This was thoroughly delightful. Okay, yes - people are bound to draw comparisons with Harry Potter, but JK Rowling herself was not the first to write about a school for wizards. I enjoyed the dry, witty voice of the narrator and all the political/social machinations and drawing-room comedy. I'll definitely look forward to the next in the series.

If 14-year-old Cassandra Reed makes it through her first day at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies without anyone discovering her secret, maybe, just maybe, she’ll let herself believe that she really does belong at Miss Castwell’s.

Except Cassandra Reed’s real name is Sarah Smith and up until now, she lived her whole life in the Warren, serving a magical family, the Winters, as all non-magical “Snipes” are bound by magical Guardian law to do. That is, until one day, Sarah accidentally levitates Mrs. Winter’s favourite vase in the parlour.

But Snipes aren’t supposed to have magical powers…and the existence of a magical Snipe threatens the world order dictated during the Guardians’ Restoration years ago. If she wants to keep her family safe and protect her own skin, Sarah must figure out how to fit into posh Guardian society, master her newfound magical powers and discover the truth about how an ordinary girl can become magical.

Changeling is set in a version of our world where those with magic have become the elite ruling class, while those without, not so flatteringly known as "snipes" endure a life of servitude and poverty. It is almost a Victorian style era, with young ladies expected to display manners and good breeding in hopes of securing an advantageous marriage.

The Changeling is a delight. I enjoyed the sly, sarcastic tone that Cassandra frequently had. there is little to no romance present here, though there is a sweet budding relationship between Cassandra and a certain gentleman. Cassandra's friends are great entertainment, and the scenes with them together were definitely some of my favourite in the book. The whole book was refreshing with regards to the strong and multi-dimensional women characters. Cassandra learning to not let herself be pushed around, both through the strength of her new friendships and the role model of the politically inclined Mrs. Winters, was a good read.

A fun fantasy with potential for more to come

Many thanks to NetGalley and INscribe Digital for an advance copy in exchange for fair and honest review.

A really great boarding school mystery! This was a book that I just had to purchase a physical copy for. I loved Harper's narrative style and how Sarah's story progressed at the Institution for Young Ladies.

Meet Sarah - maid, cook's apprentice, Snipe (that's what the Guardians call people without magic) - who is not what she seems. Sarah's got a secret that even she doesn't know. Those vitamins she takes for her poor health are actually magic suppression pills, and when she forgets to take her dose and an expensive vase falls off the mantle while she's dusting, Sarah's powers come to life - right in front of the mistress of the house.

Sarah's in trouble. Her very existence could unravel the principles on which her society is built. So her mistress - Mrs Winter, comes up with the only plan that will let her save face, she lies. Sarah is about to become Cassandra Reed. She will pretend to be Mrs Winter's niece. She will attend Miss Castwell's school of magic. She will hide her working class roots. She will become the prefect example of a good little Guardian in training. Now if only the universe would comply.

This was a delightfully funny book about finding yourself while trying to be someone else. Sarah/Cassandra runs into all the troubles you's expect is this comedy of errors. It shines with Molly Harper's special blend of wit and humour. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. For fans of Gail Carriger.

Changeling by Molly Harper certainly lives up to the tagline on its cover. it is certainly a novel of magic and manners.. I have always been a fan of boarding school stories, from the jolly hockey sticks adventures of Enid Blyton's St Clare's series, to the classics like A Little Princess, and of course the more recent phenomenon that is Harry Potter. Changeling is set in a version of our world where those with magic have become the elite ruling class, while those without, not so flatteringly known as "snipes" endure a life of servitude and poverty. It is almost a VIctiorian style era, with young ladies expected to display manners and good breeding in hopes of securing an advantageous marriage. While the status quo of the power balance between those with magic and those without has held for generations, it is threatened when our heroine, Sarah, a "snipe" suddenly displays an alarmingly powerful magical gift. This should be impossible, and to avoid a scandal that could threaten the fabric of society, it is decided that she must pretend to be a young Lady, and attend a magical boarding school to learn how to develop and control her gift. Fitting in to a new environment is always difficult, but even more so when you are hiding such a huge secret, and it soon becomes apparent that the truth coming out is not the only danger Sarah faces.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and found myself caught up in a world of witches, familiars, magic and even a hint of romance. While the plot may not be startlingly original , it is well executed and while the pacing feels a little slow at first, it soon picks up.
A fun fantasy with potential for more to come
I read and reviewed this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Initial thoughts: "Molly Harper breaks away from her adult paranormal romance stories with this adorable young adult novel about witches and magic. Ms. Harper does away with her trademark snark in favor of teen angst, but she uses the angst to create a highly credible and relatable young woman who captures your attention and earns your respect. The setting is equally charming. With the typical boarding school antics as well as Victorian socio-economic differences, Ms. Harper builds a lot of tension and create ethical dilemmas for our heroine without delving into melodrama. All this to say that Changeling is simply adorable and refreshing in its simplicity. I did not want the story to end and am going to be impatiently waiting for the second story in the series!"

Now: Yes, Molly!!! I started Changeling with much trepidation. Change is scary, after all, and it is always a little nerve-wracking when a beloved author deviates from her preferred storytelling genres and tries something new. Thankfully, I lost all fear after the first chapter and quickly found myself engrossed in this utterly charming fish out of water story. The world-building is thorough, providing readers with a clear understanding of this alternate Victorian-era universe, its history, and the social and political highlights of the time, and Ms. Harper does all this without stultifying the story. Cassandra is endearing in her attempts to navigate the unfamiliar world of magical families and boarding school and quickly proves herself to be a heroine worth admiring. I so thoroughly enjoyed Changeling that it ruined my selection process for my next book to read because I wanted something that would make me feel as happy and light as Cassandra and her antics did. I love that Ms. Harper took a chance on YA, and I am even more in love with the product of that chance.

This is one of my newer ARCs and one I was attracted to because it seemed to have the mixing of historical and fantasy and the good reviews didn’t hurt either. And this turned out to be a really pleasant read.

The Changeling is about a world that was like ours before the Restoration, when the magical people of the world took control and make all the non-magical people ‘Snipes’, which is short for Guttersnipe. Sarah is a Snipe at the start of the book, a non-magical girl destined to be serving the Guardians for the rest of her life. Until she shows magic in front of her Guardian matriarch, something which has never been seen by a Snipe before, and has to go to special boarding school disguised as a Guardian.

This was an incredibly readable book, with a writing style that had me continuing to read on and able to finish it within the day. The plot moved quickly as Sarah (Cassandra) had to deal with being a Guardian, losing her family and trying to fit into a boarding school filled with unwritten rules and currents. There were a couple of predictable plot points but a few others that took me by surprise and I found this a great start to the series, wrapping up the main plot but leaving just enough open that I wanted to continue the series. The characters were varied, especially Sarah’s friends at the school. I want to find out more about Alicia’s condition and Ivy’s background and thought they made a nice little group with Sarah. Sometimes I was a little frustrated with Sarah but she bounced back sooner than I thought she would and I could identify with her as the main character. Yes, she was a little ‘Chosen One’ esque but since I really like that trope, I enjoyed it.

I will say that I found it a little slow for the main plot to start. Up until about halfway through the book, I could have easily put this book down and not come back to it. I was enjoying it but I wasn’t especially eager to read on and find out what happens, until the main plot came up. The build-up and Sarah learning how to be a Guardian was interesting enough but it was definitely not part of the main plot.

Despite this, this is definitely a series I would like to continue. This is a four star read for me!

Despite some few menial flaws (probably corrected in the last update), "Changeling" was a very good read.
I appreciated that the classical themes weren't a pretext to over broached some happy clichés. For instance, if there are two young boy, there isn't any love triangle! (Shocking I know, one of them is just a childhood friend and nothing else). And if the heroine encounter her future nemesis at school, she doesn't refuse her interested friendship at first: she must be very prudent and chose wisely, even if it saddens her. A very logical and coherent choice in the context.

The alternative magical school is well featured, in a rich Victorian young ladies way.  The school is quite comfortable, the young boarders are being waited on, there are rich young ladies after all! There are some Harry Potter winks, as presents publicly received by the most pampered girls, and the presence of animals, any animals in fact - the familars' development is quite nice and fun!

All in all, the story is a very entertaining YA story, with mysteries and danger. The characters are always credible in the context - if always in a YA way -, especially the heroine's family members. Mrs Winter's character is particularly well done, I loved the interactions between her and Cassandra!

To conclude the author manages to keep true to her word and never err for some YA expectations sake. I admire that as an exception in this kind of rather classical story. I'll read the sequel without any hesitation!

I wanted to like it, I really did. A Victorian Steampunk society with magic to boot! But even though the main character's story seems interesting (being always kind of sick and suddenly learning she isn't and that she controls magic!) I just couldn't seem to relate to the characters or the story per se...
Also, I was a bit lost on the world the author creates, personally I would have benefited of being more grounded in it before the story began picking up when Sarah discovers she can do magic once she stops taking the pills her mother gave her for her fragile health.
Probably the book wasn't for me as it has very good reviews, but I had to stop reading it as it didn't appeal to me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis and so, when the ARC came through via NetGalley I jumped straight in. This is my first book by Molly Harper, so I wasn't sure what to expect but I immediately fell in love with her writing style and was hooked straight away.

This book gave me such strong Charmed vibes!! The only way I can describe this book is sort of Charmed meets The Worst Witch, Harry Potter and Mean Girls! I love the mixture of themes and subplots that were woven into this story.

Admittedly, I did identify the villain quite early on and it almost felt like I was in the audience at a pantomime at times, just wanting to shout at Cassandra/Sarah, "They're behind you!" But, despite this, I didn't enjoy the story any less.

I actually also bought the Audiobook from Audible (so that I could listen whilst painting my nails - I have to do this at least once a year otherwise my girl card is really going to get taken away) and listened to parts of it in between reading the eARC. The narration by Amanda Ronconi was really great (despite the less than stellar English accent) and helped to skim over some of the editing inaccuracies (see below), I loved the voice she gave to Cassandra/Sarah.

Changeling has great pace, a fun magical plot and great characters. I particularly love the various relationship dynamics, especially Cassie and Own who I absolutely love together. Their sarcastic, playful, and teasing relationship drew most of my smiles and is definitely something I want more of from this series.

All of the characters are individual, with unique personalities and voices. They were great to discover, especially as new layers were revealed about most of the main characters as the book progresses

The only reason that this book has a slightly lower than 5-star rating is because of the editing of the eBook. I'd highly recommend that the editors give this book another once-over because of the spelling mistakes and a few occasions where a sentence or more is repeated.

However, that didn't prevent me from loving Changeling and I can't wait for book 2! I need to find out what happens next!
​
Changeling is a magical story filled with passionate, strong, and courageous women, true friendships, a dash of budding romance, bullies, magical surprises, adorable animal companions and a villainous plot!

Cassandra Reed is getting ready to start school at Miss Castwell's Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies. As you can tell by the name, it's a school for girls with magical abilities. The thing is, Cassandra shouldn't have magical abilities. She's actually Sarah Smith, and she's a snipe. Snipes are non-magical people that serve the Guardian families that do have magic.
Sarah didn't know she had magic until she was under stress, and she used magic in front of her employer Mrs Winter. Knowing that she could be killed for being a snipe with magic, she's terrified. But, Mrs. Winter knows that if people found out about Sarah's magic, the scandal would ruin her family. So instead of turning her in, she creates Cassandra Reed.
Now Sarah will have to forget who she really is so no one will find out her secret.

I really liked this book. It was funny, I loved Sarah, Ivy, and all the girls. Even the mean ones. This is a quick, light read. I look forward to more.

I love everything by this author, and this book is no different. Such a unique take on magic and the story itself. I jumped in with both feet, and I didn't want to come up. The author weaved a perfect introduction to the characters and set the stage for a magical journey. I cannot wait to read more.

Sarah is a Snipe. Born without magic she is part of an underclass under the charge of a Guardian family. When she demonstrates magical ability her life is in danger. This causes a change in her condition, her Guardian family claims her as a distant relation and she is sent off to school. On edge and having to be careful to not betray her origins Sarah has to navigate high society, learn how to use her magic and once she is chosen to become the guardian of The Mother Book a magical artifact she is in even more danger. This book is amazing and a fantastic read. I loved the characters and the world is so interesting. I cannot wait for the next book

Sarah Smith thought herself unmagical. After all, she was a Snipe (kind of like a muggle), growing up serving as a maid in the Winters household. Until one day she stops a vase from falling by levitating it. Suddenly Sarah Smith becomes Cassandra Reed, cousin of the Winter family. Elevated into magical society and sent off to boarding school. Talk about culture shock! Cassandra must hide who she really is, and somehow look as if she’s lived in this world her whole life. If anyone finds out she was once a Snipe, their whole society might crumble. But would that really be a bad thing???

I thought The Changeling was a lot of fun. It didn’t take itself too seriously and I was allowed to enjoy each moment in the story without overthinking the plot. Cassandra was ok as a heroine. She spent the first half of the book in shock and when she finally accepts her role her character started to grow and become interesting. Her experience as a Snipe, living unnoticed among the magical society made her see their world through cynical eyes, although those eyes did not always see things very clearly. I enjoyed the good vs evil sub plot and I was kept guessing on the bad guy.

If you’re jonesing for a quick Harry Potter-esque novel I think you’ll enjoy The Changeling. At times I expected Hermione would walk around the corner of this girls school and join in the fun! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

I'm a fan of Molly Harper and found this book delightful.
Even if the plot can somehow reminds of Harry Potter, there's a lot of world building and interesting characters.
I loved the style of writing and was hooked since the first pages.
I look forward to reading the next instalment in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

This is a decent book for those who like plucky girls overcoming the odds and doing daring things. It's not particularly original -- sort of a Harry Potter meets My Fair Lady meets Georgette Heyer at a boarding school -- but it's cute and an easy read. The concept deserves some fleshing out -- how did the magical class so neatly take over the Western world and do away with ALL the political structures, really? Why does the misuse or hiding of magic make women consumptive? -- but from Sarah/Cassandra's limited point-of-view, it works. I particularly enjoyed that she has a platonic friendship with a boy, and felt that the additional boy stuck in for a romance subplot was unnecessary. Let's have more books about women and girls' friendships without a shallowly conceived romance tacked on, please!

Changeling was a really fun and cute read. I've enjoyed Molly Harper's previous books and was excited to check out her venture into the young adult genre. I had a blast reading it! It's a fairly quick read that kept my attention the whole way through.

Sarah/Cassandra was a great character. Her whole life is turned upside down when it's discovered that she has magic. She goes through a lot in the process – some good, some bad, but her attitude and resolve remained steady and I admired her strength through it all.

The world building and magic system was interesting. I've seen Changeling compared to Harry Potter multiple times and while I can kinda see the similarities, it's definitely it's own story and is different in a lot of ways. It's a really great read that I believe young adults and grown ups alike will enjoy. I'm really excited to find out what happens in the sequel!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

NUMBER OF HEARTS: 4
FYI: This is a Young Adult book and therefore doesn’t have as much snark and sassiness as all of Molly’s past books. But this is a great book for your kids to read to introduce them to the amazing talents that are Molly Harper and Amanda Ronconi.

Changeling was a great start to Molly Harper’s newest series. I don’t normally ready YA books anymore but I wanted to read this because I love Molly and Amanda! Changeling follows young Sarah Smith as she tries to comes to grips with her new found magic!
I had the joy of listening to Changeling narrated by the amazing Amanda Ronconi. I will tell you that I had to look at my audible a couple times as the story started. I was expecting the the soothing southern voice of books of past. The “English” version of Amanda was a bit of a shock! But I still loved it! I loved to hear something different from Amanda!!!

This book is perfect for your youngsters that are looking for a new series to start!!

Can’t wait to see what is next in this series.


Disclaimer:
I purchased this audiobook and this review is my own opinion and not a paid review.
I also received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & INscribe Digital in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

I really enjoyed this book! I'm a big fan of Molly Harper and was interested to see what her YA book would be like. This book was Mean Girls at boarding school and, oh yeah, there's magic. The first chapter throws you into this new world (w/ new terms) without any explanation which was disconcerting but the explanations come fairly quickly. I'm really looking forward to reading more books in this series.

Molly Harper’s Changeling is the start of a supernatural series in which the world’s magic community reacted negatively to non-magic holders inventing the steam engine. Foreseeing the day that magic users would be outnumbered and over powered, they removed governments from power and enslaved all non-magic users. Born to non-magic parents, Sarah Smith finds out one fateful day that her own powers had been suppressed throughout her life. Thrown suddenly into magical society under the name Cassandra Reed, she must navigate learning magic, mean girls at the top all-girl's magic school, and someone trying to raise the dead 

Pretty early on in reading, I decided I’m a huge fan and I can’t wait for the next book to come out. I’m so grateful to INscribe Digital for giving me a chance to read this book. Changeling is very much what could’ve happened if the magic community in Harry Potter had twisted things around. Full of steampunk-magic imagery, Harper lays out this new world deftly, while navigating Sarah/Cassandra’s story.  

Sarah, herself, is a well-developed protagonist. With strengths and weaknesses that make her fully relatable, while still being a strong female lead for a supernatural series. One of my favorite moments was one in which she stood strong in the face of adversity, but collapsed once out of the worst, in the way that anyone who experiences high stress levels would recognize. I felt myself in that moment, and was all the happier to see her face challenges head on. 

Behind Sarah is a strong cast of interesting characters. From intimidating mentors to intense mean girls, Harper gives each enough attention creating a main ensemble of characters that are strong and well developed. Very few of her characters are two-dimensional, and those that are don’t contribute hugely to the plot. However, even background characters are given a surprising amount of attention without taking away from the story itself, allowing for future growth of the world in the upcoming books. 

My one complaint now is – Where's the hardback edition for purchase?? I would love to add that to my bookshelf. Changeling is currently available in ebook, paperback and audio via most major book retailers. 

Review will be posted 10/8 - links will be added at this time. Feel free to use review material in the meantime.