Sadly I did not love this book. I didn't hate it either but I just felt it was only okay. This book felt very juvenile for an adult fantasy book. And this exact concept has been done before and better with The Magicians. I will say this book does have the benefit of cozy academia going for it so there are definitely people out there who will love this I just don't think its for me.

I so wanted to love this book, but it was a bit of a letdown. For me, it was a matter of the blurb and hype not lining up with the content of the book.

It was marketed as 'The Magicians meets One Last Stop' but I feel like it was closer to The Atlas Six. For me, it was plagued by the same things that made it difficult to get into The Atlas Six-a really slow start, too many POVs, and the feeling that the book began over and over without really starting. Second, the part of the blurb that drew me to the book-the relationship between Ellie and Prospero-didn't even feel like the focus of the book. They didn't come across as the main characters.

While this book was not as enjoyable as I would have liked, if you really enjoyed The Atlas Six, you might be interested in Remedial Magic.

DNF @29%

The marketing on this is extremely misleading. It makes it sound like a cozy fantasy romance with one main character. Instead it's a fast-paced, multi-pov witchy fantasy with more intense elements and insta-love between multiple couples. And it's not at all cozy. Honestly even the first chapter is really jarring given what you're led to expect- a mom and son on the run from her abusive ex get into a serious car accident after he has cut the brake lines. Like, what?! And then there's a perspective of a gay man who had been a cancer patient. Yeah, really not what it makes it sound like AT ALL. And there's so much going on, that people are pairing up really quickly without any real relationship development. I'm not enjoying this and it's not what I was wanting so I'm going to stop here. I really think the way this is being pitched is going to hurt its reception. Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy for review, all opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like this book. It had all the elements of a great witchy romantic fantasy. It could have been the adult version of The Magicians. However, everything fell flat. There were too many POVs, none of the characters were fully developed. The magic system which could have been very unique was barely described. The romances were jumped into and had no development. Crenshaw's problem was talked around and zero attempts to actually fix it were made. Maybe these issues will all be resolved in subsequent books, but I don't feel any draw to return to the world of Crenshaw. Perhaps a few more drafts would solve the story's problems.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.

This one....was a bit of a mess.

A handful of people in life threatening situations discover magical powers and are whisked away to another world where the newly discovered magic are required to take a remedial magic course, then either stay in the world forever or leave their magic and memories behind.

The world building was disjointed? incomplete? inconsistent? I don't know...a lot of the magical world just seemed random and didn't quite work.

If you suspend deep thought, it is readable and entertaining - but still just meh. Even with the cliffhanger I don't really have a desire to read the next book.

The narrator was great and did an excellent job with the various accents. Each character had their distinct personality shine through.

I really wanted to enjoy this but struggled to connect with the story. On paper, this is a story that's right up my alley, but I wasn't really connecting with it. I think it's possible the audiobook narrator just wasn't for me - I'm not going to share my rating on my personal platforms because I don't have any constructive criticism, I just didn't connect with this read. Thank you for the opportunity to access the arc!

I seriously don't understand why people don't consider death of an animal something to warn people about. It is a valid content warning. I really don't think any of this is a spoiler because I'm not very far into the book...but one character crashes into a cow and describes looking into its eyes as its dying. The eyes and the cow dying are mentioned more than once in barely the span of a page. Regardless, I wasn't even sure what was going on in the few chapters I did read. There were a lot of characters jumping perspectives with way too much backstory and abrupt action. And there is other trauma going on as well, so the cow thing just put things over the edge...so now I'm angry and I don't feel like this is worth continuing. DNF. Why was this marked as a romance when the whole first part is just one trauma after another. Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers were good narrators from what I did manage to listen to. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I got an ARC for this one, I think there is some potential for the storyline with the next book in this series, there’s a lot of world building in this one. Because it’s written from multiple POV it can take a bit of time to get absorbed into the story.

I enjoyed that as you learned more about the characters there isn’t a clear “bad” or “good” character, instead as you go with your way through, you find the characters’ moral compasses are a bit more nuanced.

I was kind of surprised by the ending, it felt like a slow burn kinda read and then you get to pivotal plots as this one concluded. I’ll be intrigued to see how the next in the series continues the story

It's only February but I think this will be in contention for the worst book I've read in 2024.

Here's one main issue with this book that I think is going to mean that it gets bad reviews - it is being wholly mis-marketed. This is being marketed as a romance - the blurb talks about two characters (Ellie and Prospero) and makes no mention of anyone else. So most people will read that blurb and think that this is a witchy romance. But here's the thing - a romance can't have 7 POV characters (and honestly that number may be low, I stopped counting after a while). It also can't end in a coerced marriage (actually 2). This desperately needs a new cover and blurb and to be marketed as what it is - which is a witchy fantasy book that has some "romantic" relationships.

Where this really gets me is that it started off pretty strong! I was intrigued and wanted to see what was going to happen. And then I got so bored and confused.

Outside of the aforementioned larger issue of it's mis-marketing, this book is...not good. When I'm not enjoying a book, I really try to find the positives but I had a really hard time with this one besides the fact that I did really enjoy the narrators' performances!

Basically what it sort of boils down to for me is that this book feels like it was written by a white TERF. (I'm not calling the author a TERF). There was no diversity to speak of, everyone was white. The queer inclusion felt...fake and unnatural? or at the very least pandering.

I have to circle back to the 7 or so POVs that we get throughout this story - holy crap was it WAY too much. And the fact that everyone lies to Maggie and tells her her son is dead when he isn't! And essentially forces her to stay in the witch world despite the fact that her sons father is ABUSIVE??? Absolutely disgusting. Honestly there's a lot of trauma just casually thrown around in this book in ways that I think could be really damaging to readers. Oh my god and I didn't even mention the new witch that is magically cured of his cancer by becoming a witch and coming to the witch world...

And then the ending...holy crap. It really ends with the two newer witches being forced/coerced into marrying established witches to save the witch community. One of the newer witches has her mind wiped in order to be forced!!! And we're just supposed to be okay with that? There is quite literally 0 character growth from any character in this book and Prospero or whatever her name is is the worst character I have ever read. Consent is just nonexistent in this world apparently. I hope to all that is holy that she gets what is coming to her in the second book but I won't be reading it to find out. I'm deeply suspicious that Prospero will somehow get a redemption arc and I am not interested.

Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The audio production was great! The rest of the book not so much

Read if you like:
✨ Magical Systems
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ character rep
♥️ Insta-Love
#️⃣ Multiple POV

I have watched most of the seasons of The Magicians so when this was compared to that I was so excited to read it! Unfortunately, it didn’t give me the vibes of that show other than the fact that there were lots of characters and multiple storylines, but I just don’t think that worked for this book unfortunately the way it was done.

Additionally, I am really confused by all of the HP references that we are still getting in books and find it unnecessary.

I also really disliked the ableist aspect of the magical cure for chronic illness- like yes, we wish we could remove that from the world, but it felt like erasing lived experiences of so many in such a trivial way.

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

When do I get book two?
I personally haven't read a ton of instant romance because "where does it go from there?" Oh how wrong I was! With three romances and many povs I somehow felt like I knew everything and yet was questioning so much. This book is so light and cozy but frustrating and tense and the romance is sweet and sexy and always closes the door leaving you wanting more!

The ending was so cruel and I need the second one even though this one is barely out!

The audio was fantastic and I always knew exactly who was talking and who's POV it was based on the voice acting!

I loved it and can't wait to read more of Melissa's books!

I think it had potential but there were a good chunk of things in it that I just didn't think needed to be there. Additionally I felt like the characters fell flat for me.

This review is challenging. I do not like to ever leave a review that is not at least 4-5 stars, but I cannot do that in this case.

Most of the time I spent listening to Remedial Magic, I found myself wondering when something would happen. It felt mostly like an introduction. A very long introduction. With way too many POVs--6, maybe 7.

When something finally did happen, it was forced marriage. Four people, two couples. One of the women has her memories manipulated into thinking it was what she wanted. The other had her child and his memories used to force her into it.

And that's when this became a 1 star.

I was looking forward to a small town witchy story and this blurb sounded really cute and fun but I think I have officially hit my limit for cutesy books by authors who grew up reading Harry Potter. Remedial Magic has all the components I have enjoyed before in this genre but it came together in a way that felt a little played out and repetitive. It's hard to put a star rating on this book because if I had read it two years ago I probably would have liked it much more but in the wake of the boom in small town witchy storylines of recent years this one falls short. The dialogue feels forced at times and never managed to endear the characters to me. They came off awkward and self pitying to the extent that I found myself generally frustrated with most of their inner monologues and choices.

The narration was good and if you're looking for a new millennial witches book and haven't already read many this year, give it a try but if I'm honest there are much better options available.

DNF @42%

I loved the idea of a secret magical community and a sapphic witchy story… however, the actual story was nothing like the synopsis. The author tried to accomplish too many things and in doing so left me, much like the newest witchy residents of Crenshaw, incredibly confused. I had three main issues: the number of POVs, the storytelling, and the romance.

My first issue was that the story had far too many POVs. At the 42% mark, I counted six POVs and none of these voices were well developed. At one point, we hear from the chief witch in charge as he assembles a town hall style meeting and discusses dangers threatening the witchy community, but there is no intro to his character. Aside from the three new witchy residents, the reader is given no background about these other characters other than they believe themselves the hero and everyone else a villain. If this sounds confusing, it is and I still don’t know what was happening.

My second issue was the storytelling. There’s no explanation about this community that is somewhat hidden from the “barbarian realm” (i.e. the rest of the world). People are “relocated” (i.e. kidnapped) by these witchy leaders following a near death experience when they suddenly can then use magic . What happens when they get there? They have to attend a witchy community college but if they choose not to, are stripped of their memories and their magic is siphoned. But leadership is cagey about how long they’ll actually be stuck in Crenshaw, so this leaves the newest witchy residents with no other choice but to seduce the leaders into giving them answers.

Which brings me to my final issue… the romance. This story is not a cute, cozy witchy sapphic romance. It’s totally bizarre and full of unreliable, unlikable voices. Everyone is using each other and insta lust is just not a trope I personally enjoy.

I really believe the marketing hurt this story and sets readers up to be disappointed. I rarely (never) DNF books but I just couldn’t make it through this story. It just tried to incorporate too many voices and mystery and in doing so, was rather strange and confusing.

Story aside, the narration for the audio was very well done and I enjoyed the full cast.

Incredible narration and Jeremy Carlisle Parker can do no wrong in my eyes, but it wasn’t enough to keep from DNFing. I made it to 30% but the characters were not developed enough for my taste. Very abrupt start to the story, we are thrown into this magical world, there are many POVs, and everyone is immediately pairing up and trying (or actually sleeping together)

I love the librarian aspect of it and I was initially highlight quotes I loved, but this story wasn’t strong enough to keep my attention. The lack of character development kept me detached from the overall story and I never felt an emotional connection. By the time the 30% mark hit it truly didn’t excite me or keep my attention. I could have pushed forward since the audiobook is narrated flawlessly, but I just didn’t enjoy the writing style of this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Bramble for this ARC and Macmillan audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This story was just a hot mess. There is about 20 different plots going on and the cast of characters is large but not very well developed. By the end I was interested in what was happening but not enough to spend time on an additional book in this series. I think the is the or had a bunch of good ideas and just threw them all into this book and it didn’t mix well. The audio narrators and the production of the book was well done. It was the story itself that caused the issues.

This was an interesting read the first adult book I’ve read by this author. This is an LGBTQ+ normative book as well as sex normative.
People have been going missing usually from strange situations that tended to be deadly in normal situations but they found out they were magical and are transported to an isolated magical village, where they are tended too and learn about their magic . It really had a dark, adult Harry Potter feel at the beginning of the book — but the book got darker and veered into a conspiracy theory direction with a mysterious illness killing witches — I really enjoyed the characters of Maggie and Ellie and their Thelma and Louise feel to their friendship , these characters are what kept me most intrigued and invested in the story. There were a lot of characters to keep track of —making it feel like the characters don’t have as much depth which I would’ve liked but if it’s a series hopefully the characters will gain more depth as we go . Hopefully as well we will get more ethnic diversity in characters as well in future books .
Though there was a lot of characters to keep track of at the beginning I quickly adjusted but listening to the audiobook we had only two narrators for the female and male POVs which helped as well with good voicing abilities — the narrators did a wonderful job in bringing all the characters to life.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC. This is my honest review.

Remedial Magic is about various people who get into an accident and then get transported to a college for witches. They find out when they arrive that they are witches. I’m not sure if when the people arrived they became very horney because the people were ready to have sex with many of the witches at the college as soon as they arrived which caught me off guard. I thought that was a bit odd and a bit unnecessary. I understand this is a romance, but the romance seemed very vapid. I wanted to learn more about the magic system and what was going on before we dove into the romance.

Unfortunately I did not like this book. Around the 50% mark the book started getting a bit boring and became uninteresting to me. The cast of characters were a bit childish and read more YA. I didn’t care too much about the characters because I thought they were immature and bland. I just didn’t feel very connected to this magical world or the characters. I thought the romance took away from the story.

The audiobook helped to move along the story and I think the actors did a good job.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this book.

This was an amazing performance, I haven't read the physical or ebook version, so this took me on an insane journey.

The voice actors were quite good at taking us through the emotions, though in my opinion sometimes the accents could be quite exaggerated. I don't have many complaints about the performance, as it was one of the most entertaining audiobooks I've ever listened to, and it helped me understand and visualize the world so well.

The story however, didn't give us really any sort of conclusion to go off of about this world in regards to the story and what is happening. We saw a lot of interpersonal drama, and the magical academy was hardly expanded upon. We didn't see any true instruction into the arts that gives us an understanding of the magic system. A lot of what we learned was social dynamics and some history.

I wish I could have seen more into the world of Crenshaw and their history with the hobs. I hope that maybe future books in the series can blend these elements of the story. I think pacing does need to be worked on, because we didn't have much time to really flesh out the world and sometimes even the characters.