I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

Overall this was a quick and interesting read that I enjoyed. McKenna and Robinson both had distinct and compelling point of views. Robinson’s knowledge and societal role was my favorite, but I still liked following McKenna. She was the first character I have read about that is deaf, and I like how it was handled. If another character was not facing McKenna when she talked, I appreciated that we were told that she missed what they had said.

Unfortunately though, there was a part of the novel that lost me. I found myself not enjoying the book as much as the story progressed, and I just wanted to be done reading it. Thankfully the story kicked back up at the end, but the part that lost me affected my enjoyment enough to leave me a little disappointed in the story.

I would give this a 3.5 ⭐️.

I really loved the world building and magic system. Sadly some of the characters not as much but I open with more development in later books this can be fixed

This book was amazing. Totally blew away all my expectations and exceeded them times twenty.

Let's talk about some of my favorite things

1. The setting. It's steampunk vibes. It's roaring twenty vibes. It's also fantasy vibes. All the vibes just make it absolutely amazing and fascinating. I need me some roasted peanuts after reading this.
2. The magic. It revolves around sound and music. Fascinating. The theory and the laws of the magic are so cool and I love that we go on a journey with the characters to better understand it.
3. The romance. Honestly it should be number one. It's is so swooonyyy. Seriously it takes everything you love about pride and prejudice and makes it better. Several times I thought the FMC reminded me of Elizabeth Bennett but more unique and better. Loveeedd the swooniness and that it's just kisses 😍
4. The deaf representation is amazing. I love the way McKenna's chapters were written. I loved her journey, her attitude about being deaf, and the emotional growth she goes through and other characters go through while interacting with her.
5. Robinson is like a speech language pathologist as well as magical scientist. He's my favorite
6. The plot twist and turns and mystery. Like WOW. I CAN'T EVEN RIGHT NOW WITH THE ENDING. No spoilers here because you have to read it to fully appreciate it but like AHHHHH soo many questions still even though it ended at a satisfying moment.

Once again I'm blown out of the water by Jeff Wheeler's writing and this fascinating world he has created.

I need the next book ASAP.

I couldn't get into this book. I tried really hard because I liked the theme of it, but I couldn't get through it. I unfortunately didn't make it far before I decided to not finish it.

I don't know what to think about this one. Is this supposed to be a series? There are so many unanswered questions at the end... As for me, the war is unresolved, the problem with the Aesir is unresolved, the "revelation" about McKenna and the professor is... left there for us to decide what is happening. I don't mind open endings where some things are left to us to decide, but that was way too much. It's a shame because I loved so many things at the beginning. The setting, the characters, the magic system and bonus points for the My faire lady's reference. And then, things began to slooooooooow down. A lot. And after that, just nothing made sense and it was the end. I can't help being disappointed and flumoxed. McKenna would love that word.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. Following is my honest review.

Jeff Wheeler presents in The Invisible College a unique story with an invading alien force against a group of professors searching for individuals who possess intelligences that can be harnessed to protect against the invaders. Not much new there.

However, a delightful thread through this story is the use of a sign language developed to assist the people disabled by deafness unleashed upon them by the invaders' use of a viral plague, a condition which leaves these now-deaf people undesirable within their community. The descriptions of the sign language, its uses, benefits, and potentialities to restore a normal life to the plague victims captivated me so much that I shared this book with our ASL teacher. She struggles to find books that might have applicability to her students learning sign language and I thought this was the perfect book to start with.

While the story centers on the invading forces and the professors working to keep the population safe from outside forces, the story promises sequels that will also potentially deal with the disenfranchised members of the society and the threats they encounter from within.

This steampunk, musical, extraterrestrial magic system is maybe one of my favorite worlds I’ve read about ever. The first 15% of this I just couldn’t get into but then by 20% in I could not put it down. I was determined to finish it, but also didn’t want it to end because I knew I’d have questions. This is the start of a series so I’m left hanging slightly, but I did get the romantic resolution I demand. This is just pristine.

My favorite aspect is how this kind of feels like a word-lovers best case scenario. You’ve got a sorcerer who is essentially a magical speech pathologist. You have a deaf FMC who is not just capable, but exceptional. You’ve got a mystery that words and languages help to unravel. This is just an exploration on how we communicate and what communication even means.

It’s so good. And there’s like a ghostly but not the least bit scary or super natural animal companion. So good.

What a rush! Entering this new and unique fantasy world left me gripping my airplane seat in the early morning hours of my cross-continent redeye flight, and it was worth every minute!

The distinct and incredible points of view will let you into this world gently and yet, all at once!

MaKenna is a Deaf young woman attempting to learn magic in order to be accepted into Society. Unfortunately, magic requires music, that she can't hear... enter Robinson. An eager (albeit sickly) professor who is well versed in teaching his father's language method. Can he help McKenna learn to feel the music to create the magic?

Joseph is an adjutant to the Colonel and a seasoned assassin. His main job is to rid the world of the enemy spies. But one can't tell if they're spies until after they're dead. A tell-tale sigh takes place AFTER a final death removes the spy from their borrowed body. Sounds risky to me! Can he hunt down the biggest threat seen by the Colonel in the city being over run by fleeing citizens?

Secret societies, magical music, unique fantasy world with characters from several walks of life and classes! Switching between third-person POV will keep you on your toes and demanding to know what happens next!

DNF ~25%
From reading the description of this book, I was genuinely excited to read it. However, everytime I started, I couldn’t really bear to read more than 20 pages at a time and had to start over with the book over and over again. I don’t think the writing style is bad per se, but it is most definitely not a style I enjoy reading. I won’t give this anything less than 3 stars, since it really isn’t objectively bad, just very much not my thing.

Another imaginative story from Jeff Wheeler.

In a world where magic travels through sound, the deaf are ostracised. In a world on the verge of war with an ancient race, sorcery and intelligence are paramount.

The world-building is fantastic, as with Wheeler's other books, and we are transported to a version of nineteenth century America where magic powered the Industrial Revolution. We follow the narrative from three points of view: Inventor Professor Hawksley, McKenna Foster (a rich young woman who is fighting to overcome the prejudice of being deaf), and Joseph Crossthwait, a military assassin. I found the characters engaging and the plot's twists and turns kept me highly entertained. I can't wait to read the sequel!

Thank you to 47North and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read a lot of the author's previous books and have really enjoyed them. This one fell.flat. Just not for me. I tried so hard but could not get into it.

Sadly this was a DNF for me about 15% in. I may try later sometime but I couldn’t keep myself interested in it at all.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first time reading one of Jeff Wheeler's books and I was pleasantly surprised. The story started slow, but it managed to keep me captivated for its entirety. The characters were lovable, and the worldbuiding especially caught my attention: a steampunk world with a magical system based on patterns of sound, and seemingly immortal enemies who use even stranger magic? Simply amazing.

The ending wraps up the main story nicely, but the few unresolved plot threads leave you wanting for the next installment in the series.

When I first saw that Jeff was publishing a new book series set in what seems to be a Magical SteamPunk-like world, I was very excited. In the past, Mr. Wheeler predominantly set his stories within a fantasy world (With some exceptions like the Dresden Codex series which is a great series too) but having a story set in a completely new world was wonderful. I have always enjoyed stories set in this type of world, where technology is all around, but it is not relying on physics of our world to keep it running but instead some sort of magical technology.

After reading this book, I was in no way disappointed. This story is fantastic (I do not like to go into a synopsis of the whole book in reviews, if you want that, read the book blurb!) and it was very easy to quickly drop into the story and get sucked it, leading to it being very hard to put down. It’s a wonderful world he is building here, filled with an unlimited potential number of backstories and all sorts of future adventures for the characters we have just met.

This book was a real pleasure to read. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series and can’t wait to find out what happens next

I first ran across Jeff Wheeler when I read his Jaguar Prophecies, so when I saw this one, I knew I wanted to pick it up,. He has a fantastic way of weaving sci-fi with a bit of fantasy as well.

This book is no different as we encounter a race of beings which has been sleeping for millennia and awaken to find humans (mortals) thriving and changing the landscape of their once frozen planet. With the awakening, the Aesir bring a sickness which beings to spread like a plague through the streets of England. The only hope of the people is to survive long enough until the season changes and the winter thaws with the coming of spring.

On the other hand, we have a bit of a romance with McKenna and an elocutionist Robinson Hawksley who entered her life to teach her enunciation but fell for her rather hard and quickly. He soon turns over her tutelage to another professor so as not to cross boundaries but she is still a bit wary as she has not yet made her debut in society and she still feels young and uncertain about what she wants from her future beyond wanting to be a part of the Invisible College.

There are actually quite a lot of twists and turns and surprising things which happen along the way. You'll need to read to see if everyone has a happy ending. I plan to keep reading what I can find by Jeff Wheeler and I certainly hope we explore more in a sequel to this book because I need to know more.

An exciting new world by Jeff Wheeler! I’m amazed at how he is able to create such completely different societies and forms of magic in his stories. This one took me a bit to get into, but once I did I was completely sucked in. I enjoyed the change of perspective between the two main characters, Robinson and McKenna, as well as the perspective of the character Joseph Crossthwait. I was anxious for a good portion of the book, the last half especially, because if I’ve learned anything reading Jeff Wheeler’s books it’s that he is happy to make us suffer for our happy ending. I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here!

I haven't read every series by Jeff Wheeler, but this one is shaping up to be my favorite.

"Millennia ago, a magical race called the Aesir found a new home on a distant world. Attracted to the cold during an ice age, they hibernated for hundreds of years at a time. With each awakening, however, they saw their world changed by ever-evolving mortals, encroaching on their territory and way of life."

I love the concept of the auditory magic system (music or voice, choir or orchestra) the Aesir taught to humans. Clearly history has deteriorated what society understands about magic, though. In the present, sorcerers are using their magic that attract intelligences for technical development. Robinson Hawksley's theory on intelligences has me wanting to know all the secrets of the Invisible College. The traditional knowledge (city elite) versus the research Hawksley (country bumpkin) is doing brings tension to the plot that I found enjoyable. The whole system is well conceptualized from the start. He even deals with involvement of deaf and dumb in such a society.

Obviously there is something wrong with Robinson and McKenna's relationship. I have plenty of theories why this is. The story kept spiraling up and up to a page-burning cliffhanger. Very much looking forward to seeing how the questions raised are answered.

I loved this new world! McKenna and Rob were so much fun to get to know! I loved the plot. The academia setting was filled with intrigue, suspense, and anticipation; and the twists and turns the story took as it developed had me on the edge of my seat! I can’t wait for the next book! My thanks to Jeff Wheeler for allowing me to read an ARC of this amazing book!

ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

3.5 rounded up

I’ll admit this book did take me much longer to finish than anticipated, however it was due to life situations that made it hard for me to find time to pick up the book & read.

Life aside, I was immediately hooked when I started reading The Invisible College. I loved the anecdotes before the start of the story & sprinkled throughout.

Wheeler has impeccable world building, characterization & attention to detail that made me going back & flying through this book to finish it. The story of the Aesir was incredibly interesting.

My *only* gripe has to do with the pacing of the romance…. It made no sense to have it move so fast & took me out of the story at times because of how much I didn’t like it. Overall this story of The Invisible College was definitely worth the read & a great introduction into Jeff Wheeler.

I really enjoyed this book and that ending?! While reading I could not put this down and was hooked right away! I loved seeing the representation and unique magic. I hope there is a second book because I want to explore this world further. I'll also be checking out more works by Jeff Wheeler since his writing was so addicting.