Chaos Magic

What happens when a young woman finally escapes a controlling and abusive husband? Can she turn her life around and become the self-confident person she is meant to be? And, what if we add a little psychology and magic to that mix? In Chaos Magic by Jen Knox, readers can follow Lissa’s journey as she steps away from her abusive husband and finds the answers to those questions.

The last straw in Lissa’s abusive marriage occurs when her husband, Trent, beats her so badly she ends up in the hospital needing facial surgery. She continues her recovery at the Lavender House, which offers holistic healing for domestic abuse and trafficking survivors. She slowly begins to recover from her trauma through shamanic healing, yoga, life coaching, meditation, healthy foods, and more. More importantly, she meets Annika, her roommate, and the center’s proprietors, Doreen and Glenda. All three women are witches who help Lissa learn to work with her own magical gifts.

Annika and Lissa become business partners and open a metaphysical shop called The Spirit House. The business is successful, and their lives go on quietly for several years. However, as the time for her ex-husband to be released from prison gets closer, Annika, Lissa, and her mother, Pauline, begin to worry that Trent might return to seek revenge. Anticipating the worst, Lissa decides to seek out magical help while her mother, a retired therapist, takes a more mundane approach. Their attempts to solve the problem create an even bigger one, and Lissa must seek out the help of her sister witches to find a solution.

Knox’s use of an omniscient point-of-view allows the reader to move between characters and get an understanding of their motivations. Instead of seeing the world from only Lissa’s viewpoint, we also learn that while Pauline loves and supports Lissa, she tends to think she knows what’s best for her daughter. For example, she doesn’t agree with Lissa’s “woo woo” lifestyle and sometimes tries to steer her toward different choices. We’re also with Annika when she first comes to the Lavender House and later when she finds Ash the kitty and decides he would be the ideal familiar to offer protection to Lissa. We even see Trent’s viewpoint as he transitions from prison to the outside world.

I’m a big fan of Practical Magic and paranormal cozies, and for me, Knox does a great job of magical world-building. I enjoyed hanging out with Lissa and Annika at their metaphysical shop as they help customers select crystals and read their tarot cards. Both Lissa and Annika have psychic abilities. In fact, it’s during the first circle with Doreen and Glenda that Annika has a vision of Lissa working with her at the Spirit House. Lissa’s magical gift is to communicate with people on the other side and her work with one client whose dead son is harassing her is highlighted.

Chaos Magic shows us how devastating domestic violence can be. It also shows us how friendship, therapy, self-discovery, and magic can offer healing. Both Lissa and Annika work to free themselves from the patterns they learned in their abusive relationships. If you love books that combine witchy themes with growth and recovery, you’ll love Chaos Magic by Jen Knox.