This one ended up being far more than I expected. In a really good way.

Nicole and her family are in hiding. They have powers and, while hers have not fully manifested yet, should the Wake, the governing body over all supernaturals, find her, they would kill her. She has lived her life searching for answers, for the truth and for her history. Now, as a local undergraduate research student, she is poised to study the supernatural art needed...until one of the paintings is stolen and one of the Wake's Empyreal's, one of their hunters, is sent to find it.

They are forced to work together all while Nicole works to keep her power from surfacing and protect her heart.

The story is unique, the action fast paced, the atmosphere gritty and the relationship full of banter, friction and tension. Just the way I like it.

Read this if you like:

forbidden love
forced proximity
fated mates
secrets/mysteries
hunter vs hunted
slow burn
concealed identity
paranormal creatures
dark academia vibes.

After being accepted I attempted to read this and promptly DNFed it but recently decided to give it another go and after a while it actually became tolerable and actually enjoyable. I wouldn't include this in any books to recommend and wouldn't say its memorable but did enjoy the book.

For dark academia lovers with a dose of forbidden romance. Yes and yes.
Add to our collection? Also, yes!

So far to many of my recent reads have been about the same outcome from me as the premise sounds so good I want to devour it but then once I actually start there are too many things that bother me that I just can't get into it. What the crap is an Empyreal??? Like if this is what our FMC is then shouldn't be know why its so bad to be one? And really why is Kyan, who is 100 yrs old, just still following orders and not really thinking about the why behind the killings? While the world building is good, the middle could have been cut down to move the plot along and so overall this is getting a middle ranking for me with 2.5 stars rounded up to 3. Side note: beautiful cover that caught my eye in the first place.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

What a brilliant debut! Thank you NetGalley for an eARC!
Scott crafted a wonderfully gothic world and included some wonderful lore. I always love the hunter vs hunted trope and she did an excellent job with this. Nicole's story was exciting and the last part of the book was a whirlwind. I'm anxious to get my hands on book 2. Scott has a bright career ahead of her, and I can't wait to see where it takes her.
4/5 stars.

Scott weaves a lush, dark academia story with a forbidden romance that I gobbled up. The slow burn and chemistry between the love interests were wonderfully executed. I was immersed from the start!

I absolutely loved this book, such strong written characters set in a dark but cozy academic town. The use of art and mystery was intriguing and the characters felt well rounded. I am so looking forward to the next book in the series!

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.
This book left something to be desired. The writing was not captivating enough to keep my attention and it took a while for me to get into. At times it seemed like there were details missing but overdone in other areas. I cannot say that I'm encouraged to pick up the sequel when it comes out.

📚BOOK REVIEW📚: The Temptation of Magic by Megan Scott
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Perfect for fans of A Discovery of Witches and Serpent & Dove, this mesmerizing dark academia romantasy debut delves into a dangerous supernatural society hidden within our own—where forbidden love and immortal hunters collide, and a dark truth may unravel the entire world.
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Honestly, this book started at a 3 star for me because I was a little confused about what an empereal was (that's on me for not reading the synopsis lol), but after I got that sorted it quickly jumped to a 5 star read. Honestly, I'm kind of mad that I read this book so early because now I'm going to have to wait forever for book 2 😢.

Even though The Temptation of Magic is compared to Serpant and Dove & A Dicovery of Witches above, I haven't read those. So, I would say that it's a cross between Crescent City and Twilight. It has the same type of chemistry between the main characters as twilight. That irresistible instant chemistry, which is reminiscent of the 2010s era YA fated lovers trope (in the best way) and has a similar plot line to Crescent City. Which obviously makes the vibes immaculate.

The copy I read was an eARC of The Temptation of Magic, but I actually have an edition from Fairyloot already because it was published in the UK ahead of the Canadian release. Thank you to the Frenzy team at HarperCollins Canada for the eARC!

Thank you to NG and the publisher for a free review copy. I also purchased my own copy when it came out because I was so excited.

I. Am. So. Obsessed. Oh my god. Dark academia vibes (without the snobbish attitude), a new supernatural creature who is hiding and trying to solve a mystery her dead mom gave her. A loving family. A great father figure (who has secrets he is hiding 👀) a forbidden romance that is a slow burn through the book, and way more to look forward to for this book.

I was listening to it on audio, but immediately had to switch because I needed to read it faster than the audio could give me. (I cannot listen to 2x speed for the life of me, but I can read way faster physically!)

I cannot wait for book two to come out. I'm so pumped.

The Temptation of Magic is a fresh read and great fantasy debut from Megan Scott! This gave me all the vibes of Vampire Diaries/The Originals mixed with Discovery of Witches in all the best ways. Loved the magical artwork-based storylines throughout. Can’t wait for book 2!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and while it's wasn't a five star for me, I did still have a great time and it definitely did not disappoint. While the setup and setting of the book are pretty standard, I do feel like this is one of the more original magic systems/fantasy worlds I've read this year. I do feel like some of the pacing was a little wonky - the end seemed to drag a bit in my opinion, but I will absolutely be picking up the sequel.

An excellent new series with supernatural creatures, excellent characters, and an enchanting location. This first entry does a great job of balancing world building with action, suspense, and the right amount of romance. The protagonists are relatable, the side characters feel well done and fleshed out, and the antagonists are well done as well. The pacing for the story is great and left me ready to read the next one. Overall a major accomplishment for the author.

I loved the mix of art history, mythology, and modern in this book. I enjoyed the mystery and twists that you got along the way. I am excited to see where we go next and find out more about this world.

I wanted to love this one! On paper, it had all the makings of a new favorite read: dark academic mystery, urban fantasy, enemies-to-lovers romance. However, I had a really hard time placing the book--the writing itself seemed younger, but the romance (and violence at the end) really took a sharp Adult turn. I had a really hard time tracking with the worldbuilding, especially in the first few chapters which were very heavy on info-dumping. The more the plot went on, the more it began to feel like a Twilight retelling, with generic tropes like fated mates, an alarmingly older love interest, evil society that just wants to rule the world for... reasons??

But the biggest issue I had is the spice, in a book clearly marketed as YA; I was really liking the romance aspect, until it started getting really heavy and definitely Not YA!

Very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc; I really thought I'd love this one!

This one did not grip me like I expected it too. It took awhile to get through for me and that’s just never fun. The characters weren’t awful, and the plot points kept me going but overall it just wasn’t a hit. This is a read once and never think about again type of book.

Thank you so much to Harper Collins and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for review!

The Temptation of Magic is a dark academia romantasy perfect for fans of A Discovery of Witches and Serpent & Dove. Natalie searches for an ancient secret hidden inside a supernatural art collection while attempting to keep her own supernatural identity hidden from the Wake, shadowy society that governs their world. When an art collector is murdered and the painting Natalie needs stolen, she’ll do anything to track it down, even if it means working with the handsome assassin the Wake sends after the killer, who would hunt her next if he knew the truth.

I was intrigued by this story’s premise, particularly the idea of famous artwork holding secret magic that only some can decipher and the dark academic vibes. Unfortunately, I found the world building quite confusing and the romance, a significant force in the story, didn’t grab me. Perhaps this is better suited to another reader!

A really entertaining fantasy novel that is the first installment into what appears to be an incredibly well built world. The premise feels familiar and yet entirely new at the same time, with an interesting magic system and enthralling characters and magical species. Writing is good with a decent pace that kept me glued to the plot from start to finish.

This book, full of dark academia, art history, romance, and magic captivated my mind fully, interweaving so much hisotorical roots in folklore and legend to real life, to the modern present day. As an archaeologist, and a current student, this book satiated my historical mind, and the wonderous side of mythology and monsters. Would highly recommend, similar titles would include Babel by RF Kuang, or the Book of Longings.

5/5 stars!!