The Velvet Mansion and the Discovery of Magic - by Shelby Rhodina (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When Nav Green moves out with his best friend Robert to run an antique store, they're expecting more freedom, lots of noodles and getting to explore their town better. Instead, they make friends with art-store neighbours, run rings around The Velvet Mansion, and eat much better food than either of them expected. Nav finds living with Robert is easy, though Robert's grocery lists are questionable at times he seems to know more about living alone than Nav does. That is until they start talking about magic for the first time since their childhood. Robert wants Nav to see what he missed out on when he was living at home, while Nav just wants Robert to be a grown up now they've moved out.

When Nav finds a mysterious book one day, he's worried he'll get into something he's not supposed to. But when the book starts finding him too, he starts to panic. His friends all come together to show him not everything that's mysterious is dangerous, but Nav doesn't just disbelieve magic, he's afraid of it.

With a town full of almost psychic baristas, genuine medieval swords, and an underground network of businesses, no wonder Ebonwick was built on the work of artists. What Nav and Robert didn't expect to find, was that their town was built on a little bit of magic too.

Review Quotes

Nav and Robert have been friends since they started school, but it's not until they move out together that they start to realise how different their childhoods were. Nav knows little of magic, fairy tales or myths, while Robert's family stories were embellished with magic. While they're both figuring out how to live together, they encounter interesting neighbours, fascinating baristas, and they discover a lot more about magic than either of them expected in their little street.