I loved this book! Honestly, I found Loveage kind of annoying at the beginning of the book, but I think that was kind of the point. He starts off very flawed and then we get to see him grow and change throughout the story. Also, a slow burn romance that is actually a slow burn? Sign me up. I feel like so many "slow burn" romances have the couple together halfway into the first book. That isn't the case for this book in the slightest. Loveage and Grim start the book as "rivals" (tbh, they aren't so much rivals as Grim is just trying to mind his own business and Loveage keeps bothering him) and end as friends (with implied romantic interest in each other). Something else I like about this book is that it is a single first-person narrative. While I don't necessarily dislike dual (or multi) narratives, I prefer single narratives with romance focused stories. I don't necessarily want to know what the love interest is feeling, I like being in the same boat as the main character. Wondering what the love interest is thinking and if they are developing romantic feelings. It just makes the story so much more engaging to me. Also, I feel like Doocy does a great job of showing Grim's feelings without him having a narrative. Even though we never get inside his head, there are plenty of indicators from his dialogue tags and actions that allude to what he is actually feeling. I can't wait to read the next installment!

Words cannot describe how much I adored this book. Leo and Grimms story is top tier and to say Im thrilled it will be a trilogy is an un-der-state-ment. I need sooooo much for of them. The magic system in this book is so unique. Leo is a scriver who can write magic while Grimm is a caster and theyre something of an academic rivals variety. Leo is a character who at first glance is a sarcastic self deprecating scholastic failure whom I loved instantly. As the story progresses you learn why he is the way he is, what his goals are and why he's so at odds with the people around him. Grimm is the powerful brooding caster who wants absolutely nothing to do with Leo so of course they end up in each others orbit. A little spell mix up has Leo cursed to follow Grimm's orders and neither want any part of it. Together they have to find a way to counter the curse without revealing they cast some taboo magic. This book is enemies to reluctant allies with plenty of banter, character growth, and a magical forest. I cannot wait to see what Leo and Grimm do next as they flesh out their futures.

Thank you to Net Galley and Orbit for this wonderful ARC.

Sorcery and Small Magics was a gloriously good time! The characterization of both main characters was a wonderful driving force for the story. I felt I knew both Grimm and Leo so well and so early on, at that. The language used was perfectly suited to the tone, feeling neither ornamental nor overly plain. The pacing was excellent, the magics wondrous, and the slow burn? Possibly the slowest burn in all existence lol. This book made me laugh, thrilled me, made me fearful, and even made my heart grow three sizes like the Grinch’s.

Maiga Doocy is absolutely an author I look forward to reading more from, and I’m thankful to her for creating this whimsical, heartwarming, and cozily fearsome world.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I'm not usually one for walking disaster main characters, but Leo it was impossible not to love Leo. That with the grumpy x sunshine pairing I was so charmed by Leo and Grimm together, it was so fun seeing them fall in love. Definitely a slow burn romance which worked really well for this pairing as they're complete opposites, of course it'd take time for them to admit they're in love with one another.

I really liked the approach this book took with the forced proximity trope. Having a curse force two arch enemies to work together?? I love that. This was overall a pretty lighthearted and funny book with some touching moments as well, and i had a good time reading it.

“We had never been anything but too much for each other.”

“Sorcery and Small Magics,” by Maiga Doocy

I loved this book! loved the rivals to lover’s vibe and the magic school. I liked how the one MC was actually pretty useless at magic and the other MC was one of the best in the school and they were pared up. When a spell goes wrong, they go on an adventure to break the spell, and they learn about each other and things they thought they knew. 5 out of 5 stars.

-M/M
-Magic
-Rivals To Lovers
-Miscommunication

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I received an eARC of this book for review from Orbit Books via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Such an interesting read! If you enjoyed Everina Maxwell's Ocean's Echo, this may also work for you.

This is a single POV fantasy romance between two sorcery students with an antagonistic history. After a class assignment goes wrong, the students are forced two work together to reverse a curse by learning more about magic and their world than their school teaches. The duo fit the grump/sunshine trope on the surface. But, their forced-proximity research allows an opportunity for deep character work, relationship development, and fascinating world-building. For those wanting details on the romance plot, this is a very slow-burn relationship. At the end of this first installment, the romance is still pending.

I struggled a little with boredom during the first 10%, as the setup felt very fanfic to me. The magic error employed here is very common in that realm. But once I got past that beginning, I began to enjoy the writing and relationship development. I do intend to continue with the series.

4.5 stars rounded up

I wasn't sure about this book at first but then I really got into it. It's a wonderful story about a couple of enemies to lovers style romance. One of the couple is cursed and has to work with his bitter rival to find a cure. Magic works differently here there are the casters and those who write the spells. The scribes don't usually cast because it's more dangerous and harder for them and the Casters cannot write the spells, only cast them. The Main character is a misfit Scribe on his last legs at a magic school. His rival/love interest is a Caster who is disgusted with him since he worked hard to attend this school on scholarship while the Main is trying to get kicked out mostly due to his well placed father and family. Due to a spell gone awry they have to work together to find someone with the skills needed to break the curse. It's an interesting story with a rather sweet love connection. This is a great book for teens, young adults and adults. It isn't overly complicated and has lovely LGBTQIA+ themes. A good read.

I thought this book was a fun adventure of enemies to almost lovers - I really wished there was more of the lovers part, though. The characters and banter were particularly entertaining and the blooming friendship was fun to witness. My biggest criticism is that the book felt unfinished. I know the hope was to have a cliff hanger, but there wasn’t quite enough plot that was left hanging and it feels like it stopped in the middle of a sentence. I look forward to the next installment but wish I was given a bit more plot to look forward to than just “will they finally get together.”

This was really fun for me! It's intimate, but the stakes are fairly high. It has a strong distaste for everything that isn't sunny. This burn is the slowest of all that can occur; in fact, at the very end, the spark is hardly visible, but it DOES exist. Leo and Grimm don't really come across as very endearing at first, but they gradually win you over. Suddenly, at the very end, you find yourself wiping tears from your eyes due to discomfort. Sybilla was also really good, and I hope to see her again!

Sorcery and Small Magics might be my absolute favorite read of the year! I absolutely devoured this book and loved everything about it.

First, the worldbuilding and magic system are both creative and really well done. Locations include a prestigious magic school, a rural countryside filled with people who use magic to make simple livings, and a dangerous forest filled with terrifying monsters. All of these settings are lush and described well. I felt fully immersed in this world while reading! The magic system is also unique and ended up being one of my favorite parts of the story. Sorcerers are divided into either Scrivers (people who can write spells) or Casters (who cast spells). This division was inventive and it added a lot to the story. There's also some music-based magic that plays a really cool role in the story.

The characters are also really great. At the start of the story, Leo is a loveable screwup who lacks confidence in his magic abilities. He's from a wealthy and esteemed family that has high expectations for him. Sebastian, on the other hand, is from a working-class family and is an excellent student and spellcaster who takes his abilities (and most things) very seriously.

Their opposite personalities have caused conflict between the two at school and they start the story as rivals. A spell-gone-wrong demands that the two work together and their story truly begins to develop here.

I adored their dynamic from start to finish. Their dynamic in the first half of the book reminded me of the Harry/Draco fanfiction I read as a teenager. Their evolution in the second half was even more interesting and led to a lot of depth and complexity in their relationship.

I will caution that this is a true slow burn! So don't go in expecting feelings to be fully realized or spicy scenes to happen. Sorcery and Small Magics lays the groundwork for what should become a really amazing relationship in later books but there are a lot of misconceptions to overcome and growth that has to happen first. This series feels like it could finally be the amazing queer slow-burn love story that so many queer fans across so many fandoms have longed for. I, for one, am fully on board this ship and I'm ridiculously excited to see where it goes!

Along with the relationship growth, both Leo and Grimm have great character moments. Both young men are more complicated than they seem and I loved slowly discovering more about them.

In addition, there's also a whole cast of supporting characters that I enjoyed and look forward to seeing more of in future books. Some interesting political and moral issues are also set up.

I can't recommend Sorcery and Small Magics enough. I enjoyed reading this immensely and I can not wait for the sequel. If future books in this series match the quality of this book, I think this could easily become my new favorite series!

I definitely went into this thinking it was a standalone, so was very surprised to realize it was the start of a trilogy. It makes the ending feel pretty abrupt - it feels like it was intended to be a standalone that expanded at some point when Doocy wanted the story to go further into Leo and Grimm’s relationship.

What we get is very fun - I love the magic system and the world set up here, with large and small scale magics and Leo trying to find his way forward with magic that he’d rather be outside of. The setup between Leo and Grimm and two sides of the system - Leo as a noble born into the system but with magic outside of it, and Grimm as the perfect student following the system but born outside of it - is a classic for a reason, but it also means that they get to explore the disparities and assumptions in said system. I love a good magically-bound-together curse, and this comes with the added bonus of the curse drawing them closer and closer together.

This straddles the line between cozy fantasy and not, but I feel like the future books will likely move away from the cozier side into actual stakes as we get further away from just developing feelings into more exploration of the magic system and bureaucracy. I’d definitely recommend this for fans of the Last Binding trilogy. I also get very strong WangXian vibes, in the sort of way that this story existed before, but got a heavy dose of influence - the opening scene and beast fight in particular made me double take. It doesn’t take anything away from the story and it’s nothing like this was a fanfic with serial numbers filed off, it’s more just familiar.

Wonderful. Magnificent. Glorious. Thrilling. Enchanting.

I could sit here and list appropriate buzz words all day. Beautiful. Engaging. Heart-warming. Reading Sorcery and Small Magics felt like a warm hug to the heart, and a much needed breath of fresh air. The characters are charming. The magic system is unique and insufferably interesting. I couldn't get enough. I still can't, even though I've finished the damn book. The only terrible terrible thing about this story is that, despite my every wish, it had to eventually end.

The story is full of spells, mysteries, and all wild kinds of creatures. But the true magic is that loving sense of whimsy I felt while reading this book. I hadn't felt that in a long time, and I doubt I'll find something quite like this for a while.

Definitely started off quite fanfiction-y, but that feeling lessened as the story went on. The writing is very unsubtle, and I think it would have been better if the author let us be annoyed by Leo longer before revealing that he acts that way because of Trauma(TM). I so appreciate that this is a true slow burn, but I'm going to need more from Grimm's character in the next book in order to be invested in the relationship. I really enjoyed the magic system and especially Leo's use of music with his magic, as well as the mysteriousness of the magical forest. And I do love a plot about taking down corrupt systems from the inside, so I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. This book ended more abruptly than I thought it would, so I'll have to hold on to my theories until the next installment. 3.5 stars

TW: loss of autonomy, past death of a parent, anxiety, nightmares and insomnia, self-medicating with alcohol, violence, description of injuries

Thank You NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC! Leovander "Leo" Loveage has come to accept his magical limitations. After having experienced some poor (to put it lightly) results from more powerful spells, he is a master scriver of small magics. His would-be school rival Sebastian Grimm is the ideal spell caster and they are often at odds with one another. But when their new school term brings the two together (the worst group project ever), the two try to find a way to work together. Things are going OK when an unfortunate mistake causes the wrong (and forbidden) spell to be cast. Now Leo is bound to Grimm and the two must work together to find a way to break the spell. This is a charming slow-paced (with some high stakes) fantasy that also features a delightfully torturous slow burn romance.

a debut that feels like it was crafted by a seasoned author. the premise of sorcery and small magics, as mentioned in the blurb, was captivating, and only a few can execute it with such ease, but maiga doocy is definitely one of those few. the slow burn, combined with the undeniable chemistry between the main characters, was absolutely electrifying. the character and relationship development are a true testament to the magic that great writing can conjure.

this is a book you cannot afford to miss!

Thank you so much to Orbit and Netgalley for the chance to read Sorcery and Small Magics as an ARC! I've been hearing wonderful things about this phenomenal debut from Maiga Doocy, and I'm so grateful I was able to get my hands on it!

Sorcery and Small Magics hooked me from the beginning- I could tell right away that this book was going to be right up my alley. The banter, the relationships between characters, the magic system- this is something that I would consider to be a step above a classic cozy fantasy. Our two MMC's, Leovander Loveage and Sebastian Grimm, are rivals of a sort- but when Leo finds himself bound to Sebastian through an accidental forbidden spell, the two are forced to work together to search for a counterspell. I love a little rivals-to-lovers moment, and adding magic and forced proximity into the mix is always going to make me giggle & kick my feet; this book was no exception.

Initially I thought this book was a standalone, but it is actually the start of a trilogy (called The Wildersongs), so I was a bit surprised once I finished it- I think this could have been worked into a standalone, but I'm finding myself really looking forward to books 2 and 3! I was hoping for a little more romance in this book (only because I thought it was a standalone!) but I think the way things played out is going to perfectly set up book 2. This is such a wonderful fall/autumn read, and I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy come release day!

If you're a fan of cozy fantasy or just really want to *feel* the tension built between two sorcerers who definitely need to just kiss it out, this book is right up your alley. If you're a fan of Freya Marske, Heather Fawcett, or Megan Bannen, you'll love Maiga Doocy. Sorcery and Small Magics comes out on October 15th, and I can't wait to see where the rest of this trilogy goes!

What a beautiful breath of fresh air! A cosy and whimsical fantasy romance that has light academia elements and cottagecore vibes.
Both Leo and Grimm are rivals. Leo writes spells and Grimm casts them. Unfortunately they are forced to work together to remove a powerful spell that has been cast on both of them which seems first like their worst nightmare but maybe they don’t hate each other as much after all.
This is a slow burn filled with so much sweetness and irresistible chemistry between the two main characters. Lots of angst and yearning with very little spice. There’s so much banter and wit between them which was entertaining to witness and overall it’s very character driven. I love a romance story where enemies are forced to work together for the greater good.

Fans of Emily Wilde will love this.
I’m excited for book 2!

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for my eARC!

This was absolutely amazing. It's definitely one of my new favourite books! I adored the relationship and banter between Leo and Grimm, and I had such a fun time reading this book. I thought that the magic system was so interesting, and it was unlike most fantasy novels/magic systems I've read before! The plot was super fast-paced, and I was pulled in throughout the entire story. Overall, I would 100% recommend this book, and I need the sequel immediately!! :)

Sorcery and Small Spells is a charming, almost fairytale-like story. The writing was spellbinding, and I couldn’t put it down! I especially loved the character interactions between Leo and Grimm - in my opinion, they were the heart of the story.

The plot points were predictable, and the ending felt a little abrupt, but it didn't take away from the overall magic of the book. A delightful short read - I’ll be eagerly awaiting the second book. 4.5/5 stars!