The Messengers of Magic

A spellbinding time-travel romance set in a mysterious Scottish bookshop, where an occult artifact and a connection across decades intertwine lives in a tale of historical fantasy and love that transcends time, perfect for fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.

1955. Pen Turner, long bound by responsibility, is finally given the chance to go on an adventure of his own when he inherits a bookshop in the Scottish town of Helensburgh. But nestled inside the ivy-covered walls, among hundreds of dusty old books, is something far rarer, an artifact once created by occultist John Dee. And with it, a mystery that begins to stir the edges of reality. 1989. Decades later, Adelaide Benson’s world unravels when her husband leaves her for a younger woman. With nowhere else to go, she returns to Scotland to the only family she has left, her eccentric great aunt Carolyn. Drawn to an old, abandoned bookshop near her aunt’s apothecary, she begins uncovering secrets hidden within its walls. Though separated by decades, Pen and Adelaide find themselves connected by an old typewriter hidden within the bookshop, one that allows them to communicate across time. What begins as curious correspondence soon deepens into something far more profound, as letters and stories passed through the keys begin to blur the boundaries between past and present, ink and emotion, until their lives and their hearts begin to intertwine. But magic always comes at a cost, and the closer they get to one another, the more reality begins to crack. The Messengers of Magic is a haunting story of love that transcends time and how fragile our reality truly is.

© 2025 Simon Maverick (Audiobook): 9781668161432

Release date

Audiobook: 30 September 2025