The Rook

I loved The Rook for its amazing originality, the bizarre forms of magic shown by the various employees of the Checquy, and the true grit of the Rook, a young woman whose magic simply explodes when she's threatened. Though she's lost her memory, she's left herself notes in anticipation of that very thing! You have to admire her.

The Rook is one of the most original books I’ve ever read. In this world, magic and monsters are kept in line by a supernatural organization: the Chequy. Our main character, Myfanwy, keeps this organization running. It doesn’t sound unique—except Myfanwy can’t remember who she is. Someone in the Chequy has betrayed her, erasing her memory, and that person is still trying to kill her. Myfanwy is a fantastic protagonist, uncovering a conspiracy while following the instructions left by her past self, and though aspects of this book have certainly been done before, Daniel O’Malley makes the story unpredictable, immersive,… show more.

This book inspired me to write my own novel because of one thing: the main character is a woman and there is no romance in this story. Before reading The Rook, I thought writing a book with a female lead always had to center around a romance (even though there is romance in my novel as a subplot). The Rook proved all of that wrong. It’s about a woman who works at a supernatural secretive government agency who has her memory stolen. She has to find the culprit while masquerading as herself, or face deadly consequences. The Rook is… show more.

My husband, a sci-fi/fantasy geek and storyboard artist for The Simpsons TV show shoved this book toward me and told me I had to read it. Seriously, it was a fantastic read and I’m glad he suggested it.

The Checquy is a secret British organization dedicated to dealing with the paranormal—unfortunately, Myfanwy Thomas has been betrayed by someone with in the organization and wakes up randomly in a park with a simple note: "The body you are wearing used to be mine." That alone is intriguing, and as you delve into this world of espionage, magic, and the seemingly impossible,… show more.