The Incandescent

by Emily Tesh, Zara Ramm (Narrator)

'A searingly brilliant fantasy. This is magical school with teeth . . . an unmissable read' Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne

'Fans of Naomi Novik's Scholomance series won't want to miss this' Publishers Weekly

Dr Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions.

Walden is good at her job - no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It's her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. But it's possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from . . . is herself.

A Deadly Education meets Rivers of London in this captivating contemporary fantasy from Sunday Times bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

'Emily Tesh captivates me the way few authors can, and she can do it in any genre and any world. The Incandescent is a delight from start to finish - it bewitched me, body and soul . . . A wholly perfect book'
Olivie Blake, author of The Atlas Six

'The grown-up answer to the magical boarding school tale . . . Fantastic in every sense of the word'
Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light

'An absolute flex of a book, empathetic and passionate and deeply thoughtful'
Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun

Five-star reader

'love this book so much I want to get six copies'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Genius - easily the best magical school book . . . ever'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Emily Tesh looked into my heart and pulled this book out!! . . . I cannot praise this book highly enough!!!!'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I couldn't have set this book down to save my life . . . If you enjoyed A Deadly Education, The Magicians, or any other classic magic school series, you'll love The Incandescent'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'I loved the whole thing and cannot wait to hug my pre-ordered copy!'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'This is a magnificent book. A magic boarding school, seen from the teacher's lounge, is already my jam. This exceeded my expectations by a wide margin'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'An absolute triumph, a breathtakingly beautiful novel that captivates from the very first page . . . Emily Tesh's storytelling is nothing short of magical'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'This is definitely my favourite read of the year so far, and has solidified Tesh as one of my favourite authors'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genres: Fantasy, Dark Academia, Queer, LGBT, Fiction, Lesbian, Audiobook

13 pages, Audible Audio

First published May 13, 2025

About the author

EMILY TESH is a UK-based author of science fiction and fantasy. Her debut novel, Some Desperate Glory, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Tesh is also a winner of the Astounding Award, and the author of the World Fantasy Award-winning Greenhollow duology.

Reviews

[Greekchoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark academia fantasy almost entirely concerned with the grating mundanity of teaching. If Naomi Novik's Scholomance series asks "Why do schools (and institutions in general) fail?", Tesh provides the answer: Because teachers have been failed.

Doctor Walden is a high-ranking professor who takes pride in doing her work and doing it well. Though that work is juggling teacher, parent, and magician, she finds satisfaction in sheparding her students even as she struggles to balance that obligation with her need to be human. I loved the philosophy of this book and the way it navigates this question. Walden doesn't need to be relatable to be compelling, but she is - through her strengths, relationships, and faults. Also appreciated how this book holds a sweetness towards growing older, which is pretty uncommon in general, much less a dark academia book. PLUS excellent fight scenes and a demonic entity that I didn't find annoying.

The only thing that raised my eyebrows is the love interest, who seems to be some kind of fantasy cop situation. Her line of work seems to be more of a "modernized knighthood" than law enforcement, which bears more weight than just aesthetics, but I didn't love that aspect regardless. Tesh is deeply concerned with how flawed systems fail individuals, so the introduction of a generally flattering portrayal of law enforcement (a much more prominent and violent example than academia, it hardly needs saying) directly contradicts the core themes of the book. Will be curious to hear others' thoughts and will make a note of it in recommendations moving forward.

otherwise: love love loved. A very compelling read that I will be thinking about a lot.

Please note that I work for Macmillan but am not involved in book production. Opinions are my own.

[ToryBH]

The bookstore employees are scared and asking me to leave because it’s “not June 2025 yet” but I’m simply too seated

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic idea!! Dark academia fantasy from the perspective of an elder millennial teacher? I feel like this book was made for me. The Incandescent follows Dr. Walden, a bisexual woman in her late 30's who teaches at a magic school and tries to protect the students from demonic incursions. But demons are attracted to technology, and they just can't seem to stay away from cell phones!

This is a standalone fantasy set in a magical version of the real world. It is funny, action-packed, and sometimes a bit dark. It also offers a really fresh perspective on the magic school subgenre which I really appreciated. Loved it! The audiobook is great. I feel like the narrator really captured the ironic sense of humor, and the different characters that come into play. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this was pretentious. Pompous also. And needlessly so, because the message it attempts to transmit is hollow.

Grade: a D with lots of corrections in red ink. (I am not a teacher; this just seemed to make me want to channel one, and a pompous one...)

This concept – a British boarding school teaching magic but from the PoV of one of the teachers (think Minerva McGonagall) had me at hello. Yes, please, I want. Wanted - be careful with what you want.

The society is very closely modelled on ours – covid lockdowns are blamed for kids having low social skills, though not mobile phones. Mobile phones exist but can be an attractor to demons, though that is not worked out well into the plot because ah mobile phones are important to the plot after all. There are vapes. Magic exists and is acknowledged historically, but some varieties are considered as arcane as teaching classics. The british school system seems totally the same from what I can grasp and so does the class system.

The author, according to her bio seems to be, or was, a classics professor at a school ( I think not a state-run school at all! Maybe a boarding school similar to this one?) in England. Our fictional PoV character is a 38-year-old female teacher of an arcane, niche subject in a posh boarding school in England. The worldbuilding and plot all seem like some kind of teacher wish fulfilment thing (arcane niche subject is important! Though that is not worked out well into the plot), as well as an opportunity to be didactic to us about the importance of teachers and teaching ethics and processes and the evils of the British class system, but hey let's not want to burn down or change anything too much so posh boarding schools continue to be socially valuable, because wait, see how can they be justified by providing social mobility to a few rare super extra special underprivileged kids - Nikki is disgustingly perfect and yes maybe I should be ashamed by finding super worthy, decent, self punishing, teacher's pet, perfect side character disgusting but come on Little Lord Flaunteroy levels of twee manipulativeness by the author (Nikki is not real by the way) while being quite judgmental about posh people which are portrayed as dim (despite generations of expensive boarding school education) and not as naturally talented as working class people (this kind of destroys the raison d' etre for boarding schools, IMO). None of this is worked out well into the plot or worldbuilding.

Sorry for the rant and sarcasm, but I just did not click with this. The main character, Saffy (sorry. Dr. Walden, I mean), is incredibly unlikeable and stupid – to give the author some credit (encouraging little note on red ink!), some of it is intentional, because the plot is worked out to support her prejudices and does not examine a few things . But a lot of what makes Saffy (sorry, I mean Dr Walden) unlikeable (to me) is supposedly just waved off by the author without examination or change. The writing cheats a bit:one narrative change in one chapter for plot purposes (second person and attempting to be lyrical.Twee…), earlier withdrawing information from the reader (it is not worked out well into the plot! Sorry for pointing it out yet again). The foreshadowing bits are cringe at being so obvious (Tesh is no JKR, and I am sure they are both perfectly happy with that. It is clear who does plot miles better).

A note: this is being marketed as a sapphic romance – I don't really care if a book has a romance plot or which kind it is; I am good with all kinds and levels of romantic content as long as it is good. If you are going to write a romance plot, make it deep and meaningful. If you are looking for that element specifically, try looking at spoilers because I would not call that part a romance: it breaks some of the inherent rules expected for a romance there is on-page sex with somebody else, a man, and a man which is telegraphed so clearly as being bad news and hiding stuff that it is all anxiety-inducing. The worthy female love interest, OTOH, is a 2-dimensional perfect character, and I am not sure what she sees in Saffy at all! Saffy finds her attractive, but what she is attracted to in Saffy, no clue. You can do better, Laura..

Disappointing. Boring and didactic, worldbuilding is inconsistent, with a wonky plot and shallow twee didacticism. But if you are a teacher for kids that age, maybe it will resonate (maybe not. I hope real teachers are not that prejudiced or pompous!). Some lines and puns from the PoV regarding teaching were priceless though – when being satirical, not when trying to be all lyrical and didactically wise about the purposes and methods of teaching.

[Alwynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sapphic dark academia laced with wry humour which owes a conscious debt to the English school story but here squarely aimed at adult readers. Award-winning author Emily Tesh’s entertaining exploration of the life of a harried teacher of invocation – summoner of demons - has a realist feel that stems from Tesh’s personal experiences of teaching – so the perils of magic jostle with questions around the nature and philosophy of education itself. It’s set in scruffy but upmarket Chetwood School nestled in the English countryside. A character in its own right it's partly modelled on aspects of Wells Cathedral School with dashes of Cambridge architecture thrown in, as well as echoes of Tesh’s childhood school.

Tesh’s story revolves around work-obsessed Director of Magic Sapphire Walden aka Saffy whose sensible attire masks a wilder element that dates back to her misspent youth – as well as concealing a potentially deadly secret. Saffy’s ordered existence is disrupted by the rise of a powerful demon invoked by two of her favourite pupils, setting in motion a battle that threatens to destroy both Saffy and everything she cares about. Tesh’s world-building’s thorough and convincing, although I found the shift in tone towards the end slightly awkward. But Tesh is a highly skilled writer and her atmospheric plot unfolds at a more than decent pace, despite the odd dip and lull, accompanied by a muted but ultimately satisfying love story.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Orbit for an ARC

Rating: 3.5

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

a magical boarding school but from the perspective of the director of magic whose job is to keep the school running smoothly, especially from the powerful demon who has had its sights set on the school for decades

demons possessing electronic devices, a hot butch who runs into the fire after her idiot crush, students suffering through coursework (summoning demons), and all the bureaucratic nonsense you would expect but add magic

thank you to tor books for providing the arc in exchange for review!

[myo ⋆｡˚ ❀ * · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed the magical school and i thought this book could be really funny at points. i think it was really smart to make this book follow the director of a school because we usually follow the students so this was a good twist on this. i also enjoyed this book following a 30 year old character but it was really hard for me to connect to walden. this book is marketed as dark academia but just because it takes place in a boarding school doesn’t automatically make it dark.

[Jena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Incandescent is a sapphic, dark academia fantasy novel. If that sounds familiar (hello A Lesson in Vengeance and An Education in Malice), do not worry, The Incandescent is wholly unique. What sets The Incandescent apart from other dark academia books is that it follows a teacher, rather than a student. The story follows Dr. Walden in her day to day life running a magical school. I really loved following her as a main character. Her love for the students was so earnest and the depictions of what it means to be a teacher and adulthood felt really realistic (coming from someone who's parent is a teacher). Although there were some high stakes moments in the story, as well as some emotional ones, this book felt a lot like a "cozy fantasy". It isn't tagged as one, but it reminded me of the way books in that genre are normally structured - we follow a magical character throughout their day-to-day life without any large overarching plot. If you don't like that format, or are more of a high fantasy person, this book might not be for you. But if you enjoy low-stakes character studies, I'd definitely recommend picking the Incandescent up!
Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Roman Clodia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aw, this is cute and fun! Tesh hits that sweet spot where we have all the page-turning excitement of epic battles with demons but with an acute commentary on teaching and learning, on what it means when your teaching career is located in an elite private school (£50k per year fees before extras), and how to connect with a brilliant, Black fostered student who should be going to Oxford but who feels maybe she doesn't belong there.

This isn't flawless: on the plot, things come to more or less a standstill in the middle before the book picks itself back up again for a great final quarter. Also, the 'villain' is so clear to see that it's a bit clunky that Saffy is so fooled. And, is it just me or is anyone else fed up with 'university' seemingly only meaning Oxbridge in books (ok, one of the A level students goes to Imperial), as if the Russell Group didn't exist, some of whom have topped Oxbridge on individual courses? Maybe not Magic, though, admittedly!

That apart, I loved the magic, I loved the phoenix, and I loved the super-cute romance that is a bit enemy-to-lovers - the banter between Saffy and Laura is spot on with just the right mix of respect, snark and reciprocity, with a lovely ahhhhh! ending. Perfect beach/sunny weather/holiday reading when you want something light and entertaining that won't insult your intelligence.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well. This turned into a disappointing thud of a book. The beginning was engaging; I was super invested for the first half but it all fell apart after the destruction of Old Faithful. The final villians were so obviously telegraphed they ought to have been outlined in neon signs. Walden goes from competent and capable to oblivious idiot in a heel turn so sudden it legitimately made me angry. The middle of the book drags on too long and everything wraps up too neatly and with too little explanation.

So, the magic system here is nonsense. Actually, it's not even nonsense. It does absolutely nothing. Almost the entire book takes place on the campus of Chetwood, England's premiere school for teenage magicians. Here, on top of normal lessons, they learn magic. What they do with it is never explained. We see two lessons over the whole book - one where Walden observes another teacher lead an ethics discussion on whether demons can be considered living creatures and the other where she teaches her class to summon a demon, where they ask it simple questions that could be solved by checking the menu in the cafeteria. There's a bunch of discussion and references to levels of demons and other planes but no depth to it. It all sounds cool and interesting but ten minutes of thought after I finished the book made me realize they don't do anything with any of it.

There are constant references to obscure government organizations who want magicians to work for them and do research, but not what that research is for. Walden mentions that Newton was one of England's best magicians but again provides no examples of his work. She also discusses magic work in World War I and readiness during the Blitz but again nothing about any plans. I guess they summoned demons and set them loose to attack enemies? Maybe? Nikki even brings it up during their discussion about Oxford - what she would actually do as a magician besides work for the government or teach. Walden again provides no answers or alternatives.

Like the magic system, the progressiveness is also skin deep. Chetwood is the pinnacle of privileged learning - the price of the fees is mentioned almost as often as it's picture perfect campus. The majority of the students are white and/or rich. Walden herself seems to think that acknowledging her privileges is enough effort on her part, only noting problems when they directly impact her. She goes unpunished for summoning Old Faithful as a student, letting all the blame fall on Charlie, the scholarship boy who dies in the attempt. She goes unpunished for the second Old Faithful summoning, letting Laura take the fall when it was Walden's neglect of Nikki's concerns that started the whole thing. She's so wrapped up in how clever and above it all she is that she misses every completely obvious clue to what's causing the problems at the school.

The romances are barely worth the word. Her relationship with Laura just barely gets past mutual passive agressive aggravation when Laura is fired and disappears from the book until the last fifty or so pages. Walden seems to transfer her vaguely positive feelings to Mark, the consultant hired to assess post Old Faithful campus, dithering between talking down to him and sleeping with him while he slinks around being so obviously a villian that I was sure it had to be a red herring. Then after putting up with that for a couple hundred pages, Laura sweeps back in, having pulled herself up by her bootstraps to rise above her lowly position as a Marshal to save Walden from herself. Their discussion in the hospital is so comically unearned that I can't even be mad about it.

[Chira · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off: this is /not/ dark academia, and even calling it a sapphic fantasy is a stretch. This is a boarding school that teaches magic alongside regular subjects, from the perspective of a director-level teacher in her 30s. Most of the book is concerned with making sure the students pass their exams and the school continues to run smoothly. In that way, it's rather nice to see magic so integrated with society that it feels more like a niche subject that someone /could/ study but has very few long-term viable career paths (especially ones that allow you to keep things like morals in consideration when weighing jobs), so most people have an understanding of how magic affects their everyday lives, but no practical ability. It's that mundanity that gives the world and this book its charm. The main idea here is how magic and learning magic fits into the larger world, how to prepare students for that, and Walden looking at her own life and choices in respect to potential and other choices she could have made.

The vague dips into a bigger plot are.....not great. While the Old Faithful bits are plausible, the fact that they're more set up for the rest of any further plot make you expect more from said plot than we get. Literally what was even the goal of anyone - you can't give a "oh shadowy organization with their own aims" explanation and not...give an explanation when it's supposed to be one of the climactic plot points.

Honestly, calling it sapphic, while not technically a lie, feels manipulative. Walden is bi, and while Laura is definitely a love interest, their relationship takes so much of a backseat to everything else going on and we never get much of a development as to why they even like each other or would continue to build a relationship beyond "Laura is a very hot butch magic knight with a motorcycle." (there, I've described her entire character and personality and character arc). The expectations aren't expecting.

I'm also not sure how I feel about all of the attempts to address privilege and how it relates to academia and learning and in particular the British schooling system and opportunities. It feels very "I'm writing a book about schools and I know this inequality is here and I have to address it, but I don't know how, so I'm just going to say it exists and hope that acknowledgement is enough". There's a lot of "oh, this system is unfair, but it's a long-standing system, we can't change it overnight" which might be true, but especially in a world with magic and demons, you would hope for a little more than acknowledgement and lip service and a little more working to shift the needle. Especially at almost 40 and a director at the school.

I did enjoy the narration a lot - Zara Ramm does a great job of conveying Walden's narrative and her love of being and exasperation at teaching. And really that's what this is - a love letter to teaching and learning and to a lesser extent, to the institutions dedicated to those pursuits.

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I don’t often get excited about the premise of a fantasy book, but this novel about a magic school teacher was an exception. Revisiting a common fantasy setting from an uncommon perspective was a lot of fun, and I loved the way Tesh wove her own experiences teaching and the mundane realities of the professional world into a fantastical story, which was also enjoyable in its own right. That said, I found myself with a lot of plot-related quibbles, which leave me a little less enthusiastic.

The Incandescent follows Dr. Sapphire “Saffy” Walden, a teacher and administrator at a posh English boarding school that happens to teach magic alongside the regular subjects—and as Director of Magic and an expert in demon summoning, she’s responsible for keeping the school’s several hundred students safe (mostly from their own poor judgment), as well as teaching classes, running meetings, negotiating with the imps possessing electronic devices, etc. I love a good mix of magical and mundane and this one hit the spot. Few works of fiction, fantasy or otherwise, engage with the professional world in any sustained or realistic way, and so that was a lot of fun. Walden thinks and reacts like a real professional and seems like a good teacher.

Meanwhile, it’s a fun plot, with a strong start and a strong ending, albeit a bit of a sag in the middle. While it’s more romance-heavy than I expected, I actually (wonder of wonders) liked the romance: both characters have real personality, their dynamic feels realistic, and I enjoyed the understated emotion alongside actual practical considerations. (That said, some disappointed readers seem to have come in with the impression that this would be an actual romance novel. Fair warning: it is not.)

While the book makes sexual and romantic relationships the only personal life that Walden has—she has no friends, no interests outside work, no meaningful family relationships, and never has any fun—it does a strong job of exploring those various relationships past and present and how they’ve impacted her. The book features some strong secondary characters, particularly the love interest and the diverse quartet of advanced students. The demons are surprisingly engaging too.

That said, there’s a fair amount here that doesn’t quite fit. I don’t buy teaching demon-summoning—a direct analogue for bomb-making—to teenagers. Some plot elements seem delayed to the point of confusion or character incompetence: Walden not summoning the Phoenix as soon as she realizes she has to confront Old Faithful. Walden not realizing the Phoenix periodically possessing her is an actual problem. Laura not knowing about Old Faithful. Nikki’s reaction to her demon summoning not being addressed till weeks later. Others are raised and then dropped: the demon personhood question. The oath, which the book insists matters but which does not actually seem to do anything. Mark’s motivations are frankly baffling, and I think ultimately inexplicable unless we assume psychopathy, which is not very narratively satisfying, especially without being addressed beyond the speculations of the protagonist. I think it’s fine that the story doesn’t dig into privilege and elitism beyond acknowledging discomfort with this aspect of an expensive education, but the attempt to address it at the end seems contrived: Chetwood struggles to afford maintenance of its own buildings, but is somehow suddenly endowing programs at four other schools? This makes little sense given their PR crisis is about student safety, not social justice.

In the end, I certainly had fun with this book, although perhaps a little more editing would’ve been ideal. And it provides some unexpected meditation on growing up and on how identities shift over time; it’s interesting to see a fully adult character grappling with who she is in a realistic way. Meanwhile, those who love the notion of magic schools from down-to-earth adult perspectives as much as I do should also check out Magic for Liars.

Note: I received a copy of this book in a giveaway (thank you to the author!). I would have read it either way.

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark academia meets fantasy done right.
Ninth house meets Deadly Education and The Magicians.

Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic, one of the most powerful magicians in England, and is desperately trying to balance meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation, and ensuring the school's boundaries are protected from demonic incursions.

I don’t know how much I can say because this book is uniquely magical.
You get the day-to-day academia aspect from a teacher’s point of view, a middle life crisis, and then also demon attacks and a meddling Chief Marshal tasked with the school’s protection - Laura Kenning. She is passive aggressive and good at her job (annoyingly) and hot, ummm, haughty.

In an ideal world they would have been working harmoniously together to share expertise on magical security issues. The problem was that they disagreed profoundly about nearly everything.

”No, I don't think I ever left Chetwood at all.
When I was seventeen I watched my first love get consumed by a monster, and I knew that it was my fault. And then instead of getting therapy about it, I went and got a doctorate about it. So that explains," she made a vague hand gesture, "most things about me, I suppose."

The pacing may seem odd - a climax right in the middle almost splitting the book in two parts. Yet, I did not feel cheated by this. It felt like two books in on, but it flows perfectly and works so well.

Despite this being told from point of view of a middle-aged woman, we also get a turbulent and sometimes emotional coming-of-age through her four incredibly talented, yet chaotic sixth formers.

There is a slight shift in tone towards the end which I didn’t enjoy as much as the rest of the story, but for a standalone, this is more understandable and still satisfying.
I would definitely read spin-offs though.

I do wish there were more vivid descriptions as I couldn’t visualise much, but maybe this is the Naomi Novik detailed world building I was comparing it to.

Be warned if you are going into this for the sapphic romance. Whilst it is present, it is VERY background. Walden is bi.

Almost five stars 🌟

Physical hot pink arc gifted by Orbit.

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[thevampireslibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so intrigued to start this, a dark academia from the professor's perspective? How interesting! I'd say fans of Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series would love this and its the closest comparison I could think of, speaking of the shift from student to teacher POV this heavily focuses on the day to day running of a school and all that entails, there's a lot of intricate detail and care poured into it and at times it felt very much like a love letter to teachers, a protagonist who is in her late 30s is criminally underrepresented in the fantasy genre and Tesh done such a good job of crafting an authentic well rounded believable character who was competent, mature and professional (we love to see a baddie, slay queen) this was slow burn but purposeful, the plot was 🤌there was a perfect balance of action VS theoretical discussions whilst also managing to be character driven, at times it read like slice of life but with higher stakes, loved the magical elements, one of the most unique dark academia books I've ever read, oh, and there's a lil suttin suttin for the romance lovers too, in my top reads of this year!

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

Imagine a highschool where the lessons revolve around demons, how to summon them, how to deal with them, how to negotiate with them...

Now imagine the director of said school keeps inside the toughest of them all, which safeguards the school from other demons... or that's what everyone thinks.

Following dark academia life from the POV of an adult dealing with hormone powered students and annoying colleagues is the best way to do it.

Although blaming students for her hormones when you got a crush on the head of security with her tattoos and her bike isn't fair. And the conversation they have about how to deal with a relationship in your 30s and how sometimes your own peace is worth more than another attempt at dating was my favourite part of it.

Emily Tesh might know how to disappoint people, but I don't think we'll discover it with her books.

[bri]

what a surprisingly poignant and touching story that I think teachers and students everywhere can find something in. the way this book speaks on mistakes vs failures and how those two things only differ by privilege, time, and perspective, was so powerful.

I was absolutely expecting a fun dark academia fantasy, but wasn't expecting such a thoughtful read. it was surprisingly interpersonal and philosophical.

I did have some complicated feelings about the love interest being a cop-adjacent character, which seemed to fight against the narrative conversations about harmful institutions and the power of authority in constructing lives and futures.

but I think this should become a staple magic school book, and I could see myself returning to this one again.

[Brooke (B for Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Academic Fantasy started out very humorous and will appeal to many readers of the genre. A demon possesses an office photocopier and it's very funny. Demonic possessions of office technology abound. The demon humor continues on much the same way. Even though it's funny, I just didn't find myself interested in reading on. This is an unpopular opinion. I thought I would love this more but just didn't. Academic fantasy is my least favorite sub-genre of fantasy. I prefer to escape to the woods or mountains, not academia. Maybe I gave up too soon but I just felt inpatient and wanted it to end.

[Esmay Rosalyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you thought you'd seen it all when it comes to 'magic school' books, you better think again. The Incandescent is a dark academia fantasy that somehow felt comfortingly nostalgic and uniquely refreshing all at once, and it's just one hell of a fun ride from start to finish.

I mean, the entire plot can basically be summed up as: a snarky, bisexual Director of Magic in her late 30s teaches A-level invocation, plods through bureaucratic nonsense, and protects the school from demons that are attracted to technology. Also, there's a frustratingly stubborn and unfairly attractive butch lesbian Chief Marshal who keeps meddling in her business, and they will have to find a way to work together to protect the school to their best abilities.

Now, the pacing is quite odd, with a big climactic showdown that you'd expect in the final act happening before the halfway point of the book, and then the whole story also just has a bit of a quiet slice of life vibe to it, yet at no point did I find myself bored. I just loved following Saffy so much, especially because is both so competent and brilliant but also relatably flawed and messy (even if she likes to pretend she has everthing totally figured out). Also, she makes even the most mundane events (so far as life at a magical boarding school plagued by demon incursions can get mundane) inexplicably funny with her charmingly deadpan thoughts and comments.

Tesh honestly does a wonderful job of capturing the exhausting drudgery of working in education, the frustrating awkwardness of aging, and the unflattering reality of dating 'past your prime', while also infusing the narrative with equal parts magic, emotion, humour and heart. Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised by how deeply invested I became in these characters in such a (relatively) short time, and much as I appreciate how satisfying this standalone adventure is, I would honestly love to return to this world for more someday.

The Incandescent was just everything I didn't know I needed, and I would highly recommend it if you are in the mood for a fun and refreshing dark academia fantasy with a dollop of demons and a sprinkle of sapphic romance. Also, the audiobook narrator really captured the vibe of the story and the understated humour of these characters so well, so definitely give that a shot if you like audiobooks! What a delight.

[ancientreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooh, this was fun! And had just enough romance and serious social commentary to go with the suspense.

I don't read much dark academia -- that's to say, I've read Naomi Novik's Scholomance books and no others -- so to what extent Emily Tesh's Chetwood School resembles magical boarding schools in general I couldn't say and don't really care. In any case, though four young adults feature in important ways, this isn't YA: the main characters are in early middle age.

"The Incandescent" calls for some readerly / listenerly willingness to let the worldbuilding and the story unfold at their own leisurely pace. Events pick up with a bang soon enough, and then the grinding tension sets in, tighter and tighter till -- cataclysm.

I was happy to relax into the narrative for the sake of admittance to a richly imagined, immersive world and also because Zara Ramm's performance is so good. Character voices and class backgrounds clearly distinct, check; to my ear, Ramm wobbles only on the accent belonging to a USian, but I have yet to hear a British person do a convincing US accent, so I can't dock too many points. What defeats the brilliant Adjoa Andoh (check out Andoh's narration of Kwei Quartey's "The Whitewashed Tombs," or, better yet, don't) will defeat anyone.

The ad copy describes "The Incandescent" as "sapphic," a word that always sounds lace-curtain mealy-mouthed to me, but anyway for purists it should be noted that the protagonist is actively bi. (And how nice to see a middle-aged woman wanting sex, including casual sex, and getting it.)

I wouldn't have minded a few minor plot wrap-ups; in particular, I'd have liked to know how one spectacular piece of work copes in the aftermath of what befalls him, because -- as the narrative points out -- not even he deserves it. But this is just me picking nits in my usual OCD reviewer way; I had a spectacularly good time listening to this, and thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC.

[Ярослава]

Після якогось віку ідея сидіти за шкільною партою в колективі людей, яких не обираєш, складати іспити й оце все починає здаватися радше жахастиком, ніж приємним літературним ескайпізмом, але ж усі ми любимо почитати про закриті школи магії! Тож спасибі Емілі Теш за те, що розрулює цю колізію й пише про закриту магічну школу, тільки по той бік шкільної лави, з перспективи викладачів.

Головна героїня навчає старшокласників викликати демонів, під магічною школою сидить гігантський демон, який може вирватися в наш світ, якщо оборонні чари десь буде порушено, але це не єдині й не найнагальніші її проблеми, бо магія-шмагія магією-шмагією, але ніщо не звільняє людей від усієї навколопедагогічної бюрократії, виписаної дуже реалістично: reminding Chetwood’s magical faculty about the upcoming exam board consultations, useful conferences, this year’s professional development cycle, the importance of interdisciplinary lesson observations including with our colleagues in academic subjects, and how to report a weakness in the school wards. Дуже життєво виписано й саме ремесло педагога, взаємодію з учнями, вживання у цю штучну роль, смирення, що відтепер ти terminally uncool authority figure (навіть якщо головна героїня може викликати їбєйших демонів!), потребу в просторі, де можна spend ten minutes being a human person with a name, perhaps some hobbies, and a rich inner life, not Dr This, Frau That.

Ще подобається, що це впізнаваний сучасний світ - звичайно, підлітки знаходитимуть десь у надрах тіктока небезпечні відео й намагатимуться їх відтворити, щоб вразити друзів (тільки тут це відео про виклик демонів, а не про екстремальні дієти чи ще щось таке). Звичайно, колишній лицарський орден демоноборців під час Бліцу патрулював Лондон (і про це є "непоганий мінісеріал ВВС"), а тепер підпорядкований поліції й потерпає від забюрократизованості й недофінансування. І так далі, і таке інше.

Ще максимально рілейтебл картина дейтингу під сорокєт, так би мовити, айм ін зіс пікчер енд ай екчуеллі лайк іт)))

"I’m thirty-eight. There comes a point, when you’re single and unattached and closing in on forty, that you do stop to ask yourself: ‘Well, am I going to?’ And for some people— certainly, for me— the answer is ‘Actually, I like my life the way it is.’ I know who I am. I’m rather good at being who I am. I won’t say I don’t miss sex occasionally, or never think that it would be nice to wake up with someone. But I also think it’s rather nice to have my space to myself, and never have to worry about anyone’s time but my own. Long distance would mean carving out—”
“—hours of the day, all your free time, all those train journeys,” Laura said, “and phone calls or Zoom calls or emails—”
“God forbid, not more emails!”

Власне, не подобається тільки, що текст карає героїню за професійну хуцпу і змушує її переосмислити всі пріоритети, та що ж, ідеальних текстів не буває, а цей все одно дуже класний.

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily a top read for the year. I love how genuine and messy this book is. Emily Tesh takes us on a journey of a magical world from the eyes of a school headmaster in her late 30s. And while I was a little insulted she refers to herself as old at times (I’m 43, lol) I get the concept here that this is not a main character who is 19 or 21. What a breath of fresh air!!

Our leading lady is in a ‘real job’ situation. She works, a lot; has people relying on her (students and teachers) and while she knows her life is perhaps odd (living on site at a boarding school) she actually loves it. As someone who is content with their place in the world, in an unglamorous life (according to many) I totally get this. We can’t all be Taylor Swift after all. The one thing that kind of brings this around to fantasy (besides the awesome, elaborate magic system) is that our MC is still super special as she is one of only a few people with her power in the world (le sigh). Yes I know we want to read about powerful special people. So I will forgive Tesh for falling into one trope area (lol).

We have queer characters (including a bisexual one who actually describes being bi perfectly!!!), quirky teenagers, magic, demons, a Hogwarts like school, and more than enough drama to go around. At the end of the day there is a ‘big bad’ to fight, a lot of magic tossed around, and more than enough teen and adult angst/love to share. This is a fantasy story you cannot miss out on if you like academia stories, dark demonic magic, a (frustrating at times) love story, and a twist you won’t likely guess until just before the reveal.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wholly frustrating book that doesn't reach the heights of Some Desperate Glory. The reason it's so frustrating is because it has almost everything you could want in a book like this—a fun magical setting, past secrets, boarding school, demons!—and yet it all fizzles out by the end. There's an early plot that sets up an even better concept (with your old protective demon dead, who's coming for you next?), but that's unfulfilled. Instead, you get bland musings about school: privilege in the British educational system and what it's like to be the teacher instead of the student. Okay, great. But what about all the DEMONS???

At the 40% mark, I was sure this was going to be my favorite book of the year. After finishing it, I rated it 4 stars. Then I came back and moved it down to 3. It still has its good moments, but man was this disappointing! Some thoughts with spoilers:

- There are so many themes and ideas in this book that are half-baked. A list: is the Phoenix social (does it prove its personhood)? Are technological devices truly problematic for the students? Why is the major love interest in law enforcement and what does that mean? Is it actually a problem that only rich teenagers can study magic? The biggest missed opportunity is obviously Demon Showdown (like many other demons descending on Chetwood). The entire book seems to be about Chetwood as a place and what it means to Walden, and though she has to sacrifice it (by leaving) it feels like there's a missed opportunity to, like, tear down the school through demon incursion. And maybe improve its admissions policy?

- The Phoenix talking to Walden is so interesting and feels like it gets short shrift in the plot, because there's so many other things going on. It truly felt like Tesh had the book plotted out to the battle with Old Faithful and then had to figure out what to do with the rest of the book. Is the implication at the end that the Phoenix somehow tricked or encouraged Walden to bind it?

- Romance did not work for me at ALL.

- Teenagers did not work for me either.

- Still unclear to me what Mark Daubery's end goal was. To release the Phoenix and see what happened when he did? Seems like an entirely asinine plan with no real upside (especially while his nephew was at the school??). Am I getting this wrong?

- I mean, even the title doesn't really work. The epigraph is about the exuberance of youth, its transience and its power. The end of this book is about adult hubris. Unless Walden is supposedly the incandescent?

[Lukasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. The Incandescent takes the magical boarding school formula and flips it. We don’t follow students discovering their powers and greatness. Instead, we’re stuck in the faculty lounge with Dr. Sapphire "Saffy" Walden, Director of Magic at Chetwood School.

Saffy spends her days juggling administrative nightmares, teaching demon safety, and maintaining Victorian-era magical defenses that could collapse at any moment. The school sits under constant threat from Old Faithful, an ancient demon that’s been lurking outside the wards for ages, just waiting for its chance to tear through London.

I liked how Tesh captured the exhausting reality of working in education. Saffy doesn’t get to clock out at 5 PM. She lives where she works, surrounded by colleagues who become friends by necessity and six hundred teenagers with the power to accidentally summon forces "approximately as destructive as a nuclear bomb."

Saffy clashes with Laura Kenning, the school’s Chief Marshal responsible for security. They disagree about authority. They’re both stubborn. And, color me shocked, they’re attracted to each other. When one of Saffy’s A-Level students summons Old Faithful, the story gains momentum but doesn’t go where you may expect.

Saffy is brilliant, competent, and absolutely convinced of her own righteousness. She’s also a snob with a talent for self-deception and some serious blind spots about her own privilege. The author forces her to confront these flaws in increasingly uncomfortable ways.

The romance subplot(s) works because it feels real. We’re talking adults with busy lives and competing priorities. Starting a relationship isn’t the most important thing on either woman’s plate.

Some readers might find the plot a bit predictable. The foreshadowing is heavy, and you can spot the major twists coming. The rivals-to-lovers arc telegraphs itself from the second chapter. But sometimes comfort food hits the spot, and The Incandescent delivers that cozy familiarity while still managing to surprise you with its emotional depth.

The class commentary runs throughout without being preachy. Saffy knows her school is elitist. She sees how background determines futures more than talent. She’s trying to do good work within a flawed system, which feels realistic.

The Incandescent won’t revolutionize fantasy, but it doesn’t need to. It’s a smart, engaging take on familiar territory. It’s the kind of book that will become a comfort read for many people, and there’s real value in that.

[BJ Lillis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet Dr. Saffy Walden, Director of Magic at Chetwood School. She lives in a campus apartment, teaches one section of advanced Invocation (demon summoning, the field of her Ph.D research), leads a depressing number of staff meetings, and has spent the past few years attempting to reform the school’s risk assessment process, with mixed results. The photocopier in the teachers’ lounge is possessed by a more or less benign imp, as are many of the school’s clocks, not to mention students’ smuggled-in cell phones, magnets for minor demons. Walden, however, is primarily concerned with higher demons. (“The big boys, Walden’s thesis advisor had called them.”) Needless to say, the very first Invocation lab practical we see goes rather aggressively sideways, and we’re off to the races.

If all of this sounds fun to you, it almost certainly will be. The book does a great job catching the tension between the magical worlds so many of us immersed ourselves in as children—the way they sold us a fantasy of friendship, meaning, and endless potential that can feel almost as elusive some days as the fantasy of flying broomsticks—and the utter mundanity of being a professional in your thirties.

It’s hard for me to imagine anyone enjoying The Incandescent who hasn’t spent time in an elite institution of higher education—a private boarding school, liberal arts college, graduate school. The novel’s central moral tension is over the value of such institutions; over the way they reinforce privilege and inequality not just in spite of, but precisely by means of enriching the lives of their students. By hanging down, for a chosen few, a wobbly rope ladder into the global upper class. The novel knows this, even pokes at it a little. But it’s so firmly within the perspective of the kinds of people who attend these institutions that it can’t quite comprehend the people left out—even when they’re characters.

But the problem with The Incandescent isn’t that it loves Chetwood School a little too much, that as a result its satire lacks bite. Nor is it that the students, over-privileged and under-privileged alike (and a lot is made of that difference) are shown from a teacher’s perspective in a way that feels very accurate—that honestly made me, as a teacher, feel very seen—but that also does them all a disservice, somehow. These kinds of “problems” reflect a story’s being rooted in actual lived experience, with all the human limitations that entails.

No, the problem with The Incandescent is the romance. Doctor Walden has a crush on workplace-rival / sexy butch demon slayer / school security officer Laura Kenning. They have a moment early on, involving a spontaneous kiss and some demon slaying. Laura Kenning is fired for complicated reasons also involving demon slaying. They agree it wouldn’t have worked out anyway. Doctor Walden immediately starts flirting with Kenning’s replacement, a middle-aged wonderboy, security consultant, and appealingly self-deprecating self-described asshole aptly named Mark. Laura Kenning finds out randomly and is like, “seriously, what’s wrong with you?” Doctor Walden is also like “seriously what’s wrong with me?”

What’s wrong is that Walden and Kenning have about as much chemistry as you’d expect from your strictest high school teacher and the school security guard (and absolutely none of the smoking hot chemistry you might expect from a professional demon slayer and one of the world’s most gifted demon summoners). Their romance just isn’t convincing. Walden and Mark, on the other hand, have weirdly effective chemistry, even though (because?) he’s bad news. The whole thing makes the book itself feel weirdly almost straight. (That said, maybe I’m not giving the book enough credit. There’s something interesting going on here. After all, what it means to be an asshole is kind of a major theme.)

The truth is, it’s not just lack of chemistry; the whole emotional equilibrium of the book is ever so slightly off-balance. An important part of this is clearly intentional. Walden’s reaction to the novel’s first major demonic incursion is off, emotionally—but that makes sense in context, and helps set up the mistakes she makes in the second half. But the conclusion has no such excuses. On which further thoughts belong behind a spoiler tag: Laura's decision to fight the Phoenix alone in order to save Saffy, instead of calling for help, was idiotic. Obviously, the entire plot depended on her making that decision. But within this world’s logic, it was arrogant, selfish, out of character, and incredibly stupid. She put 400 kids’ lives in danger. Then, she and Saffy don’t even talk about it. They just decide to jump straight into a serious relationship even though they’ve only ever been on one date and it went badly. So then the romance problem and the subtle issues with characterization and the fact that the book is a little too in love with Chetwood School and the contrived nature of, to be fair, most modern plot construction all come together to undermine what worked..

If you’ve stayed with me this long, I have an alternate-reality version of this review on my substack Scorpion Review, with a few additional thoughts on how the novel fits into queer literature, and less some of the detailed plot-critique. I can also recommend Molly Templeton's review in Reactor, which is far more positive than mine, but also absolutely rang true to my experience of the novel.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Tor Books for an advanced copy of this one. I rate this 3.5, I think-- but it is quite difficult to rate because I had some really mixed feelings, and I absolutely think it is worth a read

There are so many things I loved about this book, starting with its concept, which I absolutely ADORED. Why haven't we thought to do magical school + demons, but make it about the responsible adults, before?! Such a fun idea and so many humorous ways that this can be fleshed out (we didn't necessary get there here). I really hope to see more of this in the future. As a 38 year old reader, I also really enjoyed that this was a bit of a love story to aging and one's sense of self. It had some really great messaging about growth and maturity, including recognizing that while we can and should learn from our failures, they are also what make us who we are. I also really appreciated the social commentary on privilege in general, white privilege, and generational and institutionalized wealth. Overall, great messaging in this book-- if I hadn't been reading an e-copy, I would have annotated, which is UNHEARD of for me. I also really enjoyed the plot and was really surprised by certain aspects of it, even though I shouldn't have been. I am now a part of the Emily Tesh fan club and will be reading her backlist because of how expertly she was able to foreshadow what was going to happen, but somehow still surprised me when it did.

I know, I know, after reading all that, you probably think I am confused and meant to rate this 5 stars. I truly wanted to, and I am so SO sad it didn't quite get there for me. Where the book lost me a bit was in its personality, or lack thereof. It's hard to explain (although I sure will try), but the main character was just so technical and proficient and walled, that it almost seemed to dull down the entire experience of this book.

Saffy, the MC, is a school administrator/teacher/highly skilled invoker, and her professions (and in particular her perceived professional proficiencies) are her WHOLE personality. She thinks she is very good at her job and spends much of the book in exposition, explaining to the reader (and occasionally others) how to do her job and do it right, and then doing the things that she just explained. I get that this book is an ode to adulting, and the day to day of being a responsible adult can be fairly mundane and boring, but also, as a responsible adult reader, I get enough of that IRL and don't need to go quite so deep in the weeds of someone else's mundanity. Truly, this novel is also a paean to school administration and teaching, but-- and no shade to any school administrators or teachers out there-- there are some really boring aspects of those jobs (think, less classroom time; more paperwork), and this book went really in-depth and technical into that.

As an example, the book would be all, "ATTENTION BIG DEMON EMERGENCY," and I'd be loving it and on the edge of my seat, like "ooooh dang, shit's going down, what's going to happen next!" But you know what happens next?! Lots and lots of paperwork. And then also finding coverage so you can present said paperwork to governing boards, and then lots of meetings about who should be losing their job over said demon emergency, and then more paperwork, and probably some assemblies, and just general dotting of is and crossing of ts. And when the main personality trait of the person doing said tasks is proficiency, oh my goodness is it dull to read about. This book would have been so much more fun and impactful, imho, if it had injected some more personality into these tasks. Isn't the biggest secret of adulthood that we're all basically still just dumb kids-- except bigger and slightly more experienced-- flying by the seat of our pants while pretending everything's fine and we know what's going on?

Anyway, the pros definitely outweigh the cons (really just one con) for this book, but I do suspect that it will not find a loving home amongst all audiences. I especially recommend this one for older (middle aged?) thirty-something+ adults, people who work in education, and those passionate about organizational bureaucracy, paperwork, and tidiness.

[Iona Sharma]

Longer review in due course but one of the best books I have read in years.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this book. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Some Desperate Glory, which I thought was astonishingly good (the Hugo for Best Novel was very, very well deserved). And during an AMA Emily Tesh mentioned her next project - a book set in a magic school, but from the perspective of the teachers responsible for keeping all these overpowered, overconfident, hormonal teenage idiots from blowing themselves and a good chunk of the local geography to smithereens - I was very excited. When I heard she planned to use years of break-room stories from her own time as a teacher I was thrilled.

Happy to report this is easily one of the best magic school books I’ve ever read. Might even be better than Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy (I’ll need to chew on things for a while, maybe give it a reread). I can’t think of anything else that comes close.

Saffy Walden, MThau, PhD, is the lead teacher of Invocation (demon summoning) at Chetwood School, a centuries-old boarding school in England, and one of the finest places to study magic before going off to uni. It’s a rewarding job, but a demanding one. There’s all the normal teaching responsibilities - lessons, grading, helping students. There’s the more uniquely *boarding* school responsibilities, being much more involved in her students’ lives and personal, moral, and social development than in a normal school. And then there’s the uniquely magical responsibilities, ranging from labor negotiations with the imp in the copy machine, to maintaining the ancient-but-impractical-to-replace magical engines that protect the school, to the occasional exorcism of a student (or maybe just their iPhone) that’s been possessed. And there are some definite bureaucratic turf wars with Laura Kenning, the chief of the school’s contingent of Marshalls, the ancient order dedicated to protecting the world from demons. Obviously, they look a little suspiciously at any invoker, and Dr. Walden is one of the world’s most powerful.

In many ways I’d call this a slice-of-life story. Much of the book is taken up with Walden doing her job, the tasks that are (for her) completely mundane. She is very protective of her star pupil, Nikki, who lost her parents to a demon when young and is a ward of the school, in part because Kenning and the Marshalls are very suspicious of the circumstances of the demon’s arrival. She has other students in her A-level Invocations class (aside from an American - I think this is, like, advanced college prep? Maybe AP?), each with their own challenges. One is a cocky kid from an old-magic family - talented, but overconfident and careless. One is another ward of the school, supremely talented, but utterly *lacking* in confidence. One is a bookworm - not really a naturally talented magician, but extremely disciplined and dedicated. Most of Walden’s energy is going towards shepherding her students towards their exams (and then, hopefully Oxford in Nikki’s case). There’s a very soothing quality to it all that makes me think of Becky Chambers.

But the stakes are much bigger, so it’s not a slice-of-life book. There’s an ancient and powerful demon that’s been lurking around the demonic plane adjacent to Chetwood for centuries, feeding off stray magic and the (very occasional) student or teacher when the wards fail. Let’s just say telling us about that demon without having it be a plot point would be a massive Chekov’s gun, and Tesh is too good a writer for that.

There are a number of magic-school tropes that this completely does away with, and it’s delightful. It’s set in more-or-less our world, but magic is open and known - Walden, for example, impresses the hell out of her students when she lets slip that the Pentagon approached her after grad school and offered her a job, which she turned down. Technology works just fine - matter of fact, the school is rather draconian about its smartphone rules because demons have a habit of possessing them. And Chetwood not only offers an excellent magical education, it offers an excellent education all-around; knowing magic is great and all, but you also have to understand, you know, math and such. The current Headmaster is actually a geography teacher, which is part of why so much of the magical side of the admin falls on Walden.

And, naturally, there’s romance. Walden might clash with Chief Marshall Kenning, but she’s also aware that Kenning is competent, dedicated, and extremely attractive.

Cannot recommend this one highly enough. She’s done it again.

My blog

[AndaReadsTooMuch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Y’all. I really wanted to love this one. I absolutely adored Emily Tesh’s Some Desperate Glory. And this had a good, strong start. We had a whole magical school, a lively debate on the personhood of demons (which is now my new favorite philosophical debate question), and a mysterious demon that tormented the school named “Old Faithful”. What could go wrong?

Paperwork. Administrative paperwork. We get so lost in the day to day life of Dr Warden and her role as head of magic, the magic system, the demons, and the energy of the world dwindles completely. By almost the halfway point I felt I had a better handle on the to-do list of Dr. Warden than I did on the purpose of the book. We had the big slug out with Old Faithful and a huge past mystery revealed just barely at the 25% mark. You can’t help but ask yourself, then what?

After the endless tedium of the day to day life of a school administrator, I found myself doing everything but reading the book. It’s well-written, don’t get me wrong. I could not figure out where it was going, and by the halfway mark, I’d lost the interest in getting there. I will say this, coming from a very long line of teachers, the behind the curtain look at what it takes to be a teacher and administrator was accurately captured. Maybe a bit too accurately. I would have loved to see more of the magic system (run on demons and the contracts they forge when they summon them) and more about the school students themselves, how they learn this magic, what effect it has on the world around them. We don’t get to see any of that, except in the barest outline of Dr Walden’s students. This had potential. If only it had applied itself.

[Danny_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

I had such an interesting experience with this book.

On the one hand, I didn't really care about the plot after we hit the 40% mark, and the characters also didn't interest me much. On the other hand, I absolutely adored the academic part of this book. I loved how seeing our main character navigate conversations with her students, and really enjoyed the passion this book had for education.

I have a huge passion for learning, so this book hit all the right spots in my brain. There was one scene where the students debated the ethics of magic, and I felt like I was right back in my uni philosophy class.

I'd honestly love to attend these types of classes.

[Maeghan 🦋 · Rating 3 out of 5]

« Sometimes Walden regretted being a grown-up. It meant you could not say what you actually thought. »

This is probably the hardest book I’ve had to rate this year. The whole teaching concept really resonated with me (I could relate to A LOT of things). I liked following the characters (bonus points because they were in their thirties) and the concept was truly unique. The demons and magic system was amazing to read about.

« Teaching wasn’t about being right, or being clever, or being in charge. It was about making them believe. »

Up until the 75% mark, I truly thought this was going to be a 4 stars read. But the ending was (I’m sorry) truly awful. Throwing the entire character ARC out the window in the last few pages wasn’t a winning move for me. She knew she never wanted kids. She went on one date with this woman and didn’t see her for months afterwards… she sees her once again and she’s making life altering decision this quickly? She had traits of the obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and you’re telling me that through all her rigidity, she changed her mind in the blink of an eye? I had severe whiplash. Especially considering it’s a life altering decision.

« You’re not going to throw me off by telling me the girl I fancy is an awful nerd with a superiority complex. »

« Some of us don’t hang our self-respect on being the best at everything. »