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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this and it kept me interested, but it wasn't a home run. I appreciate the teacher perspective on magical academia - though I'm not a teacher, it seemed very true based on the accounts I've heard from friends that are teachers. Saffy Walden - late 30s, jaded, traumatic past - I found to be a somewhat unlikable yet very relatable main character. This book - and her character - does interrogate class and educational systems that create and enforce privilege in a fairly nuanced way, which I appreciated.
I wanted a bit more worldbuilding! It seems like magic is generally known about and accepted by the non-magic using public, but the world doesn't seem very different from what we'd expect. That seems odd, and I'd love to see the book explore that a bit more.
Plot thoughts: I'm thankful I didn't read the book blurb in advance because it does give away a pretty big plot pointphoenix/walden being the ultimate threat . And the other big plot point oh hi mark was oddly irrelevant and reaaaally obvious. To back up, there are 3 main plot points (4 if we include the sapphic romance plotline, which was honestly fairly minor): Old Faithful, Mark, and the Phoenix. What felt like the biggest one is resolved within the first half of the book. Then one other is so heavily foreshadowed that the reveal was fully unsurprising, and honestly the entire plotline was boring. I do not actively try and solve mysteries or guess how things will turn out when I'm reading, so it's not a good sign that I was entirely unsurprised by Mark's character and his actions. He very clearly wanted access to the thaumaturgic engines (or whatever they are called, idk I did the audiobook) from Walden's rooms, and was so obviously hiding things that it felt so clear he was sabotaging something. And his patrols always seemed suspicious to me. We never actually get resolution about that plotline, actually, which was a bit frustrating. And the last plotline is mostly relevant for the final 15% of the book. All of that is to say - pacing and plotting felt very uneven and haphazard! But I liked two of the plotlines even despite the pacing, and I think you could have gotten rid of Mark entirely and the book wouldn't have been worse off.
Thanks to Emily Tesh, Libro.fm, and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!
I wanted a bit more worldbuilding! It seems like magic is generally known about and accepted by the non-magic using public, but the world doesn't seem very different from what we'd expect. That seems odd, and I'd love to see the book explore that a bit more.
Plot thoughts: I'm thankful I didn't read the book blurb in advance because it does give away a pretty big plot point
Thanks to Emily Tesh, Libro.fm, and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!
dark
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you're not in the mood for amatonormativity put this one down. It's a bit taxing.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
magic school from the adult perspective—god i loved this—the voices are so strong and specific and the motivations are so particular and this was just endlessly delightful
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lives up to the hype, hallelujah!!! I am firmly on the Emily Tesh train. this book is so obviously written by someone who has been a teacher, with such equal affection and frustration for academia—really quite lovely to find in an otherwise on-the-surface standard magical school fantasy, and part of what sets this book apart. also just rollicking fun! first half is stronger than the second half, and in particular that first third is a tightly balanced rip roaring section and the book never reaches its heights again, but overall I devoured it. GOOD BOOK!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The flavor text I would give for this book: Imagine Pride & Prejudice as an urban fantasy with your Elizabeth being a 38 yo school headmistress with a demon in her head. And, y’know, having all the societal niceties of a woman middle aged who hasn’t dated in over a decade.
Now, getting into what I loved. God, I *loved* Saffy. Just enough posh self-righteousness to make her feel like a true headmisstress, while also being complicated, messy person falling into the perfect pitfalls of the story. And Laura and Saffy’s chemistry was TOP tier, it’s hard to find a sapphic couple that does it for me and they instantly had that spark. Also, the antagonist may be one of my favorites in recent memory! I don’t think I’ve been so intrigued by one in… a long, longggg time.
Truly no one in this book felt overwritten, and I was SO pleased with the ending. And I highly suggest the Owlcrate book with the additional chapter after the end, it was the icing on top. It truly hits the spot! Now if only we could increase that into a whole extra book. Something that always gets me with Emily Tesh now is I come away wanting more while also have been fed with no crumbs. Gimme the crumbs enough for me to have a whole new slice Emily! I’ll be waiting.
Anyways, THIS is my book of the summer. This is the warm hug of a book I’ve been yearning for all year. Emily Tesh you impressed me with Some Desperate Glory but you’ve gifted me with something truly irreplaceable with this one. The way I could not stop the tears flowing from my eyes, multiple times throughout this book. I never thought I’d relate so much to a 38 yo headmistress to a magic school and yet here we are. Thank you for the heart of this book. Just like a certain someone, I will use it energy it has given me to continue on to find my ‘self’, and hopefully not seriously harm one while doing so. 🥰
Now, getting into what I loved. God, I *loved* Saffy. Just enough posh self-righteousness to make her feel like a true headmisstress, while also being complicated, messy person falling into the perfect pitfalls of the story. And Laura and Saffy’s chemistry was TOP tier, it’s hard to find a sapphic couple that does it for me and they instantly had that spark. Also, the antagonist may be one of my favorites in recent memory! I don’t think I’ve been so intrigued by one in… a long, longggg time.
Truly no one in this book felt overwritten, and I was SO pleased with the ending. And I highly suggest the Owlcrate book with the additional chapter after the end, it was the icing on top. It truly hits the spot! Now if only we could increase that into a whole extra book. Something that always gets me with Emily Tesh now is I come away wanting more while also have been fed with no crumbs. Gimme the crumbs enough for me to have a whole new slice Emily! I’ll be waiting.
Anyways, THIS is my book of the summer. This is the warm hug of a book I’ve been yearning for all year. Emily Tesh you impressed me with Some Desperate Glory but you’ve gifted me with something truly irreplaceable with this one. The way I could not stop the tears flowing from my eyes, multiple times throughout this book. I never thought I’d relate so much to a 38 yo headmistress to a magic school and yet here we are. Thank you for the heart of this book. Just like a certain someone, I will use it energy it has given me to continue on to find my ‘self’, and hopefully not seriously harm one while doing so. 🥰