Sometimes you just feel really seen in a book, and as an educator and someone working on their doctorate, The Incandescent really hit home. Dark academia meets fantasy, mystery, and a sprinkle of romance in the story of Dr. Walden, the powerful magician and Director of Magic at Chetwood School. Navigating her teaching, department meetings, constant power struggles with the magical campus security, and warding off demons—Walden has a lot on her plate. Things are going great. That is, until the campus starts to face a growing number of demon incursions, and Walden’s not sure where they’re coming from. As she seeks to find out what’s happening, she starts to realize the thing Chetwood needs protection from is herself.

In addition to this story being (highly) relatable, the dynamic plot and endearing characters made this book a big win for me. My one slight gripe is that we did not get enough of our endgame romance! I highly recommend this to fantasy and academia lovers. If you enjoyed the sort of main character like Emily Wilde from the Emily Wilde series, I think you’ll definitely like Dr. Walden.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4.5-5)
Acknowledgments & Disclaimers ✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Emily Tesh, and Tor Publishing, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book. ✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

Look at you, Old Faithful had said, eating magic like you’re one of us.
You have no idea, Walden thought.


tldr :: Saffy is an extremely accomplished magician who works at a magical boarding school and for the most part, really enjoys her job. the vast majority of people don't know about the magic that's living in her arm as in the shape of a phoenix tattoo, let alone know that it's beginning to push back a bit against her limitations, but that's how Saffy likes it. when a magical guard, Laura, tries to help Saffy push back an incursion that's trying to eat some of the schoolchildren, all is revealed.

this was a really fun book! I really enjoyed Saffy and thought she was a fantastic mc. the overall rating lost a point towards the end bc I wasn't super satisfied with how the phoenix's arc played out, but I did sort of love Saffy's willingness to do what needed done.


the below quote contains a spoiler, but it's hands-down my favorite dialogue in the book, so I couldn't disregard it from my review lol. read at your own risk!
In the end she had mercy. “Do you think this awkward silence is better or worse than the last one?”
“I’m not good at this,” said Laura. “And I’ve never asked someone out after chopping her arm off before.”
The absolutely beautiful swell of delight in Saffy’s chest. You grew out of most parts of being a teenager, thank goodness, but you didn’t grow out of romance.


🌈 queer rep: bisexual mc (Saffy), sapphic love interest (Laura)
thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc ✨

While I found the plot of this book interesting, I found the main character kind of insufferable. This isn’t normally something I have a huge problem with, but something about her just rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t dislike this book, but I liked her first novel much better, so I was a little disappointed.

3.5 stars...?

Bit of a mixed bag on this one. I really enjoyed the first half, but found that the plot fell a bit flat after that. There's a big turning point in this novel (you'll know it when you see it) and I remember thinking to myself "well now what??" and turns out the answer was not much? What followed felt like trying to fill pages to get to an end result with contrived drama and danger. The ending wrapped somewhat abruptly and didn't feel like much of a resolution. I definitely put this book down with too many lingering questions regarding plot holes and unclear character choices.

I enjoyed the exploration of academia and the clear affection Walden displays for her students. Keeping to a small classroom size so readers have the chance to get to know the students a little without being overwhelmed by a huge side cast is a really smart move that pays off as readers become more invested in these teens. Magic school from the perspective of an administrator as opposed to a student is a fresh take that I've personally never read before. Following a character closer to middle age than to childhood was also a refreshing change of pace and made for a very relatable main character at times. Walden's reflections on her past youth and how growing up changes a person felt spot on and provided a nice change of pace compared to all the 19 year old chosen ones that often dominate fantasy reads.

Although I carry some complaints, I really did have a fun time with this book and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone looking for some good fun in an academic setting.

Gratitude to Tor and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for review.

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.

It's a delight to experience an academic fantasy novel, which is one of my favorite tropes, with actually competent (bordering on hyper-competent) staff and instructors. I very much enjoyed my time spent in the company of Doctor Walden in the halls of Chetwood School and its eldritch environs. Gotta love a charming disaster bisexual as well.

This should have been a book I was obsessed with, but this turned out to be just another overly pretentious academia story. This is NOTHING like The Scholomance. Just because there’s a school setting with some demons doesn’t mean you can say it’s just like another book that had a school setting and monsters. The tone and atmosphere of this book were completely different than The Scholomance. This comes off as more cozy dark academia with an insufferable classist group of characters. Sadly was extremely not a fan.

Really really well written. I loved the characters and the world. I did wish for a little bit more romance and a smidge less focus on the mundanity of the school, but it was all very well done so hard to complain!

I had a really hard time getting into this one and staying engaged. I was super excited about it, so that made me sad.

This was surprisingly fun and heart-warming, despite all the demons! I've felt a little bored with dark academia lately but all of the characters were very refreshing and had great dynamics between them.

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh is easily one of my top reads of the year. It’s everything you want to read in a dark academia book that takes place at a magic school, but told from the perspective of a 38 year old teacher, Dr. Wagner.
Paired with Emily Tesh’s lush writing and rich world building, we have a winner! Simply put, it’s a beautiful read.

That was very cute.

Very A Deadly Education if the Scholomance had actual human teachers.

Also, I am very pleased (and not at all surprised) that Tesh took the godawful romance habit of the hero calling the heroine by her full, ridiculous and/or old-fashioned name instead of the nickname she calls herself and turned it on its head. Anywho, a lesson for you all: if a dude does not call you what you call yourself and insists on using your full name, RUN.

It's short, it's bureaucratic, it's filled with slow-acting hubris and trauma response. And teenagers.

I received an ARC from the publisher

Emily Tesh’s The Incandescent takes a look at the magical school setting, and puts some rather unique and inventive spins and point of view on it, starting with her main character.

I really loved this title. While the ending felt a bit flat to me, Tesh’s characters and lush prose more than made up for it. It’s a world feels lived in and real, far more than most dark academia that I read. I do wish we had seen more of the kids, but that’s just personal preference. Overall, yet another entry that proves Tesh has never let me down!

My new go to magic school book recommendation, as well as a book I plan to buy for the teachers in my life. The worldbuilding is rich, the characters feel realistically drawn and the writing itself is delicious. I especially enjoy that this is a book that trusts the reader to draw conclusions, not everything is immediately spelled out.

Another spectacular book by Emily Tesh! I have loved all their previous books, and this was no exception. I saw the sapphic dark academia and knew I was going to devour it especially as the book was from the teacher's perspective. I love this when reading academia books and the exciqusion was amazing, as standard for Emily Tesh! The pacing felt unique and like I could never guess when things were going to happen. Kept me on my toes without it being overwhelming. A slower book with a ton of development. Dr. Walden was such a phenomenal character who really kept me engaged with the story.
Emily Tesh needs to be an auto-read author for more people, cause their books are so good!!

Now this was a dark academia book! Loved the magic system, the characters, and the story. It was written so well and kept me intrigued even during the periods of down time.

THE INCANDESCENT by Emily Tesh

This was such a unique take on the dark academia genre. It had all the usual elements—morality, mortality, elite schools, magic, demons—but told from the perspective of a teacher. I’d never really thought about these settings that way before! Like, yes, we’re all here learning, the vibes are immaculate, but it’s also just a school—and I’m trying to grade papers, except there’s yet again a demon in the vent and now I have to deal with that.

There is an overarching plot, but it’s not the driving force of the narrative. It’s hard to explain—the story is always in motion, much like a school year, but the beats are quieter, more subtle. Some things turn out to be more important than they first appear… and others, much less. Which honestly feels pretty accurate for an administrator at a school full of magical teenagers.

It’s not one of those quippy, self-aggrandizing stories that takes itself too seriously, the way some dark academia can. Instead, it leans into the quiet strangeness of the setting—sharp and thoughtful, but never overwrought. It doesn’t feel the need to constantly prove how clever it is, which honestly makes it all the more compelling.

My one regret? I wish I waited until the weather cooled down to read it! This is such a perfect fall book. Highly recommend!

This book was tailor made for me and my taste. I am a teacher and love the pedagogy discussions our main character would have at this boarding school. It was also refreshing having a main character over the age of 30 and going through some pretty major life transitions. It was a fun way to have the cozy feel of a magic school setting from another point of view and has solidified Emily Tesh as an author who I will try anything from after reading both this and Some Desperate Glory.

⋆.˚✮ 4.5 stars ✮˚.⋆

⤿ Thank you to Tor Books for the arc through netgalley as well as a physical arc in exchange for an honest review!

this is one of those books that I was really hoping would be amazing just from some of the tropes i knew was in it, dark academia, magical school, harnessing demon magic, and phoenixes. i can happily say this is one of the most unique books i will read this year, and it's absolutely a must-read for anyone who is really looking for some more books involving magical schools. one of the most unique things about this book is that this is from the perspective of the headmistress of the school, so we get to see how she views the school itself, it's goals, and see her interact with the children as well.

this book felt long but this was not a bad thing, it's one of those books you are supposed to absorb slowly to begin to understand secrets of this world in a way you couldn't if the story sped through them. i think overall the pacing was good, but it wasn't a perfect five star because there was one moment at the beginning that caught me off guard. in the beginning of the book, there's an incursion that happens that Doctor Walden has to take care of, and i won't spoil but it felt too easy and i was worried it was going to imbalance the story. overall it didn't, there were plenty of other events that were big deals too, i just didn't expect this to happen so fast and it definitely affected mostly the beginning of the story.

Doctor Walden and her colleagues were amazing characters to drive the story forward, as it was really interesting seeing behind the scenes of a magical school for once. even the kids themselves were such fun side characters, as the importance of some of their stories mirrored Doctor Waldon's, and a few plot twists were so interesting that involved the kids! it was very nice to see people actually care for kids, and see their passion for helping them learn, as someone who wants to work with kids in the future. it was just, really sweet to see and one of my favorite parts of the book.

the vibes themselves were also incredible with the school, threat of demons but also how some were integrated into daily live, and the mysterious magic surrounding Doctor Walden. it was exactly what i was hoping for and the dark academia vibes were strong!! but so was the romance, even if there were multiple instances of things happening that took the characters apart from one another, i still really loved this sapphic romance and how it was developed. i thought it was very realistic, especially with the circumstances that came up.

overall, this was a fantastic read and i cannot recommend it enough- especially during the fall. i think this would make the perfect read during cozier and spookier months.

↬ trigger warnings: death of loved ones, murder and blood, kidnapping, child death and harm, child abuse mentioned