I really wanted to like this story and I tried a couple times to listen but I just couldn’t get past the side stories. This was a DNF for me. The blurb was misleading and the male narrator was distracting. I was looking forward to a FF story - and their dynamic was really great - but the rest of the side plots took away from how this story was advertised.

I really wanted to like this one, but it just wasn't for me. I think others will like it, but I just couldn't get into it.

I was hoping this would be the magical romantasy I was craving, but unfortunately the story fell flat for me. I listened to the audiobook format, narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers which I thought was a good choice for the narration cast to voice the multiple POVs.

*many thanks to Macmillan audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy

I really like the audiobook for Remidial Magic. The worldbuiding and setup for the story was great and the plot had so many things that made the story compelling and the narration pushed it over the edge. No notes from me. lol

Remedial Magic is a chaotic, unfocused mess that never delivers on its promises. What could have been an enchanting blend of fantasy and romance instead falls flat with disjointed storytelling, shallow characters, and an awkward romance. The multiple POVs only serve to confuse, jumping between underdeveloped characters and diluting any emotional depth the story could have had. Ellie and Prospero’s relationship, which should be central, is rushed and devoid of any meaningful connection, making the romance feel contrived and unconvincing.

The world-building is thin, and the plot, while initially intriguing, unravels with unresolved issues and a deeply unsatisfying conclusion. Worse, the book's marketing as a cozy sapphic romance is misleading—there is no consent in the relationship Ellie ends up in, making the ending uncomfortable rather than empowering. While the concept had potential, Remedial Magic is a frustrating read that leaves more questions than answers and fails to connect. I would not recommend it.

Remedial Magic is the first book in Melissa Marr's A Course in Magic series. The audiobook is narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers and they did a wonderful job at bringing the story and characters to life. The use of multiple povs made this story feel so fast paced. Something was always happening with someone. I loved the full and unique cast of characters. I will admit that I struggled with the very beginning and parts of the end but overall this was a really fun story with a lot to enjoy.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I DNFd this book at the 20% mark. I was just very bored and unable to connect to any of the characters. The book was building to be something else than I thought, the cover does it no favors. Maybe this story would have worked better in a YA setting, but as an adult book it just dragged along with no clear path forward.

A fast paced fantasy with multiple pov giving lots of perspective this was mostly enjoyable. There were some issues I take with it but submitted those separately. The audio was good and brought the story to life more. Definitely should check this out if you like fantasy.

I wanted to read this book because the blurb sounded fun and cozy, but I was confused once I started reading it.

I liked some parts of the book, for example... I liked that the main character was a mother and librarian with witchy powers, I liked that it had a small-town setting, and I liked the great cast of queer characters, but that's pretty much it.

The story focuses on three separate couples, which sometimes gets a bit confusing and I feel like the ending was a bit rushed and didn’t quite make sense.

Finished review:
okay so this is not a cozy fantasy, but its also not insanely high stakes in the typical fantasy sense, but somewhere in between the two. I am still enjoying the love stories in the book assuming that they wont all end up HEA and there will be a shakeup, if they all end up being endgame I might have a problem with the toxicity of the first book. I do think there are some holes in the world building that I hope will get fleshed out in book 2.


Midpoint ish:
I’m not finished with it yet. But so far I am LOVING everything about this book. I’m listening on audio and not having any issues with the POV shifts at all. It’s the perfect definition of cozy fantasy for me. It has a plot and some drama but focuses mostly on some super adorable and somewhat spicy relationships that I am here for.

I really enjoyed the character development in this book, but I feel like there was a lot of things going on at the same time. Being a librarian myself I really enjoyed the librarian character and probably finished the book because I wanted to find out what happened to her. Which now I hope we do get a second book so I can find out.

I wish there was a lot more world building because I wanted to know more about Crenshaw and it's residents there. I feel like we were just thrown into this world with no context and felt lost just as all our characters did, so maybe that was the author's intention, I don't really know. I would just like to tell everyone to push through it and keep reading because the climax scene is quite the ride. I also would be interested to see more background stories of the residents of Crenshaw and of course to learn about the place in general and what is the cause of all the devastation there.

Overall this story had a lot, but was lacking in some other areas. Nonetheless I need another book because I would like to see how this all plays out :)

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian for the e-arc!
Librarians magic and lesbians? Sign me up! I picked up this book looking for one witches and magic and that is exactly what I got. I am always excited for queer romance, especially when there is magic and books. The multiple views were definitely a bit confusing harshly due to the narration; however, I still enjoyed seeing the different perspectives. Overall I did really enjoy the romance of the story and was pleasantly surprised that there is more romance in the story than initially expected.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Enjoyable but a somewhat slow start. The premise is quite interesting and I'm excited to see where this series takes us. Looking forward to the next one!

Let’s start with the good. I was granted an audiobook ARC of “Remedial Magic” and I liked Jeremey Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers’ narrations. I appreciated the distinct character voices and the spoken header at each chapter to identify the character’s POV. Everything worked well from an audiobook standpoint and I will be looking for other books these two have narrated. It’s definitely not the audiobook’s fault that I DNF this at 20%.

I really enjoy, and want more, diversity in books. I was very excited about “Remedial Magic” which was described as a cozy sapphic fantasy novel set at a magical community college for adults. Unfortunately, this book turned out to be none of these things. It does have a magic college for adults- but it’s a lot more mysterious magic boarding school and a lot less evening community college classes. Additionally, I was completely shocked at the rather graphic near death experience in chapter two. Definitely not cozy at all. I’m not one to normally need trigger warnings but in this case I would have appreciated some indication in the synopsis, cover, or category that this was going to be very “real life” and not “hallmark movie”. Finally, the sapphic romance is just one of several relationships in the novel and is not a major narrative focus nor is it well developed.

Also, the writing is very repetitive. This might be more noticeable in audio format than book form but it really took me out of the story. Several times in the first couple of chapters Ellie talks about “going into Pittsburgh” and “making the hour drive to Pittsburgh for dates”. Moreover, the author describes the town of Liogneer twice in two paragraphs - not by adding new information but rather summarizing what was just written. And yes, Ellie is ordinary - we get it! The reader doesn’t need this constant repetition within pages, or even sentences.

I wish this book had been marketed differently. A vastly different cover and synopsis would’ve given me a much better idea of what this book was actually about and would have helped to temper my expectations.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio/Bramble Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I think the world building in this one was really interesting and it had a lot going for it, but somehow still failed to completely hold my attention. Overall, I enjoyed it but didn't love it. I will probably read more in the series because of the cliffhanger at the end though! The narrator did a good job.

Remedial Magic by Melissa Marr

Remedial Magic is a fast paced multi point of view sapphic fantasy. The beginning of the book was really good, albeit very confusing with the multi points of view. When three different people, Dan Maggie and Ellie, are in a near death experience or dying, they get transported to a small town called Crenshaw. Crenshaw seems like it’s a perfect idyllic place, where witches go and learn magic, but it’s really anything but perfect. The water is poisonous, witches are dying, and witches that violate the rules are turned into badgers. Why badger? They never say why.. When the three main characters are transported they all have some insta love lust with witches they meet. They really don’t have time to develop a relationship, just meet and bam 💥 attraction and love.

I liked the authors skill at world building. I loved the imagery and the way Crenshaw felt like it came to life. I liked the way the book explored multiple relationships including m/m f/f and f/m. The author incorporates fantasy with some spice and drama. I liked the way they could transport and transmute objects and people.

I disliked a few things but will leave some of them out because it’s major spoilers. While I enjoy a morally grey love interest, I’m some ways this was too much. I also got irritated with the political stereotypes, for a book that was inclusive, this could have and should have been avoided. I also didn’t like the cliffhanger, especially with the ending being what it was (won’t go into details as not to spoil the end) I didn’t like the way they could alter memories, maybe because they used it for punishment, although in some aspects I could see this being a positive experience.
The multi points of view was confusing in the beginning but as you continue in the book you can follow the characters better. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator. I was definitely pulled into the story because of them.
Overall while I liked many aspects of the book, it was just an ok read for me. The author could easily have created something amazing using the mystery and appeal of magic but it was just ok for me. While I enjoyed the many facets of the different styles of relationships, the other. Issues in the book overshadowed the good parts.

Overall, I just had a trouble getting into this audiobook. I came to try it again, but found the same issue.

Oh my, this book was a roller-coaster. I really enjoyed that the witches' magic is awoken by almost dying. Maggie and elly though, are not the normal run of the mill students. Maggie wants to go back home and elly is the key to saving everyone. The mystery and relationships kept me so involved I didn't even realize we were at the end of the book and it had such a not what I wanted ending. Now I'm impatiently waiting for book 2.

I went into this book a little blindly as i didn't reread the synopsis or any reviews of it before hand. I'm so glad that i did. I loved this book. I think that it was a fantastic fantasy novel with some spice and darkness all wrapped up into one. I enjoyed the narrator and thought that they did a great job with bringing the story to life. I thought the premise of the story was interesting. I liked the added mystery of the vanishing people in the beginning and thought that it played a neat role throughout the story. I really liked the majority of the characters and think that for the most part they played their parts well in moving the story line along. There were a few characters that I wasn't a huge fan of but i think that in any novel you are bound to find a character or two that if you met in real life you would not be friends with. I am conflicted on the ending. It didn't tie up in a neat little bow for me and even though that would normally bug me I'm actually pleased with it. I think that it really kept the tone of the story and and that it was appropriate.