There was so much going on in the book it was hard to follow the veins of the story. It was quite inconsistent.

Remedial Magic by Melissa Marr - ebook ARC

Ellie, the small town librarian falls in love with a witch, and is forced to attend a magical school in order to learn how to save her world. There is a prophecy, a doomed homeland, and unknown powers…
This is my first book by Melissa Marr and I’m sad to say I think it’s my last. I really didn’t enjoy this book at all. it felt very been there, done that, and I really thought I was getting more of a cozy fantasy. It’s actually a much higher stakes story than that. I really think this is a case of a books being “poorly marketed”. I was so excited to read it and it just wasn’t what I was expecting. usually I can look past that and just enjoy it for what it is, but I also didn’t think it was my type of writing style either. I love a multiple POV, but this felt so disjointed and hard to follow.

Overall, this was almost a DNF, but I did finish. Not sure it was worth it. Just didn’t love and I’m so bummed!

A funny and engaging fantasy romp. It felt like Narnia crossed with a wizard school, but with adults instead of children - and those adults aren’t always super happy to find themselves uprooted from their lives.

I was completely captured by the story in Remedial Magic and absolutely raced through it once I got started. It was very accessible despite being set half in a completely fantasy world with entirely different rules and customs from our own, which can be hard to do.

The characters were relatable and felt really different from each other and well rounded. I enjoyed seeing all their contrasting opinions and motivations.

Overall, I really enjoyed Remedial Magic and will definitely continue the series!

I'll preface this by saying I've always enjoyed Melissa Marr books and had a brief obsession with the Wicked Lovely Series in high school. I have such a fondness for her and I was very excited to read this new book. Unfortunately, the excitement did not last. Between the combination of bad marketing and worse writing, this was a miserable reading experience from beginning to end. By all advertising indications, this was allegedly meant to be a cozy fantasy romance. The summary itself makes you think that! But it is really, really not. It's also incredibly boring with no direction or real plot and frankly a tad poorly written. I'm incredibly disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF'd at 44% (Chp 22)

I don't often DNF a book because I really like to give things a try. This book was marketed as cozy magic, "The Magicians meets One Last Stop". I can definitely see the comparison with The Magicians - a similarly dark story, but I don't see any of One Last Stop in here.

The book starts out with 3 POVs, Maggie, Ellie, and Dan. I don't mind 3, when there is more connection, but for some much of this book it felt very clunky and discombobulated. It was hard to feel connected to any of the characters because each chapter keeps switching to others. Then 3 more POVs are introduced, Prospero, Sondre, and the "Chief Witch". Truthfully I started to get really confused on who's chapter was who's, and even forgot who main characters were.

I don't think there was too many characters, I love a large cast, but so many of them didn't feel fleshed out and with the rotating POVs I had just had enough by the time I reached the 6th one.

I also didn't care for the explanations of the world and magic. It felt very text book, instead of weaving it into the story, there was so much unnecessary expose. The first three characters all have a chapter where they are wisked away to the magical world and then are explained essentially the same thing on page. We don't need that much when character development could be explored instead. Similarly, Prospero is described as so very white and flawless skin that boarded to me on the line of cringe. It's okay to make your characters whatever skin color you want, but why describe in such a way, in several sentences? It felt forced/shoehorn in there - As if we really really needed to know how very white and beautiful she was. 😬

There is a lot of erasure of disability/illness/injury that reads as Ableism. When they are in the other world with magic, they are able to heal and be perfect. It's startling to see this concept in a queer book - because the queer community is all about imperfections. So many of us are disabled, nerodivergent, have chronic issues and I don't think the answer is just to have a world where all of that is erased. It doesn't read as "better" to me.

Lastly, Maggie gets into a horrific car crash in her first chapter - which I feel needed a warning and definitely does not fit under the "cozy" category. It was hard to read, rather traumatic, and I had to step away from reading it for a while before trying to get back in.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Remedial Magic is the new novel by Melissa Marr. In the creative world Marr shaped, people only find their magic when they are in the most dangerous of circumstances such as about to be in a fatal car accident or falling off a cliff while hiking. Their magic saves them and they are then brought to a magical realm, Crenshaw, where they are enrolled in the equivalent of magical community college. Hobs, manifestation of magic are there to assist them. Unfortunately all is not currently right in Crenshaw. Prospero, a long time resident hopes that amongst the recent arrivals Ellie, a small town librarian, may be the prophesied savior; sparks fly between the two women as well as between several of the other characters. If you are looking for a romantacy series more adult than Harry Potter, but more whimsical and fun than the Magicians than this novel will delight. The book ends on a cliffhanger so I'm interested to see what book two in The Course of Magic series has in store for its diverse cast of characters.

I like the idea of magic community college! I like a cozy fantasy! I don't like so many POVs--especially considering that's now how the book is marketed at all. I had a hard time figuring out what was going on, because I felt like I was thrown into three different stories in one book.

People are disappearing and being brought to Crenshaw, a place where those whose latent magical abilities have awoken are brought so they can learn how to use it. Some lose their magic and return, some stay and become part of this magical world.

Maggie wants desperately to return to her son, Dan wants to stay forever, and Ellie isn't quite sure. They've all made connections with people at the college, but for some, that isn't enough. Lies, betrayal, deceit, and unknown magic all play a part in the decision to stay. All will be important in the survival of Crenshaw, and as a result, all of the witches within.

I felt like the multiple POV wasn't done very well. There were a lot, but it didn't feel like there was enough story to have it separated that much. I felt like there was too much unfinished at the end with no promise of a sequel.

Remedial Magic just didn't work for me, unfortunately. I'm normally a fan of Melissa Marr, but I'm not a big Harry Potter person, so that might have been part of the trouble -- there are Potter references and inspirations here. I also found the writing a bit scattered, and too much going on for me to really understand the characters beyond the surface level.

I've seen some other reviews mention the marketing seems at odds with the content, and I think that was part of the trouble for me, too. I thought this was going to be more of a cozy romantic fantasy about two characters, and was excited for a lesbian cozy read. The tone was very different from that.

I wound up deciding to DNF at about 25%, as this just wasn't my thing and I was struggling with it.

DNF. Way too many characters (6). At its core, this book is a whirlwind of witchcraft and magic, but not the comforting sort one might have hoped for based on its promotional material. Instead of a singular, engaging protagonist journeying through a mystical love story, readers are thrust into a chaotic ensemble of characters, each navigating their own rapid, often bewildering romantic entanglements.

From the outset, the tone is unexpectedly dark and jarring. The opening chapters throw readers into a tense narrative involving life-threatening situations that starkly contrast the anticipated gentle fantasy setting. This sharp departure from expectation sets a precedent for the rest of the novel, which continues to pivot away from the cozy into much more intense thematic territory.

The story attempts to weave together multiple perspectives, including a deeply unsettling account of a mother and son in peril, and the life of a gay man grappling with illness, only for it to take an abrupt turn into magical realism. This sprawling cast might have offered a rich tapestry of interconnected stories; however, the execution falls short. Relationships between characters feel hastily constructed, relying heavily on the trope of 'insta-love' without affording time or depth to develop these connections meaningfully.

Moreover, the narrative's attempt to incorporate contemporary references and address significant issues like disability and illness through a fantastical lens is mishandled. The inclusion of a jarring homage to a controversial cultural artifact further complicates the narrative, raising questions about sensitivity and awareness in current literary practices. The depiction of magic as a cure-all not only diminishes the complexity of such conditions but also alienates readers who navigate these realities daily, presenting an oversimplified and exclusionary vision of an 'ideal' world.

In essence, this book suffers from an identity crisis, caught between its ambition to tackle weighty themes through a multitude of voices and its misleading presentation as a light-hearted fantasy. The disconnect between expectation and reality, compounded by the rapid and superficial development of characters and relationships, significantly detracts from the reading experience.

I had high hopes for this book, as I am a fan of Melissa Marr's previous works and was intrigued by the premise. However, upon reading it, I found the execution to be rather disjointed. The excessive use of multiple points of view made it difficult to follow the story, and the lack of a proper introduction or character development for the main protagonists was a disappointment. Overall, while the concept was promising, the book fell short in its execution.

Absolutely not. This book has so much problematic content I don’t even know where to start. Not sure how this made it to this stage of the process.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of "Remedial Magic" in exchange for an honest review. I had really high hopes for this one. I will echo the sentiments of previously posted reviews and say that the synopsis/marketing for this book is tonally very different than the book itself. The writing felt a bit more suited to YA than adult literature. It was hard to get into the plot and the characters because it just was so unbelievable...even for a book about magic. It also felt like there was some judicious mirroring of the Harry Potter series with the houses, etc. I did not feel like any of the characters were very likable and (again, even for a fantasy) I had a reaaally hard time letting go and embracing suspension of disbelief.

not the story advertised, far too many povs, insta-love, inherent ableism. not a book i'd recommend.

I wanted to like this book so much. I love Melissa marr's work and have enjoyed some of her past works. The premise for this was amazing. Unfortunately the execution is slightly all over the place. There are too many pov's, it's hard to tell what is going on in the beginning and there's no intro or growth amongst the main characters to start.

It’s really unfortunate that the marketing for this book doesn’t match the reality of the work. I went into this book expecting a cozy sapphic fantasy focusing on two MCs. The book actually has 6 POVs following 5/6 witches in three separate couples as well as the Chief Witch. It has a much more serious feel than what I would classify as cozy, and I think the book would do better if the blurb/description more accurately reflected the tone.

While I wouldn't say this book was particularly for me, (I felt like it dragged a bit in the middle, and the multiple POV characters made it a bit unfocused at times) I will say that I am interested in seeing where this new series goes. I would definitely pick up a sequel to see how the story develops. It's worth giving it a read. I feel like you'll know pretty soon whether or not this book is for you.

This was super cute!!

The premise of the book was pretty vague and left a lot of room for where the plot could go, so I went in with an open mind. I thought the magic system and how people discover they are witches was so unique! The characters introduced were pleasant and the setting was picturesque, lending the book to a nice cozy fantasy vibe. I understood why the author chose to have so many POVs and it didn't detract from the book for me. I think where I struggled with this book was in the plot itself. While the aspects of the world were interesting and the potential was there, the plot felt rushed and not well explained. The pacing was slow in my opinion, but the plot development was too fast if that makes sense.

Overall this was an enjoyable, cozy read and I will be looking forward to the second book. However, be cautioned if you don't like multiple POVs.

I think the problem I had with this book was how it was marketed; based on the description I was expecting a cosy fantasy, but it ended up being something that had high stake situations often especially right at the beginning, and it felt a little bit disconcerting. Overall a good read, but needs to be marketed more honestly.

I dove into this story with high hopes, intrigued by its promise of blending fantasy with romance through the journey of Ellie, a librarian turned witch, and her love interest, Prospero. The concept of a magical community college and the urgency to save a new world piqued my interest. However, the execution left me wanting. The multitude of perspectives felt overwhelming, diluting the depth of character development and the central romance. While the story was hampered by its many perspectives, which sometimes overshadowed character depth and romance, it still managed to convey themes of empowerment and the journey of self-discovery. Despite this, the book presented an intriguing world, leaving me with a generally favorable impression and curiosity about the magical possibilities Marr envisioned.