Trans Witch: College of Secrets

by E. Chris Garrison, Danielle Muething (Narrator)

Professor Lily Shelley is frantic to find her wife Penny, who vanished two weeks ago. No one else seems to be looking very hard, not the police or even Penny's family. As Lily refuses to give up hope, she continues searching for clues, even as she teaches English at Moraine University. In her search, she stumbles into a magical world; a college for wizards hidden in forgotten places at the University. Her favorite students come to her aid, helping her retrace Penny's steps to learn the secrets of the School of Applied Metaphysics - as well as her newfound powers - in hopes of rescuing her wife.

Genres: Transgender, Fiction, Fantasy

Audible Audio

Published May 20, 2021

Reviews

[Hawthorn Mineart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. The school was vivid and easy to see in my minds eye - very creative and fun settings. I enjoyed the magic system too - it was original and different and made sense throughout, and when you get to the end you see just how much it makes sense. And most important - Lily was sweet and kind and I felt like I recognized her.

[Isabelle D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new magical world, with LGBT+ characters - perfect read to start Pride Month.
I enjoyed following Lily as she discovered the hidden magical side of the college in which she's a teacher and searched for her missing wife with the help of some students known as the Queer Quartet.

[Katina French · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, fast-paced magical adventure

A cool premise (what if a "second puberty" kicked off magical powers at midlife?) paired with a richly described "college for wizards" make this a standout #ownvoices LGBTQ+ read. The missing spouse mystery at it's heart keeps things moving at an urgent clip. As the stakes keep ratcheting up, it gets harder to put this enjoyable book down. Read in one sitting. A good fit for fans of Leigh Bardugo's "Ninth House," Kat Howard's "An Unkindness of Magicians," Lev Grossman's "The Magicians" and of course, The Series Which Will Not Be Named. 😉

[Erin Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book in just over 24 hours. While I think the entire story is really well written, the character development is the standout piece for me. I immediately cared about our heroine and her quest, and nearly all the characters introduced along the way were similarly likable and relatable. I really enjoyed this book and will of course continue to read anything else this author releases!

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun fiction!

Our lovable heroine is on a quest to find her missing wife and stumbles into a magical world. This was a fun and quick read with some very clever humor thrown in along the way. Would love to see a sequel!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Garrison quickly built a believable and immersive school of magic setting for this novel. There was some really interesting and original qualities such as the archival system using fish. Apart from the initial chapters where Lily discovered magic, the pacing was done well and led to a great conclusion. However, I thought other areas of the novel were lacking. The dialogue felt stilted and juvenile; there were lots of exclamation points and Lily called her sister "sis" a lot in conversation which was cringey. I wish we got more of an internal monologue from Lily to get to know her, the context of her story, and her reactions to her situation. Also, Lily had such a weird and kind of uncomfortable-at-times dynamic with the Queer Quartet considering she's a teacher and they're her students. So in sum, I loved the concept but wasn't a huge fan of the execution.

[Donna Metler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love urban fantasy, supernatural mystery, cozy mysteries, and magical school books. Trans Witch fits into all of these genres, as it weaves Professor Lilly Shelley, the “trans witch” of the title’s search for her missing wife Penny into a magical university setting, with the help of the “Queer Quartet”-four of her students who are also students at the wizarding college, a magical library, an elf, and even a magic eating, opossum faced dog, against the transphobic dean who wants to prevent magic from being revealed to the world, no matter what.

It’s a truly joyous and fun book, a quick read, and will surely be enjoyed by anyone who loves these genres. Apparently it’s part of a shared universe, and I look forward to reading many, many more of them!

[Jennifer Reaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Read" via Audible. A cute story with a lot of LBGTQ+ characters. At times the story seemed a bit rushed and there were portions that you would expect to help the characters later but nothing really came of it. All in all a decent story