Synopsis
Ali Hazelwood meets Dungeons & Dragons in this enemies-to-lovers fantasy academia romcom where rival grad student wizards are forced to work together without killing―or falling for―each other.
Will they conjure love, or evoke chaos? Two rival wizards are about to find out.
Sebastian Walsh: twenty-four. Grad student at Lesiara University in the Mageus of Evocation program. Human. The first of his family to go to college rather than the military (and it goes over at family get-togethers about as well as you’d think).
Elethior Tourael: also twenty-four. Also a grad student, but in the far more inferior Mageus of Conjuration program. Half-elf. The latest in a long line of Touraels to grace the hallowed halls of Lesiara U (what would the world do if the Touraels ran out of rich douches to lead their magical weapons manufacturing empire?).
―and the other finalist for the Mageus Research Grant.
Sebastian needs that grant to fund the last few months of research for his degree, after which he’ll get a job that actually helps people. He isn’t about to let anyone snatch this from him, least of all a snob who doesn’t even need the money because his family is loaded thanks to war profiteering.
But there’s something worse than having a conceited academic nemesis steal grant money from you: you could be forced to work with him. Thio is secretive, broody, and his stunning biceps take up far too much shared lab space―but even as volatile as their partnership is, Sebastian just might find himself falling for his rival―and it could blow up his whole future.
Review
I’m honestly not sure what to write besides that I loved this book. My favorite reads are always the hardest ones to review.
I adored the two main characters. They are, as my friend would say, total trauma babies and I wanted to cuddle them so much. Rivals-to-Lovers is a fun trope and I liked seeing how their histories and current circumstances affected their thinking and actions as their feelings towards each other changed. The story was narrated by only one of them, which I liked because it kept some mystery around the other MC, but I liked them both from the start, even when they acted ridiculous. Their trauma felt well done within the story, both in how it affected their interactions as well as how they reacted to other things in their lives. While it sometimes took the main stage, it also wasn’t their whole personality.
I really liked the academic setting as well. I don’t often read school settings in fantasy anymore, but I enjoy the higher education vibes that made this a comparison for the STEM books by Ali Hazelwood. I liked those a lot too so if you’re a fan of them and fantasy, this will probably be a good fit for you.
Other than that… I don’t really know what to say. I loved it. I annotated the heck out of my ARC. And I’m super excited about the next book in the series. I don’t remember how I received this ARC, but I’m going to need to find out so I can beg for the next one because I NEED IT ASAP.
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