Remedial Magic, the first in a new series by lauded fantasy author Melissa Marr, readers are pretty much dropped into Hogwarts for adults. You'll meet a librarian, a lawyer, and a cancer patient--all of whom are sucked out of the world as we know it and dropped in a magical town called Crenshaw that is on the knife's edge of disaster. A wide cast of memorable characters will keep everyone interested, especially as the story rotates through their viewpoints. Unfortunately, Remedial Magic is a bit too quick to launch, and it leaves the tires spinning a bit. While I appreciated that the plot moved quickly, the extremely fast pace does make the bonds between the characters fairly unbelievable. However, as always, there is humor and insight aplenty and fans of Marr will find plenty of her trademarks.

DNF at 15%

This was not at all what I expected based on the synopsis and marketing. It started out much darker than anticipated and one of the multiple POVs opens with a mother and a son getting into a terrible car accident due to her ex cutting the break lines. Then another POV opens with a weird insta-lovey plot point. Then ANOTHER POV opens with a mystical healing from cancer. It just wasn't at all what I was expecting, and it seems like it's going to be more fantasy focused rather than slice of life coziness. And based on what I read in the setup, it wasn't going to be one that I particularly enjoyed.

There will probably be those out there who enjoy this setup, but with the insta-love and magical healings that aren't really part of the world and only dispensed to a select few, I was pretty much done.

This fantasy follows several people who, in the moment of their untimely death, are transported into a magical world by an underlying magic that they didn't know they possessed. Once in this world, all newcomers are enrolled in a remedial magic school in which they will either prove themselves to be worthy of staying in this realm or fail and be sent back to the normal world with their memories wiped. Ellie, Daniel, and the other newcomers soon learn that all is not well in the magic realm: there is something poisoning the water supply and killing the crops, and no one is quite sure how to stop it, but they do know that their supplies are quickly dwindling and witches are dying at an alarming rate. Is this a world that anyone would want to stay in? The atmosphere is fairly dark in REMEDIAL MAGIC, but there are queer romances, a darkly funny and creative penal system, and lots of intrigue and tension that will have you preordering the sequel as soon as you finish this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC copy!

I do not really know where to start with this book. There are parts that I enjoyed and parts that made me want to put it down. I think that if I had not been listening to an Audiobook I would have seriously considered DNFing the book.

My main complaint is the mismarking of the book. It is marketed as a cozy fantasy with magic and a Sapphic romance, but its actually a high stakes situation that constantly has some kind if drama pulling you in all different directions. There are also too many POV. There are two characters that every time their chapters started I had to really think back to even remember who they were, and I feel like that part of the story could have been told just fine with a dual POV. Also, Harry Potter references, seriously? If you are marketing your book as a LGBT+ book then you should probably just leave controversial real world people out of it all together.

I still don't really understand the magic system or how/why everyone has the powers that they have, I'm sure it was explained, but really all I can remember about this book is how combative the FMC was, and just how selfish and rude she was when she didn't get her way.

I really expected this review to be the things I liked and the things I didn't, but really this was just okay. I'm not upset that I read it, but I will never feel the need to pick it up again.

what a fantastic fantasy book with amazing characters and great world building! I couldnt put this down!

I'm sorry to report that this book was just not for me. The cover and synopsis make this sound like it's going to have all the good cozy sapphic witchy magic vibes, but it was honestly kind of a mess. There are too many characters and too many perspectives and too much mishandled heaviness (a cancer storyline, a domestic abuse storyline, a Harry Potter reference in a theoretical queer romance) to really get anywhere with getting to know any of them or get invested in the plot or what's offered up as a romance. I felt like the book set my expectations for something totally different and is being marketed in totally the wrong way and it really underscores how little it delivers on the promise that's set up.

I received a digital copy of "Remedial Magic" by Melissa Marr from Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will be exceedingly honest.

Ellie Brandeau doesn't know it, but she's a witch. Her powers start awakening after a compelling encounter with a beautiful, mysterious woman named Prospero. A near-fatal accident sends Ellie to Crenshaw, a magical Brigadoon-like place where witches live in peace, safe from the centuries of persecution witches experience in what the witches call the "Barbarian Lands." Except, things are very, very wrong in Crenshaw. The land and water are polluted, witches are dying, and Ellie is the key to fixing all of it.

This is the worst book I have read in a very long time. The marketing for this book would lead you to believe that it's a cozy, sapphic, witchy romantasy. It has a cute cover, a cute description, a cute setting. All lies.

A romance implies a happily ever after. There is nothing happy about the ending. A romance implies two people consenting to being in a loving relationship: THERE IS NO CONSENT IN THE CONCLUSION. I can't describe it without spoiling it, but Ellie emphatically and specifically does not agree to be in the relationship she ends up in. I was horrified.

As far as the technical aspects of the story, here's a quick summary: none of the characters act like real humans with real human emotions. There is only one potentially happy relationship but they are side characters and even then I have my doubts. The writing is awkward. The world-building is superficial at best. The plot would be interesting (Let's save the day!) but the Big Serious Problem is not actually resolved. I mean, at all. The book just ends before the Crenshaw is saved from danger. There are a ton of other, minor dangling plot threads.

I am guessing this is meant to be a first book in a series and that those things will be resolved in a future story. There's a suggestion that even the nonconsensual relationship issue will be resolved at some point. I will not read any further books to find out.

There are two things I liked. First, Crenshaw is a place where members of the LGBTQIA community are safe to live and love whomever they choose. It's about the ONLY thing that's safe in Crenshaw but at least there's that. Second, when people break Crenshaw law, they are temporarily turned into badgers. Why badgers? Who knows, but I did find that amusing.

I would have ordinarily DNF'd this early on because I had doubts very quickly. But I committed to reading it for NetGalley and I take that seriously. I genuinely wish I hadn't. I typically believe that when a book is not to my taste, there will still be readers who like it. So I review accordingly and while I may criticize, I try to consider who might actually enjoy it. My first draft of this review was a pages-long, sputtering mess and I still can't think of anybody I'd recommend "Remedial Magic" to.

This book was not for me. I enjoyed books like Ex Hex and My Roommate is a Vampire, so I got interested in reading witchy paranormal romances, but this is one of several in a long string that I have just not enjoyed, so i think it is perhaps not the subgenre for me. If you enjoyed books like The Very Secret Society for Irregular Witches, Enchanted to Meet You, and The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic, you will likely enjoy this one too. There has just been something in the writing style of these books that just is not clicking for me, but it will be a slam dunk for the right reader!

As much as it disappoints me, I honestly could not engage with this book. There were several times when I questioned on whether not finishing the book, but I want to see the story through.

I believe where the story fell flat for me is how the story started. It was quite confusing and choppy. I couldn't really figure out who the main character was, Sondre’s purpose other than headmaster, and the ending totally confused me which didn't tie out the purpose of the story. The character building needs more love. I need to feel the character’s emotions to fall into their world. 

I appreciate Tor Publishing, Netgalley and Melissa Marr for providing an advanced reader copy. All thoughts are my own.

DNF 15%

I initially was interested and excited about this book based on the synopsis given, sapphic magical story. I was thoroughly confused within the first few chapters as to what was actually going on, especially with multiple different POVs that weren't even mentioned in the synopsis. I feel like the way that this book is promoted is ultimately going to hurt it in the long run.

Thank you to the publisher for the eArc.

For transparency I made the decision to DNF this at around 17% because it was putting me in a reading slump, so I can’t speak to what happens after that.

I went into this book expecting a cute cozy sapphic fantasy with witches but it feels like the marketing was a bit misleading. Instead of following just our main character and the love interest, there are also a couple other POVs that weren’t mentioned at all in the blurb.

I also just didn’t vibe with the writing style, with conversations feeling very stilted and the chemistry between characters felt very off.

I kind of expected a cozy from the book description. Not a cozy. Repeat. Not a cozy. I kind of feel sorry for Dan who either needs to go along or die an ugly lingering death from cancer but the magic users are not good people at all. Mentally manipulating someone into bed with you is super gross at best. If you have to force the yes in any fashion it’s a no…. It’s a pretty disturbing culture the witch village has. I’ll probably read book two eventually from my library but I’ve a fairly thick skin for some things. This isn’t a book I could recommend universally because the magic mental violations are pretty bad. I have a little morbid curiosity how the author is going to drag a happy ending out of this.

The Magicians meets One Last Stop is what the blurb tells us to expect in this book. Well, I know better than to expect much of blurbs, but can I just say that I haven't been this disappointed by the marketing for a book in a long time?

Remedial Magic isn’t just a subpar book–it’s a subpar book with poor plotting, average writing, creepy and unlikeable characters, an underexplored magic system, poor worldbuilding, and random spice scenes that are just plopped in like quotes in a bad college essay (that is to say, suddenly and with no warm up).

This book just doesn’t make sense to me. It started off well enough. It was witty, even engaging. Everything started to fall to pieces as soon as the “new students” started arriving in Crenshaw, in my opinion. Then it all started unraveling quickly and never regained any ground. I don’t even know why I finished the book, save that I hoped at some point it might redeem itself, considering this is a series and there are more books after this.

I think I’ll be stopping here, though. I don’t need to know more.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All opinions, thoughts, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. As this review has a rating of three stars or less it will only appear on review sites and not on social media. Thank you.

File Under: Book Series/Fantasy/Fantasy Series/LGBTQ Fantasy/Spice Level 1

I very much enjoyed this read! Melissa Marr has created a unique and intriguing magical world within the real world with an interesting dynamic between the two. The characters are delightfully queer and their interactions are full of witty banter. I was also happy with the cliffhanger ending that left me excited to see where Marr takes the story next.

- First in a series (A Course in Magic)
- Multiple character POV
- LGBTQ+ representation
- Will they of won't they
- Morally gray witches
- Mixture of open door and fade to black spice

There was a LOT packed into this book, which did make the pacing feel a bit rushed at times. But that did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. It just left me wishing I knew a little more, which I assume will be provided in future books.

DNFed around page 100.
I sadly could not get into this book. When I read the summary of this book, I was super excited as I love paranormal romance books. Though sadly I was not getting what was promised to the 100 page mark and didn’t want to keep on going. There were too many povs and it was a struggle to keep track of the characters, especially in a new world. I most likely would have kept on going if there were less. For a new world, I have to say it was hard figuring out what was going on, what everything was, and the purpose of certain things. (Not being specific just in case of spoilers).

*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

Thank you to NetGalley and the Tor Publishing Group. I did DNF this book at 46% and want to explain a little more about why I did not finish this book.

The writing style is a little old fashioned and reads closer to a classic novel. It may be due to the third person perspective but I felt like each character was very detached. There were also a LOT of characters to introduce at the beginning and it felt too messy. Each chapter seemed to switch to another character and nearly halfway through the book, I could not connect to a single character. Maybe focusing on only a few characters instead of every character that is introduced. Now it may have been relevant towards the end of the book to have a POV for everyone but I just didn’t make it that far.

Additionally, it felt weak that every single character instantly has attractions to other characters. No build up, no intrigue or mystery? For a romance book, I just didn’t feel like the romance was there. It was some kissing/hooking up here and there but the romance was flat and forced.

I loved the diversity of the characters. I thought that the setting was well described and interesting. I liked the idea of the town having issues that the new characters needed to resolve. I thought that this book had a lot of potential but it just wasn’t for me.

I’m a sucker for sapphic cozy romances and witchy settings, but I cannot with magical cures because that is some ableism that needs to be unpacked and we need books to interrogate their white supremacy, not uphold it.

I really wanted to like this. The concept was there - magic, witch school, sapphic love story… but it just fell flat. The story felt disjointed with too many character POV chapters. The contemporary references to Harry Potter also rubbed me the wrong way, especially in a story that has prominent LGBTQ characters and storylines.

Overall the story really didn’t grab me. It took me awhile to get through the book because I didn’t really find any of the particularly compelling. I feel like if the author had really focused on the Ellie/Prospero story primarily and added more details to their budding relationship it would have been a better choice.

A lighthearted, romantic tale of self-discovery and magic. Full of delight and emotional warmth, along with an interesting magic system.

Somewhere between the cover and the synopsis, I fully thought this was a rom com. It is not — though there was a bit of “romance” here and there.

The concept of a magical witchy Brigadoon (the book’s reference, not mine) plagued by a mysterious poison was fairly interesting, but it felt like the concept didn’t quite get fully fleshed out.

The way the town functioned didn’t feel rational. The superficial chemistry between Ellie and Prospero wasn’t enough to account for Ellie’s indecision. Maggie and Dan were interesting enough, though their relationships were also surface level.

I kind of love the way it ended though. Especially if it were a standalone.

Thanks to Bramble for providing me with an advanced digital copy to review!