An easy read, reminiscent of A Marvellous Light so if you liked that book then I recommend this! The pacing dragged a bit at times and I wish we had a Grimm POV but I did like this and will pick up the sequel. 3.5 stars.

Oh hello there, new whimsical little trilogy I can obsess over! This first part of the "Wildersongs trilogy" was such a delight to read and honestly might just turn out to be one of my favourite cozy-ish books of the year, because I loved almost every single thing about it.

The writing is wonderful and you can really feel how much fun the author had developing her world and her characters. There's some proper world building and while the world isn't very complex but mostly rather simplistic, it's fun to learn about and I'm very easily satisfied by just giving me a weird scary forest. The pacing is even and fast enough while still allowing some moments of rest with the characters on their journey, and I read this in one sitting because I didn't want to put it down. Also I really love the whole spellsong idea, big fan of that.

At the center of "Sorcery and Small Magics" is Leovander "Leo" Loveage, a sorcerer attending what is basically sorcery university. He's a scriver, so he writes and creates spells for the other category of sorcerers, the casters, to then use. One of those casters is Sebastian Grimm, his nemesis of sorts. He's the grumpy to Leo's sunshine, they really don't like each other, and yet they end up having to spend a lot of time together when Grimm accidentally casts a spell that forces Leo to obey his every command - a forbidden spell that could get them both expelled.
I loved both of these characters. Leo is our pov character and he's chaos incarnate but in a very loveable way. Grimm is the exact opposite. Their romance is very slow-burn, which I love, and there is so much complexity to their relationship due to the spell connecting them that I can barely wait how it'll all play out in the next book. They are so much fun to read about, and they're well-thought out and developed characters that I can't but root for.
Admittedly, they're also the only really interesting characters in the book. The side characters aren't very fleshed out, although I do really like Agnes, Sibylla and Jayne and hope to see more of them. The stakes are mostly rather low but very personal, the problem solutions are sometimes a bit on the convenient side and there's a sudden antagonist thrown into the mix later on that felt a bit cliché. But these are all very very minor issues that didn't make me enjoy the book any less.

So yes, this is not a flawless book but it's a big with so much heart and it's just a really fun reading experience. 4,5 stars, gladly rounding up.

I don’t usually like to compare specific books or authors, but sometimes I have to because it’s impossible not to. This book deserves to be compared to “Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries“. The story swept me of my feet, and large part of it I read out loud. This story is meant to be savoured and enjoyed slowly, so you don’t loose your place in the magic. I have to say this one I will buy as an audiobook as well when it comes out, mainly because I need to hear the voice of the main character come alive. I am so happy I read this, it is my new comfort read for sure. I cannot wait to see what’s next from Maiga Doocy, she has created such a vivid world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

I’m pretty sure finishing there should be a crime?! I need more!

I am weak for interesting magic systems and unique world building and this book has them in spades. I absolutely adored it, and loved the characters growth throughout the book. I will be desperately awaiting book 2 to see what new adventures Leo and Grimm get up to!

It is hard to put into words how much I adored this book. My need for book 2 is so visceral I fear I may perish before I get to read it.

A Sorcery of Small Magics is a debut, light academia, MM fantasy romance with witty prose and a gripping plot running throughout. Our main characters Leo and Sebastian are the true definition of rivals to lovers (although this is a slow burn and the first book in a trilogy) who get under one another's skin in the most charming way.

I thought the world building was brilliant, the characters all felt well fleshed out and interesting and the budding romance had me giggling and kicking my feet like a teenager.

Possibly my favourite book of 2024 so far.

<i>Sorcery and Small Magics</i> is not a standalone novel: it's the first in a series of magical adventures with a slow-developing queer romance. The tone is mostly whimsical, stakes are not worldsaving-sized but personal, and it reads fairly easily.

It also has a not inconsiderate amount of content that I recognize as upcycled Untamed fanfic, which, well, if you know you know (and if you read as much of it as I have, you definitely know, lol). It's entirely up to you what to make of this connection - I don't mean it as either a condemnation or a glowing recommendation - but this awareness definitely coloured my impressions of the book quite a bit. I mean, the book literally opens with the inebriated undiagnosed-ADHD'er breaking into the school grounds after curfew and having an encounter with his stickler-for-the-rules academic rival, there are some fandom-favourite experiences of forbidden spells, <s>dual cultivation</s> magical duets, some wholesome farmer arcs, renegades on the run... As I said, if you know you know.

If I set this aside and try to judge the book on its own merit: I think where it let itself stray from the fanfic golden oldies, it actually found strengths -- the magical system has neat limiters; the monsters are really cool; the potential for in-universe magical cases is boundless. I saw some early reviewers comment on an abrupt ending, but for something that is a first in a series with an unresolved romantic conflict it ended up in the right place, but I am not too sold on the romantic beats of the story. What kind of slowburn is this? The line between the characters having had a belligerent crush on another all alone vs the reveals associated with the spell don't quite tie up. Same with the backstory: some things we learnt about it don't quite match, but whether it's a hook for more development or just loose ends that weren't tied up, only the future sequels can tell.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book/Orbit for the ARC, all opinions my own.

I loved this novel so much!! But I didn't realise that it was book one in a series so the ending was quite a shock!
Leo and Sebastian what stars you are! The Perfect slow burn romance that I hope takes all three books to bloom. Maiga has done so well with Sorcery and Small Magic from page one I was hooked by Leo's voice, his destructive ways and his constant pushing of Sebastian Grimm.

5 wonderful Stars and a book I will be re-reading when it is released this October - looking forward to the next instalment

I was looking forward for this book ever since I saw its anoucment, how delighted I was to be granted an eARC!

Let me frank : as a usual rule, I am not a fan of first POV nor single POV romance. Did I feel like it was an issue with this book? No. When well thought and done, first and single POV can be great fun, for all my preferences for third POV. I kind of hope to have a bit of Grimm's POV in the next book, but I won't be disapointed if it doesn't happen.

'Sorcery and small magics' plunges us in a whimiscial world where magic can be wielded by humans and where two affinities exist : caster ad scriver. Our protagonist, Leovander, is a scriver, but only do small magics, since Grandmagic always turns awry when he scrives it. Leo is a cheerful man, with a bit of a concentration issue and a great need to flee some memories. And he has a rival in the person of Sebastian Grimm, caster of great talent and reputation. Of course, things happen and Leo finds himself bound to Grimm after a mistake, forced to obey him. As both men dislike the situation, they decide, after some heated debate and trouble, to go and find a counterspell., forced to trust each other and count on each other for the time being.

'Sorcery and small magics' is a well-written, fun adventure, with great worldbuidling and a simple magic system that feels quite original, with clear limits (for now at least). The whimsical vibe is well established without being too strong and make the whole unbelievable or too good (there is some darker part in the book, even with the slightly cosy vibe). The romance is REALLY a slow burn for once, only beginning with this book, given the whole spell business. I'm curious to see how some things will play out, if our characters will find a way to communicate better and share their true thoughts. I have a quite well made idea of what kind of evolution Leo will face with his magic in the next book and hope to see some challenges with a different taste than the ones he faced in this book.

Overall an enjoyable read that left me excited for the next book !

A perfect successor to "A Marvellous Light” does not exi… OH WAIT!

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it did not disappoint at all. I absolutely loved it. It’s funny, whimsical, well-written, and has great characters. I’m literally feral for the sequel.

The book tells the story of two rival sorcerers: the impulsive Leo, who specializes in minor magic, and the poised, somewhat grumpy Grimm. Due to a mistake, they cast an illicit spell that imposes a curse on Leo, forcing him to obey Grimm. To break the curse, the heroes travel to the dangerous Unquiet Wood, where adventures await them.

The magic system in this book is simple, yet the idea of dividing the magic users into those who write spells and those who cast them is fascinating. The way spells are cast here is also very creative. I loved it. The plot itself is not very complicated either, but this is a strongly character-driven story, and it is Grimm and Leo's banter that gets the job done. They are so different from each other, and although at first glance they seem to be completely incompatible, as the plot progresses, it becomes more and more apparent that they actually complement each other. I love rivals-to-lovers so much more than enemies-to-lovers, and here it was very well executed. The slowest of slow burns is just perfect. I wish we could get Grimm's POV too, but maybe this will happen in the sequel. All in all, it was a great read.

Maiga Doocy has created a fascinating and intriguing world of magic. Scrivers can create and write all types of spells that casters can then cast.

Leo loveage and Sebastian Grimm are rivals at The Fount and the pair could not be anymore different. Leo is reckless, careless and comes from a long line of sorcerers. Grimm is a stickler for the rules top of his class and comes from a farming background. When they are forced to work together in class Grimm accidentally casts a control spell on Loveage the pair much stay in close proximity and go on an epic quest to see it broken.

The chemistry between these guys is electric, I constantly wanted more and the best scenes are those where they are alone together. The side characters bring life to the new strange world I especially loved Jayne and Sybilla.
That cliffhanger though! I haven't yelled at a book in a long time but yell I did - I need more and I need it now.

From the moment I started reading Sorcery and Small Magics, I was instantly hooked by its captivating world and intriguing characters. In this story, an impulsive sorcerer named Leovander Loveage, who specializes in minor charms, is cursed to obey his talented but insufferable rival, Sebastian Grimm, due to a mix-up with a forbidden spell. This sets the stage for an adventure into the perilous Unquiet Wood, where the two rivals must collaborate to break the curse.

I only got the approval for this ARC 4.5 hours ago and here I am writing the review already - so I'll start by saying that this book instantly hooked me, and I obviously finished it in one sitting! I instantly loved the world and the magic system—the concept of scrivers and casters was so good, and I loved the dependency it created between the characters. But it was the characters as well as the magic and worldbuilding that really connected for me. Grimm and Leo were such lovely characters that I just couldn't stop reading. I actually said "Oh no!" when I got to the end of the book, because I'd been so enthralled that I'd forgotten it was the first part of a series. And now I have to wait for the sequel to carry on Leo and Grimm's story!

It's when I love a book so much that my reviews are usually short - I find it easier to critique than I do to explain exactly why I loved it so much. There's literally nothing I would change in this book. The writing was excellent, and I can't believe it was a debut, but it was the characters and their relationship that really sung for me. I just really FELT this book, and I can't wait to read more in the series. I love a slow burn, so I am definitely on board with this ride, and I'm so intrigued to see what is next in store for them!

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley, but this is my voluntary and honest review.