R. Z. Nicolet.
The Cloak and Its Wizard.
UpLit Press. 2026
rating : 3 : worth reading
review : 12 July 2026
After a century of boredom in the library of the secret Order of the Open Eye, the Cloak of Sunset and Starlight finally chooses a wizard. Unfortunately for the cloak, Veronica Noble isn’t thrilled. A brilliant doctor, Veronica has been dragged into the Order against her will, and doesn’t want to be saddled with a glittering, starlight-covered cloak that sneaks through vents, sets off car alarms, and refuses to leave her shoulders.
When Veronica accidentally reveals her powers to all of Minneapolis, superheroes take notice. The Order threatens to reclaim the cloak. And sea serpents from other dimensions keep crashing into reality.
Now the cloak must do everything in its power to keep its wizard safe—even if that wizard isn’t sure she wants it.
Veronica Noble is a wizard because she forced her way into the organisation after witnessing the death of her brother by a large impossible monster, in order to discover what actually happened to him. When not learning wizardly things, she is an experienced ER surgeon. The cloak is a magical artefact that has been waiting for a long time to find a suitable wizard to choose. Veronica fits the bill. The immature antics of the sarcastic cloak give Veronica multiple headaches. But it also gives her helpful powers, and, as their bond grows, the pair may be able to discover the truth being kept by the magical order’s Eminence.
This is fun. There is some interesting world building: the secret magicians versus the in-the-open superheroes in an otherwise ordinary world; the cloak’s delight in watching Veronica’s Star Trek collection; the parallel worlds of magic; the slow revelation of the truth. And I certainly wasn’t expecting the major plot switch half-way through. A great page-turner.