TBD, but many

Most Iridescent Inkwell reviews get somewhat analytical and contain mild spoilers, but if they don’t make you want to read the book even more, I’m doing it wrong.

This book checks off nearly every box on my cozy fantasy wish list. Twig owns a magically teleporting bookstore (think Howl’s Moving Castle) with a home base in a tree in a forest.

The cast of characters includes the book witch Twig herself, a dashing (former) bandit who first shows up in handcuffs, Twig’s spacey former mentor who seems to adore her despite her resentment and distrust, a pink-haired and recently-widowed bisexual dwarf, her blue-haired and adventure-seeking dwarven paramour, a suspicious but clearly besotted “old friend” of the mentor, omniscient parental ents, and lesbian pirates with a flying greenhouse.

Relatable, relevant, resonant stakes

The stakes are “low” for fantasy. These characters are not saving the world. They are piecing together a stolen grimoire by tracking down, one by one, each of the magical creatures it describes. This is the life’s work of one of the characters, and the success is only possible through Twig’s own power. There would be no story without her, which is always a strength in a novel.

Lost, stolen information from a grimoire of magical creatures, though – these stakes are exquisitely resonant. In a time of stolen and distorted information in the form of AI and new attacks upon our environment, these stakes aren’t necessarily “low” – I’m not sure they ever really are in any good story – but they are relatable, grounded, and groundbreaking for the fantasy genre as a whole.

After a lifetime of feeling underestimated, there is a redemptive element to Twig's quest. The world is finally seeing her value. Character after character is drawn to her, not just her power, but her journey and her work.

And their banter is divine. I laughed out loud.  

Giggly, heart-patter romance

Not many romances get me giggling and kicking my feet these days, but this one did. The two start out at odds despite his obvious immediate devotion (obvious to the reader, anyway) a feat of dramatic irony the likes of which I rarely see.

I’m sure I’ll be writing more about this story in the future, but this initial review is a full five stars and a great many teacups.