⭐⭐⭐⭐¾
The Magicless Elf
An Enchanted Forest Novella
By KJ Bradford
I once read a StoryGraph review for The Phantom of the Opera that simply stated: “What an odd little book.” The review made me laugh out loud, and it made me wonder what sort of reading experience it would take for me to review a book simply as “an odd little book.”
I think KJ Bradford’s The Magicless Elf fits the bill, in the best way. Equal parts cozy and horrific, dark and beautiful, Bradford takes you on a journey with the elf princess, Starwynn. Born without magic, she is hurt and angry, and becomes angrier still when her experiments and studies get her exiled from Eleuria. So with newfound determination and a stack of journals, Starwynn sets out to find the source of magic and discovers pieces of herself along the way.
Bradford describes this novella as “Frieren meets Frankenstein” and the vibes are stunningly strange and haunting.
At its core, The Magicless Elf is a story of self discovery, love, and hope. Our autistic-coded FMC is desperate to find somewhere she belongs, but struggles with feeling “othered” even by her own species. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the plot is almost entirely character driven as Starwynn befriends magical creatures, monsters, and humans alike.
It is not particularly gorey; the horror aspects would fall into what I would call cozy horror, but there are many mentions of cannibalism and dissection so this book is not for everyone. For me, though, it portrayed a very damaged woman who believed she was cursed or innately wrong, as she learned to find beauty within herself and the world around her.
I was completely invested in this book, and it never took me anywhere I expected.
In summation, (thank you, StoryGraph user trin_ney18) what an odd little book.
Thank you KJ Bradford for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
⭐⭐⭐⭐¾
The Magicless Elf releases June 5, 2026 and is a part of the Enchanted Forest series, standalone interconnected novelettes/novellas.
More information about this book and KJ’s other works can be found here, and the other Enchanted Forest books are on Kindle Unlimited!
(Click here for my review of Lovers Through The Looking Glass, an Alice in Wonderland inspired shifter romance.)
The Midnight Review 