I had the opportunity to listen to the Remedial Magic audiobook by Melissa Marr through NetGalley. While initially intrigued by its promising premise, I found myself somewhat disappointed by the execution.

The story revolves around individuals whose magical abilities awaken, leading them to a separate world where they attend a remedial magic school. As the new students arrive, they are quickly pulled into an ongoing challenge and existing conflicts. Despite being drawn in by the concept and the book's cover art, I found that it fell short of my expectations.

One aspect that left me wanting more was the lack of exploration into how the remedial magic school operated and the significance of attending it for the students. Additionally, the romantic relationships within the story felt rushed, lacking the buildup and anticipation I typically enjoy. Instead of gradual development, characters seemed to jump into relationships from the outset, leaving me longing for more depth and complexity.

However, I commend the narrators, Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers, whose performances added depth to the audiobook experience. Their clear delineation of each character's point of view before each chapter made it easier to follow along. Despite their skilled narration, I still found myself occasionally losing interest in the story, leading to moments of distraction.

In conclusion, while the audiobook benefited from excellent narration, the lack of depth in character development and storytelling left me unsatisfied. Despite my struggles to stay engaged, the narrators ultimately played a crucial role in my completion of the book.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an arc copy of this audiobook.

Remedial Magic is a multi POV, fast paced, fantasy book. There is a dash of romance with LGBTQIA+ representation, but to say it’s a romance book is a bit of a stretch. This book has so much potential and I enjoyed parts of it; but I feel like this story was rushed between the six main characters. There is so much that happens and brought up (like Hobbs) that aren’t explained any further than when they’re first introduced.

With that being said, the character development is great, you get a feel on each character and their backstories. The plot is there! But feels like it got a little lost between the multiple pov’s a bit. The audiobook has been done super well though between the two narrators .

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley.

Queer magic! Loved the world building and characters. Thank you.

A magic school cozy fantasy queer romance with witches? Yes please!

The ideas in this book are so good! You don't know if you are magic until your life is imperiled. To go to magic school you must give up everything for a new life. Then the tests and allusions to prophecies come in...

The problem is that this book is fairly boring and middled. So many POV switches. And it just didn't really work for me. I got to about 40% and DNFed. I did skip to the end to see how it resolved but what I heard did not improve my score.

In good conscious I don't typically give more than 2 stars for a book I DNF but here I gave an extra star for the two excellent voice actors portraying a good variety of POV characters.

Thank you NetGalley and the published for the audio review copy.

A fun book about learning how to use magic and embrace the world around you. Perfect for fans of Nora Robert's Three Sisters trilogies and if you're looking for a fun, cozy fall/spooky season read. I'll definitely be recommending to my subscribers and followers on my social media platforms.

OK, this was not at ALL what I expected... I've read Melissa Marr before and never found her to be quite so all over the place. The narration was engaging, as were the initial character introductions. But immediately upon meeting anyone involved in magic, the *regular* people fell in infatuation at first sight in a way that felt utterly unbelievable and pretty eye-rollingly cringey. Couple that with an abundance of characters, constant POV shifts, and a rather meandering plot and it lost me pretty early on - which is very unfortunate, as the overall concept was a highly intriguing one.

There are 2 narrators for this audiobook. Jeremy Carlisle Parker is a woman who is a trained opera singer. I have heard and enjoyed her narration before in The Witches of Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper. Max Meyers who has acted in Off-Broadway productions. I have not listened to any of their previous work. I think that both narrators did the best job that they could in order to portray so many different POVs in one audiobook. However, this book would have benefited better from a much larger cast of narrators in order to help differentiate.

Anyone who has read my previous reviews will know that I rarely DNF a book. Even if there are points about the book that I don't like, I will generally try to stay until the end in order to give the author a chance of redemption. However, I just could not continue listening to this book. I really did try, but I couldn't.

Now the blurb that I read made it seem like the book was going to be about 2 main characters. This is not the case at all. There were so many that it was hard to keep track. This is the reason that I was saying it would have benefitted from a multicast production instead of just the 2 narrators. It got confusing when the POV would switch each chapter and you weren't sure whose POV it was until you got into part of the chapter. By the time you are catching up to who is talking, the chapters change.

As for world building, there wasn't much in the way of descriptions. For instance, in the prologue the POV is from a Hob. What is a Hob you ask? Well, I have no clue at all. All I know is that they are supposed to oversee Crenshaw and make sure that the witches follow certain rules. Well, at least that is what I think they are supposed to do. It was confusing to me. But I have no idea what they look like. Are they tall, short, hairy, misshapen? The only thing that came to mind is a hobgoblin because of the Hob part of hobgoblin.

The character relationships are extremely forced. One second Ellie is saying how boring she is to the point of saying she drives a nondescript sedan. Ellie even had gone so far as saying that she doesn't do anything that is out of her normal routine. Then all of a sudden, she is kissing a complete stranger in the library. HUH? And when I say next second, I mean it is like within less than 5 minutes of meeting Ellie. Oh, and she falls immediately in love with Prospero (the woman she kissed) as soon as the kiss is ended.

And what is up with Maggie? This isn't giving anything away because it was literally all within chapter three of the book. She is driving her son back to her criminal ex-husband. She is deciding on whether or not to tell her son that her ex wants full custody of him. Then her brakes go out and both her and her son are careening off the side of the road. If the father had actually wanted the son, why would he cut the brake lines when he knew his son would be in the car? That just doesn't even make sense. Wouldn't he have cut them when his son wasn't going to be in the car? All of a sudden, Maggie's powers awaken during this "accident" and she is able to save her son. Then she gets out of the car and is in Crenshaw.

Dan just seemed really flat on the page. He was out hiking. He had his clothes, food, "dishes for food", soap for dishes for food". Yea. It actually said soap for dishes for food in the audiobook. GAH! Then he just sort of stumbles into Crenshaw. Now in the regular world, Dan had cancer. When he got to Crenshaw, he was magically cured by just stepping across the border. However, if he wants to go back to see his family and friends, then his cancer will return. Thus, he is forced to stay.

I listened for quite a while before finally just giving up. Probably longer than I really should have. Since this is the first in a series, it would have been better set up with just a 2 person POV. They could have started out with Ellie and Prospero's story in the first book. However, the other characters could be there, but mainly as secondary characters to help Ellie & Prospero's story along. Then in the 2nd book, they could have moved on to Maggie's story. And they can tell how she ended up in Crenshaw through flashback scenes. Finally, in book 3 it would be time for Dan to shine. There would be much more room for character development and world building that way. This was just too rushed.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an open and honest review.

I love this!!!! This was great!!! The ending!!! I need book two now!! I love the characters. At times I did want to understand them a bit more. But I'm sure that's something the other books can do.

I wanted to like this, but the book just couldn’t seem to figure out what it wanted to be or what story it wanted to tell. I had trouble connecting with the characters and the relationships. I’m bummed I didn’t care for it.

DNF at 51%

I really cannot express how distasteful this book was. I genuinely tried to give it a chance in order for it to develop a plot and it just did not. The visceral attraction that all the characters had for others felt extremely forced, overly sexualized, and falsified.

This book is told from multiple POVs (the audiobook has different voice actors reading for each chapter) and each story starts with a human dying and coming back to life in a knock-of Hogwarts world. There is even a line, "Yer a wizard, Dan"... yikes. These adult witches are sent to some sort of community college for "Remedial Witches" and they will all either be a powerful witch, or be siphoned for their power.

The concept was, sadly, not good, the characters were shallow, and the relationships gave me bad vibes.

Individuals exhibiting the ability to do magic are whisked away to a secret, magical land in this first book of Melissa Marr’s A Course in Magic series. Upon arriving in the land, they are automatically enrolled in courses to learn about magic and their powers. Whether or not they must stay in the magical land of Crenshaw or must give up their powers and return to the modern world will be determined at the conclusion of their studies.

Based on the book description, I was anticipating a sapphic love story set against the backdrop of saving a magical land, and while, those are certainly elements of this tale, this one is actually told from multiple perspectives. The story is set around three central couples but is told from even more perspectives than just those six individuals.

Due to the number of character perspectives presented, it feels like there is a lot going on in the story, but in the timeline and scheme of the overall narrative, not much happens.

Perhaps this first book is the setup for an epic series, but with the storyline spread across so many characters initially, I wasn’t able to become deeply invested in all of their tales or in the survival of Crenshaw. I’m not sure if I will continue with this series.

The badgers are an interesting touch, though.

The audiobook narration by Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers held my attention, even as the tale they were narrating became more and more bizarre. They used distinct accents and dialects during the dialogue to differentiate the various characters.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All review opinions are my own.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I am not sure how I feel about this book. I would rate it closer to a 3.5 star rating because the story intrigued me but I didn’t really like any of the characters. Ellie and Prosperos relationship was messy the entire time and it doesn’t improve. The village of Crenshaw fails to trick her into getting her to help. Dan I feel like needed more of a story and Lynch just whined the entire time that she wants to get back to her son. I’m interested on how the 2nd book pans out because it looks like it is setting up for the rest of the series but the ending wasn’t as epic as the build up was.

DNF at 36%

Pitched as a cozy fantasy with a Sapphic romance for lovers of the Magicians, I was so eager to listen to this audiobook. However, it was clear almost from the jump that the marketing did not match the story. With over 5 POVS, minimal world-building, and surface-level characters, it was very difficult for me to be immersed in the world. There were also multiple aspects to the story that just gave me the ick—calling non-magic people Barbarians, “hot person = lean and insecure = chubby” character descriptions, and (one of the biggest icks) unnecessary references to Harry Potter. Also…if we are told there’s going to be a magical school I want to see the classes/school life more!

That said, I truly enjoyed the narrator’s performances for this book – it was a shame I didn’t have the heart to finish and hear the story through!

This fantasy romance, "Remedial Magic," weaves a tale through multiple POVs, but I focused more on on Maggie's story. While the initial pace felt slow due to a lack of connection with some characters, Maggie's journey alongside her new ally, Ellie, became increasingly captivating. The narrators, Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers, did an excellent job, immersing me in the magical world.
The story leaves you yearning for more with its abrupt yet intriguing ending. The author skillfully blends romance and magic in this enchanting story.

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly don't even know where to start but okay. Wow, this was not at all what I thought this would be. From the way the world and the magic are set up to the story to the characters, this was completely unpredictable. And for the most part, I enjoyed it.

The magic itself was interesting in that it felt almost like a living entity that takes on a person for a host. Like a symbiotic creature. It's such a unique concept that I was on board with it immediately. Magic heals all your health problems? Sign me up! I loved the magic school which felt very much like every other magical school in books... until it wasn't. Enter our super sketchy characters. Everyone feels like they're hiding something and scheming... and if that's how you feel then you'd be right. I don't think anyone told the truth for more than a minute. I can honestly say that I don't think I ever fully liked a single character for more than a few chapters, but I was invested in them.

And with all the twists and turns that this book took, you'd think I'd expect an ending as insane as the one we got. But I didn't and I ended up sitting here like OH SNAP.

All in all, this was entertaining, and very different from what I thought. I enjoyed it, and I definitely recommend it.

Remedial Magic by Melissa Marr
A Course in Magic series #1. Mandatory adult magic school. LGBTQ+ Fantasy romance. Cliffhanger. Multiple POV. Multiple relationships.
Prospero is a powerful witch from the magical land of Crenshaw. She believes in a prophecy that has an uninitiated witch as a the key in saving their homeland. Prospero takes steps to ensure that powers are awakened. Three new witches arrive in Crenshaw and must learn the rules of their new situations.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook copy of this narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers. The performances were well done, and each had a specific voice for the characters. But as they are both males, I missed a few times that the current POV was a female. The timing and emotions of the characters are clear.
I listened to this at 1.5 which I found as the most comfortable.

I had a difficult time with audiobook, mostly because there are at least six POV’s and while there were two narrators, there is no introduction of which character POV is being told. Without seeing the text or hearing a chapter heading, it was hard to follow a switch although the narrators did have different voices for the main characters.
I also didn’t care for the witches being activated by cutting them out of their current lives regardless of their situations. Specially leaving a young son believing his mother is dead and he must live with his abusive and neglectful father.
There are three quick relationships (F-F, M-F, M-M) in the story that actually seem manipulative in more than one way.
More disturbing, the school administration is recording and watching everything for the benefit of their own community. Inside private rooms. Creepy. They justify it as their world is dying and they need to find a solution.
I will look for an ebook copy to see if I can clarify a couple of confusing points. I may continue the series to make sure the mother is able to save her son, and to find out how the magical community fixes the poisoned water.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Macmillan Audio.

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.

Remedial Magic is the first book in A Course in Magic a new series by Melissa Marr. It is supposed to be a cozy little Romance set when a which awakens to her new power and is transported to a magic land. I’m not a huge fan of F/F love interests, but when done by a trusted author I usually will give them a shot. Even though the blurb only talks about one romance, there are actually three happening a F/F, M/F and M/M

I was a bit disappointed in the overall story, which seemed like it didn’t know what it really wanted to be. There are 6 different PoVs happening and so you always know what everyone is thinking, there is no build up no suspense and all of the romances totally happen in a lust at first site kind of way that seems so shallow.

The Good

I enjoyed the start-up of the story. Most people do not come into their magic until their life is put into danger. That is the moment it will most likely activate and then the people of Crenshaw, all witches will come to retrieve you to help you settle into your new power. Only the magical are allowed in Crenshaw though so you have to leave everything from your previous life behind. Sometimes that is not problematic and for a few of our characters they really didn’t have a lot to go back to. But one main character is a mother and being told she is to be separated from her son for months while they decide if she can stay or go is problematic for her.

Maggie’s (the afore mentioned mother) arc was the most interesting to me. She has the most in the outside world to keep her tethered there. Her dilemmas were the easiest to relate to. Dan was probably my second favorite character as he has significant reason to want to stay. He was dying of cancer in the real world, but in this magical place he is cured. Returning means certain death to him so he is willing to make a few questionable choices to be able to stay. I really loved how honest he was about all of that and if that meant he possible joined up with the Dark Side all the better.

Crenshaw is dying, the water is tainted and there is a fowl smell in the air. Some of the witches want to return to the real world, others want to move their magical town. Each faction will try to skew the new witches to their side and use them as needed for the town.

I was intrigued by this plot at first with the fractioning sides but as the story progressed it wasn’t really going anywhere and I really had problems will all the Witches of Crenshaw by the end.

The Bad

I honestly was so disappointed that something that was supposed to be a cozy romance story was so filled with Social Justice Warrior verbiage and biases. There are all the things like racism, people having issues with gay lifestyles, white priveledge, ableism and so much more in something that is supposed to be a light read. I would like to encourage all authors to check themselves and if you aren’t creating an escape for your readers you have probably failed at your job a little. If it was just one thrown out comment about gay equality or the persecution of witches in the past (which actually made sense in the context of the story) I wouldn’t mention it. But if I am rolling my eyes at the number of times I’m taken out of the story so someone can “preach” their biases it isn’t a fun read anymore.

There was a lot in this book that has potential. I think if it focused on one couple instead of three we would have had more depth to the characters. But as is no one really got enough page time to be really developed. Sanche the headmaster of the school was the most complex character and even with him we only scratch a surface.

The ending was a bit rushed and didn’t make a ton of sense, but I was ready for the book to be over. I was hoping to see more of the magical classes but there are only a few scenes without much detail to them. The magic in the community seemed cool but again just brushed over. The Hobbs, magical creatures that help out the Witches, much like house elves of harry potter also seems really interesting but we don’t really delve into that much either.

I’m not sure this is a series I will continue as I enjoy a bit more depth to most of my characters. But Dan’s circumstances is interesting and I would like to see Maggie and how her new situation at the end was working out. My continuation of the series would depend heavily on those two characters.

Narration

Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers were the narrators for the book. I think they captured most of the characters well although Prospero sounded a bit like a man to me in the story. All the voices and pacing were overall done really well. I enjoyed Dan's voice the most and Sanche has a very distinguishable tone that was really pleasing to the ear. I normally listen at 1.5x speed but needed to increase to 1.75x speed for the story to flow correctly for me.

I usually love books that have a magical and dark academic center but this sadly didn't hit the mark like I had hoped. The LGBTQ representation was nice but I felt like a few of said characters were a bit flat and having different POVs made it hard for me to follow along. The abuse mentioned and the forced marriage was a turn off.

Wow I loved this fun little witchy magic dark academia novel✨

All of the characters had me laughing out loud and the growth was nice to see ✨

We loved LGBTQ+ Rep it made my heart happy 💕

The pacing of this book was pretty fast and very refreshing✨

Overall I absolutely loved this audiobook and hope to read more by this author ✨