3.75⭐

A strong fantasy debut, with a great cast of characters and an interesting magical world set alongside modern-day London.

I loved our characters, and particularly the representation across our little group (particular shout-out for the aroace rep, this is so rare and I love it!!). I loved how each character felt very unique, and their found family friendship didn't feel forced. I also really liked the world building done here, although I did want a bit more explanation in places.

The place this book fell slightly short for me was the plot, or rather the construction of the plot - I loved the past timeline, where we follow Mina and the gang at their magical academy (and honestly, I wanted a full length book of just this!), and I enjoyed the current day story when they've graduated and are trying to make their way in the world. However, I never felt as connected with the present timeline, because whenever something happened, it was followed by a flashback to explain why we should care about that thing. For example, we find out that Sol's been kidnapped! Who's Sol? Well, here's a flashback to explain why you should care. David's working for the magic police! Who's David, and how does Mina know him? Let's go back to their schooldays... Etc. It was effective in the end, since it was effective at explaining why I should care, but it meant that I felt less emotionally connected in the moment.

I'll definitely be on the lookout for more works from this author (especially if they decide to go down the magical academy route!)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc!