This book was fantastically compelling from the very first page, and is perhaps my favourite book of HG Parry's yet - which is saying a lot, because I love them all dearly.

The world of Camford and magical scholars was enchanting, and somewhat reminiscent of RF Kuang's Babel in its way, with secrets ripe for the taking so long as you belonged there, or truly earned it. The questions about it that weren't answered said as much as the ones that were, and there were a lot of them. I found myself turning them over in my mind as I read, always speculating about what might come next.

Of the two main twists of the book, I saw one of them coming but not the other, which meant that it felt like there was a perfect balance of payoff and surprise in the story. I probably could have seen them both coming if my thoughts hadn't run off in another direction already. They were alluded to but not spelled out, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions - or not - and then marvel at how cleverly the whole thing had been set up. I loved every second I spent reading it and trying to figure out where the story would go.

The first half of the book was mostly the buildup to what I had assumed would be the final conclusion, written so seamlessly that one chapter flowed into the next and before I knew it I'd read six more than I'd intended to without putting it down once. Watching the relationships between Clover and her friends flourish was intensely readable, especially with the occasional allusion to the fact that at some point, it would all go terribly wrong. When it did, I wasn't surprised so much as intrigued to know where the book was going next, because while I had assumed the worst was over, there was still a whole second half of the story to tell. And what a story that was, full of dark secrets dragged into the light and the things you thought were immutable and true shown in a new one.

More than anything, I loved all of the characters, especially Clover as a narrator, occasionally reflecting on the decisions she made when she was younger with the benefit of hindsight. It really drove home how young the characters were when they made such foolish decisions and left you wondering what exactly happened next that meant that she was alive to tell the tale but also to deeply regret it.

If I have any criticism, it was probably that it seemed a little too easy for Clover to get into somewhere that so decidedly didn't want her, to the point where if her brother hadn't been affected by a magical curse, she would never have known such a world existed. Yet with a single entrance exam (with a good enough score), she got in, and with a full scholarship to boot. And when she was there, everyone was surprisingly...fine towards her, despite the fact that she was seemingly the only person there who wasn't of Family blood. But given that it wasn't intended to be the focus of the book and none of the plot would really have been able to happen otherwise, I was quite content to overlook it.

This book has reaffirmed my belief that HG Parry cannot possibly write a bad book, and so if you liked any of her previous works you'll definitely enjoy this one. I did find that it really had similar vibes to Babel at times, but with less of a focus specifically on social commentary and more of an exploration of the idea that there is a great and devastating secret at the heart of something you dearly love, and when you discover it you are left to decide whether what it means to you makes it worth it.

This book was a really good read, I do love reading books with magical schools. The characters were well fleshed out and I liked seeing their interactions with each other and the world around them. I will say the first half of the book is much slower than the second and I did wish that we had got to the “flash point” a bit sooner. The end was really satisfying and I would happily read other books set in this world.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed it all way through, but it was quite full on fantasy in many ways, so although the plot was a constant page turner, the language and information took a lot of processing. However, the plot was a constant page turner with many twists and turns, one of which I suspected earlier than was announced, I also absolutely loved the power female characters showed, especially when it came to a want to study and succeed in a work where there were fewer females.

Overall a 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read. The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door gets published on the 24th October, and is available to preorder now. I would definitely recommend this amazing fantasy book to anyone who loved slightly more complicated fantasy which has plenty of twists and but also many awesome messages 😀

This review is also available on my instagram account at: https://www.instagram.com/p/DA7wzkBghR4/ (Individual Post)
https://www.instagram.com/maria_silv_reads/ (My profile)

I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately I struggled to connect with the writing style and pace of the novel. The premise sounded very interesting but I ultimately think that it was a bit slow and therefore a DNF for me at 30%.

A story about a world where magic exists at the intersection between the human world and that of faeries. The events unfold in the 1920s, as our protagonist, a young woman, stumbles upon the fact that magic exists, and learns how to wield it. She and her friends at a magical university are keen to unlock the secrets of the faeries and harness their power for their needs, each with varying levels of selfishness. Unsurprisingly, their tinkering unleashes powers they can barely control, and eventually lead to revelations about the nature of the magical community and the corrupt foundations it is built upon.

The best thing about the book was the characters. Our four protagonists are lively, vivid, and complex. Their motivations oscillate between selfish and altruistic, and the author doesn't shy away from depicting inconsistencies and conflicts within their personalities. The interplay of these same personalities is what gives the story its energy and what kept me going throughout this adventure.

That being said, I am not sure I really enjoyed the book. The plot was both somewhat simplistic and derivative of many other magical university books that have been written prior. While the moral corruption that gets discussed is somehwat novel, it has too many echoes of righteousness that is hard to reconcile with how the real world works.

In a similar vein, some of the dialogues and relationships among the main characters and between them and the secondary characters felt immature. It's almost like they were written for adults, but by a YA author.

I can't recommend this, I must say. It's ok, but if you don't read it, you won't miss much. If you're interested in magical universities, there are far better books to read.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

H G Parry has the knack of making magic seem very real. This was a lovely book - very moving, very grounded. The fae were completely perfect.

I've seen the rallying cry go around writers' circles: don't be afraid to do something that's been done before! Because it's never been done before by you. You make it special! Give us your take on [tired old trope], because in your voice it will be fresh and new!

And, like, that's good advice for a shy writer. But H. G. Parry is not a shy writer. H. G. Parry has written quite a few books already. And so surely H. G. Parry has the experience to see that, in fact, outsider goes to magic school and finds a home and friends but learns that there are dark secrets and hidden evils etc etc is a very, very tired trope. That it needs to be approached with an extremely fresh take. And this take is not fresh enough. It's got fairies and bargains and the whole magic school thing, but it really didn't feel like anything I hadn't seen before. I did rather enjoy the time-jump in the middle to nine years later, since the alternative is to do alternating timelines, and I never particularly liked those. But, in sum, meh. The book took no chances, gave no particular twists I hadn't already figured out, and the internal struggle of our narrator feeling guilty about leaving her family behind was forced and felt inconsistent.

If you want to read something by H. G. Parry that was fresh and new, I highly recommend The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep.

This was such a fun read! Brilliant world building and a great cast of characters, I could happily read several more books set in this world.

Title: The scholar and the last faerie door
Author: H.G. Parry
Pages: 464
Rating: 4/5

Arc Copy (gifted) - review left voluntarily
Publish date - 24th October 2024

This seemed like a perfect read dark academia. Faerie lore. Perfection The story starts slow. Moody. Almost a slow burn seduction. But stick with it and you'll be glad that you did.

The characters. The relationships. The betrayal. The hurt. The twists. I became hooked and at the halfway point I couldn't put it down.

Another read on social class and acceptance. Fitting in against all odds.

I was transported to a different time. Had my heart broken by each character. It was a beautiful world. And Eddie is just the kindest gentlest soul!

You'll love this book if you like
- dark academia
- stand alone novel
- found family
- historical fantasy
- dark and moody
- friendship and duty

Thank you netgalley, orbit books little brown book group for allowing me to review.

Will you read it? If you've read it already, what were your thoughts??

This is a book to be savoured, not binged. A gorgeous read, full of whimsical memories of the past.

I didn't fully connect with the characters, but they were written very well and I loved the feeling of being transported back to a magical 1920's, where faeries were kept secret and knowledge was power.

HG Parry has a gift for writing characters that the reader is rooting for within pages, and creating friendship groups that you feel as though you are part of. She uses this to great effect in 'The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door' - a clumsy but accurate title, that doesn't do justice to how good the book inside is.

The narrator is Clover, a farmer's daughter who discovers the existence of magic when her brother is cursed during a World War I battle. Determined to cure him, and seeing an opportunity to improve her own circumstances, she wins a place at Britain's magical university, Camford. Initially shunned due to her gender and non-magical background, she eventually makes three close friends, who share an interest in banned faerie magic. Together they attempt a risk experiment, with terrible consequences that destroys their friendship. The action then jumps forward eight years, when the past comes back to haunt Clover and she must try to find her former friends to put right their student actions.

Clover is a very likeable, believable character, and I also liked her friends and family, particularly the loyal and steadfast Eddie. It's a good plot, interesting and well paced, with lots of action. I sympathised strongly with Clover and her desire to fit in, and it's those universal feelings and social patterns that enable books about fantastical things like this to feel utterly relatable. Had I been in Clover's place aged 18 I have no doubt I'd have acted in a similar way. It's ultimately a story about friendship, loyalty, and about doing the right thing even when that isn't in our own interests. Weighty topics, but dealt with in a way that never feels preachy and is carried along by an eventful plot. I found it impossible to stop thinking about and hard to put down.

If you enjoyed Parry's 'The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heap', this has a similar feel in terms of the characters and action, although the story itself is very different. If you haven't read Parry's other books yet, then do. I'd highly recommend this to all fans of fantasy adventure, and it's good enough to appeal to those who only read the occasional book from the genre too.

Rating - 5⭐️

A dark academia fantasy with faeries? That’s instantly a perfect recipe for a 5 star book in my mind🤭. I highly recommend reading this if you liked Babel by R.F. Kuang!

This standalone explores so many themes such as privilege, academia, ambition, friendship, and family.

The author does a masterful work on each of the main characters. As this is a character driven story, a lot of focus was put on Clover, Alden, Hero and Eddie after forming a found family bond early on. I LOVED and HATED these characters at the same time because they each had frustrating flaws and desirable strengths. They all made me feel different emotions which I loved!! This was what made them feel real to me and a perfect portrayal of how complex human personalities are

The plot is slow paced but I think that’s perfect for dark academia novels. The story is also told in a unique way where the main protagonist, Clover, is recounting the events that have happened in the past all the away up until the present. The way it was written made me so intrigued to find out what ‘mistakes’ and ‘disasters’ Clover kept referring to but I was also dreading to read on because I was afraid of all the consequences that awaited these characters.

There were a balance of plot twists that made me audibly gasp (I may have swore a few times because I was THAT SHOCKED😭) and others where I had guessed pretty early on.

The day after finishing the book, I shed a few tears while listening to Gracie Abrams’ songs because it reminded me of the characters🥹🫶🏻. These characters are so ‘I Love You, I’m Sorry’ coded😭.

I have so much more I wanna gush about but this review might end up turning into an essay so I’ll just stop here😭.

A good solid plotline throughout the story and characters that were compelling enough to keep reading. The overall novel was missing something and could be more fleshed out with deeper stakes. It was a good read overall.

<i>Thank you Netgalley and Redbook (Orbit) for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.</i>

This should have been the one that ticked all the boxes: a scholarly main character, fairies, set in a Harry Potter-like magical school, reminiscent of Cambridge and Oxford. Only the historical time period, set during WW1, was not my thing, but that could have worked. Unfortunately (and I am so sorry about this) it did not. Let's get things in order.

During the war, the brother of the main character, Matthew, was struck by a faerie curse while trying to summon one through a door between the human and faerie worlds. Many other people died in the accident, and since then all faerie magic has been banned. Clover, our protagonist, driven by guilt for what happened to Matthew, wants to become a scholar in order to understand what went wrong and save her brother. So she enrols in a magical academy, which usually only accepts male students from families with a blood affinity for magic.
See how cool the premise is? I was sold, of course, and excited to read on.

My one and only major problem with this book was the narrative voice, which felt flat from the very first pages. It would also have benefited from more showing and less telling. I could not relate to the characters. I found myself skimming from one dialogue to the next at 10%. By the time I got to 50% I was wondering: "Does it really make sense to skim to the end just to find out if and how Clover finds a cure for her brother?
The answer was, of course, no, because all I had to do was read a few sentences on Wikipedia or reddit (there aren't any at the moment). If you have read it and would like to tell me, I would be very grateful.

What didn't help was the slow pace of the first half. Normally I would enjoy seeing the characters searching for secret and forbidden books in libraries, as long as the pacing was more balanced. Here and there we are given a hint that the main character is actually older and telling her story in the future, spoiling what would happen immediately afterwards. I didn't mind this aspect, but I found the time jumps a little too clunky. I prefer it when there's a date or something to indicate it.

Clover is a very sensitive and fragile main character compared to Emily Wilde, who lacked empathy. However, her relationship with the other characters lacked emotion. It felt a bit mechanical and the dialogue was sometimes cringe-worthy. I often found it difficult to distinguish the voices of the dialogue from the narrative voice. It felt like the characters had no character (pun intended).

Let's move on to the aspect I appreciated most: the setting and world-building. Although I wrote above that the narrative voice felt flat, the writing was very evocative. I know this sounds like a contradiction. I felt immersed in this Harry Potter-like school of magic, with the sense of wonder that the author conveys about magic and those who study it.

Unfortunately, this aspect alone was not enough for me to enjoy it. Again, this is a shame because I should have enjoyed this book much more than I did because of the many similarities to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5338666127">Emily Wilde</a> (which I loved).

Recommended for fans of Emily Wilde and A Discovery of Witches.

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is a historical fantasy with hints of dark academia. It's a slow burner that's for sure, a story that is more suited to readers who like a stories strength to lie in it's characters over it's plot. But after reading a few of Parry's books now, I think that's just her style of writing, and she makes the ending 100% worth the wait.

Unique in it's telling, The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is written as if Clover, our MC, is re-telling a part of her past, almost as if she is writing a book and that's the story we are reading. For the most part we are there with her, seemingly as the events occur, but thanks to certain paragraphs dotted throughout we know that this is a story within a story. Clover is allowing us to view her past, the good and the bad, in her way to explain the events that occurred, and to hopefully stop them from happening again.

Parry's strength has always been in her characters, and this book is no different. Though the story is told solely from Clover's POV, Parry never skimps on her exploration and development of her other characters, largely thanks to how tight knit she keeps our group of main characters. We have Clover, someone who only found out about magic as a teenager, but someone who was instantly bewitched by what it could do. Never one to shy away from a challenge she makes it her goal to be accepted into the magical school, Camford, which usually only accepts students from the magical Families, people whom magic is supposed to come easier too. Especially seeing as this could be her chance to help her brother who was cursed by a Faerie in the way. But once there, Clover finds herself seduced, not just by the school and the magic, but by the people she meets there.

Alongside Clover, the stories main focus is on Alden, Hero and Eddie, the friends she meets at Camford. These three are privileged, have grown up with access to magic Clover could only dream of, but somehow she finds herself drawn into their orbit and the four form a seemingly unbreakable bond. The summer they all spend together is truly magical, but by the end, their friendship is in ruins. The four no longer talk, and the events leave a mark on them all that will follow them all long into adulthood. Parry does a fantastic job of writing these characters. Seeing them through Clovers eyes puts an almost golden hue over them, makes them feel untouchable, but as the story progresses we learn just how complex they are, how driven and scheming they can be and how exactly Clover, a scholarship student, ended up in their orbit. And this is where the Dark Academia vibes come into it, seeing these characters that are ravenous for power, willing to risk everything for a chance at it. And Camford itself, the magical school we spend a large portion of the story at, certainly adds to those vibes, with it's wondrous exterior and dark underbelly.

The benefit of this being told from Clover's POV, as well as the fact it is written in an almost biographical style, is that we enter this magical world alongside Clover, someone who has only recently learnt of it's existence, something Parry uses to naturally introduce the history of her world as well as the magic system. It's a world built on hierarchy, where only the Families, aristocratic style people whom magical supposedly comes easier too have access to it. A world built on bargains made with the Fae, until one fateful event during the war which saw the magical world cut off all access to the Faerie world, deeming it too dangerous to access. Clover has her reasons for wanting to study faerie magic, most of all in the hope that it will help save her brother, Matthew, who was cursed by the Faerie who escaped during the war, but that's not the only reason, nor is she the only person interested in researching the doors, and the first 60% or so of the book is solely focused on their research and the inevitable event that occurs.

So yes, it is a slow story, and after the 60% (or so) mark we take a jump forward in time that felt a little clunky, but trust that Parry knows what she is doing, because it's in this last part that all the devastating pieces start coming together. Parry's writing style is prosaic and lyrical and easily drags you into her story, but she also has this ability to write the most epic fight scenes, one's that make the hairs on your arm stand on edge. It's the type of story that would usually annoy me, one with so much build up, only for the ending to seemingly fly by, but it works with this story. The build up, allowing us that much time to explore the characters makes the events of the ending that much more emotional, and once the pace started to pick up, I found myself struggling to put the book down, desperate to know how it would end.

This review has already been way longer than I anticipated, sorry about that, but it's just one of those books that I could ramble on about paragraph after paragraph. Parry's exploration of her characters, of the magic system and of the underlying privilege that runs through it all is spectacular to read. If you enjoy uniquely told stories filled with complex characters, one's that stray from the stereotypical beautiful and romantic Fae, and instead make them dangerous and chilling. dark academia vibes and some truly epic fight scenes, I can't recommend this enough. I feel like Parry just keeps getting better, book by book, and I can't wait to see what she brings out next.

3,25

I got into this story a bit blind, expecting magic and scholarship with maybe a dash of romance. Overall it is was I got, minus the romance, which is a rather good point. Sure the relationship between our main character and an other character is quite important, but not what I would qualify as a romance. It isn't the point of story.

I liked how the faeries are portrayed, keeping that sense of otherness and cunning from fairy tales, but not potrayed as villains either. The magic was interesting too, not that much explained but enough to be entertaining and serving the story. The plot is rather simple and straightfoward, good without offering too many surprises, with stakes but much stress. The origin of the Family's abilty to use magic is quite easy to foretell, it is something used often enough currently, but it does its job.

Where I have a bit of a trouble with the story is on the pacing and structure side. It slow. Lots of inner thoughts, keeping the rhythm meandering. And if I usually don't mind slow pacing, this story could have used a bit more of a upper rhythm, to keep the reader entertained beside the main character burgenoing relationships and her trouble, being a student from a farmer family, not one of the Families.
As for the structure, given the blurb, I expected to have the time switch earlier on, but it is only happening around 60% of the story and leaves little to explore next. Sure, learning how Clover became friend with the group at the beginning and seeing how things play out after one event took place is great, but I could have enjoyed it more if it was better executed, quicker, more shown with less internal monologue.

Regarding the characters, they are good enough. Not that compelling, Eddie aside. I feel like I don't have enough of them to care much about their fate, even Clover, whom we have every thoughts (or close to).
This lack of care on my part meant that the ending fell a bit flat. There is a nice little "twist" and an rather interesting ending for one of the character, but it felt incomplete and lacking overall.

All in all, a nice read with a few issues. People who wants a scholar type book, with faeries and touch of the 1920's atmosphere might like this book !

As if the blurb alone wasn't enough to draw me in, the endorsements by Olivia Atwater and Allison Saft certainly were, and The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door lived up to all my expectations!

This was an amazing fantasy story, and now that I've finished it, I feel a bit lost, if I'm honest. I loved the four flawed main characters and how real and complex everyone felt, even the side characters. It had an emotional ending, one that leaves open the possibility of another book set in this world, and if there is one, I'll definitely read it. I wasn't expecting the story to be as emotional as it was, but because the characters felt so real to me, I really felt the impact on them as the story progressed.

This was a story where the academic setting wasn't just for show - what the main characters' academic interests and specialties were actually mattered to the plot. There have been quite a few books I've read over the last year that have been described as dark academia, but the characters could have been in a shopping center or a car park for the whole book for all that the setting contributed to the story. That wasn't the case with this book at all. The magical academy of Camford felt like a real, possible place, and the story wouldn't have been as successful if the school didn't feel so important to all the characters.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who is in the mood for a proper fantasy story that packs an emotional punch. It's a slow burn, but for me, the payoff from the slower pace is the complexity of the characters and how they drive the story forward, rather than the story forcing the characters into position like pieces on a chessboard. This was my first read by H.G. Parry, but based on this, it won't be my last!

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

H.G. Parry is turning into a guaranteed 4-5 star read for me. Faeries, magic, and chaos? Yes please.

Parry's best book to date. The characters were engaging and accessible and the plot was compelling. Yes, there are similarities to other books but this is a distinctcwork and if you like those other books - namely magical historical fiction - then you're probably going to love this one too. Really enjoyed this Tam Lin/ grey academia romp.

There was a lot in this book that I just felt I'd read it before. All too similar to other books I'd read.
It took a while to get going, it was almost half way through before much happened, and this is no small book.
There's plenty of action after that, and the fee are nice and menacing at times.
I enjoyed the magic, and the doors between worlds, and I liked how Clover fought so hard to save her brother.
An enjoyable story, but didn't quite live up to my high hopes.