Lex Croucher
Gollancz
9 June 2026
464
eBook - PDF
Fantasy/Dark Academia
ARC via NetGalley
Briar always dreamed of attending the Temple School of Thaumaturgy, the elite boarding school that's produced the most CEOs and Prime Ministers in history, long rumoured to be magical. Briar's best friend, Seb, just wanted them to stay together forever.
When Seb gets an acceptance letter and Briar doesn't, their relationship is shattered - until, at eighteen, Briar secures a temp job sorting through the magical junk in Temple's attic, and discovers that quiet, sensitive Seb, the boy they once loved more than anything else in the world, has become the villain.
The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones started slowly but soon picked up the pace once all the introduction was out of the way. I liked the twist of how the magic worked and the slow unraveling of past events. Briar was a fun character to follow, and they really grew over the course of the story. At first I felt that Seb wasn't as well drawn out as some of the other secondary characters; however, my opinion on that did change as the book progressed. I came to appreciate him more once we heard a bit more from his perspective. While there is a plot, this is a book more focused on its characters, so, if you enjoy dark academia settings, queer rep and a character-driven tale, you will surely find something to like here. I am giving it 4 stars. I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't completely blow me away.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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