The Invisible College is set in a world on the brink of destruction, with the mythical Aesir race returning to claim the world from the humans that currently reside there.

We follow Robinson Dickemore Hawksley, an elocutionist at the Invisible College, whose new method of teaching sorcerers how to wield their magic has him meet his newest student, McKenna Aurora Foster. Her learning of the musical based magic system is complicated by the fact that she’s deaf - a result of a plague unleashed by the Aesir when she was a child.

The author has done an amazing job of building the world of Robinson and McKenna and their adventures, along with a touch of adorably awkward romance. The magic system is completely different to anything I’ve read previously, and all the more interesting given McKenna’s affliction.

If you’re into fantasy with a touch of romance, intrigue and action then this book is well worth checking out - I already can’t wait for the second in the series!

Big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was SUCH a unique read!!! I sometimes feel like I am reading very similar fantasy storylines and characters over and over again, but this one really did feel unique. The world building is kind of a combination of Victorian era interactions and advanced science/magic.


My two complaints are a) college is in the title and there is not enough SCHOOL and b) the romance developed off page, which felt a bit jarring. It didn't ruin it for me but I could have felt more attached.

I loved the science fiction side of the story and if I could base my rating solely on that, my rating would be 5 stars. The world-building and the magic system are excellent and the story is intriguing and well paced. I loved most of the characters and how they fit into the story. However, I did not like the self-righteous main male character. I also felt that the romance side of the story was way overdone. It brought the progress of the story to a skidding halt. Most of it added nothing to the story and I started skipping parts of the book. I suspect, however, that people who like romance will enjoy this part of the book, along with the science fiction part. Thank you to Netgalley and 47North for the advance reader copy.

Rating: 3.5 stars. The Invisible College offers beautiful writing and a unique dynamic between Professor Hawksley and McKenna. From the outset, we're introduced to a potentially high-stakes plot, with the Aesir returning to threaten humanity. I was immediately hooked by this storyline, particularly intrigued by how Professor Hawksley, someone brilliant for his young age, would play a role in this escalating threat. It was also evident that McKenna could become a very strong supporting character in the war but could also become distracting because of the feelings the Professor was developing for her. The romance subplot was a heartwarming slow burn with a very sweet ending which is what I enjoy reading. All that being said, I do wish that there was either more to the Aesir storyline or the romance to elevate the impact of this story. For example, more tension or internal monologue about their feelings towards each could have made the romance feel more developed and less like it was sprung upon McKenna and accepted out of convenience. While the narrative asserts that McKenna did not accept out of convenience, as a reader, I didn't fully believe it. Regarding the Aesir, as a lover of high-stakes plot, I found this storyline underdeveloped. With the incorporation of Issac's quotes, Joseph's POV, and the Aesir's attacks early on in the book I was ready for an intense, suspenseful plot. However, this never materialized and something that felt life or death in the beginning felt like a subplot by the end. Despite these shortcomings, I'm curious to see how the series will evolve, as there is a very strong foundation for character development and several intriguing directions the plot could take.

I am a pretty huge fan of Mr. Wheeler's and the many different series' that he has developed and put out into the world. I was intrigued to see a brand new series and was excited to start this ARC.

This is a very different world from any that he currently has put forth. To be honest, it was a little hard for me to get into. I like to describe reading a new introduction to a series as "building the movie set in my mind". This set gave me a bit of difficulty. Yes, there is a map included at the beginning, but it wasn't the location per se that I had difficulty with. I'm not really sure what it was, but I did struggle.

There is a new magic system introduced. We are told in the beginning that there was another species that inhabited this world thousands of years before the introduction of man. They are called the Aesir. The Aesir were almost god-like and to them humans were like cattle, or maybe more like ants - I'm not sure which example is more apt. Apparently in the beginning, the relationship between the two was good, and they actually shared and taught some of their magic to the people. But something happened - no one really knows what - and now the Aesir want to destroy and exterminate them.

The Aesir lived in a world of extreme cold. They built cities of ice carved from massive glaciers. So now, depending on the season, they go into a period of almost slumber or hibernation during the months of warmer weather. These periods can last decades to centuries, but when they emerge, they immediately begin to attack the civilized cities in an attempt to purge these civilizations that have continued to grow while they slept. Luckily, since these periods are long in the between, man has continued to evolve and grow - both with technology and their understanding of magic. Even with all this growth, they still are woefully unprepared. So, that is what I understood from the world building. Yep, feels like I still have some holes in my understanding.

We are introduced to the MMC- Robinson Dickemore Hawksley. He is a young man -26 years old - who appears MUCH older than his years because he has been kind of sickly during his life. One of the things the Aesir has done in their attempt at purging is to release certain illnesses or pandemics, which in addition to killing many, also leaves the people who get sick without the ability to hear or sing. Magic in this world is done through both- singing and music - which both require the ability to hear and speak.

Rob's family was hit with one of these illnesses and his brothers got very sick and passed away. He was extremely sick but made it through - WITHOUT losing his hearing - which is kind of a big deal. He is also a bit of a prodigy - studying under his father - who has developed (not sure about this part) but they've developed new ways to improve diction. Diction is imperative for sorcery.

Anyway, Robinson is very brilliant and talented but he is also a kind of outcast because he is still very sickly. He has been hired on in this new city as a Professor and he is also very heavily involved in magical experiments. He wants to continually find ways to improve and learn ways to harness the magic of their world.

So- that's Robinson. He is introduced to a wealthy family who has a daughter - McKenna Aurora Foster - who was affected with one of the diseases when younger and lost her hearing. She is now 18 and is impressive with her ability to communicate for someone who is deaf. He is hired as her tutor, in the hopes that she will be able to be introduced into Society - which is not something that would normally be possible.

Okay- enough of the summaries. This whole story introduces the reader to this new world, its new magic and it new challenges. Since it is the first book, a lot of time is spent meeting and getting to know the main characters, in addition to explaining the magic system, introducing the Invisible College and then slowly letting us learn about things the military (which is filled with sorcerers) is doing to try to fight the Aesir. We learn that there is a secret group of assassins whose job it is to "take care of" problems that are deemed "issues". Robinson falls into this group.

Once the story seems to find its footing, I actually began to get intrigued. Unfortunately, that took me until around the 60% portion of the book - but once it became interesting, I was VERY interested. There are all kinds of things going on and even though I still felt confused at times, I felt like I had enough of a handle on things to understand what was going on. And honestly, I REALLY liked Robinson. He is a wonderful MMC - kind, smart, humble and a bit dorky. Makes you want to bundle him up in bubble wrap to keep him safe.

There is an underlying romance theme as well, with Robinson and his crush on McKenna. McKenna herself is another good FMC. Together they make a good team. Throw in the addition of their friend Lieutenant Wickins, and the trio makes the storyline spark to life.

There are all kinds of things happening once it kicks off- drama, action, treachery and that's BEFORE the Aesir begin attacking. There is a very unexpected twist thrown in there at the end and yep, you guessed it, it totally sets up a type of cliffhanger for the start of book 2.

Will I continue on with the series? Absolutely. Even though I think it took me way too long to immerse myself into the story, once I got there, I was hooked. I'm VERY curious to find out why the *no spoilers* things that were happening at the end, were happening. Does that make sense? No, probably not. You just need to read the book :)

Thank you to NetGalley and to 47North for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone. This book will be out for publication on Nov 12 2024.

I admit I didn’t like it because of the characters, but I think overall it's a good book, quite well-rounded, that wasted the tremendous world-building it had. By the way, I only discovered at the end that it would be more than one book, as this one was left open-ended.

Robinson Hawksley is a professor at The Invisible College who moved with his parents to Auvinen after his siblings died from a disease he barely survived. In a world where humans possess magic learned from the Aesir and mix it with technology based on sounds, Robinson is a professor who teaches a pronunciation system designed by his father. This is how he meets McKenna Aurora Foster, the daughter of an important man who became deaf as a child due to an illness.

"There may be thousands of wrong ways of doing something. But through persistence, by not giving up, we can discover another way."

I’ll start by saying that I didn’t expect the romance to be so important in the story, and that worked against it for me. In my defense, the synopsis didn’t imply it. However, the book was 50% or more focused on the “romance between Robinson and McKenna,” and that was the only aspect I truly didn’t like about the book.

It was clear they would fall in love, but there was a leap from when they met to two weeks later when Robinson fell hopelessly in love with McKenna. I would have liked to read about that process. I understand why they would be attracted to each other and that it could lead to love, I really do; their personalities make sense to me. Unfortunately, I felt the romance was poorly handled; it was rushed and too intense, and my biggest issue was Robinson.

I couldn’t stand Robinson; he was this super talented and intelligent character, so intelligent that he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings, his clothes, or his food. Yet, he fell in love with McKenna and jumped into that romance headfirst; he was so desperate that it felt dishonest not to express his feelings. As a character, I understand why he was like that. Characters don’t have to please me, and not all should be designed to please, but my problem was that everything Robinson did was romanticized.

"Some people like to think for others. To put their beliefs on them."

Do they really want to romanticize a character who, literally, starves because he spends his money on other things? Yes, he used it for his experiments, but he was a 26-year-old adult—sorry, that seems irresponsibly absurd to me. He couldn’t even feed himself, and he wanted to marry McKenna? How was he going to provide for her? Especially since McKenna couldn’t earn her own living due to being deaf, and her dream of entering The Invisible College was impossible.

Robinson seemed to me an extremely immature and selfish character; I didn’t find his self-neglect or his refusal to ask for or accept help romantic. And when he decided to confess his feelings against his father’s advice and McKenna’s parents' wishes? Simply selfish. Robinson only thought about his need to express his feelings and his love, but he never stopped to think about the burden he would place on an 18-year-old girl or the pressure he would, unwillingly, put on her shoulders. He didn’t give her time, he didn’t give her space, he didn’t try to do the logical thing of improving his own conditions and courting her gradually to win her heart. No, he rushed like a madman to confess his feelings, thinking only of himself. And all of this was romanticized in the book!

I liked McKenna; she was a girl who worked hard for what she wanted and put all her effort into her dreams. She was deaf, which in this world, due to its magic system, was so serious that many people ended up in asylums. However, thanks to her father’s money, she could be trained in lip reading, and they paid for lessons to improve her diction and pronunciation. So, in many ways, she lived a privileged life. I think I would have liked to learn more about this discrimination from the perspective of someone who truly experienced it. I don’t want to diminish the suffering this caused McKenna, but maybe having another deaf character to give more context and exemplify how those less fortunate lived would have been useful.

"Much of what we do every day happens because of habits created long ago by people we no longer remember."

I have to say I loved the beginning, I loved the world and the style. I really liked the theme of intelligences, the mix between technology and magic, all the descriptions, the functioning of society, The Invisible College—all of that was very interesting to me. The Aesir theme, this stronger and older race with which they were at war every few years, always in winter, also seemed like a fascinating story. I wanted to know more, I wanted more of the legends and all that. Unfortunately, once Robinson fell in love, much of the book focused on the romance, and this was put on hold for many pages.

Besides Robinson and McKenna, there was another narrator, Joseph, and I admit his chapters were the least entertaining for me, but overall, I found his storyline very good. I think it wasn’t as well developed as it should have been, although in general, I found it quite interesting and an entertaining twist. Maybe by that point, I was so bored with Robinson-McKenna that I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I should have.

Another point I didn’t like was that I was told Robinson spent all his time in his lab, that he had no breakthroughs, though he had good ideas. But when he made the biggest breakthrough at the end, it wasn’t necessarily because he was intelligent, it was almost luck. I would have liked his experiments to lead somewhere, for it to be something progressive that culminated in success at the end. (Maybe I didn’t fully understand the details, partly because it was in English and partly because I wanted to finish since I wasn’t enjoying it, so maybe it was well developed.) Along the same lines, the money issue was also solved suddenly—I mean, it made narrative sense, but it felt like all the obstacles between McKenna and Robinson were resolved not because they worked on their relationship, but because they just got lucky. Robinson didn’t go through any process of learning to take care of himself if he wanted to marry and take responsibility for his wife. He made no commitment to earning more money to support his new family, nothing—he just got lucky.

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. Therefore, guard them well. Take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. Not every thought that enters your mind is yours."

I have to admit that the theme of the Aesir, the world, and the ending (the last page) made me question whether I would read the next installment, because I think the ending might change my perspective on the characters. I don’t know; also, I really liked the world, and I would like to finish understanding it and learn more about the Aesir.

The Invisible College was a story with a highly interesting world-building, mixing magic from an ancient race and technology that has a lot to offer. Unfortunately, its protagonist was immature and selfish, and all his mistakes and attitudes were romanticized in the book. Moreover, the romance took over the second half of the book, leaving the entire world relegated to details at the end.

Life has been difficult for Robinson Hawksley. Dealing with a lingering illness and the loss of his siblings to the same disease, Robinson and his family move to Auvinen, home of the Invisible College, for an opportunity teaching elocution. Add to these changes magic, the awakening of an enemy that has been dormant for a century, and a smart and attractive pupil, and Robinson truly has a full plate.

The Aesir are the enemies of mortals, and even when one of their kind is killed its spirit can take over a human’s body, turning that human into what’s known as a Semblance. With the Aesir’s superior magic and ability to hide in plain sight via body snatching, Robinson and his fellow sorcerers will have to work to outsmart their formidable foe.

While I was initially attracted to the magical elements of this story, at its heart this is a tale about love and acceptance. Robinson’s pupil and love interest is McKenna Foster, a deaf woman from a well-to-do family determined to soak up as much knowledge as she can. The awkwardness of Robinson combined with McKenna’s insecurities from her hearing depravation make for a sweet story of two wonderful people finding each other in a crazy world.

The concept of magic via music and sound was interesting. I was looking for a little more in the way of battling the Aesir and learning more about them, but the ending of the book seems to imply a second book is forthcoming which will hopefully delve into this more. Original and heartfelt with a touch of mystery, this is a great book for romantasy readers!

This was such a good story! A genuine and natural romance, magic, and a lot of what ifs! It was an interesting book and totally different than your typical fantasy storylines. The first chapter immediately enraptured me and the last one left me wanting more. I am so happy to hear there are going to be additional books to follow up.

📜 Imagine living in 19th century England, on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, surrounded by locomotives, carriages, and social hierarchies that come with the time. But that’s not all. There are secret societies that hide in plain sight whose rankings trump all other hierarchies. All of this, of course, against the backdrop of a millennia-old sporadic war between humans and the Aesir.

✨This is The Invisible College. A world where magic is accessible through music. ✨

This book, the first of the series, has a geographically limited but nevertheless excellent world-building 🤌 I felt attuned to the character’s lives and emotions. The story never lost sight of either the trees or the forest. For me, it was a perfect blend of personal storytelling while still focusing on the war aspect in a fantasy sci-fi setting.

🗣️It’s a logophile’s playground, given that the female protagonist is a logophile herself. With multiple POV and a map to keep referring to, it ticked all my boxes for an enjoyable book 😁. The only point of contention that I have is with the pacing. Certain events seemed like they took place in near succession whereas they were actually months apart, so it felt like micro time jumps. The MMC embodying Victorian values and the FMC being the epitome of a strong, ambitious lady was enough to distract me from the pacing though 😉

I can’t wait for the second book 😩

✅ Book with a map
✅ Multiple POV
✅ World building
✅ Plot progression
🤔 Pacing

2.5 🌟 it started REALLY good! So good that I was sure this is going to be a 5 stars read! I feel like the one thing that this book really need was depth! The characters felt hollow, I couldn’t feel the connection between the, the relationship felt like it was forced. Also in the beginning the war seems to be the main point of the novel but we didn’t get to see the war in that much depth, instead the plot suddenly shifted to the relationship of the characters. Also, the way that war just ended was seems so stupid honestly. The story ended with a cliffhanger and I’m going to read the next book, because I do want to know what will happen. This book had so much potential, it honestly breaks my heart to give it such a low rating.

The Invisible College by Jeff Wheeler is an engaging blend of epic fantasy and romance. The story follows Robinson Hawksley, an elocutionist who trains sorcerers at the Invisible College, and McKenna Foster, a barrister’s daughter with a tragic past. As they prepare to face the looming threat of the ancient Aesir race, their growing connection adds emotional depth to the unfolding battle. While the world-building is immersive and the stakes high, the story occasionally leans heavily into familiar fantasy tropes. Still, it's a captivating read that effectively balances adventure, magic, and a heartfelt romance.

Loved it. Filled in a lot of blanks, continued the great series with great characters while adding detail and clarifications that just made the whole thing better.

With a delicious dark academia vibe, The Invisible College by Jeff Wheeler is a captivating read for fans of epic fantasy and magical worlds, particularly those who enjoy stories of forbidden love, ancient civilizations, and the struggle between good and evil, as it masterfully weaves together themes of power, identity, and the complexities of human connection in the face of catastrophic conflict. I was disappointed only by the cliffhanger, as I'd thought this was a standalone, but I'm excited for book two. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc!

This book is for the sci-fi lovers who love a little bit of romance in the background. The plot was super well written and the world building was so well done that for me it was the kind of book that has a movie playing in your head while you read it. The academic setting never disappoints and this time was no different, honestly it was an awesome start to the series.

This book was pretty good, I would definitely recommend

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Oh wow where to begin? If this book is [author:Jeff Wheeler|1549088]s normal level of eloquent writing, depth of creativity and imagination and flawless delivery I need to read more of his books!

The Invisible College is open to all who can perform magic and everyone has the potential through singing or playing an instrument with intent. Then imagine an immortal enemy that periodically attacks humanity with illnesses that specifically targets what makes magic possible by making survivers deaf and incapable of learning said magic or losing the ability altogether.

The immortal enemy, the Aesir, is terrifying to me. They came from a frigid environment on a moon circling a dying planet so they can't stand heat. The Aesir taught humans some of their magic when they settled on the world in which this book takes place, so at one point the two races were living in harmony.

"They are beings of impeccable justice, which they consider the highest of all virtues. But do not be fooled by their cold beauty, the splendor of their magic, or their awe-inspiring songs. The Aesir are no longer our friends. (...) Something must have shifted (...) Regardless of the cause, we now know one thing: they now seek to destroy us (...)[W]hen they awaken, (...) they begin to hunt us again. Like rats.(...) [T]hey consider it within the bounds of justice to exterminate us."

And isn't that terrifying? They sleep to recuperate from the heat, and all the while you are praying that you are not the generation that will be decimated, when they awaken.

Unfortunately, our three main characters draw the short straw and have to face the Aesir; Robinson Dickemore Hawksley, a member of the Invisible College, professor at a university teaching a newly developed alphabet that helps, amongst others, deaf people learn how to speak, including McKenna Aurora Foster, the daughter of a rich investor who was sick and became deaf at a young age, and last Joseph Crossthwait, a member or a secret branch within the ranks of the Invisible College. Guess what he does? Hunts down another terrifying kind of Aesir magic called Semblances. The hair-raising magic that work while they slumber (besides the illnesses that spring up occasionally)? The ability to imposter a human that was close to death. The human is unaware that they have been possessed. Only a few are aware of that Semblances exist and they work to find and kill them so they can't send information back to the Aesir.

The story moves along at a good pace that keeps you engaged in the story of these three individuals. Time skips happen throughout the story but it is handled really well, like fx weeks go by while while Professor Hawksley is tutoring McKenna. It makes it feel like a lot is happening in a short time, when in actuality it is months.

The only reason I didn't give the book 5 stars is because of the Hawksley's manic actions when approaching McKenna about his feelings. He asks for advice from her parents, and then proceeds to ignore said advice. It felt extremely out of character and it soured my regard for him. Hopefully an explanation will be given in the sequel as it seemed like a compulsion or something!

The one downside to reading ARCs is that you have to wait an extra long time before you can read the sequel. I want answers to my questions!

The action in The Invisible College is set in the 19th century, in a land that has been living in the shadow of war for hundreds of years. This war takes place between mortals and beings sleeping in the glacier, who wake up from sleep on average once every 100 years and immediately start trying to exterminate people. No one knows when this conflict began or what its origins are. However, everyone speculates that it may be related to the magic of ice creatures, which people have acquired over the years and started to use in defense against the invader.

What absolutely delighted me in this book is the magical system, the development of which is supervised by a secret society called The Invisible College. Magic in this book is a very complex aspect. The tool used to cast spells is usually music. It can be singing, it can be an instrument, and thanks to the fact that magic is absolutely everywhere and has a kind of consciousness and belonging, the magic present in living animals can be used, for example, to animate a mechanical horse that will pull a tram along the city streets. The members of the Invisible College engage in such experiments, welcoming into their ranks all people interested in exploring the secrets of magic, regardless of their origin.

The main characters of the book are a soldier, a young inventor and a young girl who is preparing to make her debut in society. However, since McKeena is deaf as a result of the plague inflicted on humans during the last Awakening, entering the society is a huge challenge for her. The girl wants to blend in with the crowd so that no one can recognize her disability, so the mentioned inventor, who has unique skills in this matter , is hired to help her. In the meantime, our military officer is preparing for another Awakening of the enemy and is looking for spies who could have infiltrated society for years.

The Invisible College is a book that surprised and delighted me. I couldn't tear myself away from it, the story was excellent and the world-building was very original. The magic system here is so complicated that at times I had to wonder if I really understood its concept. The war going on in the background adds drama to the story, and the romance is absolutely beautiful. I must admit that a 19th century romance, where the characters blush because they found each other's eyes in the crowd, definitely tugs at my heartstrings.The book ended in a great way, which opens the way for the author to the next volumes of history. Ancient magic, war with sleeping legendary beings and 19th century urban fantasy with a steam punk twist are definitely something I liked. I think I will also read other books by this author. I really liked his writing and the way he introduced the reader to a new world. I need more!

What really drew me in was the magic system: music and tones! What kept me reading: the relationships between the characters.
What made me feel a disconnect: the blurb sort of sold me a war front. What I got instead was the equivalent of the bombing of London in WW2 and people desperately clinging to keep to their normal lives during the catastrophic event.

There's a saccharine sweetness to the story--this by no means is a war story, so much as a love in war story. And y'know what? I loved it. I read and write a lot of serious stuff, so it was great to read something more innocent and light-hearted--gives me something to hope for!

While the main story questions are answered satisfactorily, I can't help but feel like the overarching story will end in one of two ways, and I hope it's in that twist that leads to a happy ending for everyone involved. But who knows--we'll have to find out in the next book!

Would definitely recommend this story to someone who would want a light fantasy read. I had a lot of fun with this one!

TLDR: I was really looking forward to this book but I was unfortunately let down.

What really confused me about his is that the writing itself was good but the story was so flat. Every conflict seemed to be resolved immediately or not resolved at all. I don’t think the description is what this book is really about. The war of worlds between humanity and the aesir was pretty low stakes. There wasn’t really much talk of it. They didn’t even end the war. They hardly even talked about the Aesir. Robinson is also supposed to teach magic, or atleast that’s the conclusion I drew from the description, to McKenna. They have a romance that I didn’t ask for and that seems to be what the book is really about. I wish it were marketed as a magical realism romance or a romantasy instead of a fantasy with a war and magically beings. I don’t know man… I’m having trouble separating my thoughts because there was so much good but so much to be desired.

I will say that, as a Christian lady, there seemed to be some lovely biblically moral themes at the core of the book and I always love encountering that ❤️

The premise was very interesting and the writing was al right. But the pacing suffered because of its overuse of academic pandering, which effected the narrative negatively. The bones for a great story are definitely there, and I appreciate the inclusion of a disabled character which was very decently handled in the parts I read. I did not finish do to these issues and it's fairly slow pacing, which is more of personal taste issue.