Remedial Magic

A Course in Magic #1

by Melissa Marr

The Magicians meets One Last Stop in this brand-new fantasy romance Remedial Magic, about an unassuming librarian who 1) has fallen in love with a powerful witch; 2) has discovered that she is a witch; and 3) must attend magical community college to learn how to save her new world from complete destruction by New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr!

Ellie loves working in her local library in the small town of Ligonier. She loves baking scones and investigating the mysterious and captivating in her spare time. And there is nothing more mysterious and captivating than the intriguingly beautiful, too properly dressed woman sipping tea in her library who has appeared as if out of nowhere. The pull between them is undeniable, and Ellie is not sure that she wants to resist.

Prospero, a powerful witch from the magical land of Crenshaw, is often accused of being… ruthless in her goals and ambitions. But she is driven to save her dying homeland, and a prophecy tells her that Ellie is the key. Unbeknownst to Ellie, her powers have not yet awakened. But all of that is about to change.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Queer, Witches, LGBT, Adult, Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2024

About the author

Melissa Marr writes fiction for adults, teens, and children. Her books have been translated into 28 languages and been bestsellers in the US (NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal) as well as overseas. Wicked Lovely, her debut novel, was an instant New York Times bestseller and evolved into an internationally bestselling multi-book series with a myriad of accolades.

In 2024 she released a queer fantasy (Remedial Magic via Bramble), a picturebook about a wee one and his two moms (Family is Family via Penguin), and a DC Comics graphic novel about teen Harley & Ivy (The Strange Adventures of Harleen & Harley).

An Illumicrate edition of 6 Wicked Lovely books will release in 2025.

If she's not writing, you can find her in a kayak or on a trail with her wife.

Reviews

[bri]

I was lent an ARC of this book by a bookseller friend, I was not sent this by the publisher. Though, per usual, this is my honest review.

UPDATE: My feedback has been sent to the book's editor, so hopefully some of these issues will be changed! I do think I was rubbed the wrong way a few too many times by this book to pick it back up but I'll be keeping an eye on future reviews to see if there were improvements made.

DNF p. 66

I'm literally begging authors to unpack their implicit biases of white supremacy and ableism before they write cozy fantasy books.

This is a problem that has continued to grow in cozy fantasy and romantasy as genres, in which authors strive to create idyllic and comforting stories for their readers to “escape into.” And what is more comfortable than the familiar, than the unconfrontational? So they seek to create safe spaces without considering what is necessary for a safe space to be actually safe for the people who need it most (aka marginalized people). And instead they use these “escapist” narratives and “safe spaces” as a bubble to protect themselves from the discomfort of confronting their own biases. And so these stories tend to tread harmful ground by blindly and unknowingly perpetrating bigoted narratives.

TOR actually published a really wonderful article (ironically) about this problem. Though this article very specifically talks about racism in witchy romantasies, the sentiment can be applied to other pillars of white supremacy as well as other types of cozy fantasy and romantasy:

"SFF and romance both promise escape, but they falter when they forget that we cannot escape to without also escaping from. When we step back from the sparkling overlay of a book’s premise, we discover that we have ended up on the same old used paths, hiding the selfsame horrors from which we were promised escape beneath the veneers of fairy tale, utopia, or comfort. Whatever fictional or nonfictional marginalizations a white character may possess, they exist within the protective sphere of whiteness, and it is the moral imperative of white authors to grapple with that fact when we write about power, about history, about oppression—or else not to write about those things at all."

I highly recommend reading the whole article, and using it as a jumping-off point to do some learning and unlearning about what fantasy stories (especially cozy ones) have to say about power and marginalization: https://www.tor.com/2023/08/08/the-pr...

In this book's case, these issues bled into the story very obviously and very early on.

Upon meeting our third POV character, within a matter of pages, we are slapped in the face with a Harry Potter reference as the character finds out he's magical: “Yer a wizard, Dan.” In 2023. In a LGBTQ+ book. Truly, I do not understand in this day and age how these references continue to seep through stories, even after other books have made active changes to take out HP references from previous printings. If at this point you are not aware of JKR’s violent TERFism or the way Harry Potter has become a platform of bigotry (though of course, the books have always been riddled with transphobia, antisemitism, racism, a butchered Holocaust metaphor, and more since their inception. But as of recent, more and more right-wing individuals have been brought into the development of the franchise’s content, creating a huge escalation in the level of this bigotry. I highly recommend looking into the VERY clear antisemitism and racism of Hogwarts Legacy), or are not actively changing the way you engage with HP media because of it, then I don’t know what you’re doing.

And then, we learn that this character has been cured of cancer immediately upon entering the magical realm. A magical healing trope will always make me suck my teeth and roll my eyes, but after just a couple pages, the rhetoric escalated and became a little too clear: “Magic self-repairs the host. Witches, are, in essence, hosts to magic.” And we are told that if this character returns to the human world, his cancer will return. So… there’s no such thing as disabled witches, or disability in the magical world in general. Which of course, is incredibly alienating to any disabled reader, but also sheds light on precisely what this author would define as “idyllic” and “cozy”: a world free of disability.

As always, I don't feel good writing this review. I am not pleased or smug or joyful to report these findings. It's never fun to come across these sort of things in stories. But sadly, with the way cozy fantasy and romantasy (especially witchy ones) have been following a trend of pushing under-the-radar accidental bigotry and shrugging any criticism or deeper thought off with an "it's not that deep, it's just a silly fantasy story", I was not surprised to find content like this.

I will most definitely be emailing the publisher with my feedback, in hopes that this content will be changed in the final copies. Fingers crossed it is. If you also got an ARC of this book, please consider emailing the publicity contact with feedback.

CW (so far): ableism (complacent in text), car accident, cancer, hospitalization, magical healing trope, death of parents (past), homophobia (mention)

[chan ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'm always more generous with my reviews when i listen to an audiobook in its entirety when i'm outside enjoying the sunshine. and that's the case here as well, but genuinely, i don't think this book is as bad as the reviews will have you believe.

it's just marketed awfully

the cover and the description are giving fairly simple contemporary witchy sapphic romance. it is decidedly not that. this is a multi-pov adult fantasy with one of those POVs having a sapphic subplot. you've got a magical location that is slowly dying along with the people in it. and the desperate witches who are trying to save the town by essentially kidnapping and indoctrinating people with latent magical abilities.

so... not a light hearted story. lol.

that being said, the world was interesting and so were the character motivations. i didn't like the romantic storylines but i enjoyed the rest. i'd be tentatively interested in continuing with the series.

[Isabel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve found myself in a total reading rut the past couple of months. I went on a stellar vacation with friends this summer and upon coming back just could not bring myself to pick up a book again. Maybe that’s because there was a chance my first book could be just like this. Hate-review for my first review back doesn’t feel like winning the book lottery, but here we are.



Remedial Magic is a chaotic, unfocused mess that never delivers on its promises. What could have been an enchanting blend of fantasy and romance instead falls flat with disjointed storytelling, shallow characters, and awkward romances. I felt like my skin was crawling during some of these borderline creepy meet-cutes. The multiple POVs only serve to confuse, jumping between underdeveloped characters and diluting any emotional depth the story could have had. Ellie and Prospero’s relationship, which should be central, is rushed and devoid of any meaningful connection, making the romance feel contrived and unconvincing. Every other insta-couple also felt contrived and unconvincing because of the absolute nonsense that was their superficial lust for each other.

The world-building is thin, and the plot, while initially intriguing, unravels with unresolved issues and a deeply unsatisfying conclusion (cliff-hanger for book 2). Worse, the book's marketing as a cozy sapphic romance is misleading—there is pretty much no consent in the relationship Ellie ends up in, making the ending uncomfortable rather than empowering. This felt like reading fanfic based on a show you’ve never seen before. There’s potential, but you never have enough information to feel comfortable with what you’re reading. I do not recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Remedial Magic by Melissa Marr
A Course in Magic series #1. Mandatory adult magic school. LGBTQ+ Fantasy romance. Cliffhanger. Multiple POV. Multiple relationships.
Prospero is a powerful witch from the magical land of Crenshaw. She believes in a prophecy that has an uninitiated witch as a the key in saving their homeland. Prospero takes steps to ensure that powers are awakened. Three new witches arrive in Crenshaw and must learn the rules of their new situations.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook copy of this narrated by Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers. The performances were well done, and each had a specific voice for the characters. But as they are both males, I missed a few times that the current POV was a female. The timing and emotions of the characters are clear.
I listened to this at 1.5 which I found as the most comfortable.

I had a difficult time with audiobook, mostly because there are at least six POV’s and while there were two narrators, there is no introduction of which character POV is being told. Without seeing the text or hearing a chapter heading, it was hard to follow a switch although the narrators did have different voices for the main characters.
I also didn’t care for the witches being activated by cutting them out of their current lives regardless of their situations. Specially leaving a young son believing his mother is dead and he must live with his abusive and neglectful father.
There are three quick relationships (F-F, M-F, M-M) in the story that actually seem manipulative in more than one way.
More disturbing, the school administration is recording and watching everything for the benefit of their own community. Inside private rooms. Creepy. They justify it as their world is dying and they need to find a solution.
I will look for an ebook copy to see if I can clarify a couple of confusing points. I may continue the series to make sure the mother is able to save her son, and to find out how the magical community fixes the poisoned water.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Macmillan Audio.

[readabookonce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure this book knew what it wanted to be. It was marketed as a romance, but the romance is shallow. Ellie and Prospero are seemingly the main characters in the blurb, yet there are multiple other characters with their own chapters. The marketing of the novel is incredibly misleading, and that hurts its reception.

The idea of being normal and then suddenly finding out you’re not normal is a strong premise that could go any direction. I was excited at the idea of these characters learning to adjust to their new lives, but the novel paired the characters off with love interests immediately, not giving the characters—or even the relationships—time to develop. The use of multiple POVs was interesting at first, but when nearly every character mentioned got a chapter, it ruined any suspense that had been built.

Initially, I found Maggie’s story to be the most compelling. Anyone who rejects a call to action because of genuine (and external) stakes is always going to be the most interesting to me. The others didn’t have a strong enough drive or a sympathetic goal that that I wanted to root for. The relationships were almost entirely physical, so I couldn’t even understand why the couples were so attached. I had no reason to care, both positively or negatively, about any of these characters, and that hadn’t changed by the end.

The story was pretty fast-paced, which I both appreciated and resented. I thought the plot was interesting, at least when it was present, but it wasn’t meaty enough to carry the book. That is where strong characters (or a strong romance, you know, as advertised) could’ve helped, but the focus was too scattered to connect to anyone.

Overall, this book had ambitions that were greater than its page length. I didn’t hate the story, but I feel pretty apathetic about it. Some ideas worked, a lot didn’t. Maybe future books will help strengthen the world and the characters, but as of now, I am not interested in continuing.

ENDING cliffhanger
POV multiple (6) / third person
RATING 2 / 5

Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Christine Sandquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because hey, sapphic fantasy, sure let's give it a go! Tragically, this book was a bit of a hot mess, but I turned my brain completely 100% off and rode along with the nonsense. The characters repeatedly made the most baffling choices. The world was about as internally in consistent as you can get. All of the queer rep was just... odd, and relied heavily on tropes and stereotypes. But in all fairness, the non-queer characters were also paper-thin. They were all a bit like someone had a box full of Lego-shaped character traits and stuck 'em together into a human shape.

But despite or perhaps because all this, I weirdly enjoyed it, hence the very generous star rating. I was very tired while reading this and it had exactly the right amount of nonsense for me to just laugh at it. I did not have to expend any processing power whatsoever while reading this book. It has so many issues but it's also the right amount of issues for me to have just existed in a constant state of bafflement. The ending, especially, was nonsense.

This book is recommended for week nights where your brain is mush and you're channeling your inner potato.

[h o l l i s · Rating 1 out of 5]

This makes for two almost back to back Bramble titles that completed lacked in the good vibes gene. Whereas the first make me angry and frustrated, this one just made me bored, confused, and frustrated. So at least it’s a little different.

This had a very awkward and abrupt start for a story and I was feeling very much dragged along against my will as I struggled to understand who these characters were (mostly our main one) before they were thrown into fantastical situations as well as into their respective romances. Except.. see aforementioned awkward and abrupt and also poorly transitioned scenes. We jump around to quite a few POVs actually and each chapter is short and that just adds to the strangeness of the whole story. We’re getting introduced to characters so quickly and then fleeing their perspective before we understand anything about them beyond the cardboard cut-out explanations that are offered us.

And to compound that weirdness everyone is pairing up ridiculously quickly and for no reason whatsoever considering the unknown and uncertain realities of their circumstances and how suspect and side-eye everything is. Why. Make it make sense.

The last thing I’ll complain about, because I gave up on this before I could accumulate even more things to complain about in order to avoid another long ranty review (oops sorta missed the mark on that one but also I’m just trying to save my sanity) is if there’s a translation spell to make everyone understood no matter their native tongue why did the Norwegian character speak as if he was using babelfish translate? That doesn’t track.

Also also sorry one last thing. It’s 2024. Stop with the Harry Potter references please. For all books but especially queer ones. Be considerate of your readers.

Anyway, don’t know how this ends because I couldn’t even be bothered to skim the bit that was left but I’ll definitely be thinking thrice before I pick up another Bramble title in the future (exception being the Broadbent series but I was intrigued about those even before the trad deal.. though they might prove my point anyway! who knows. not me.. not yet).

1.5 stars

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read for me. I liked some parts more than others. Pros: FMC is a small town librarian and single mother with latent magical witchy powers, there's a great cast of queer characters and an interesting magical parallel universe in need of saving.

Where I started to get bored was when Ellie is basically kidnapped and forced to attend a magical college where she is put through a series of tests to see if she might be the one foretold in a prophecy to save this magical town/world.

The middle of the story seemed to drag for me and I was hoping for more action and romance if I'm completely honest. I was also a little confused by the choice of narrators, since one of the female characters sounded like a male narrator.

Overall kind of a mixed bag but I would be interested in seeing what happens next in this new series. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Fav quote: 'Never cross a librarian, they catalogue everything.' >> I need this on a t-shirt ASAP!

[Julie Klehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was gifted this arc copy by a bookseller family member. The best way I could describe this book is that it was like eating an over done steak. There were good pieces, but it was overall pretty dry and chewy.

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook provided by the publisher and Netgalley for an honest review.

Remedial Magic is the first book in A Course in Magic a new series by Melissa Marr. It is supposed to be a cozy little Romance set when a which awakens to her new power and is transported to a magic land. I’m not a huge fan of F/F love interests, but when done by a trusted author I usually will give them a shot. Even though the blurb only talks about one romance, there are actually three happening a F/F, M/F and M/M

I was a bit disappointed in the overall story, which seemed like it didn’t know what it really wanted to be. There are 6 different PoVs happening and so you always know what everyone is thinking, there is no build up no suspense and all of the romances totally happen in a lust at first site kind of way that seems so shallow.

The Good

I enjoyed the start-up of the story. Most people do not come into their magic until their life is put into danger. That is the moment it will most likely activate and then the people of Crenshaw, all witches will come to retrieve you to help you settle into your new power. Only the magical are allowed in Crenshaw though so you have to leave everything from your previous life behind. Sometimes that is not problematic and for a few of our characters they really didn’t have a lot to go back to. But one main character is a mother and being told she is to be separated from her son for months while they decide if she can stay or go is problematic for her.

Maggie’s (the afore mentioned mother) arc was the most interesting to me. She has the most in the outside world to keep her tethered there. Her dilemmas were the easiest to relate to. Dan was probably my second favorite character as he has significant reason to want to stay. He was dying of cancer in the real world, but in this magical place he is cured. Returning means certain death to him so he is willing to make a few questionable choices to be able to stay. I really loved how honest he was about all of that and if that meant he possible joined up with the Dark Side all the better.

Crenshaw is dying, the water is tainted and there is a fowl smell in the air. Some of the witches want to return to the real world, others want to move their magical town. Each faction will try to skew the new witches to their side and use them as needed for the town.

I was intrigued by this plot at first with the fractioning sides but as the story progressed it wasn’t really going anywhere and I really had problems will all the Witches of Crenshaw by the end.

The Bad

I honestly was so disappointed that something that was supposed to be a cozy romance story was so filled with Social Justice Warrior verbiage and biases. There are all the things like racism, people having issues with gay lifestyles, white priveledge, ableism and so much more in something that is supposed to be a light read. I would like to encourage all authors to check themselves and if you aren’t creating an escape for your readers you have probably failed at your job a little. If it was just one thrown out comment about gay equality or the persecution of witches in the past (which actually made sense in the context of the story) I wouldn’t mention it. But if I am rolling my eyes at the number of times I’m taken out of the story so someone can “preach” their biases it isn’t a fun read anymore.

There was a lot in this book that has potential. I think if it focused on one couple instead of three we would have had more depth to the characters. But as is no one really got enough page time to be really developed. Sanche the headmaster of the school was the most complex character and even with him we only scratch a surface.

The ending was a bit rushed and didn’t make a ton of sense, but I was ready for the book to be over. I was hoping to see more of the magical classes but there are only a few scenes without much detail to them. The magic in the community seemed cool but again just brushed over. The Hobbs, magical creatures that help out the Witches, much like house elves of harry potter also seems really interesting but we don’t really delve into that much either.

I’m not sure this is a series I will continue as I enjoy a bit more depth to most of my characters. But Dan’s circumstances is interesting and I would like to see Maggie and how her new situation at the end was working out. My continuation of the series would depend heavily on those two characters.

Narration

Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers were the narrators for the book. I think they captured most of the characters well although Prospero sounded a bit like a man to me in the story. All the voices and pacing were overall done really well. I enjoyed Dan's voice the most and Sanche has a very distinguishable tone that was really pleasing to the ear. I normally listen at 1.5x speed but needed to increase to 1.75x speed for the story to flow correctly for me.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received a digital copy of "Remedial Magic" by Melissa Marr from Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will be exceedingly honest.

Ellie Brandeau doesn't know it, but she's a witch. Her powers start awakening after a compelling encounter with a beautiful, mysterious woman named Prospero. A near-fatal accident sends Ellie to Crenshaw, a magical Brigadoon-like place where witches live in peace, safe from the centuries of persecution witches experience in what the witches call the "Barbarian Lands." Except, things are very, very wrong in Crenshaw. The land and water are polluted, witches are dying, and Ellie is the key to fixing all of it.

This is the worst book I have read in a very long time. The marketing for this book would lead you to believe that it's a cozy, sapphic, witchy romantasy. It has a cute cover, a cute description, a cute setting. All lies.

A romance implies a happily ever after. There is nothing happy about the ending. A romance implies two people consenting to being in a loving relationship: THERE IS NO CONSENT IN THE CONCLUSION. I can't describe it without spoiling it, but Ellie emphatically and specifically does not agree to be in the relationship she ends up in. I was horrified.

As far as the technical aspects of the story, here's a quick summary: none of the characters act like real humans with real human emotions. There is only one potentially happy relationship but they are side characters and even then I have my doubts. The writing is awkward. The world-building is superficial at best. The plot would be interesting (Let's save the day!) but the Big Serious Problem is not actually resolved. I mean, at all. The book just ends before the Crenshaw is saved from danger. There are a ton of other, minor dangling plot threads.

I am guessing this is meant to be a first book in a series and that those things will be resolved in a future story. There's a suggestion that even the nonconsensual relationship issue will be resolved at some point. I will not read any further books to find out.

There are two things I liked. First, Crenshaw is a place where members of the LGBTQIA community are safe to live and love whomever they choose. It's about the ONLY thing that's safe in Crenshaw but at least there's that. Second, when people break Crenshaw law, they are temporarily turned into badgers. Why badgers? Who knows, but I did find that amusing.

I would have ordinarily DNF'd this early on because I had doubts very quickly. But I committed to reading it for NetGalley and I take that seriously. I genuinely wish I hadn't. I typically believe that when a book is not to my taste, there will still be readers who like it. So I review accordingly and while I may criticize, I try to consider who might actually enjoy it. My first draft of this review was a pages-long, sputtering mess and I still can't think of anybody I'd recommend "Remedial Magic" to.

[Madi · Rating 5 out of 5]

first of all, this is being marketed terribly. this is such a complex world and i wish it had been expanded on. loved that every character has real distinct motivations. highly recommend and looking forward to more in this series.

[Jessica]

Very cute and fantastical romcom with a fascinating mystery at its heart. I loved the idea of everyone in the magical world choosing their own fashions: the women in sensible pantsuits vs. those dressed like it's a Ren Faire vs. the guys in jeans! Because: why not?

*I am not rating books read for the World Fantasy Award.*

[Riley (runtobooks) · Rating 1 out of 5]

not the story advertised, far too many povs, insta-love, inherent ableism. not a book i'd recommend.

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @42%

I loved the idea of a secret magical community and a sapphic witchy romance… however, the actual story was nothing like the synopsis. The author tried to accomplish too many things and in doing so left me, much like the newest witchy residents of Crenshaw, incredibly confused. I had three main issues: the number of POVs, the storytelling, and the romance.

My first issue was that the story had far too many POVs. At the 42% mark, I counted six POVs and none of these voices were well developed. At one point, we hear from the chief witch in charge as he assembles a town hall style meeting and discusses dangers threatening the witchy community, but there is no intro to his character. Aside from the three new witchy residents, the reader is given no background about these other characters other than they believe themselves the hero and everyone else a villain. If this sounds confusing, it is and I still don’t know what was happening.

My second issue was the storytelling. There’s no explanation about this community that is somewhat hidden from the “barbarian realm” (i.e. the rest of the world). People are “relocated” (i.e. kidnapped) by these witchy leaders following a near death experience when they suddenly can then use magic . What happens when they get there? They have to attend a witchy community college but if they choose not to, are stripped of their memories and their magic is siphoned. But leadership is cagey about how long they’ll actually be stuck in Crenshaw, so this leaves the newest witchy residents with no other choice but to seduce the leaders into giving them answers.

Which brings me to my final issue… the romance. This story is not a cute, cozy witchy sapphic romance. It’s totally bizarre and full of unreliable, unlikable voices. Everyone is using each other and insta lust is just not a trope I personally enjoy.

I really believe the marketing hurt this story and sets readers up to be disappointed. I rarely (never) DNF books but I just couldn’t make it through this story. It just tried to incorporate too many voices and mystery and in doing so, was rather strange and confusing.

[Bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book made me so angry over and over, I wish I had DNF’d it.

It’s a completely different story than what is pitched in the description and that made me both mad and frustrated at the beginning of the book. As I progressed I tried to let that original book I thought I was reading go and embrace what I got instead. It didn’t work.

Individually the characters are strong, complex, interesting. If this was a series and each character had gotten their book I think the story telling would have been a lot stronger. Instead each character gets a snippet in this book and everything ends up feeling rushed and forced.

The romance in this book, which again is pitched as a main storyline, is garbage. There are three couples, one of which is actually a sweet and normal romance budding mlm romance! It gets the least amount of page time possible. The other two romances are both gross misuses of power, deceitful, toxic, and they only get worse from there.

The ending SUCKS. A clear and blatant cash grab at setting up for a second book, it’s not even that it ends on cliff hanger it just ends in a super shitty way that makes you hope things will improve in the next one, though I don’t think I’ll be wasting my time reading it.

The book is also pitched as wlw and not only is the wlw relationship the most toxic relationship in the book, it’s also the only one of the three that gets multiple explicit sex scenes. If it’s a book about one couple and those scenes happen, that’s normal; but when there are multiple mix-gendered couples having sex multiple times through the book and the only one that gets DETAILS (and you know what I mean by detailed) is the lesbian relationship. That’s not representation, it’s fetishizing.

Fuck this book.

[Ashley Dang · Rating 1 out of 5]

Three people, thrown into a world of magic and forced to go to witch college all the while deal with relationship drama, new powers, and no escape. This story is told in about 6 POVS and the three main characters are Ellie ( a local librarian who lives a cozy life), Maggie (a lawyer who is trying to escape her abusive ex and save her son), and Dan (a guy who went hiking and was dying of cancer but has a second chance at life). Ellie meets Prospero, a mysterious woman who kisses her ( Prospero was going to kill her but decided not to, she was sent to retrieve Ellie because there was a prophecy about Ellie saving the magic world). Maggie gets into a car crash that was planned by her husband that would have killed her and her son but her magic awakened when she saved them both only for her to be whisked away by the handsome Sondre, the headmaster of the witch college, and Dan awakens after a hiking accident at the witch college. Ellie is excited about the prospect of having magic and falling for the beautiful woman who kissed her. Maggie wants nothing more than to escape and go back to her son, but that wont stop her from sleeping with Sondre. Dan refuses to leave, he wants to stay at witch college forever. All the while witches are dying from a mysterious disease and the Ellie has to solve the prophecy. This book was a if you took three drops of paint and put it into water, muddy, all over the place, and lacking any clear distinction and the end product is just something that is unclear and not pretty. Initially I was so excited to read this book but it immediately fell flat, and I kept pushing myself to finish it and the fact that this is the first book in the series is a big no thank you, especially with how this book went. I definitely will not be continuing this series. This book starts off abruptly and is all over the place, the characters all lacked depth and actual interesting aspects to them, the world building felt nonexistent, and cohesive story where? The book doesn't really feel like much is happening and for a book that was advertised as The Magicians meets One Last Stop, it gave neither to me and I enjoyed both of those books. This book was not for me, and unfortunately I should have DNF'ed by the second chapter because it just kept dragging on and I just was left disappointed by the end. This one is not for me and if you like magic school and relationship drama then give it a go, I guess, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

*SPOILER* The ending itself was just not it ( the fact that Maggie is forced into a marriage and to have her and her sons minds warped and she has to obey Sondre while Ellie is forced into marriage and mindwipe by Prospero all the while Dan ( who barely even had any personality or characterization throughout the book and really did NOTHING, seriously go on Dan, give me nothing) gets to just enjoy life. I felt ick, just so much ick,

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group, Bramble for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[Kerry · Rating 1 out of 5]

4/5/23 edit: jk this i just a 1 it aged like milk to me

1.5? i think?

this was a mess and i'm not entirely sure it knows what it's supposed to be. based on the synopsis, i figured this would be a fun, easy romantasy. probably dual pov. not many thoughts needing to be in my head. WELL, JOKE'S ON ME, I GUESS.

there is nothing about this book that makes you think it will contain six (6!!!!!) povs and some buckwild subplots and an even more batshit ending. conceptually, adults at magic school is neat and interesting but the way this was executed was not it at all. also the romances were so ???? i don't think they're particularly bad or anything, just extraordinarily messy in a way that was uninteresting for me to read about (there's a f/f, m/f, and m/m here, which again, i wasn't expecting at all). but even though i said there were six povs, only three ever really stuck in my head at any point in time, and part of that is because i definitely wasn't expecting one of the plot lines to be a mother desperately trying to get back to her son to keep him away from her abusive ex. i often forgot dan even existed, which is uh. great, to forget an entire pov character and his plotline. i mean, the characters in general didn't do much of anything at all for me except for maggie, but that's because she spends the whole novel going, "please, get me the fuck out of here, i have to save my son." the ableism came out of goddamn nowhere and while i don't find the ending egregious broadly speaking (idk, i like psychological horror! i like a dead dove!!!) it's an absolutely unhinged ending for something allegedly calling itself a fantasy romance. i'm certain everyone will get their HEA but jesus christ some of them do not actually deserve it, my god.

in any case. the characters: annoying. the plot: bizarre. the romance: unhinged. for what it's worth, apart from the ableism, i think had this been better executed i would've actually liked it if i had different genre expectations. but the cover and the synopsis made this seem like a cutesy romantasy focusing on one couple, and that's just not what this is at all. also, you know, the weird as shit "no one in magic land has disabilities" thing. the fuck was that.

[Magen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll preface this by saying I've always enjoyed Melissa Marr books and had a brief obsession with the Wicked Lovely Series in high school. I have such a fondness for her and I was very excited to read this new book. Unfortunately, the excitement did not last. Between the combination of bad marketing and worse writing, this was a miserable reading experience from beginning to end. By all advertising indications, this was allegedly meant to be a cozy fantasy romance. The summary itself makes you think that! But it is really, really not. It's also incredibly boring with no direction or real plot and frankly a tad poorly written. I'm incredibly disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars!
This was… okay!
I was excited for a sapphic witchy romance, but this turned out a little bit different than what i expected, which is okay
it was a lot darker than the whimsical atmosphere i was previously imagining, which honestly got me more intrigued
and the romance itself wasn’t my favorite, mostly cause it felt so fast (which i know it’s a short book, but they fell in love literally at first sight)
also it could get repetitive, especially with Maggie, who i understand had a child, but repeating the sentiment of “i want my kid” got annoying fast (i know i’m not a mom and have never been kidnapped but for the sake of the book, we know you want your kid!!)
overall this was fine, an engaging read but nothing too crazy for me :3

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the worldbuilding + character at the beginning, just wasn't it for me at the end.

The cliffhanger was decent, but pretty forgettable if I'm being honest. Decent book. Definitely not the best, but not the worst.

[Jade · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I finished this book was because it was my book clubs pick…. That was difficult to read.

[Sabetha · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this book is WILDLY mis-categorized. If I was the author I would be rioting in the streets about about the mismanagement of marketing this book to the correct audience. This is NOT Cozy Fantasy. It is NOT RomFantasy. There is romance and fantasy inside, but it is not a feel good, snuggle in for a comfort read type.

Second, if you loved The Once and Future Witches you are going enjoy this book. Not because "oh they're both witches and they're gay plus political." But because this is a multi-POV expansive-plot book with a big picture situation happening while all these other characters have their own situations happening. There are at least 10 characters that have in depth moving parts.

That being said I did enjoy this book and look forward to the next installment. There's so much high powered emotion happening, many people that aren't willing to be woo'd with the pleasures of being magical. We need more of these grey witches books. Economics, politics of both worlds. So many secrets and moving parts, it's a wild ride. Worth it 100%, it's just such a shame that the publisher has shoved it into Cozy Fantasy. This is a book filled with villain's, strong willed woman and high stakes. It's a dark fantasy dealing with grey morals, and untrustworthy narration.

ROMANCE: Romfantasy is laughable as a genre for this book. There are 3 major "romances" I assume by the blurb they are pushing the lesbians' one as being some soulmates type situation but babe, that's not how soulmates work. Out of the three this is NOT the romance I'd be focusing on, like I'm invested in the outcome of their entanglement but in a how is she going to get away manner, not how are they going to tell their future children about this sh*t show. The gay romance is the one they should have used as flagship, as it's the healthiest relationship in this tragedy. Though, how Maggie's story ended, they are going to be the one I'm rooting for moving forward. Honestly, partnership against the baddies. They are all being handed a bad deck, but it's who you choice to align with and trust that makes the difference.

TW: It's 2024 HP references aren't okay. I get it, peOpLe DisCovErIng MaGic would relate it to modern media, but there are hundreds of better books to give a reference to, let's not have an LGBTIA+ book that is literally being political about LGBTIA+ and then drop HP references. Performative support isn't support. Do better.

Also TW: Abusive spouse/parent, suicide, death-ish scenes. Mind meddling, forced marriages.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

[Simone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh. Another reminder that I need to get better at tracking exactly how things get on my to-read list, because this feels in part like a failure of marketing. I guess I should have better clocked that The Magicians reference in the log line, as code of more realistic and thus more depressing than the fun sapphic fantasy novel you were hoping for.

That was one issue, this is less of a romp and more of a magical kidnapping novel. And yes, the characters are mostly are annoyed about being kidnapped and held hostage by magic (wouldn't you be?) but honestly, it's just not that much fun to read about. It's sort of tiring actually. It's like watching an improv skit where instead of "yes, and-ing" they just keep saying no. There are multiple POVs, and not a damn thing seems to happen in any of them that is not them arriving or leaving the magical village. The "mystery" of the town is solved (I guess) in one sort of throw away scene (yes, I was hoping for more of a quest/mystery) and then the end is "machina-ed" in such an anti-climatic way. But also I just didn't care because I didn't actually care about any of the one-dimensional characters who are just a series of log lines: the chosen one/lesbian librarian, the gay guy with cancer who amplifies people's powers, and the lawyer mom on the run from her ex who wants to get back to her son. /Shrug.

tl;dr The cover is cute but it doesn't match the vibes of what's inside.

[Lilibet Bombshell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Magicians meets One Last Stop is what the blurb tells us to expect in this book. Well, I know better than to expect much of blurbs, but can I just say that I haven't been this disappointed by the marketing for a book in a long time?

Remedial Magic isn’t just a subpar book–it’s a subpar book with poor plotting, average writing, creepy and unlikeable characters, an underexplored magic system, poor worldbuilding, and random spice scenes that are just plopped in like quotes in a bad college essay (that is to say, suddenly and with no warm up).

This book just doesn’t make sense to me. It started off well enough. It was witty, even engaging. Everything started to fall to pieces as soon as the “new students” started arriving in Crenshaw, in my opinion. Then it all started unraveling quickly and never regained any ground. I don’t even know why I finished the book, save that I hoped at some point it might redeem itself, considering this is a series and there are more books after this.

I think I’ll be stopping here, though. I don’t need to know more.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All opinions, thoughts, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. As this review has a rating of three stars or less it will only appear on review sites and not on social media. Thank you.

File Under: Book Series/Fantasy/Fantasy Series/LGBTQ Fantasy/Spice Level 1

[Tara Kat (MagnoliaPigeonBookBlurbs) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and unfortunately it didn’t give what it promised to.

Remedial Magic is billed as a cross between One Last Stop and The Magicians, but with the exemption of the magical college it didn’t mirror either. Another bummer is that is is laden with problematic ableist content. All in all it didn’t make for a cozy read as the blurb alluded to and instead left me feeling icky. Crossing my fingers some of these issues can be addressed prior to publication.

TW: Ableism, Shaming of Depression & Addiction, Magical Healing Trope, Lack of Informed Consent

Thank you Bramble and Macmillan for the ARC & ALC.

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hoo boy. I wanted so badly to like this book. The premise was everything. The follow through was horrendous. Oh my gods the ending was atrocious. The entire rest of the book was questionable at best, but the ending made me want to throw the book. I maintain, if I didn't think too hard about anything that was happening, I could've given it three stars. With an ending that bad, it rounded out to two. I'm going to go wash my brain now.

EDIT: It has been *months* and I'm still mad at this book. Like. Still comes up in conversation how mad this book made me. I bumped the rating down to 1 star. Ugh.

[Jessie Carvalho · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and Tor Publishing for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Multiple POV, LGBTQ representation, enemies

This had promise, but it was quite different than I expected. It's all over the place. There are too many POVs. Not sure why we needed people that weren't the couple.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guys this book was FINE and totally undeserving of all the hate she's just a little misunderstood okay🥺 But really the story line(s?) and the magic systems were so interesting yes it was awkward and had me going ???? at times and the ending made no sense what so ever but I had a good time and will be reading book two

[Annika · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are two problems with Remedial Magic. Number 1, it's misadvertised as a paranormal/fantasy romance. Number 2., it's one of the most emotionally nonsensical, exhausting books I've read in recent memory. 

I'm going to tackle the first problem here, and will mostly absolve the author as I have no idea who wrote the marketing copy. Remedial Magic was advertised, to me, as a paranormal romance with fantasy elements. This is instead a chosen one coming-of-age novel with dark romantic elements. I tend to be more lenient on the term "romance" than many. I don't require that a romance have a happy ending. The main couple doesn't have to get together, nor do they have to be happy together. They can make bad decisions for one another, and so on and so forth. That's an issue that I will revisit later, but for the time being, I will say that all of these elements could potentially be present in a romance. However, the romantic couple advertised has to share screen time with a much worse romance that is never mentioned in the marketing copy, nor in word of mouth advertisement, and in addition, both of these romances combined occupy at best twenty to thirty percent of the plot. The rest is devoted to half-hearted worldbuilding, political intrigue, and vague dark academia exchanges that make Remedial Magic feel more like the first draft of a chosen one young adult coming of age drama.  This is not a genre I'm terribly fond of, but it is one I understand and respect. If this book was advertised as political intrigue, dark academia, or coming-of-age fantasy, all of which fit the genre of Remedial Magic more than paranormal romance, I probably would not have read it, but I would have been able to make that choice as an informed reader.

Beyond this point, I will be delving into spoilers.

To start with the low-hanging fruit, it reads like Harry Potter fanfiction. I read fanfiction myself, though I haven't touched HP in a decade, so this is not necessarily a criticism. However, when you have barely swapped elements out for one another, such that I cannot remember place or character names and instead label them as "We're in the four broomsticks (tm)" or "it's one of the not-house elves," we have a problem. There is what appears to be a schools of magic system, such as witches honing their skills in healing, botany, transformation magic, and so on. This is poorly explained, but fine, as far as magical tropes go. Why is it called a house system? It only furthers the comparison to Harry Potter, which is not a favorable one, even as someone who no longer enjoys Rowling's work. 

To elaborate on the poor explanation, Remedial Magic suffers either from deep, deep editing that leaves the reader confused, or had too many ideas to fully be captured in the first place. I understand that the book wants to be a romance; though there is not much time dedicated to the two main couplings, they have more cohesive structure than the rest of the world building. From the outset, we are made aware that Crenshaw, the town in which the school of remedial magic is housed, is populated with vaguely medieval European architecture, and that the school itself is a castle. While this does certainly drum up a familiar setting in most fantasy readers, that is the extent of the information we, as readers, are given. The townspeople are described more vividly, as wearing antiquated clothing or robes, but we are not given the scope of this world. We are given the impression that there are relatively few witches, as though they have extended life spans, they are unable to reproduce. It is then odd that there is a fully functional modern economy and a need for an entire castle for a school which only houses people for a relatively short period of time. Some readers may be able to overlook the lack of worldbuilding, but it consistently took me out of the book.

Remedial Magic is very character-driven, which can be a book's saving grace, but is instead another nail in the coffin. At the outset, I enjoyed the three leads, who I consider to be Ellie, Maggie, and Dan, the newest witches currently attending the school for Remedial Magic. Ellie is at times a bit of a pick-me, and I loathe the semi-occasional references to her being "extremely average," but initially the book gets away with it by giving her reason for attempting to be average. In her childhood, her aunt disappeared for some time and nobody ever understood why, or explained what happened to her. This gave her anxiety and a fear of disappearing herself, which made her research disappearances like the one that happened to her Aunt Hestia. As someone with anxiety, I found this extremely relatable. She came to the conclusion that everyone who disappeared in the same manner as her aunt were interesting, and in an effort to make sure she did not disappear herself, she resolved to make herself as ordinary as possible. She dreams of a grand romance, which I enjoyed when I believed the book to be a paranormal romance, but this becomes difficult to work with when it becomes evident that there are darker machinations that she needs to be dealing with. As the novel goes on, it becomes clear that Prospero, the woman who draws her into the world of magic, is using her to the end of saving her world. Ellie acknowledges this and separates from Prospero, but continually falls back into her arms. Were the stakes lower, I could perhaps forgive her, but given that, by the midpoint of the book it is clear that she has been kidnapped and is being held against her will, I find it exhausting that she keeps trying to reconcile her affection with this woman. Prospero herself is, ironically, one of the more sympathetic characters, despite clearly being intended to be morally greyer than she is actually written. She is willing to do everything to protect her home, which sheltered her from an abusive marriage, and does seem to care for Ellie. However, there is an enormous power imbalance between them, as Prospero is tasked with erasing the memories of new students at the school. Though Ellie is resistant initially, her memory is rewritten by Prospero by the end, resulting in what is, by definition, an abusive relationship.

Maggie, unfortunately, fares much worse. She's a single mother of a teenage boy, whose ex was abusive to her and possibly their son. He still holds partial custody and is attempting to obtain full custody, which she is fighting ruthlessly. Her ex goes as far as cutting the brakes in her car, which causes her to be sent to Crenshaw. She spends her first week or so fighting tooth and nail to get back to the mortal world and her son, something I deeply related to. I always enjoy subversions of fantasy in which the hero fights the call not because of fear or appreciation of the status quo, but because they have something urgent to do in their "real life". Most of my good will towards her was drained on her repeated hookups with the school's headmaster. He's a smooth talker, and a character I could find serviceable in a political intrigue, which is his main role, but I could never understand what was attractive about him, beyond being allegedly handsome and talented in bed. Annoying in it of itself, this is especially bad for Maggie, who was aware that she had bad taste in men and was trying not to fall back into her old trap of abusive partners. The plotline of a domestic abuse survivor falling back into her old habits is a difficult one to pull off, but can be written with nuance and pathos. Unfortunately, in Remedial Magic, it is treated as another genuine romance between equals. The book protests that their marriage at the end of the book is built on more romance than blackmail, but in context, I cannot read it as anything else; her son has forgotten who she is and is being forced to live with his abusive father, and the only way for her to get him back is to marry the headmaster. The headmaster asserts that he isn't happy about the situation either, but I still can't help but feel extremely queasy about the entire situation. I also really, really don't understand why it's necessary; they want Ellie to marry Prospero to keep her happy enough to solve their problems, which is at least understandable in a functional way, but it seems like Maggie gets married for no reason other than poor planning on the part of the Magic Congress and Head Witch.

To some degree, I know that this is intentional. The book finishes on a cliffhanger and the final line of "Just like in fairy tales" is clearly meant to be ironic, but I don't think that the author realized how much of a dystopia she had created; if she did, she didn't bring it across well. The characters are under constant surveillance, but this is played as a joke when Ellie is embarrassed that someone watched her and Prospero having sex. People who break the law (or attempt to escape) are turned into badgers for some time, which is explained by this group, which has the resources to have an entire school in a castle with multiple teachers that only has twenty students at a time, somehow not being able to house a jail cell (another moment of extreme cognitive dissonance). Disregarding this inconsistency, this is both hilarious and horrific, as they are literally robbing people of their humanity.

The characters who already existed in Crenshaw are willing to protect it at all costs. What are they protecting it from? 

A combination of factors, some of which are more understandable than others. Most immediately, there is a sickness that is killing witches well before their time, and it seems to be caused by the water (though may later be demonstrated to be airborne). The initial explanation is that the mundane world is ruining the environment and it has seeped into the magical world; this was odd, but I accepted it at first. Later, there is the concept of a "rift," that is not really explained, but may be the real source of the illness. A prophesy has been foretold that Ellie will be the one to close it and save Crenshaw, which is why she in particular is being held captive. I dislike this plot point (I hate chosen one plots in general), and it's introduced in a way that feels very much like a Band-Aid fix as to why Ellie can't leave, and why she and Prospero have to be a couple.

The most intimidating threat to Crenshaw, from a reader's perspective, is a group referred to as the "New Economists." Why are they called that? Unclear! As are most things in the book! While this can be used to build mystery, as it is, I felt instead like I'd turned over ten pages at once. Going back to the New Economists, they're treated like radical terrorists for the crime of "wanting witches to be able to live with people in the rest of the world." That's it. They're implicated in creating the rift, but as they are given no characterization, let alone any named characters of the group, they could be a figment of propaganda used by the magic congress (Actual term!). If this group does exist, I can't even blame them for using terrorist measures, because as I have explained at length, the existing order of things is at best a prison and at worst the kind of dystopia Orwell's antagonists could only dream of. In theory there were faults in the cracks of Oceania; God help the soul who tries to get out of Crenshaw, whose options are being siphoned and having their memory wiped, a process which often kills people, or forced marriage. 

This brings me to the third previously mundane character, Dan. I initially liked Dan the least, though it was mostly because of the way dialogue is written, with few gaps or pauses. He is an enthusiastic fantasy fan, having gone to many conventions in his life before he was abducted to Crenshaw. He also has cancer, which causes him to be fearful of returning to the mundane world. The only thing keeping him cured is the magic in Crenshaw, so his allegiance to the headmaster is completely understandable. He comes to understand that there are darker influences on the school, and that perhaps this isn't the hero story he thinks it is. However, in desperation, he continues to work for the school in an effort to stay in Crenshaw. He is also gay, which I only mention because the book fixates on it quite a lot. I found this strange, as Ellie is a lesbian and, though she talks about finding the woman of her dreams, there are few references to her sexuality in her narration. I don't necessarily mind this. I've had my own share of "of course I'm bi" jokes, and it does color quite a lot of my existence. I bring it up because of a small conspiracy theory I nurse about the author originally wanting Dan to have AIDS, but having changed her mind in a late draft and not going back to fix his prior characterization. Case in point, Dan has undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy, but still has an entire head of hair in the mundane world. Instead, the physical marker of how sick he's been is how thin and frail he is, which is often used in literature to denote AIDS, especially in the early to mid AIDS crisis. I will point out that Melissa Marr is married to a woman, and I doubt that this was intentional homophobia or insensitivity, but I found it a very strange detail.

From an absolute technical standpoint, I have few issues; personally, I like more description in fantasy, lest it turn generic in my mind, but that's a matter of taste. The only real critique I have is that, if you have a third person limited omniscient narration and keep changing characters to change that limited pov, I think you need to limit the number of characters you switch between. I could understand the case for Ellie, Maggie, and Dan having their own viewpoints, but by the time we have also added Prospero's, the headmaster's, and the chief of witch's points of view, it's so muddied that it feels instead like total third person omniscient view , and probably would have read more smoothly if that was the case. 

The book ends on a cliffhanger and is marked as the first in the series, so perhaps it turns out that the dystopian elements were purposeful. In that case, I will retract some, but not all, of this review, as the character issues, extremely split plot details, and poor descriptions are not absolved it in my mind, even if it was attempting to be a subversion on the magical school trope. For those who do like dark academia, or are looking for a more grownup Harry Potter, there may be something in Remedial Magic that I did not see. I, however, will not be tuning in for the next installment.