91 Books Like Carbonel

I absolutely love all of Holly Webb’s books, sometimes she writes about animals in real life and sometimes about animals and magic but whatever she is writing, her books always have fantastic characters and show the bond between humans and animals. I particularly like her Winter Journeys series, they are longer than some of Holly’s other books and sensitively explore different cultures and family relationships. The Snow Bear is one of my favorites. It tells the story of Sara who loves to listen to her grandfather’s stories about the Inuits. One night she goes on a magical snowy adventure with a beautiful polar bear and finally discovers the magic of the Arctic for herself. A gorgeous, wintery story to share or to read alone.

I was lucky enough to be given an advance copy of this book written by debut author, Skye Mackenna and I instantly fell in love with the characters and the story. Perfect reading for middle-grade readers who like longer, more challenging magic books. It is set in a world similar to ours which also has witches, scary fairies, goblins, and talking animals. Cassie, the heroine, sets out to discover why her mother disappeared seven years ago and in the process starts a new life, makes new friends (not least the wonderful talking cat, Montague), learns more about her witch-family heritage, and encounters terrifying faeries. This is the first book in the Hedgewitch series and is due to be published in 2022 - I can’t wait to read the rest!

I wanted to choose a book about unicorns (given they’re one of my favorite things to write about!) and this is the second book in a great magical series perfect for middle-grade readers who prefer shorter chapter books. Ava and her friends live in Arramia along with many magical creatures such as unicorns, dragons, firebirds, and star wolves. In this book, Ava sets out on a daring adventure to rescue a gorgeous baby unicorn who has been stolen from his herd by an evil villain. Paula Harrison is a brilliant writer for readers who like reading about magic and animals. She creates wonderful worlds and her books are hard to put down. The Royal Rescues is another great series too. 

Chloe Ryder is one of the (many) alter-egos of my writing partner, Julie Sykes (we write the Unicorn Academy and Forever Homes series together). Julie wrote this series years before we started collaborating and I have always loved it (as did my pony-crazy daughter when she was eight). It’s a perfect series for younger middle-grade readers who like their magic to be very sparkly. If they get hooked on the first one there are plenty more to read! When Pippa gets whisked away to the island of Chevalia, she quickly makes friends with Princess Stardust, a talking pony, and discovers that the magic horseshoes that give the ponies their magic have gone missing. Can Pippa help the ponies find their horseshoes and save their wonderful island before it’s too late?

This book is a fun, paranormal, cozy mystery with plenty of suspense and surprises along the way. I loved the main character, Jess, who had to return to her hometown to settle her mother’s affairs and her cat, Maestro. I’m a sucker for a cozy mystery with a loveable cat, and this book did not disappoint.

The two mysteries in this book kept me on the edge of my seat, and I really enjoyed the reveal of Jess’s witchy abilities. This is a great start to an entertaining new series, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

Following Kokiri, she shyly mounted her broom and kicked off the ground. Instantly, her body grew light—she was floating!

This is the classic book that inspired the beloved film of the same name. Thirteen-year-old Kiki sets off, in the tradition of witches, to find a town to serve for a year. When she arrives at the seaside town of Koriko, she starts her own business—delivering parcels by broomstick. At first, she assumes it will be easy—hey, she’s Kiki!—but she soon discovers that winning over the locals of Koriko is not so easy. Thankfully, she’s got her wise-cracking cat Jiji on her side . . . as well as her magical broom. This book is absolutely charming!

The Inner Temple of Witchcraft is one of the most influential books I have ever read. The book lays a fantastic foundation for any witch, starting with going inward and developing meditation and psychic skills to enhance your magick. In the dedication in my book, I wrote that Psychic Witch was sort of my love letter to The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, and it truly is. The Anniversary Edition includes expanded material and a foreword by Laurie Cabot, whose work, particularly her book Power of the Witch, has also been immensely influential on both of us as authors. Christopher once told me that my book was to The Inner Temple of Witchcraft what The Inner Temple of Witchcraft was to Laurie's Power of the Witch, and you can see a line of influence on these topics from Laurie to Christopher to my book. This was one of… show more.

The Witch's Book of Power by Devin Hunter is another book that was as immensely influential on uniting my witchcraft practice with psychic ability as The Inner Temple of Witchcraft and was just as life-changing for me. The book's focus is on understanding your frequency as a witch, guiding the reader to develop their inner psychic abilities, as well as weaving those frequencies as a witch. The book is extremely empowering in every sense of the word and has a strong focus on connecting to and working with spirit allies and divinity. Devin's perspectives, approaches, and practices are incredibly unique yet highly effective in terms of witchcraft books. You're bound to find insights and techniques within these pages that you won't find anywhere else and should be required reading for any psychic witch. 

In translucent prose, Evans-Pritchard shows how the belief in witchcraft and oracles held together with the world-view of the Azande people of the former Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. They reinforced each other, so that if a prophecy failed to identify a witch, it was attributed to a fault in the performance of a ritual, and the power of ritual was reinforced rather than undermined. The Azande were empiricists and discussed the evidence of witchcraft in rational exchanges with Evans-Pritchard. He recreates their dialogue convincingly, often giving them the upper hand. When they asked him to explain why a granary collapsed on a particular person at a particular time, he said, “bad luck.” They replied that “luck” was a shallow concept in comparison with witchcraft, which could be identified with certain individuals and traced in the body.

As a fan of fantasy books about quests, I was familiar with Terry Brooks’ Shannara series.

Since I enjoyed his writing and his characters, I picked up this one on the assumption that it would be similar. Instead, I encountered a story about Ben Holiday, who purchased a magic kingdom from a fancy gift catalog and traveled to a new world where he became the ruler.

The characters appealed; especially Abernathy, the court scribe turned into a soft-coated, wheaten terrier by the wizard, Questor Thews.

Although a mature man, Ben’s trials upon obtaining the throne and adjusting to the magic of his new home support the theme of a hero’s coming-of-age story. With a few wrinkles and twists of magic, and a humorous overtone, I recommend this book as a nice change of pace from more serious fantasy tales.