Unbound (Magic Ex Libris)

Third book in genre-bending urban fantasy series by Hugo Award-winning author Jim C. Hines
 
“Superior worldbuilding.” —Charlaine Harris • “Really, really clever.” —Patrick Rothfuss • “Magic librarian and ass-kicking dryad adventure story we’ve all been waiting for.” —Seanan McGuire
 
For centuries, the Porters have concealed the existence of magic from the world. Now, old enemies have revealed the Porters’ secrets, and an even greater threat lurks in the shadows.
 
The would-be queen Meridiana, banished for a thousand years, has returned in the body of a girl named Janeta Aboderin. She seeks an artifact that would grant her command of an army of the dead.
 
Michigan librarian Isaac is powerless to stop her, having been stripped of his power and his place among the Porters. But Isaac is determined to regain his magic and to rescue his former student Jeneta. With no magic of his own, Isaac must delve into the darker side of black-market magic.
 
With his loyal fire-spider Smudge, dryad warrior Lena Greenwood, and psychiatrist Nidhi Shah, Isaac races to unravel a mystery more than a thousand years old as competing magical powers battle to shape the future of the world.