CREATURES OF CHARM AND HUNGER

Near the end of World War II, two friends and aspiring diabolists (“We’re not witches, Jane”) get in each other’s way as they pursue forbidden magic for different ends—one to stop the Nazis, even if it costs her life, and the other to save herself, even if it puts the world at risk.

Perfectionist Jane Blackwood and people-pleaser Miriam Cantor, the Blackwoods’ ward and a German Jew, are more sisters than friends. When Aunt Edith, an allied diabolist spy, arrives in their sleepy English village to administer The Test, their lives and their relationships are changed forever. Miriam passes and can take the next step to becoming a full-fledged diabolist, but she also learns the diabolist society suspects her parents, still in Germany, of joining the Nazis. Meanwhile, Jane must hide that she failed her Test or risk life as a society servant…or worse. Isolated by their fears and plagued by building resentments, each girl delves into forbidden magic as a last resort. Miriam works to clear her parents, which literally endangers her soul, and uncovers a Nazi diabolist’s plot that could win them the war. Jane, who can no longer make a pact with a more benevolent demon to gain full diabolist power, uses a dark and dangerous way to get it. When she unknowingly allows a sinister demon access to the world, and her mother’s soul, Miriam’s and Jane’s magical work collide. Suddenly the Nazis are the least of their worries. They must put aside their jealousies, hurt, and secrets to save the world and each other—but being a true diabolist always requires a sacrifice. This companion to Tanzer’s other two Creatures novels (Creatures of Want and Ruin, 2018, etc.) dives deeper into the diabolists’ world and their magical sciences. Familiarity with the previous books is unnecessary to enjoy this well-written, fun, and thoughtful tale of evil Nazi plots, body-snatching behind enemy lines, magical libraries, complicated parental relationships, deep-seated prejudices, and suspicious felines.

An enticing genre mashup. Horror, SF, and fantasy readers alike will find something to love and someone to root for.