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Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil
Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil | Oliver Darkshire
4 posts | 6 read | 6 to read
In a tiny, miserable farm on the edge of the tiny, miserable village of East Grasby, Isabella Nagg is trying to get on with her equally tiny and miserable existence. Dividing her time between tormenting her feckless husband, inadequately caring for the farm's strange collection of animals, cooking up 'scrunge', and crooning over her treasured pot of basil, Isabella can't help but think that there might be something more to life. So, while she's initially aghast when Mr. Nagg returns to the farm with a spell book purloined from the local wizard, she soon starts to think: what harm could a little magic do? Thus begins Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil, a novel of sentient depressed farm animals, a talking pot of basil, wizards, and an entrepreneurial villain running a goblin fruit Ponzi scheme. Cosy, full of wit and Pratchett-ian footnotes, Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil is a ultimately a story about claiming a new life and finding oneself. And also, goblins, capitalism, and sorcery.
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thegirlwiththelibrarybag
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Mehso-so

I swung from ☺️ to 🙄, wildly throughout this - I‘m perhaps not cut out for cozy fantasy but I‘m also just not here for stories that are driven by men feeling entitled to women‘s care & labour (in this case, the hapless Mr Nagg & well, the basil plant). Also not quite enough character depth & everyone except Grimalkin the not quite cat was hard to root for. There was some lovely moments & I really did enjoy the authors narration of the audiobook.

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sebrittainclark
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Pickpick

3/5

Isabella Nagg acquires the local wizard's magic book and begins a journey to change her generally unpleasant life as the wife of an unsuccessful farmer who she doesn't particularly like to something new and magical.

There were many things about the book that I loved: Goblins being a type of fungus, Bottom the talking Donkey, and the grimalkin. There were some pacing issues, but I still thought it was a fun and engaging book.

#netgalley

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Jen2
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Pickpick

Very fun

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BookmarkTavern
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Pickpick

What happens when a miserable farm wife gains access to a wizard‘s books of magics & thinks “why not”? Chaos. & then add a sassy familiar, the goblin market getting introduced to capitalism, & a talking plant.

Such fun! You can tell this is a writer raised on Terry Pratchett. There‘s humor & a moving story of a woman deciding what she‘s worth. I wish the side characters hadn‘t been so 1 dimensional, & too many threads left unresolved. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

BookmarkTavern Release Date: Tomorrow! #ARC #NetGalley CW 👇🏻 3mo
BookmarkTavern Chapter 36, spousal murder, past and present 3mo
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