★Soria, D.L. The Cottage Around the Corner. Del Rey: Ballantine. Sept. 2024. 416p. ISBN 9780593358108. pap. $18.99. FANTASY

In Soria’s (Thief Liar Lady) latest, mages and witches have always been rivals, but witches have the monopoly on magic in the small town of Owl’s Hollow. Charlie Sparrow has been in Chanterelle Cottage her whole life and is one of many generations to live there and sell magic to the town. Their business is now failing, however, and times are hard. Charlie and her mothers are trying to get things back off the ground but keep hitting setbacks, and a late-night burglary doesn’t help. Things only get worse when a handsome mage moves into town and opens up a rival business, stealing many of Charlie’s customers. When strange magic overtakes Owl’s Hollow and infects its citizens like a plague, Charlie is forced to work alongside that mage to save the town. VERDICT Soria’s newest book will wrap readers into a cozy world that they won’t want to leave. This fantasy romance is sure to enrapture readers looking for an atmospheric and lovable read, much like Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett.