The Unwritten Rules of Magic by Harper Ross- Publishes January 27, 2026

 

3.5 Stars- The premise of this book pulled me in.  Who wouldn't take advantage of a magical typewriter?  

Emerson is our main character and she is dealing with a lot.  She is a single mom who just lost her father, a famous author.  Her mother is an alcoholic who just wants to move past her father's death and sell the house.  Emerson's teenage daughter has not been acting like herself and is now getting in trouble at school.  With all of these events spiraling, Emerson just wants a little control. While cleaning out her father's office, she comes across her dad's typewriter.  She types out a wish and then it comes true in an unexpected way.  Emerson thinks this has to be a coincidence so she does it again.  Emerson has to decide if this is the answer to her prayers or is there an even greater cost to this typewriter. 

There was lots of family drama as we got to know Emerson, her daughter Sadie, and her mother, Dorthy.  I think many readers could relate to their problems and would definitely wish they had a magic typewriter to solve their problems.  The consequences of the wishes did make one think, are the wishes worth it?  I did figure out Sadie's secret pretty early on but it did not detract from the story.  There were some moments where I was really interested in where the story was going and then other points where I just wanted to shout at Emerson to do the right thing.  Overall, this book would be great for book clubs as there was a lot to unpack and discuss about the premise and choices the characters made.