Banishing the Dark

In a satisfying series climax (after Kindling the Moon), Arcadia “Cady” Bell pursues the old colleagues of her occultist mother, Enola Duval, in search of information about the Moonchild ritual performed at Cady’s conception, which will let her greedy mother’s soul take over her body. Bennett contrasts Cady and Enola’s adversarial relationship with warm scenes among Cady, her almost-fiancé Lon, and her teenage soon-to-be stepson, Jupe. Lon wipes Cady’s memory to keep Enola from finding out that Cady is pregnant, but he mistakenly eliminates her memory of being in love with him at all, allowing her to fall in lust and love with him again in a delightful secondary arc that would not be out of place in a much lighter romantic fantasy. Bennett keeps proceedings exciting all the way through, convincingly showing characters who are coming into their magical powers while still feeling profoundly human. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency. (June)