Strange Familiars

The Seamere College Duology #1

by Keshe Chow

All's fair in love and magic.

Gwendolynne Chan just needs to get through her final year. At Seamere College of Magical Veterinary Sciences, she spends her days using her powers to heal companion animals while her nights are spent studying for exams. As the top student in the magical familiars stream, she is on track to be awarded Dux of the entire school - as long as the pretentious twat Harrisford Briggs doesn't beat her to it.

Harrisford Briggs was born into privilege. His father, the Chief Financial Officer of Magecorp, a major global distributor of magic, expects him to come top of the year. Harrisford, though, can't help but notice that his father has been acting odd. Really odd. And there are strange whisperings, too. Rumours of uncontrollable surges of excess magic, which Magecorp has been trying to cover up, as well as rampant corruption within the Magical Ministry itself.

When these magical surges begin to rock their way through London, causing chaos and explosions and familiars going feral, Gwen and Harrisford find themselves without a reliable source of magic, putting both of their academic careers at risk. To fix this, they must put aside their duelling feelings of lust and loathing, and - along with Gwen's snarky cat familiar - team up to diagnose the problem. If they fail, not only is their education at stake, but also the fate of the magical world.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Adult, Dark Academia, Magic, Fantasy Romance

432 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2026

About the author

Keshe is a Sunday Times bestselling author and veterinarian. She currently lives in Australia with three humans and one cat. She has won multiple awards for short fiction, as well as the 2022 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Prize for an Unpublished Manuscript.

Her latest book, Strange Familiars, is an academic rivals-to-lovers contemporary romantasy set in a magical veterinary school that treats witch familiars and mythical creatures. It is inspired by Keshe's own experiences at vet school.

Reviews

[Ricarda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I can't possibly miss out on a book about a College of Magical Veterinary Sciences, can I? But maybe it should have been the first red flag that the cover isn't overflowing with magical animals and mythical creatures. The magical vet part played such a minor role in the story that the title and the synopsis are basically misleading, and I couldn't be more disappointed about it. Because I was so very intrigued at the beginning. We meet Gwen, a young woman who studies magical medicine at vet school. It's her job to heal witches' familiars when they are setting things on fire or vomit little frogs or leak magic, and if the entire book would have been about that, I would have been happy. Gwen even steals a cat familiar in the very first chapter and I really thought that this is the basis for the perfect story. But instead we get quickly introduced to Gwen's academic rival Harrisford (such a stupid name, really) and have to deal with a half-baked romance for a good chunk of the book. They are polar opposites and don't get along (of course), and they are also competing for the same position. I must admit that their rivalry was believable to me, because both of them had good reasons to become the top graduate and get the prestigious job that comes along with it. Gwen needs it because she literally can't pay for anything if she doesn't get it and Harrisford is under immense pressure coming from his father. At first I liked their dynamic: Gwen the hardworking daughter of an immigrant family and Harrisford being rich and privileged but also very aware of the pretentiousness of it all. But their interactions were just so weird all the time. They were often thinking the absolute worst of each other and suspecting the other of betrayal while also thinking stuff like "he's so pretty" or "I was totally not looking at her ass". And for some reason they were constantly talking about Twilight? Even during the sex scenes? What was that about?

The main plot of this book was about Gwen and Harrisford having to join forces after plenty of familiars start to act strangely and cause dangerous surges of magic. They do some amateur sleuthing to find out what is causing all of that, and they find out that corporations are evil and that the system is broken. That was the main plot and it was SO boring and lacking all of the cool magical vet stuff. The book really made so little of that premise. I think Gwen was in the animal hospital maybe twice and Harrisford once tended to a dragon and then there was this random Chinese unicorn birth scene and that is all we get. Okay, there also is a (telepathically) talking cat, but he couldn't carry the entire story either. I don't think that the author did a very good job in connecting different plot elements to make an intriguing whole. The magical animals were cool but utilized far to little, the main plot was boring, the romance was meh. I didn't hate reading it, but it sure was a disappointment on many levels. 2.5 stars.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Keshe Chow]

Hello! My name is Keshe Chow and I'm the author of this book, as well as a specialist cat veterinarian, and I'm here to share some content warnings for this book. Some of these things reflect real lived experiences of veterinarians, others reflect the lived experiences of marginalised people. Others are purely due to the nature of this being a fantasy novel.

If any of these topics might be triggering for you, please proceed with caution, or consider not reading at all. Whatever you choose, it's valid! Either way, I thank you wholeheartedly for supporting my work.


Major: classism, cursing/swearing, medical/veterinary content, racism (mostly microaggressions), self-harm, sexual content (open door)

Moderate: animal cruelty/neglect, animal death (occurs off page), human death (human death, occurs off page), blood, emotional abuse (parental), depictions of surgery, toxic relationship (parental), fire/fire injury, light gore, grief, animal pregnancy, animal birth, sexism

Minor: alcohol (consumption), bullying, chronic illness, drug abuse (illicit use of prescription medications), drug use (as above), dysphoria (mentioned), gaslighting, gun violence, kidnapping, confinement, mental illness, misogyny, murder (mentioned), transphobia (mentioned), violence

[rosie (jason todd's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ʚɞ strange familiars by keshe chow ⋆.˚

⋆.˚ 13/4/26 — 9/5/26

⊱ ۫ ׅ book no. 59 of 2026 ── .✦

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

𑣲 ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ɪᴍᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴꜱ/ᴘʀᴇ-ʀᴇᴀᴅ:

EEEEE I GOT ON THE STREET TEAM FOR THIS! one of (if not my most) anticipated releases EVER! 🥹🫶🏻 thank you so much to keshe chow and her team for sending me the e-ARC 🤭💗

Strange Familiars releases on May 19, 2026! 💓

₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚

╰› (⭐4.25)

❝ what's a little blackmail between friends? ❞

⋆.˚ ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:

yet another hit from one of my favourite authors. is anybody surprised?! 😌🤍

genuinely no words for how LUCKY i feel to be able to read and review this book before it comes out, because i've been in love with keshe's writing ever since i read the girl with no reflection, and to be granted an e-ARC of her adult debut!? i must be in heaven 🥹💗

all that to say... KESHE, I HAVE WORDS TO SAY TO YOU ABOUT THAT ENDING 😭 the way that my heart DROPPED when i realised what was happening. HARRISFORD AUUGUGGGHH 😭😭😭

OKAY but let's start from the beginning and talk about the overall concept of this book. i think a school for magical vets and mythological creatures is possibly the COOLEST thing i've actually ever heard. 🙂‍↕️💖

i also adored the concepts of the familiars, and a certain magical familiar in particular (lord percival...) really made me fall in love with the world-building and plot of this book. the mystery was intriguing and the cast of characters were really loveable. 🤍🥹

harrisford... my glasses-wearing, pudding-loving, tea-memorising boy. ohhhhh my goodness my soul genuinely hurts if i think about him for too long, because WHY IS HE SUCH A CUTIE PIE 😭😭😭 the scene where he's healing gwendolynne's thighs... stop that actually made me tear up because ohhhhh my goodness. there is no way this man is not the sweetest character in this entire book. he texts like a dad, and he has so many unresolved daddy issues, and i adore him with every fibre of my being. ❤️🥹

i did love gwendolynne - she was such an endearing, sassy character, and her bond with percy was genuinely EVERYTHING to me. i loved her determination to beat harrisford in literally everything, but i regret to inform you all that i did in fact have a singular issue with her character that sadly prevented this book from getting a higher rating from me. :(

the one issue i had was how gut-wrenchingly OBLIVIOUS gwendolynne is to essentially everything about harrisford. the back-and-forth that this created made me honestly quite irritated, and the ending did not resolve this particular matter - though i'm assuming that the second book in this duology will smooth things over nicely, which just makes me EVEN MORE EXCITED!! 💗🙂‍↕️

i can't merely mention percy and then move on, so i'll allow myself to yap about lord percival the second, usurper of recently vacated chairs, a little longer 🥹💗 he was possibly the CUTEST possible creature that keshe could've written about, because i seriously have a soft spot for senior kitties, and my goodness this crotchety old man cat was one of the best characters in this book. this sarcastic, sardonic little guy tried to heal gwendolynne by purring on top of her 😭😭😭 my sweet old boy omg i love him sm

also, may i say, the casual lgbtq+ and POC representation in this book was a MASSIVE win. the way keshe would sneakily slip in little details about queer characters especially made my heart feel so full. the two old men dancing together... conall's dysphoria... gwendolynne's struggles with racism... the rep is absolutely beautiful and so vital, it makes me actually so so happy. 💖

・・・・・

𑣲 ᴅᴏ ɪ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ?

ABSOLUTELY!!

[rina (hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

‎ ‎ ੭୧‎ ‎ 3 stars‎ ‎ . ۫

overall thoughts — This was a solid, fun novel! I had a pleasant time with it. One trope I will never cease to eat up is academic rivals, and this executed it really well.

I mainly enjoyed the romance. I love pathetically whipped men, and Harrisford gave EXACTLY that. His relationship with Gwendolynne was easily the strongest and most compelling part of the book for me. I loved the banter - it wasn't overly done or juvenile (which can be the case with rival dynamics). I wouldn't necessarily classify their relationship as a slow burn, but the added bits of banter sprinkled throughout made the fast-paced progression more bearable for me.

I will ALWAYS prefer acts of intimacy over explicit scenes, so when Harrisford started healing and kissing her scars, then reassured her that every part of her she's insecure about is beautiful... I actually went feral.

I also really appreciated the small bits of veterinary knowledge. I could tell Keshe Chow put in the research, which is always something I value in fantasy - especially when it helps ground the setting.

To be honest, I wasn't as invested in the magic system or the mystery aspect of the plot. I kind of found it a slog to get through, hence the 3 stars. Some other things I didn't like: the class difference between Gwendolynne and Harrisford being mentioned so frequently became somewhat redundant. The ending was also a bit anticlimatic for me. I can understand the narrative choice Keshe made with Gwendolynne's character in order to progress the love story and the larger Magecorp plotline, but I was still disappointed in regard to a certain choice she made 😕

final thoughts — This was a fun, whimsical read that I did enjoy. While it has its flaws, the romance was VERY bingeable, and I would definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy contemporary romance, strong banter, and swoon-worthy academic rivals.

Thank you to Keshe Crow and Berkley for the ARC! Strange Familiars releases May 19, 2026.

CW: sexual content, self harm

────

finished: 05/03/26 𖥻𓈒 ꒱ ੭
i forgot this was a duology so the ending took me by surprise 😭 this wasn't bad i think? definitely have to do some thinking.

pre read: 04/28/26 𖥻𓈒 ꒱ ੭
so this one is about a magical vet school + academic rivals?? consider me intrigued!! i have heard mixed opinions, but if this doesn't work out, at least the fanart the author has been posting absolutely eats!!

i have read 5 books...in the past week 🌚 i desperately need to touch some grass or be restrained because clearly i am incapable of consuming ANYTHING in a healthy manner. anyways let's make it 6 books 😛

[Gali · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Strange Familiars" by Keshe Chow is the first book in the Seamere College duology, encompassing a magical veterinary school, academic rivals-to-lovers, conspiracies, and a dark academia setting - exactly the kind of book I adore. It introduces compelling characters whose rivalries, ambitions, and hidden depths make for a great read.

Told in dual first-person perspectives, the story follows two scholars of magical veterinary science: British-born Chinese Gwendolynne and upper-class Harrisford Briggs, whose father is one of the top executives at Magecorp, a major global distributor of magic. Both are top students, competing for the coveted Dux, their school’s valedictorian title, which guarantees the winner a prestigious position in the job market.

Magic is used to heal patients (both human and animal) taken from the Void, but uncontrollable surges of excess magic cause chaos and endanger lives. Along with Gwen’s snarky cat familiar and Harrisford’s bearded dragon familiar, the two must put aside their differences to get to the root of the problem and solve it. Alas, their feelings sometimes get in the way.

I absolutely loved this book! Magic and veterinary science are a winning combination. The writing is smooth, with clear, distinct narrative voices. I loved the division of veterinary departments—the Mythological Creatures stream versus the Magical Familiars stream—the telepathic bond between witches and their familiars, and the glimpses into treatments. Keshe Chow drew from her own experiences in veterinary science, which made the depictions authentic. I also loved how one of the patients, the Centaur - part human, part horse - made treating him so challenging.

The dual perspectives let us really get into the minds of both protagonists, which I appreciated. Gwen is a strong female heroine, and I loved her spirit and determination. Harrisford’s character growth was great too - he transforms from spoiled and privileged into a self-aware, empathetic person. I loved their interactions and watching their slow-burn romance unfold.

And then there are the magical familiars! Percy the cat stole the show for me. Kids and animals always steal the spotlight, don’t they? I loved his wit, gruffness, and arrogance - and I’m not even a cat person. There’s a solid cast of supporting characters, crisp and evocative world-building, richly drawn and alluring characters, and deeply felt friendships. While the world-building isn’t fully developed yet and there are a few plot holes, I’m hopeful these will be addressed in the next book.

The book explores themes of self-harm, racism, classism, social commentary, father–son relationships, and privilege. Content warnings include light gore, mentions of murder, depictions of animal birth, self-harm, surgical procedures, sexual scenes, non-legal prescriptions, sedative use, and alcohol consumption.

The vibe is intense, dark, and driven by academic pressure, the story unfolds at a steady pace, and readers who prefer fully fleshed-out world-building in book one or are sensitive to the content warnings may find it less suited to their tastes. The book ends on a cliffhanger, and I can hardly wait for the sequel. If you love dark academia, rival scholars, talking animal familiars, and slow-burn romance, this one is for you. Full stars from me!

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.
* Review on my blog: https://galibookish.blogspot.com/2025...

[Mai ༊*·˚]

Academic rivals to lovers set in a world with magical familiars and the vets taking care of them… yes, yes 🤝👏

_____________

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the ARC.

[S.A. MacLean · Rating 5 out of 5]

HELP I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS IS A DUOLOGY AND I NEED BOOK 2 IMMEDIATELY???

THAT ENDING.

This book. Incredible.

Sometimes you read a book that is so obviously written from a place of passion, an author who not only loves the subject matter but is also astoundingly knowledgeable about it. The magical vet school is so authentic. The pure love (and endless exhaustion) of animal care is so well captured. Give me more fantasy STEM that is SMART and proud of it!!!

Top marks for Percy being a cat who can speak and understand humans perfectly, but is still 100% a cat who is constantly judgmental and moody and barfing on random objects. I love Percy.

The two main characters are deliciously complex, both full of their own insecurities and blind spots to work through, both smart and amazing at what they do. This academic rivals to lovers romance is on fire! The chemistry! The camaraderie! The heartbreak! (Honestly, Chow, how dare you???)

And I was so delighted by the cast of side characters, amazing diversity, with all of them fleshed out in their own unique ways.

Impatiently awaiting the sequel.

[Kalena ୨୧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⋆.˚✮ 5 stars ✮˚.⋆

⤿ Thank you to Ace and Berkley Publishing for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

this book was literally everything that i was hoping for in this story and also so much more!! i was promised dark academia, rivals to lovers, a magical school and animal familiars and oh gosh, was all of this literally perfect. i have nothing but good commentary about this novel.

i adore magical schools, especially ones that feel like they could actually exist! Gwendolynne and Harrisford attend a school centered around veterinary medicine for magical familiars, and use their own magic (controlled by capitalist companies btw- which makes it even more realistic tbh) to treat and care for familiars. Gwendolynne is on the track that deals with animals that are like typical pets, such as cats, dogs, smaller animals and reptiles. Harrisford however is on the track for mythical animals, which was SO fun to see the distinction between them. despite this, they are both in the same college of study and are consistently trying to one up each other for the top spot. might i just comment too, having Harrisford take care of these "elite" animals and Gwendolynne take care of these "typical" animals were perfectly in line with the juxtaposition between them, even though they are so much more than that. it's so cool to see the author thinking about these small things.

plus, it's so obvious Keshe Chow worked as a veterinarian, even if i hadn't read her author's note. there is so much detail describing Gwen and Harrisford taking care of animals that i truly felt like i learned something while reading this! it felt like i was right there with them, and i loved this detail because a lot of the time things like this are passed over. thank you Chow for using your own knowledge to create some amazing detail around veterinary medicine in this book!

sometimes dark academia stories are unable to fully deliver on the secret part that often accompanies a story set at a magical school, but this one did it so perfectly. this plot never slowed down, as the reader gets to know Gwen and Harrisford quickly it becomes obvious something is happening to their magic. and not just theirs, it also includes familiars and other people around the world- though people in power are trying to keep it a secret. there are sooo many plot twists, and i have to admit i didn't even realize the final plot twist until the plot was already there!! i was baffled, and in such a good way. i am honestly left in shambles, waiting for the next book to explain everything that just happened, and i need it right now- i cannot wait to see what happens next!!

Gwen and Harrisford are also such great characters, not to mention their romance being also perfect. literally that's my word for this entire book, perfect perfect perfect. both of them have very unique backstories that guide their paths, and i felt their decisions reflected their backstories perfectly. Gwen grew up with a bit of a struggling family, and while Harrisford grew up with plenty more resources, his family was really complicated as well. there were plenty of juxtapositions, but also a lot more pieces of their personalities that they shared. honestly, i think that's why their romance ended up working so well, they understood each other in a deep way. the banter during the rivals part of their romance was electric, and once it got to their actual romance, ugh it was just so perfect. there's a lot of details i cannot share about this book for spoilers, but im obsessed with them and how Harrisford takes care of Gwen.

as well, Gwen ends up with a familiar named Percy who is a cat that was mistreated by his previous owners and was supposed to be put down. she ends up saving him, and their connection was a piece of the story that was truly adorable. he's a little grumpy, but honestly what cat isn't? his connection with Gwen is ultimately what helped her during the final bit of the plot, and i cannot wait to see how he and Gwen grow together in the next book.

i am sitting eagerly waiting for the second book, because i need to know exactly what happens to my new favorite characters!! so obsessed with this series and looking forward to checking out Keshe Chow's other books in the future.

↬ trigger warnings: medical and veterinary content, racism, self-harm depiction, death and murder, animal neglect and death, depictions of grief, graphic injury, fire injury

[Sophie ❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not what I was expecting! I went in thinking this was a cozy romance (my mistake! that cover gives off those vibes), but instead, I got:

Sleuthing, thieving, explosions, disappearances and murder!!

It was way heavier on the action, but I wasn’t even mad about it. This was a wild ride, and I was thoroughly entertained.

I loved the dynamic between Gwen and Harrisford, but they also drove me a little crazy. They are opinionated, stubborn, and love to assume the worst about each other. The banter and the chemistry were great, but I hated the miscommunication. Also, the attraction sometimes felt forced onto the reader rather than being a natural, slow burn. With that said, I was still really into it. I just loved their personalities so much, and the spicy scenes were so good.

I’m not sure I fully grasped the magic system. I think I understood most of it, but I was a little confused at times. The writing style was really easy and straightforward, but I also felt I was being told what happened rather than experiencing it.

Overall, I had a great time, and I’m really curious to know what happens next after that cliffhanger.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this one! A magical vet school where two rivals fall in love while uncovering a mystery? From the beginning, I was really into this story! I LOVED the rivals to lovers plot and how Gwen and Harrisford were competing for the top spot in the school. Harrisford was pining so hard and I loved how obsessed he secretly was with Gwen. Their banter was adorable and certain scenes where they were forced to be close to each other!? I loved.

The overall plot of this one, though, I found lacking and I really wanted to love more. Taking place at a magical academy, I thought this would have so many more fun magical things. We only saw a few fun animals and then didn't really see a lot more magical vet things. The investigation into these magical surges also fell flat for me, and I just didn't care about anything else regarding the plot. So while the romance really had me hooked, I quickly lost interest in the rest of the plot and was just left wanting more.

[Jenna Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a delightfully fun and sexy good time! I’m completely hooked and I’m counting down the days until we get book two. (Also can we talk about how *amazingly* downbad Harrisford is? And how Percy is like, my favorite character from any book ever?? If so, you know where to find me. I ate this book up with a spoon.)

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange Familiars is a magical romance following two academic rivals, Gwen and Harrisford, who find themselves in the middle of a life altering mystery as magic throughout the world begins to surge and become unstable. This was such a good read! The tension and banter between Gwen and Harrisford was top tier, the two quite literally hated each other from the start and it made for so much chemistry and undeniable attraction. I loved how their relationship evolved and their feelings unfolded as the mystery and adventure of the plot progressed. The romance and the magical storyline were perfectly entwined and kept me engaged from beginning to end. Not to mention all the whimsical magical creatures and the veterinary college setting, I loved getting to explore the magic system through the academic surroundings. Filled with intrigue and tension, every page of this enchanting romance delivered unwavering fantasy and enough chemistry to last a lifetime.

~Many thanks to Berkley Romance for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars
(German version below)

It started out really interesting, not wasting any time jumping straight into the action. Gwen saved a cat; we met the hero. I was enjoying myself.

So far, so good, right?! Wrong. Because then the cat started talking. Now, obviously, that’s a personal problem, and I’m also not always against talking animals (only most of the time); it can work for me. But only if the animal doesn’t talk, as if it were just another human trapped in an animal’s body, does that make sense? That ofc wasn’t the case here. So I really disliked that part of the story. You might have no problem with it; it’s just something that’s decidedly not for me.

Back to our protagonists. Gwen and Harrisford are academic rivals and dislike each other. That part of the story worked well. However, the author really went in on the dislike part, and I constantly had to read all these horrible things they thought of each other. Which were randomly interspersed by how hot they thought the other person was, which to me is always strange and nonsensical. Like, pick a lane. And then maybe throw some relationship development in there later on to show why they now feel different about each other? Idk. What I’m trying to say is that their romance didn’t really work for me. I didn’t hate it, but that’s about it. I found that they went from disliking to loving each other way too fast and for no discernible reason, really. Personally, I didn’t believe their feelings for each other.

Plot wise there’s a mystery they have to solve, which I found to be rather boring.

One last thing to note, this was supposed to be an adult romance but felt like YA. I think the overall tone of this story, with the talking animals, the boarding school feeling, and all, was way more YA than adult, which was a bit annoying.

All of that makes it sound like I hated it, which I didn’t. I was just not vibing with it, or, in other words, this was not a book for me.

I read this in German and listened to the (German) audiobook for a while. And I really liked the audiobook, both narrators, Emma Frost and Leonard Hohm, were a great fit for the characters and I enjoyed their narration.


Thank you to the publisher for the arc.

___

Anfangs war ich wirklich interessiert an der Geschichte, die sofort in die Handlung eingestiegen ist, ohne viel Zeit mit Worldbuilding oder Ähnlichem zu verschwenden. Gwen hat eine Katze gerettet, wir haben den Helden kennengelernt. Ich hatte eine gute Zeit.

Aber dann hat die Katze angefangen zu sprechen und sprechende Tiere sind leider etwas, das ich nur selten in Büchern mag. Denn meistens reden diese Tiere dann genauso wie Menschen, was mich nicht nur generell stört, sondern mich auch immer an Kinderbücher erinnert.

Von meinen persönlichen Vorlieben mal abgesehen, fand ich Gwen und Harrisfords Dynamik am Anfang sehr unterhaltsam. Sie konnten sich nicht leiden, es gab eine kleine Rivalität zwischen ihnen, das war alles recht gut dargestellt. Aber wirklich überzeugen von ihren Gefühlen konnten sie mich nicht. Zuerst haben sie ständig die schrecklichsten Dinge voneinander gedacht und erwartet, aber gleichzeitig darüber fantasiert, wie gutaussehend doch die jeweils andere Person ist. Das fand ich zu widersprüchlich. Und dann ging mir alles etwas zu schnell und ich habe ihnen ihre Gefühle füreinander einfach nicht abgekauft.

Was die Handlung abseits der Liebesgeschichte angeht, war ich anfangs noch interessiert, hab aber, je weiter ich gekommen bin, immer mehr das Interesse verloren.

Auch fand ich, dass sich die Charaktere weniger, wie Personen Mitte zwanzig und mehr wie 18-/19-Jährige gelesen haben, was nervig war.

Ich denke, dieses Buch war ein klarer Fall von Einfach nicht für mich.


Danke an den Verlag für das Rezensionsexemplar.

[Nenia Campbell]

I'm absolutely feral for this 😭😭

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This was an enjoyable read but I felt like it was lacking something with the romance! I love the familiars and the magic system also that ending makes me want to finish the series

[Esmay Rosalyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally published on Before We Go Blog

Okay so please do not let yourself be fooled by the charming cover and cozy-ish romantic set-up of Strange Familiars, because Keshe Chow is absolutely coming for our hearts here. Like yes, this is absolutely a fun academic rivals-to-lovers fantasy romance full of whimsy and magical creatures and chaotic banter, but then it’s also got dangerous conspiracies, magical surges causing absolute havoc, and enough trauma, tension and emotional damage to make me briefly forget how to function. And you know what, I love it for that.

Look, I am always a sucker for a good rivals to lovers set-up, especially when it’s not just a flimsy ‘they mildly dislike each other for two chapters before making out’ situation but a TRUE rivalry between two messy people with a messy history and deep issues, which is exactly what Strange Familiars delivers. See, Gwen is the daughter of a Chinese immigrant family and she genuinely needs the money and opportunities that come with becoming Dux, while Harrisford is the son of one of the top executives at Magecorp, carrying the crushing expectation that he must always be the best and eventually follow in his father’s footsteps. Their rivalry feels so deeply rooted in class differences and prejudice and insecurity and years of resentment, and I loved how much of a rocky road it was for them to realise maybe their assumptions about each other weren’t entirely right after all.

Now, I have to admit that Harrisford was really testing me in the beginning, so much so that I was not sure if I would ever come to like him. See, I was instantly rooting for Gwen, which meant I was also instantly judging Harrisford through her eyes, and unfortunately for him he really proved himself to be the arrogant, privileged twat that Gwen thought him to be, even in his own chapters. But thank all that is holy for the dual POV, because the more time I spent in his head, the more I realised how much complexity, vulnerability, trauma and daddy issues were hiding underneath all that haughtiness, which ended up being one of my favourite parts of Strange Familiars. Like, he may have been down BAD for Gwen, but I fear I was even more down bad for this emotionally constipated man, sorry not sorry.

And sure, the progression of feelings over a few weeks is kind of ridiculous if you really think about it, but somehow they completely sold me on it anyway. Maybe because they already had such a long complicated history, maybe because the chemistry and teasing banter is so good, maybe because these two idiots were lying to themselves all along (the glamour thing, iykyk!!). To me it all still felt slow-burn even when it technically wasn’t, and when they finally gave in and got together I was genuinely screaming because those scenes were somehow both so hot and so emotionally vulnerable at the same time. Keshe Chow, the woman that you are!!

But while the romance was obviously the beating heart of Strange Familiars for me, I really appreciated that it’s got so much more to love than just that. The worldbuilding feels so rich without ever becoming overwhelming, the atmosphere of the alternative magical Britain setting is so immersive and whimsical (especially on audio with the delicious British accents!), the casually queer vibes were giving me life, and I loved how you could really feel Keshe Chow’s veterinary experience and passion dripping off every page. Also, I can’t talk about this book without talking about the familiars and the sheer variety of magical creatures running around causing problems for everyone involved, which I loved. Especially Gwen’s opinionated, snarky cat familiar Percy really stole the show for me, and the unbreakable bond between Harrisford and his bearded dragon familiar called Pudding tugged on all my heartstrings.

And then to balance out all that whimsy, Strange Familiars has a seriously high stakes mystery plot which completely blindsided me with how tense and dark it became. The threat of the magical surges and the corruption within Magecorp and the Ministry are woven so intricately into the characters’ own emotional journeys and their complicated interpersonal relationships, and I loved how every twist just escalated things further and further into chaos and emotional devastation. Sometimes I did feel a bit overwhelmed by all the action, especially because I thought I had signed up for a cozy fantasy at first, but Keshe Chow just made it work so well. The stakes felt real, the twists and turns were so wild, and the way that the tension built on every single level just had me in an absolute chokehold. And then that cliffhanger? DIABOLICAL, what do you mean I have to wait for more now???

Strange Familiars was just such a wild emotional rollercoaster from start to finish, and I constantly felt torn between wanting to binge this audiobook as fast as possible because I was completely obsessed and wanting to savour it because I did not want to leave these characters behind yet. It’s whimsical and romantic and chaotic and painful and funny and full of yearning and weird little creatures and emotional damage, and I cannot recommend it highly enough if you want a diverse fantasy romance full of heart and hurt. Don’t mind me staring into the void while I impatiently wait for book 2 now, ugh.

Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder and Stoughton Audio for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Strange Familiars is scheduled for release on 19 May 2026.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 ⭐️

this was cute! i loved the concept of becoming a veterinarian for magical animals/familiars, and i also appreciate an academic setting.

however, i do think that the academic setting was underutilized in the story, especially because the conflict primarily related to a corrupt corporation completely separate from the school.

i do anticipate wanting to complete the series, especially after the cliffhanger ending!

**thank you to Ace for the gifted copy**

[Bailey Chadwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I loathe cozy fantasy. But this should have been a cozy fantasy and left most of the plot out. The vet stuff with magical animals I liked. Everything else was a snooze fest. Terrible world building and two idiot main characters made this a real slog.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was written in the heat of the moment and might contain some ranting and raging xD

First of all: As a romance reader I actually feel insulted if an author throws in the last minute "he´s liked her for years" - but surprise, he was still an asshole who used his wealth and good looks to sleep around. It´s a pet peeve of mine and dragged the rating for this book down significantly. It´s even worse when the FMC is the one who is "too busy" to have sex and is not as experienced. Because it appears to be a rule in romance that the woman is not supposed to have an active and healthy sex life, only the man. She´s just waiting for his magic dick to show her how amazing it can be. I´m sick of this shit and it ruined an otherwise great book. Please stop these aggravating double standards, which are so often written by female authors. If the MMC is a manho I want my FMC to be dicked down regularly as well, thank you very much!

This book is NOT bad. The first part really drew me in—the plot, the worldbuilding, the nature of the magic, the writing style, and the female main character Gwen and her familiar. All of this laid the groundwork for a really good and new story/concept.

And, as so often, everything was ruined because of a man. Everything kind of came to a screeching halt. It´s not that I hated Harrisford but I did not particularly like him either. He´s a haughty bastard who thinks lowly of Gwendolynne because she´s poor. He does have a sad history and baggage, which was the only thing that made me feel a little sympathetic towards him and we learn not everything is as it seems at least in that regard. He has actual growth in this book.

While the romance is not necessarily terrible- they have their moments and chemistry - I also do not really believe it.
At some point, I stopped counting how often the two of them dwell on how much they hate each other—that they’re rivals, enemies, competitors, blah, blah, blah. As if I somehow hadn’t noticed already. The repetition really annoyed me. A lot is told but not shown.

The same applies to the fact that, in more or less every of Gwens POVs, we are reminded (through her thoughts) just what a playboy Harrisford is—how many women he must surely have been with (or still is with), how many "side pieces" he likely has in every city, and just how little self-confidence Gwen possesses, mainly because of those thoughts. It got onto my fucking nerves. And while I was secretly hoping that Gwen was wrong about his reputation - that maybe it was all a facade it was more or less confirmed in Harrisfords POVs that he really does sleep around though never really to what extend.
If you remind us readers of his reputation in EVERY chapter I personally expect it to not be true, or at least not to the extend. Or why else do we need the reminder? Is once or twice not enough? We get it! A lot of readers don´t mind and I think I also wouldn´t have minded as much if we at least got some kind of reassurance that he kept his dick in his pants after he realized he liked her (which was about two years ago, even though everyone says something else, sometimes it´s seven years, then "a few years" and then two years ago - how about the author makes up her mind here?) It felt so all over the place and just confused me.

So nothing new here. It´s all so cliché, it´s almost painful and made me physically cringe. She also never asks him if his reputation is actually true, even though it clearly makes her insecure. She never truly trusts him to be loyal, even after sleeping with him, which says a lot. He also treats her badly a lot of times and it is a lot of push and pull. And everytime she trusts him again immediately, throwing herself back at him like a lost puppy. Does she not have any pride?

All of this mess is what took away from their romance and chemistry - in my opinion. I want the focus to be on the actual romance and not his past. He does commit to her in the end at least - even though they never confess it. I´m sure book 2 will be a lot better.

I liked the side characters, the mystery, the investigation and if the romance was not so fucking annoying, this could´ve been at least a 4 star read and it feels wrong to just give it 2 stars, that´a why it´s 3.

I´m straight as straight can be but sometimes I think I should start reading F/F so I don´t have to deal with men like this.

Did it still pull me in somehow and do I still want to know how the story continues? Unfortunately yes.

[Madison (madinotmaddiereads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

here’s an ACTUAL four star review since some people want to be racist, xenophobic and transphobic in theirs.

Strange Familiars is a charming fantasy set in a world of magical veterinarians and their familiars. If you were someone that enjoyed the Fantastic Beasts franchise and the “dramione” fanfic dynamics, this is the perfect book to pick up as it scratches all those itches while giving thoughtful contribution to the BIPOC experience from the eyes of a Chinese main character. I also appreciated the glimpses into how classism impacted our FMC and seeing her navigate around calling out privilege in those with different backgrounds made me admire her strength so much more.

The world itself is really interesting with intriguing powers at play, full of twists and turns that left me feeling very excited for the next book in this duology! I loved the cast of supporting characters and have to give note to the wonderful bits of inclusion Keshe wrote into representing different identities in the side characters. I’m grateful stories like this exist where people across the spectrum can find themselves in the pages.

For the next book, I’m hoping for more development around the magic system and really looking forward to seeing how Gwendolynne steps more into herself, her power, and the fullness of who she will become.

Thank you to Ace and Berkley publishing for the advanced reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts 💌

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book of 2026 and it’s 5 stars!

I absolutely loved this book. I’ve already decided to pre-order it—and I’ll be pre-ordering the sequel too.

The academic rivals-to-lovers trope was done so well. I loved watching them slowly open up and learn to trust each other. The magical world was also incredible to read about. I am endlessly jealous of anyone with a familiar—it’s been my obsession ever since I first read The Golden Compass. And honestly, any book with a talking cat and a lizard is already winning in my eyes.

The plot was engaging and well-paced. It’s open-door spice and ends on a cliffhanger.

I also appreciated the representation in this book regarding ethnicity, sexuality, and mental health.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this arc.

[abigailscupoftea · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is everything!! a magical university? check. academic rivals that are studying veterinary science? check. he falls first? check. a sassy feline familiar? CHECK. 🐈‍⬛💫🪄

i also love the fact that the author is a feline medicine veterinarian in real life. 🥹

[⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆ Kim ⋆˚୨ৎ˚⋆]

⋆˙⟡ 𝒫𝓇𝑒-𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹: Hi, everyone! So what I’m NOT going to do here on my page EVER is write a transphobic, racist, xenophobic review for a book written by a BIPOC author or any author, especially a book written by an Asian author during ANHPI month, no less. I also will NOT tolerate anyone on my page showing any signs or behaviors reflecting anything along the lines of….THAT reviewer. (If you know, you know.) BIPOC authors and creators already have to work ten times as hard to get the same recognition at as our white counterparts, which is why it’s so important to uplift BIPOC creators (and underrepresented communities in general)!

Moving on from that, I wanted to say I got the eARC a while back (in December!) and I’m SO excited to start this. A dark academia VETERINARIAN romance with cute animals? Sign me up.

Thank you so much to Berkley | Ace Books, Keshe Chow, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Strange Familiars will be officially published on May 19th, 2026!

[hailee · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. all opinions are my own.

i thought thought the overall concept for this one was super interesting but, unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me.

ALSO: make sure you look at the content warnings inside the book before starting it!!!!! i’ve included them at the bottom of this review.

the first 20ish percent of this really had hooked me. i was so intrigued by the world, the magical veterinary school, and the academic rivalry going on between the two main characters. again, the beginning was really great and i had high hopes for this before it started to drag.

i think i was expecting more fantasy in this one than we got, which maybe is on me. i was hoping to have more with the actual magical veterinary school, classes, just overall scenes, etc. there was one really cool scene that i thought did an excellent job at showing us more magic while also building up the romance, and i wish we got some more of that.

the rivalry between gwen and harrisford was pretty believable, in my opinion, because i think they both had valid motivations to fight for the top spot in school. i thought the romance would be a great slow burn, but they randomly started moving VERY quickly. i guess i can understand this from one side (without spoilers), but i think it definitely took me out of the story. also i love twilight as much as the next person, but that t shirt thing was overplayed way too much i’m sorry.

also - some of the dialogue, inner monologue, and just overall writing choices felt a bit juvenile compared to what the ages of the characters were. i think they’re supposed to be in their early to mid twenties, but sometimes it felt like they were still in high school.

what i did like:
- diversity & representation!!
- concept of the story/setting
- the animals duh
- the bones of the romance

i think a lot of people will absolutely eat this one up, it just wasn’t for me.

content warnings: gore, murder, animal birth, on page surgery, self harm, discussions of racism, privilege, and class (and potentially more, these are just the big ones).

[anzhelika ୨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 5 stars ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

"What's a little blackmail between friends, eh?"

this might actually be my newest obsession. as soon as i read the premise of strange familiars i knew this would be SO good. and it truly was. the concept is literally extraordinary! what do you mean dark academia, magic, and veterinary science?! a combo i didn't know i needed.

strange familiars was a very fun and cute read for me. i absolutely enjoyed reading about this magical world because it wasn't overdone and you could easily understand how everything worked. i completely fell in love with the idea of magical familiars, that is so adorable! more specifically with a particular familiar (percy).

the characters were definitely loveable. gwendolynne and harrisford have a special place in my heart now. i loved how both characters were determined with their goals, making them complex in different ways. i also obviously enjoyed the academic rivals to lovers, the chemistry and banter was there! it's not even funny how much i need the second book right now to see everything resolved between them.

when we were approaching the ending i knew what was coming yet i refused to believe it until it happened. ughh i need the next book after that cliffhanger! overall i DEFINITELY recommend!

˗ˋˏ ୨୧ thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton | Hodderscape, and Keshe Chow for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review! ୨୧ ˎˊ˗

pre-read:
ahh this is so exciting, i got on the street team for this book! thank you so much to the author and her team for sending me a widget for the arc!

[Faiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 rounded up! this was a cute read! the strongest part for me was the magic system and world. this is a book truly steeped in magic. it’s not just that people have powers they use at opportune moments - but the whole world itself is dripping in magic.

the fmc gwendolynne is in magical vet school, and as weird stuff starts happening, her and her (ofc handsome) academic rival team up to figure out what’s going on.

the tone of this felt a bit jarring, i think it’s technically adult but it felt YA to me. the characters felt young imo, but there was a ridiculous amount of swearing. i felt like every other page had the f-word which felt a bit silly.

other than that though it was a fun read and im looking forward to book 2!

thank you berkley pub for the ARC!!!

[Anna (annareadit)]

RTC

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[cate · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

this book was simultaneously overwritten and underdeveloped, and i'm sad. i really liked the plot but the execution wasn't really up to what i wanted. things felt under explained, even with all the info dumping, and i kept getting confused. there were so many plotlines going on at once and they all felt unbalanced, like nothing was getting explained properly. things that should be important are treated with a hand wave, and i can only hope that the unfinished plot points will be tied up nicely in book 2.

i really liked gwen, but the romance was just....fine. i don't need to be told every two pages that they're enemies/rivals. verbatim. i get it. plus, briggs' name......Yeah. i didn't feel the chemistry between them, even though i liked them as characters.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Significantly more mommy issues than I would have guessed from the blurb.

Sadly, I didn’t like much of this at all, so I’ll start with what I did like. It’s obvious that Chow is passionate about veterinary medicine and has pulled from her real life for this, and as a result the strongest part of this book is the magical veterinary scenes. I enjoyed the detail and thought that went into them, especially the scenes with the large mythical creatures and animal husbandry. The inclusion of the qilin and the bit about the ethical quandary surrounding centaurs are some of my favorite moments, and I wish the book had done more to expand that sort of world-building instead of the magical capitalism stuff with the poorly developed mystery plot.

In the acknowledgements, Chow says she is a specialist in feline medicine and that Percy the cat is inspired by her own (sadly deceased) kitty. You can tell, because Percy is a standout and adds to every scene he is in. He is more entertaining than any of the human characters. It’s too bad that he is sidelined and kept out of the majority of Gwendolynne’s adventures because a) it weakens the worldbuilding and magic rules to make the blackmail set up work and b) as soon as he is allowed to participate, things are much more fun.

There are some interesting concepts here; Chow introduces things like the listening books in the library, the magic vending machines and monetization of magic through big corporations, and the application of magic with technology and use with modern medicine, but unfortunately none of them are explored, used to make the world feel lived in, or further the plot.

And that’s pretty much where my enjoyment ends.

The marketing on this is odd. The blurb calls it an adult dark academia fantasy, but outside of the typical romance beats, some scenes lean cozy and others more urban fantasy crime solving. I struggle to see where the advertised “dark academia” is. There is no dubious morality going on in the academic setting. (Is Gwendolynne’s self-harm supposed to be the dark academia element here? The fact that it’s set at university?) The tone of the narration leans generic contemporary rom com. Characters are constantly internally acknowledging their privilege, chiding themselves for their missteps and promising to do better, and reaffirming the importance of consent. I question the categorization of this as “adult” fantasy at all. The only thing that makes this “adult” are the (seriously tame) open door sex scenes.

Keshe Chow has only written YA prior to this, and though I dislike painting the category with a broad brush—there is some wonderful and mature YA out there—it shows. Real adult fiction trusts the reader; it doesn’t tell you how to feel. It trusts that you can interpret a character’s emotions or actions without being spoonfed, and that you can sit with discomfort and uncertainty if someone’s motives are unclear.

This book does not do that. Every emotion and action is overexplained via internal monologue because this book assumes you, the reader, are a moron and have been afflicted by terminal TikTok brainrot disease, incapable of processing or remembering information for longer than two minutes at a time. (Gwendolynne and Harrisford hate each other!!!! They are enemies!!!!) If you, like me, put the book down at any point because you are bored to tears, don’t worry! Chow makes sure to repeat information every chapter, so there is no risk of missing anything, even if you skim just to make it through to the end.

Worst of all, the romance is bad. With the way the dual POV is implemented, there is no tension, and therefore no chemistry between anyone—romantic or otherwise. And look. I don’t want to be That Person. You know That Person. The one who has only read seven books in their whole life and all seven of those books were Harry Potter, so they think everything with a magic school or some vaguely similar element is doing a riff on it. But with that disclaimer, there is a lot here that feels like it’s written to target the Dramione trend, especially given the sheer amount of Dramione fanfic that has been pulled to publish and released in 2025 (with more coming in 2026). And it’s not that there’s even that much here that’s similar to HP beyond the very surface level, but if you set your rivals-to-lovers in a magic school in England, starring a goody-two-shoes poor girl and blond rich boy, and your characterization is this lacking, I’m gonna make the comparison.

But at least Gwendolynne and “Harrisford-Fucking-Briggs”—a forced running bit that was tired the instant it was introduced—get a little more depth than any of the side characters in this book. In Strange Familiars, if your name isn’t Gwendolynne or Harrisford, your description is basically “a [race] character with [key defining feature]”. Chow has created a queer normative world, and the attention to diversity is nice, but it’s 2026, and that’s not enough. There is nothing in their dialogue or their actions that shows characterization or distinguishes any of them from each other. You could remove all their names and it would be impossible to tell them apart on the page without Gwendolynne’s inner narration identifying who is who via expositing superficial details to us, because they barely have a single personality trait allotted to them.

I picked this up because it looked like a fun time. Unfortunately, everything about the way this book is crafted meant that I just didn’t care. About the characters, the plot, or that cliffhanger. There’s an audience for this book, but it’s just not me.

Would I re-read this: No

Who should read this:
Dramione fans
people who like contemporary romance wearing glasses and a trenchcoat masquerading as urban fantasy

Thank you to Ace/Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC.

[Erin (erinsreadingroom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

☆ 3.5 stars

Strange Familiars is the first instalment in The Seamere College duology by author Keshe Chow. I immediately became obsessed in my need to get my hands on this book as quickly as humanly possible after falling in-love with the early premise. A rivals-to-lovers tale surrounding two academic students attending a school for magical veterinary science who suddenly find themselves forced to work together in facing against a nefarious mystery? Count me in. Despite knowing the synopsis I admittedly had been expecting a more light and cosy narrative tone throughout the story and therefore found myself (pleasantly) surprised at just how dark and sinister this reading journey turned out to be. I really enjoyed the magic system and the way that magic needs to be procured within this modern-day world. It was eye-opening to learn that just because magic is readily available… it does not mean that it is made to be accessible to everyone and that its access is rooted in privilege. The handling of the themes including but not limited to; classism, racism, societal privilege and financial struggles was executed with the upmost care whilst also refusing to undermine its importance and impact. The inclusion of representation (disability, mental illness, LGBTQ+ and more) felt flawless and read with ease with every new character that we meet.

I’ll forever love the concept of animal familiars in Fiction as I’m sure my fellow animal lovers can attest in just how badly we wish that we could communicate with our pets. Lord Percival the second (Percy) was an utter delight who kept me endlessly entertained with his grumpy demeanour and typical cat-like qualities, paired with the hidden softness that he harbours for his ‘hairless one.’ The variety of familiars on campus opened up a seamless introduction into the seemingly endless variety of creatures that exist within this universe and I loved getting the chance to learn about as many as of them as possible. It was interesting to learn about the surges and how they negatively impact the animals and their ties to magic, however I do wish that some of the explanations had been further expanded upon for greater clarification.

The world-building was executed well-enough for general understanding, however unfortunately for me I found a lot of this to follow a more ‘tell not show’ approach which caused some confusion throughout the book. It took me a while to even realise what a ‘dux’ was and why our two main characters had remained such fierce rivals in their competition for the coveted role over a seven-year period. The explanation surrounding the Void and its components necessary to the plot progression also felt a little lacklustre for me. The best way I can think to explain is it sometimes felt like (in my mind) I’d unintentionally skipped over a paragraph which contained the missing piece in my knowledge, so I’m definitely hoping some clearer expansion on this in the second instalment of the duology.

Admittedly I found myself grinning really hard at the ‘Pride and Prejudice (2005)’ cameo as prior to this moment I couldn’t stop thinking that the dynamic between our two main characters reminded me so much of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett. I felt nothing but deep-rooted respect and admiration for Gwendolynne ‘Gwen’ Chan throughout her narrative point-of-view. I deeply sympathised with her struggles and the reality that she’s had to work significantly harder than her more privileged peers in order to be granted the same amount of academic recognition and respect that they receive. Her passionate drive and empathy for animals made her an easy character to like and I had a lot of fun getting to see her evolve as a character. However it also became clear that Gwen harbours a sense of pride that is derived from the insecurity of never wanting to have need or rely on others for survival. Her inability to trust in others finds Gwen in some difficult situations that she struggles to find her way out of, and overall I loved getting to witness her growth as she slowly begins to lean on others.

Harrisford Briggs is the type of character that will test your patience upon introduction as he presents himself to be a privileged, selfish and uncaring individual who cares only for his own ambitions. His privilege made him wilfully blind to the struggles of others which displayed him to regard others with apathy and a complete lack of sympathy. I absolutely loved getting to witness his steady growth as he finds himself in situations that made his own privilege blatantly obvious and the self-awareness that he acquired as a result. Harrisford grows into a deeply empathetic and self-aware man who realises that there’s more sinister things at play that he is in a position to try and resolve. I was obsessed with how deeply he yearned for Gwen and how committed he became in forsaking his own wants in the hopes of further attaining her affection. I love a man who yearns and earns which is exactly what Harrisford Briggs sets out to do, and I cannot wait to see what comes next for his character in the next book.

The relationship progression between Gwen and Harrisford remained fairly inconsistent throughout the majority of this book as every time they seemed to make progress in finding common ground… something else would happen and result in them ending back at the beginning of their tumultuous dynamic. A lot of their struggles came across to me as self-sabotage in their fear of acknowledging what their hidden feelings could warrant for their future. Both Gwen and Harrisford’s aspirations could be interpreted as self-centred and selfish at the beginning of their journey, however I think the exploration of their individual struggles throughout their independent narrative helps to showcase that it’s often much more complex than that. Communication isn’t their strongest attribute and this is something that I’m hoping to see them learn and grow from in the next book. Their chemistry is undeniable and I love nothing more than the tale of a love that should be doomed to fail that instead prospers through grit and determination. I adored getting to see both characters learn how to soften their defences and display their deepest vulnerabilities and fears with trust. There’s so much potential between Harrisford and Gwen that I cannot wait to further explore in the final book of the Seamere College duology, and I will be desperately counting down the days to see what will happen next after that shocking ending to Strange Familiars.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞.