Magica Riot

Magica Riot is a love letter to magical girls of all kinds (especially trans/queer ones <3), different forms of queerness, the magical girl genre as a whole, indie bands, and Portland, Oregon, a city I’m more than a little fond of myself. Minor spoilers to chat about some favorite elements!

There’s both familiarity and freshness here for fans of Magical Girl Things™, which makes for a comforting yet engaging read. The magical girl transformations include gender affirming magic and outfits with an alternative twist. The most frequent baddies have big horror movie monster energy, with lovingly gross descriptions of their own transformations. The conflicts have musical overtones, since the girls aren’t just squadmates but bandmates who wield their powers through their instruments, and there’s an interest in things like the difference between often-lumped together concepts like beat and rhythm. Each of the Magica Riot girls brings a different type of feminine power and queerness (there’s even a polyamorous pan/bisexual in there which I really appreciated <3), and they are unified in their celebration of and care for each other.

The wicked magical girls (yes thank goodness we love a wicked magical girl) have, of course, hidden depths and inner conflicts as well as ominous devotion to their mysterious evil mistress. The romance is sweet and gay and notably untortured, with a lovely scene in the Portland rose garden where main character Claire gets to see her own beauty and femininity reflected through the camera of the girl she adores. And instead of the genre’s frequent obsession with keeping secrets, this story likes to get things out of the closet and into the open, which I found especially refreshing in the romance. Several times I braced myself for genre-typical angst at a crossed wire or missed text or date or whatever and then it just DIDN’T HAPPEN because that’s not what this story is doing and also these women actually default to talking to each other when in doubt, even and especially when it’s awkward, and it was SO NICE.

The prose and pacing is brisk, keeping the scenes and set pieces coming. But some of my favorite moments were when the story took a moment to linger on delightful, specific oddities: a local juice cart and its endearingly in-character owner; a beloved band van with a storied history and a sturdy frame; a [gender-intentionally-left-blank] Dark Souls-obsessed IT gremlin (ilu hikariii <3) I enjoyed the sense of place; this story is set in Portland, and while you don’t need to have been there to enjoy it, there’s little treats if you have (it’s been too long since I’ve been to “Howell’s”) and clearly lots more for the actual PDX locals.

I had a fun time with the girls in Portland, and I look forward to seeing what’s next for them!

This book is SO good. If you love Magical Girls and music this is absolutely the book for you. I love that it's about queer joy! It's got the perfect balance of realism and shoujo magical girl action. Somewhat subverting the genre while staying true to its roots, it doesn't fall into the trap of making a "dark and gritty" version, while adding a touch of realism.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5 stars - Magica Riot by @magicariot.com 

A wonderful book I'd have loved to have had when I came out (trans femme MC who's a magical girl...yes please!)

Couldn't put it down. Clever, fun and really well put together. (Also Nova is a total sweetie). 

Buy it!

Magica Riot is the piece of magical girl fiction I've always wanted as a trans girl. It is exceptionally well paced, sweeping its protagonist and readers of their feet as early as its first chapter. This book hits you with a steady beat of well characterized and endearing characters pouring their heart into the imaginative world they fight to protect and their music about being openly queer.  All while hiding the good they do from the world. (The audiobook goes the extra mile in really elevating of lot of the dialog, making personalities of some characters not only unmissable, but unforgettable.)

A heartfelt attention is given to the lengths the members of Magica Riot are willing to show up for their community and each other. Be it addressing love interests in the past or newly forming, or accommodations made to support a delicate family in each other,  you're in for an incredibly well balanced act that pulls out all the stops.

Not to mention that this story might just have the single sweetest scene to get me to buy into a romance that I've ever read.

A delightful shoujo romp in novel form. The magical girl energy of the Maidensong being a sort of gender affirming magic that brings repressing tgirls into the fold is so heartwarming I can barely handle it. There's a lot of great action, and some equally fun (and light) lesbian learning experiences. There's just a pinch of darkness and heavy subjects to keep things from getting too saccharine. Highly recommended!!