The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong – Review

Published: October 14, 2025

Publisher: Ace

Series: N/A

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 368 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
An almost-mage discovers friendship—and maybe something more—in the unlikeliest of places in this delightfully charming novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Teller of Small Fortunes.

Certainty Bulrush wants to be useful—to the Guild of Mages that took her in as a novice, to the little brother who depends on her, and to anyone else she can help. Unfortunately, her tepid magic hasn’t proven much use to anyone. When Certainty has the chance to earn her magehood via a seemingly straightforward assignment, she takes it. Nevermind that she’ll have to work with Mage Aurelia, the brilliant, unfairly attractive overachiever who’s managed to alienate everyone around her.

The two must transport minorly magical artifacts somewhere safe: Shpelling, the dullest, least magical village around. There, they must fix up an old warehouse, separate the gossipy teapots from the kind-of-flaming swords, corral an unruly little catdragon who has tagged along, and above all: avoid complications. The Guild’s uneasy relationship with citizens is at a tipping point, and the last thing needed is a magical incident.

Still, as mage and novice come to know Shpelling’s residents—and each other—they realize the Guild’s hoarded magic might do more good being shared. Friendships blossom while Certainty and Aurelia work to make Shpelling the haven it could be. But magic is fickle—add attraction and it might spell trouble.

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Julie Leong has once again written a delightfully charming cozy fantasy full of magic and heartwarming themes. The Keeper of Magical Things is set in the same world as her previous novel, The Teller of Small Fortunes and certainly catches the eye thanks to the gorgeously colorful cover art. Rest assured, this can be read as a standalone as there are no references that I could discern to the previous story, so no risk of spoilers or missing out on easter eggs!

The Keeper of Magical Things follows Novice Certainty, a young woman with the power to talk to objects by touching them, and Mage Aurelia, another young woman who has been assigned as the supervising mage on a mission to move magical artifacts to a remote village and then categorize said artifacts. While this mission is Certainty’s opportunity to finally gain magehood after six long years as a novice, for Aurelia this is almost a form of punishment. Aurelia had a magical accident that injured another mage and resulted in a block that prevents her from using her power to farspeak. As the two women get to work in the tiny, pungently garlicky village of Shpelling they get to know one another and form a tentative relationship. They also end up helping a village that was dying thanks to a lack of magic in the land.

As with all cozy fantasies (or at least the ones I’ve read) this is mostly low stakes. Or, at least, no one is saving the whole world but perhaps just a remote little village filled with garlic and a sudden abundance of cats. There are interpersonal struggles of course – if Certainty fails she’ll be out of the Mage’s Guild and looking for a new career and Aurelia will be judged a failure by her awful parents. This story has enough conflict to keep you wondering and hoping that the end will in fact turn out all right. I also love that half of this story was just Certainty trying to make sure Aurelia didn’t offend anyone with her strange city ways.

This was, overall, another charming story with a sense of community, slow burn romance, and at least eight different ways to use a hefty amount of garlic in a recipe. I loved the drama of the last few chapters, and even though I was sure that things were going to turn out just fine, I liked the thrill of worrying that perhaps they wouldn’t this time around! If you enjoyed The Teller of Small Fortunes, I would definitely recommend you check this out as well!