I received this as an ARC. What did I just read? This book had it not been an ARC would have been a DNF for me. The beginning was awesome, I thought for sure this book was going to be amazing but it gets a bit illogical and the ending was rushed.

I love the subject of witches and a premise of a hidden world, and the book is very sex positive.

I struggled with this book. The premise sounded right up my alley and I strapped in to be thoroughly enamored. Instead, it missed for me. There was SO much going on with SO many perspectives that I felt like I couldn't keep up with the point of the story. I also failed to connect with any of the characters because I didn't live in any one storyline long enough to have my heart strings pulled.

I loved so many parts of this book. I can't say much without giving spoilers because the blurb only touched the surface. Multi-layered with great characters!

Eh where to start.

I ended up DNFing at about 30%.

I’m going to give it 2 stars just because the broad premise has a lot of potential. The biggest thing is this book desperately needs a sensitivity reader…or 3.
A mom being forced to stay while fearing for her child’s safety is gross.
A man magically being cured immediately feels like a forced inclusion of disability rep.
Even the LGBTQIA+ elements felt thrown in rather than organic.
Were any of these characters not white??

Anyway I think overall so much more editing was needed. It has potential but it reads like someone said “not enough diversity” so the author just kind of slapped some in there.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

2/5

So what did I just read? I mean…… I didn’t really enjoy it, but I didn’t really not enjoy it?? I feel like I usually have at least some idea what the intention of a book is, but sadly, this one was kind of all over the place. I had really high hopes, too, with such a great title and cover and it being about witches and having so many queer characters, but unfortunately this was a flop for me.

I was put off super early on by a handful of Harry Potter references. For one thing, it just lacks creativity, but more importantly, are you kidding me???! this is a queer book and we're going to positively reference that gross TERF? Come onnnnnn.

There were other missteps in this book that I feel are hurtful to marginalized communities, specifically the ones that I believe the author was writing to. I’m not going to write out anymore examples as I’m not here to drag the book. I do believe the author’s intentions were pure and it just fell flatter than flat.

All that aside, probably the biggest problem is that the book just tried to do too much. I love a fast-past book, but this was such a sprint with so many perspectives that half the time I felt like I was playing catchup instead of enjoying the ride.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and unfortunately it didn’t give what it promised to.

Remedial Magic is billed as a cross between One Last Stop and The Magicians, but with the exemption of the magical college it didn’t mirror either. Another bummer is that is is laden with problematic ableist content. All in all it didn’t make for a cozy read as the blurb alluded to and instead left me feeling icky. Crossing my fingers some of these issues can be addressed prior to publication.

TW: Ableism, Shaming of Depression & Addiction, Magical Healing Trope, Lack of Informed Consent

Thank you Bramble and Macmillan for the ARC & ALC.

I wanted to like this and give it a fair chance so I went farther I think than I would have if if borrowed it at the library. The amount of POVs, the pacing, the characterization, wasn't vibing with me

I try to be selective and not pick books that aren't the right genre for me to review but sometimes it happens accidentally. In this case that is partly due to the blurb and genre label. I was expecting a romance with magic. I was immediately confused by a bunch of characters. I got 20% in and still no romance and I'm confused who is who. I decided to DNF because this book isn't for me so my review will not be helpful. This is definitely a book for a fantasy reader not a romance reader. The blurb should be adjusted to reflect the other main characters and less of a focus should be put on the romance.

I was enjoying the narration fine. There were moments when the voices were a bit much for me but my stopping is about the story not the audio.

This was not a good at all for me. I didn't enjoy the story, it's mislabeled and the writing isn't great. The narration is okay but it just didn't hook me. I had to DNF.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this audiobook, but this story just wasn't for me.

Let me start by saying that the narrators were great, (except that they couldn't decide how to pronounce the name "Prospero").

I was so excited at the beginning of this book because it felt like Harry Potter for Millennials who never got their Hogwarts letters. That being said, my excitement quickly abated as I was bored senseless. The main plot of the story was meant to be the polluted water supply and the drama that was causing amongst the residents of the small, hidden magical town where the College of Remedial Magic is housed. What it ACTUALLY became was a soap opera of who was sleeping with whom and will they/won't they stay/get together officially. There were also some SERIOUS questions of consent (not really sexually speaking) as these people were basically kidnapped from their lives and families and told they didn't have a choice - they HAD to stay and take this remedial magic course and then decide if they wanted to give their magic up and go back to their lives or keep their magic and stay in this dying magical town. I was SO bored with the characters and the lack of movement in the plot that I found myself dreading picking it up, which is never a reading experience that you want.

I am sure this will be perfect for some people, but it was not for me.

2.5 stars & I will round up because I feel the narrators really boosted and truly gave a lot to this book!
(Especially since I gave the e-arc 2.25)

I'm very upset because Melissa Marr wrote one of my favourite series called 'Wicked Lovely' and I thought this would be the next series for me... it was very much not.

On the narrators:
They really gave personality to the characters that truly saved the book in my opinion. Their performance was the reason I gave this book a chance again after reading the e-arc. Sadly, even their performance and efforts couldn't save the book.

This was an okay read for me. I liked some parts more than others. Pros: FMC is a small town librarian and single mother, there's a great cast of queer characters an interesting magical parallel universe in need of saving. Where I started to get bored was when Maggie is basically kidnapped and forced to attend a magical college where she is put through a series of tests to see if she might be the one foretold in a prophecy to save this magical town/world.

The middle of the story seemed to drag of me and I was hoping for more action and romance if I'm completely honest. I was also a little confused by the choice of narrators, since one of the female characters sounded like a male narrator. Overall kind of a mixed bag but I would be interested in seeing what happens next in this new series. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Fav quote: 'Never cross a librarian, they catalogue everything.' >> I need this on a t-shirt ASAP!