A BARISTA'S GUIDE TO LOVE & LARCENY

A college student grapples with her unusual magical powers as she tries to pull off a heist against a shady corporation.

A first year at the magical Fox’s Leap University, purple-haired Dani Lionet is a typical student in many ways: She works as a barista to supplement her partial scholarship, and she likes a boy who comes to visit her at the coffee shop. But she’s hiding a secret. Throughout her life, other people have shared more information with her than they meant to. Because her parents used her ability to aid their cons and scams, Dani has become petrified by the thought of others finding out about her powers. But when a visiting professor from Italy picks up on Dani’s ability, she doesn’t report or blackmail her; instead, Professor Silva recruits Dani to investigate OneiroLabs, a company that manufactures magical sleep aids—and whose new product may have dangerous side effects. At first, Dani’s happy to help—but as she gets drawn further into the operation, and as Silva increases the stakes by wanting to steal the product’s formula, Dani must decide how far she’s willing to go. Although some readers may find the worldbuilding shaky and the ending wrapped up a tad too neatly, Dani’s abilities provide an interesting moral quandary as well as a solid vehicle for the author to explore agency and free will under capitalism. Main characters are cued white.

Cute, cozy, and clever.