How to Succeed in Witchcraft is a book that brings you on an emotionally rich and nuanced journey. On one hand, this is a book sparkling with hope and a deep love of musical theatre. On the other hand, this is an often intense read delving into abuse and manipulation.

Our protagonist Shay was definitely a highlight as her dedication and desperation to succeed drives a lot of her behaviour, encouraging that academic rivalry and passion in a way I always love. Seeing a character unapologetically love their skills is amazing to see. Her character progression over the course of the book was also enjoyable, finding moments where she was not perfect. However, this drive also undermines her at times, complicating the situation with the gross abuse of power. That dynamic causes a huge dramatic tension for her and overwhelms her emotionally, bringing her to an extremely vulnerable point. Your heart just breaks for this fierce, brilliant character and the author Aislinn Brophy deftly demonstrates the way this type of behaviour breaks down their victim-survivors. It is truly crushing.

This was an absolute firecracker of a book, delving into sensitive and nuanced topics as indicated in the trigger warnings. It is a heavy read at times, exploring the full emotional toll this takes on Shay. There are so many layers of manipulation and expectations to unpack, highlighting real life issues. Brophy does not shy away from these intense and saddening moments. Their ugliness and seedy nature is on full display, highlighting how disgusting this abuse of power is. I also really appreciated how they showed the subtle growth of these behaviours and their insidious ability to distort your mind. Gaslighting and manipulation are hallmarks of this grooming and predatory behaviour, making you feel unable to trust anyone around you⁠—even doubting your own thoughts. Brophy emphasises these behaviours, providing useful hallmarks for recognising these in real life. Your stomach just drops at the sinking realisation of what is truly going on and sadly, these are all too real moments. I loved the overall narrative though and how it stayed in those murky complexities of a situation like this. It is not easily resolved and even pulling that charming mask off to reveal the villainy does not always convince everyone.

At the same time, this is a book characterised by sparks of joy and light. I was drawn to this book partially with that love of the theatre and musicals. There is an abundance of that here, with plenty of dance rehearsals and acting moments. The escapism and pure happiness you can derive from performance is wonderful to see, though it is mired by other factors sometimes. Also there is an absolutely gorgeous and hopeful romance blossoming, with a sapphic witches rivals to lovers arc. This relationship was brilliant to witness, with chemistry sizzling and dialogue popping in all the right places. You just recognise and love that dynamic, watching it cultivate over the pages. It brings warmth and a sense of hope in a book unafraid to step firmly into the shadows. That emotional balance reinforces the abhorrent nature of the contrasting behaviours. The queer joy embodied by this relationship also emphasises the way the abuse of power impacts heaviest on those from intersecting marginalised backgrounds. It is an all too familiar narrative sadly. Finally, the magic system was also very enjoyable. It was creative and innovative, providing a slight spin on our world to take it into the realm of the fantastical.

How to Succeed in Witchcraft is a layered and important story, combining moments of joy and light with a heavy but necessary depiction of the abuse of power and grooming.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me with an e-ARC of How to Succeed in Witchcraft & to PRH Audio for providing me with a complimentary audiobook!

How to Succeed in Witchcraft is a fairly good book -- there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but for some reason, I felt like I struggled to get through it. It tackles pretty heavy topics, such as being groomed + harassed by a teacher & that whole ~thing~ made me sick to my stomach so major props for tackling that subject. It was also neat to see how the magical world melted into reality & didn't seem so much like a fantasy. I think the only part that I cared about though & that kept me reading was the f/f rival-to-lovers relationship.

Ok wow this book.

This book made me so angry and uncomfortable almost the whole time and I loved it. That, to me, is the sign of a really good author. When the feelings they want you to feel come through.

The grooming, homophobia, and racism were super heavy. By the end of the book, every time Mr B was on the page, I felt so squicked out.

That being said! I loved Ana! The two of them together were the best!

Thanks to Penguin Canada for an ARC!

I’ve gotta say, Aislinn Brophy has written perhaps the best form of enemies-to-lovers I’ve ever read. I won’t give too much away but basing the enemies on one of the characters being totally oblivious was perfection. I really enjoyed the relationship in this one and how it develops.

I read an early copy so I’m hoping some edits made it to the final version, but the narration dragged a bit for me. It felt very teen movie-esque. So, so many “ughs” in the dialogue and description and parts of the description felt dumbed down and over-explained. That said, by about the halfway point the story was so compelling I couldn’t put this book down.

While the early narration wasn’t a hit for me, I did find it a realistic teen story. Though I was begging these characters to please, for the love of God, share what you’re worried about with the people in your life, I liked that this was addressed and became a learning opportunity for these teens.

The book takes place in an alternate world than ours — of course, there is magic — but it was also uncomfortably realistic in the way racially marginalized characters had to deal with subtle racist remarks, how powerful people retain their power, and so on. There aren’t any easy solutions here but it offers a look at some real-world ways that different abuses can be handled.

this was a solid YA novel that addresses some heavy yet important themes. I really liked the main character's journey and the resolution. I also really liked the queer representation and connected with the main character being an overachiever/the pressure on 'gifted' kids

Sapphic Witches!! What more do I need ro say really.

This was wonderfully diverse novel with a beautiful magical relationship. I loved the characters and felt that all the representation was very casual. This is probably my favorite type of representation to see so I'm super happy about that! The academic rivals to lovers wasn't the main focus but it was definitely a highlight! Overall this was just a fun read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me both an eARC and a physical copy of this book for review!!

Honestly, I adored this book. Magical academia is still such a fun topic for me, and the way that Aislinn Brophy seamlessly blended magic into a world so similar to our own was a delight to read. It almost made me forget that witchcraft and spells weren't actually an every day piece of our current society.

The characters dealt with a lot of heavy stuff, and seeing it through the eyes of a teenager but reading it through the eyes of an adult made it all the more painful--but not really in a bad way. The idea of a teacher taking advantage of his students is not a light one, and the way it was done in this book really brought you into the story and made you root for all the characters to win against him. Being able to see all the red flags before the characters was frustrating at times until you remembered how old the characters all were.

This got a full five stars from me, for both the world building and the way the author handled the subject matter. I loved this book so much, and honestly, some kind of adaptation of the world the author built would be incredible to watch.

I loved this one. It was the perfect read that came out right in time for spooky season. So so thankful to have had the oppurunity to read early.

Fantastic sapphic romance and mystery combine in the story of Shay Johnson, my new favorite witch. YA readers will love this spooky story of intrigue and love.

How to Succeed in Witchcraft is the perfect book to ring in the witchy season with - such a great read! How To Succeed in Witchcraft is a story of overachieving academic rivals - with a twist because, of course. witchcraft. It brings us a modern witch retelling full of fun and sass. Shay is a lesbian who has the potential to be an incredibly strong witch., This book is full of strong characters and diverse and is full of funny moments while tackling difficult ones.

Thank you, NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Shay Johnson is a junior at T.K. Anderson Magical Magnet School and she wants to win an important Scholarship, the Brockton Scholarship and get into the university of her dreams. Ana Alvarez is her competion and the way to win is impressing Mr B, a drama teacher and head of the scholarship committee. When he asks her to star in his inclusive musical, she agrees, even though Ana is the other lead. Slowly, though, she realizes Ana isn't what she thought she would be and maybe they can be friends or more. When she becomes the target of Mr B's unwanted attentions and discovers she's not the only witch in this situation, everything changes. She could speak out, but what will happen to her future?

How to succeed in witchcraft is truly a marvellous, important and thrilling read. A talented witch competes to win an important scholarship, while also realizing there's more at stake, in this contemporary fantasy. The story is brilliant, the setting is amazing, a cutthroat high school where everyone is ready to do anything to get what they want, a witchy read perfect for all the time.
The story is romantic, compelling and refreshing. Shay and Ana are amazing characters, interesting, competitive, intriguing and I love their growing bond. I also loved how the author dealt with important themes like sexual harassments and the difficulty in coming forward, the struggles and its importance too.
I truly loved this book, not only for the witchy part, but also for the themes, the setting, the relationships between characters. Truly captivating.

4.5 stars.
TWs: racism, grooming, emotional manipulation, teacher-student relationships (not main character), homophobia, microaggressions, bullying

Man... I don't even know how to describe this book other than that it hit so close to home. Even though this book is set in an alternate America where magic exists, and has existed since the 1700s, this book really captured how the American Dream affects minorities. Reading about Shay wanting to provide a better life for her parents and repay them for raising her right is so close to how I feel as a second-generation immigrant.

A big theme throughout this book is also grooming, and how Shay's desire for success and status as a minority in America makes her really susceptible to that. I thought that this book explored grooming really realistically, though I do wish that the character who was really "in love" with the teacher was treated a little bit better by the story. I thought for sure it would be revealed that her emotions were being manipulated, and it felt strange that the book brought up that offshoot of magic sharing, only for it to not be used that much in the climax. (This is what made this book 4.5 stars instead of 5).

The academic rivals-to-lovers romance in this book is so sweet, and I loved how Shay and Ana's relationship went back and forth, and how they have moments of pure queer joy after they get together.

I also want to praise the world-building in this book, because the magic system was so cool and I love how the author integrated magic into all aspects of life in a realistic way. I liked the made up sport that the main character played, as well as how specifically magic was weaved and used. Some names are a little silly, but that can be excused because the things they describe are super cool and cleverly devised.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes urban fantasy, coming of age stories, or academic rivals-to-lovers romance!

i’m not really sure where i want to start with this one.

i guess, first, is that i highly appreciate how it handle some specific sensitive discussions specifically surrounding power dynamics in relationships. while it took a while to see certain realizations and outcomes, i’m glad they weren’t pushed under the rug. well, rather, it had a realistic outcome. either way, it was handled well.

as for the magic system. let’s just say it took a while for me to get used to the concept that name brands were dropped in conjunction with magic and witches/wizards and whatnot. definitely and interesting concept.

overall though, i found this all to be alright. shay was so stubborn and oblivious, but she grew on me. i wanted to give lex a hug and tell her “i understand. it’ll all work out”. and while i enjoyed watching ava and shay’s relationship grow, i found their interactions to feel a bit stilted. it just kinda felt like their humor did not mesh?? but that’s probably just me not translating the dry humor into my brain all that well.

3.5 stars - Overall, I had a great time reading this book. I think it tackled a lot of important topics, while still remaining light (although, trigger warnings for grooming by a teacher - which I think is really important to make clear before entering the story). I enjoyed Shay as a main character. I think she was confident but also insecure in relatable ways and I think a lot of young teenagers can really see themselves within her. I also really loved her romance! It was the perfect amount of rivals to lovers that made me smile whenever they interacted with one another. And, as mentioned, there was a very tough but important look at teacher power dynamics that I actually think was handled well, yet realistic. My biggest issue with the novel however was the entire world building that the novel is sort of based on. Yes, it is set in a modern USA just with magic, but there was a lot of discussions on "licensing"/non-licensing universities/jobs/rules and teenagers moving to communes (which never came into the picture but I would have LOVED to read about) that I just felt were said and done nothing with.

This was cute and witchy; however, I found myself wanting more from the story which just was a bummer.

Ahhhh!!! This was just what I needed to kick off my fall reading! I love a good witchy read and a YA read makes it even better. It’s giving me all the witchy celestial vibes that I look for in these think of a practical magic but with a twist! Fabulous

4.25 ⭐️ rounded down. This book is great, it gives very Sabrina the teenage witch vibes if Sabrina was black, a lesbian, and dealing with how far she’s willing to go to make her dreams come true. This book was surprisingly hard hitting. For some reason I went in expecting a fun witchy story and I did get elements of that, but I also got themes examining homophobia and other things that I don’t want to spoil. There are 100% triggers in this book so if your are sensitive you should definitely look up trigger warnings before diving into this one. But if you are looking for a story about the challenges of being in high school and preparing for what’s coming next, while also dealing with homophobia and other things wrapped in a witchy package then this book is FOR YOU!!

Note: I was provided an arc by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Spooky witchy season is the best! And this book didn’t disappoint.

It’s a Sapphic, overachieving, academic rivals with witchcraft. Think Sabrina but in the modern age and more sass.
This book has own voices and diversity as well. Shay is a brown lesbian who has the makings of being a successful witch. There’s also a lot of side characters and bi representation.

I found the book funny and a lot of swoon moments I didn’t think I’d enjoy, while also talking about the heavy topics. The banter also makes the book really enjoyable.

I didn’t think I’d enjoy a story such as this, since I’m a CIS women, but I fell in love with Shay and the coming of age story it told.

It's time to add another book to your Autumn TBR! How To Succeed At Witchcraft was the perfect witchy read to start off the fall season. It has academic/enemies to lovers, and a fierce scholarship competition. This book really has a lot going on. I flew through it.

I appreciated a YA story that actually had a healthy parents/child relationship. It really seems like that's a rarity in YA anymore.

I enjoyed the tension between the two main scholarship competitors and the dynamic they brought to the story.

This book was a great blend of contemporary and fantasy.

Sometimes, desperation leads us to choices we don't agree with. Shay is a talented potionmaker who wants a better life for her family and has her eyes set on a scholarship that will essentially set her up for life. But going for that scholarship puts her in an uncomfortable position with her teacher, and get her closer to her rival, Ana.

Using an excellent magic system, Brophy managed to created excellent characters and draw attention to a very real problem. Shay is bright and driven, which is her fatal flaw. It's a good one in a school that fosters academic competition, enough to have her look over her teacher's casual racism and how uncomfortable he makes her feel. The magic added a safe enough amount of fantasy to the novel to keep it from feeling too real (at least for me) while also showing how easy it can be for a young person to be groomed. Add in a cute Sapphic enemies to lovers, and we have an amazing book for teens.