Dark Arts and a Daiquiri by Annette Marie

Dark Arts and a Daiquiri (The Guild Codex: Spellbound #2) by Annette Marie, 308 p.  

"When I found myself facing down the scariest black-magic felon in the city, practically daring him to abduct me, I had to wonder exactly how I ended up here. It all started when I accidentally landed a job as a bartender--but not at a bar. At a guild, populated by mages, sorcerers, alchemists, witches, and psychics. Good thing this lame-o human is adaptable, right?

Then my favorite guild members--three sexy, powerful, and intermittently charming mages--asked for my help. Did they want access to my encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails? Oh no. They wanted to wrap me up in a pretty ribbon and plunk me in the crosshairs of a murderous rogue to lure him out of hiding.

So that's what we did. And that's why I'm here. About to be kidnapped. Oh, and our grand plan for safely capturing said murderous rogue? Yeah, that completely fell apart about two minutes ago. Why did I agree to this again?"--Goodreads blurb

This was a fun series that I'm glad I heard about on bookish social media. They were fast, fun reads with good action and a strong, funny female lead. 

Magical Midlife Invasion by K F Breene

Magical Midlife Invasion by K F Breene - 264 pages

 Leveling Up, book 3

Jessie's new life adjustment is well underway. The tough alpha Austin has joined her team, and she has painstakingly learned to fly. Life is going a-okay.

That is, until her parents decide to visit....

They don't know anything about magic, about Jessie's new digs, or about the crazy crew living in and around Jessie's house. She must do everything in her power to keep the truth away from them.

Which would be much easier without the unfelt presence lurking within Ivy House's borders. It seems an enemy has figured out a way to magically bypass Ivy House's defenses. Jessie is completely exposed.

The real battle, however, won't be with the incoming force. It will be between Mr. Tom and Jessie's mom, each intent on being the most helpful. Mr. Tom might have met his match, and he is not pleased.

Just when things were finally settling down, Jessie is in the thick of it again, and this time, the turmoil is all around her.

This series always makes me laugh out loud. This is a fantasy book about a divorced woman in her 40's who ends up getting magic.  This author is great at and knows how to use all of the ailments us women in our 40's have to deal with in such a funny, believable way. 

The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch

The October Man: A Rivers of London Novella by Ben Aaronovitch --- 209 pages

From Google Books: With this long new novella, bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch has crafted yet another wickedly funny and surprisingly affecting chapter in his beloved Rivers of London series.

If you thought magic was confined to one country—think again. Trier: famous for wine, Romans and being Germany's oldest city. When a man is found dead with his body impossibly covered in a fungal rot, the local authorities know they are out of their depth. But fortunately this is Germany, where there are procedures for everything.

Enter Tobias Winter, an investigator for the Abteilung KDA, the branch of the German Federal Criminal Police that handles "Complex and Diffuse Matters" --- ie., the supernatural. Tobias' aim is to get in, deal with the problem, and get out with the minimum of fuss, personal danger and paperwork.

Together with a frighteningly enthusiastic local cop, Vanessa Sommer, he quickly links the victim to a group of ordinary middle-aged men whose novel approach to their mid-life crisis may have reawakened a bloody conflict from a previous century and attracted the attention of a vengeful river goddess. As the rot spreads, literally, and the suspect list extends to people born before Frederick the Great, Tobias and Vanessa will need to find allies in some unexpected places. And to solve the case they'll have to unearth the secret magical history of a city that goes back two thousand years.

Presuming that history doesn't kill them first. An intriguing new spin off from Aaronovitch's previous canon.  Good fantasy isn't easy to do, and comic fantasy is a very rare beast indeed.  Aaronovitch delivers the goods!

Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read the review from Locus Magazine.

Click HERE to read the review from Fantastic Fiction.com.

Click HERE to read the review from Track of Words.com.