The Magicians meets One Last Stop in this brand-new fantasy romance Remedial Magic, about an unassuming librarian who 1) has fallen in love with a powerful witch; 2) has discovered that she is a witch; and 3) must attend magical community college to learn how to save her new world from complete destruction by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr!
Ellie loves working in her local library in the small town of Ligonier. She loves baking scones and investigating the mysterious and captivating in her spare time. And there is nothing more mysterious and captivating than the intriguingly beautiful, too properly dressed woman sipping tea in her library who has appeared as if out of nowhere. The pull between them is undeniable, and Ellie is not sure that she wants to resist.
Prospero, a powerful witch from the magical land of Crenshaw, is often accused of being… ruthless in her goals and ambitions. But she is driven to save her dying homeland, and a prophecy tells her that Ellie is the key. Unbeknownst to Ellie, her powers have not yet awakened. But all of that is about to change.
Ellie loves working in her local library in the small town of Ligonier. She loves baking scones and investigating the mysterious and captivating in her spare time. And there is nothing more mysterious and captivating than the intriguingly beautiful, too properly dressed woman sipping tea in her library who has appeared as if out of nowhere. The pull between them is undeniable, and Ellie is not sure that she wants to resist.
Prospero, a powerful witch from the magical land of Crenshaw, is often accused of being… ruthless in her goals and ambitions. But she is driven to save her dying homeland, and a prophecy tells her that Ellie is the key. Unbeknownst to Ellie, her powers have not yet awakened. But all of that is about to change.
Title: Remedial Magic (A Course In Magic #1)
Author: Melissa Marr
Publisher: Bramble/Tor Trade
Expected Publication Date: February 20, 2024
Expected Publication Date: February 20, 2024
Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble/Tor Trade for providing me with an egalley of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
This was my first Melissa Marr book. I have heard really great things about this author but have not had a chance to read anything by her before now. I was excited to read this for the magical aspect as well as the LBGTQ+ representation I was promised as I'm trying hard to expand my reading palette. Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed with either of these in this book.
My first issue is the blurb versus what you actually get in the book. I thought I was getting Ellie and Prospero's story, which you do to an extent. But we also see several other points of view in the book, which was not evident in the blurb at all. So now, rather than having to focus on two POVs and their romance blooming, I was forced to watch multiples POVs and romances. Normally, I'd be ok with several POVS, but six? It was just too much for my brain to be happy with. The marketing of this one needs to be tweaked. Maybe give a hint there are other POVs when showing what it is to the public. On top of that, all the characters suddenly have romantic interests and it just all seemed so impossible to believe, even for a fantasy.
From the beginning, I could tell what would happen to Ellie. It was very obvious to me and I would have liked a bit more mystery there. She's a normal functioning human then POOF she's a witch. And after trying her hardest to figure out what happened to all these people who disappeared, now it was her turn? It was just to contrite for me.
The world building for this one isn't bad. I enjoyed the magical aspect. And I love a good magical academia book. But I didn't see as much of that as I would have liked. Even at half way through, I was still trying to figure out when the characters would take part in classes that would help them with their magic. It took way too long to get going.
In all honestly, I was bored with this book. I tried to be invested in the characters but since they were barely developed it was hard to really care about them in any deep way. I didn't connect with them or want to know how their stories would turn out. The author gave me no reason to want to know.
There was nothing drawing me to pick this book up and read. I read it only because I knew I'd have to review it, so I pushed myself through chapters. But I also had the hope things might pick up later on in the book and they didn't. I ended up skimming many of the chapters.
I will admit, I was initially drawn in by the cover art (I can't pass up a beautiful cover) and then the blurb drew me in further. But even with those, I was disappointed in what was presented.
I am doubtful I would move on to the rest of this series, even with the cliffhanger ending.
Melissa Marr is a former university literature instructor who writes fiction for adults, teens, and children and sometimes teaches in an MFA program. Her books have been translated into twenty-eight languages and been bestsellers internationally as well as domestically (NY Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal).
After a quieter spell the last few years (due to both adopting a sick baby & health complications--in part due to her lupus), she is back in 2024 with a queer fantasy (Remedial Magic), a picturebook about a wee one and his two moms (Family is Family), and a graphic novel about teen Harley & Ivy (The Strange Adventures of Harleen & Harley).
She currently lives with part of her family (wife & 2 of her 3 children) in Arizona.
After a quieter spell the last few years (due to both adopting a sick baby & health complications--in part due to her lupus), she is back in 2024 with a queer fantasy (Remedial Magic), a picturebook about a wee one and his two moms (Family is Family), and a graphic novel about teen Harley & Ivy (The Strange Adventures of Harleen & Harley).
She currently lives with part of her family (wife & 2 of her 3 children) in Arizona.
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