Isa is such a lovely author. I went to their book event where they talked about this book, and how it is very much an angsty, yearn filled vibes narrative that almost feels like a fanfic. And if that is what they were aiming for it was definitely achieved here! I was a tad confused in the beginning when it came to the magic system and who each character was, but it slowly wove its way through to me liking this quite a lot.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchance for an honest review!

Rivals to lovers is one of my absolute favorite tropes, and I loved this take on it. Now, Modern Divination is a lot more than tropes--but I'd be lying if I didn't say that was what lured me in eheh! That, and the cozy setting. This is a story for the Fall/Winter people!
The worldbuilding and magic system were written in a sophisticated and interesting way, even though I would have appreciated a bit more detail. Aurelia and Teddy are the multi-faceted characters I love to read about.
Overall, the pacing felt a bit slow, but I also think it made sense paired with the type of prose and vibe over plot feel to the story. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Allison Saft or Olivie Blake for its eerie, magical feel.

I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. Which is such a shame as I loved the premise of it so much, I wasn’t able to connect with the characters and found it moved at a rather slow pace which is understandable as it is more of a character driven story but I just felt there wasn’t enough to keep me fully engaged.

I did really like the writing and found it easy to understand within the way the author was creating the setting but I just really felt so disconnected throughout that I wasn’t able to fully appreciate this book.

This book had rivals to lovers, slow burn tension, secret magic, and a little mystery, all the ingredients I eat up in a book. It was lyrically messy, but when it hit, it REALLY hit. Aurelia and Ingram's dynamic was electric on the page, constantly at each other's throats in the best way. The writing was so atmospheric and vivid, I couldn’t stop reading.

However, the pacing was a bit all over the place. The villain and main conflict felt underdeveloped, and the story dragged after the climax. Some scenes (like the random drink-sharing??) pulled me out of story. But the academic vibes, the countryside cottage setting, and the emotional tension between the MCs still made it such a fun read.

I think this is one of those that you really just have to read to see if it's your vibe or not.

I found the writing in this book hard to get into, and didn't really like Aurelia that much. I feel like I'm
missing something with this book as I know so many people loved it. Disappointed that it didn't work for me, as I love this idea.

It took me a little while to get around to this as I’m a mood reader and just wasn’t feeling in the dark academia mood lately but now that I’ve finished it, I wish I had read it sooner!

Modern Divination has all the dark, cosy, witchy, mysterious, academic rivals, slow burn romance that I love in my fantasy books. I was told beforehand that it’s a very character heavy book rather than plot heavy and I agree, but in the best way. It was slow in places and seemed like not a whole lot was going on but Teddy and Aurelia really are the stars of this story and deserved the chance for their love to shine through. The yearning, the banter, Teddy and his Howl like qualities making me fall in love with him - their relationship was everything I could want from a slow burn and I ate it up. Aurelia is also a great FMC, I loved her stubbornness and realism in how she didn’t have her life together but was trying to find her feet and grow both alone and alongside Teddy.

The prose was so beautiful and emotionally driven that even when things were slow, I was still thoroughly wrapped up in the words and atmosphere of the novel. I’m an Autumn girlie through and through so everything about this book was an absolute dream. I could picture the cosy autumnal small town setting, the coffee shop, the magical bookshop and the witches cottage so clearly in my mind that it really immersed me. For an indie debut, I can overlook slow beginnings as long as the story takes on a life of its own at some point and wow did this one do just that.

I cannot wait to read the next book and hopefully get more of Teddy’s POV. Will definitely be buying a trophy copy for my bookshelf, especially now it’s going to be traditionally published too - yay!

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher Tor for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

I should have loved this book, I've been eagerly waiting it for ages but unfortunately the storyline is just so slow and the world building isn't developed. I liked the characters, I just had no desire to keep pushing through- DNF at 42%

“You’ve seen me, she thought. You, of all people. You see me still.”

I heard people want to bring back yearning. Let me tell you, Modern Divination is f.u.l.l. of it. Brimming with yearning. Overflowing with yearning. And it is one that I am incapable of being normal about. The tension! The prose! If you love character driven stories and agonizingly slow burn romances, you must read this.

As someone that read Modern Divination twice in its indie published format, I think I love this new version even more if that’s possible. Ask me about the 82 highlights I have on my kindle!

Ok I’m going to put on I, Carrion (Icarian) by Hozier and cry about Rory and Teddy again. Order, preorder, read this book and then we’ll have a cup of tea and yell about how much we love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this e-arc!

This book encompassed everything I love in a story and I was entertained from start to finish!!! Immaculate vibes and a fun cast of characters, definitely one for all those witchy/alternative/ dark urban fantasy lovers!!!

I think my only qualm would be I would have liked for the magic system to have been explained in more depth because it was super intriguing but it felt like it took a back seat a lot of the time! Hopefully this will happen in the sequel.

"You're so beautiful, she told him.

"Sometimes I think I was made for you,' he said. "To be yours."

GENRE: Dark Academia Romantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook eArc from Pan Macmillan in NetGalley

Would I recommend to others?: YES, a thousand times, YES! That is the only short explanation I can give for this slow paced, slow yearning between the MCs and dark academia Urban Fantasy book

Long Review:
Maybe 2025 is the year I start all my reviews with: "Where do I start?" but like Modern Divination was SO good that I am still thinking about it after having finished it in February. This book is definitely one of my top books and you just go through so much emotions and so much layers of magic and yearning and just everything that is wholesome yet dark in one book.

We begin the book by establishing that there is an academic rivalry between Aurelia Schwartz and Theodore Ingram. Their Rivalry feels as if its the rivalry of the year, starting with so many complex layers and experiences. We get to know more about Aurelia in the beginning as Modern Divination is told from her POV. We learn about her, her past, her magic and her experiences. Every part is important in the development of who she is.
"But it was always time that seemed to be the issue for Aurelia Schwartz. It moved too quickly to catch hold of and enjoy. It spurned her advances like an unrequited love. She was constantly out of it, or with too much of it dispersed between periods of sporadic busyness — in all cases, she was left wholly unsatisfied."

We also delve into the academic world, the way it is a place for people from high background, those with money to afford the luxuries it demands. We see Aurelia struggle with this concept and watch where the rivalry starts with Theodore.

There are many points in the book where we hit a climax. We have the first event, which exposes magic and brings Aurelia and Ingram together. They go into a small town in England, where Ingram introduces Aurelia to his found family. In here, their relationships develop and we see more of the good & the bad side of both of them.

Their relationship is truly slow yearning and slowly moving from rivals to colleagues to friends to lovers. And when they finally become together? AHHH, it is worth every single page of yearning and waiting for them to make it there. I loved the development of their relationship, the use of sarcasm as a humour for both of them and the way they break each other's walls down in order to get to know the other better.

We also have magic, the fact that they are both magic users and I think Agajanian dives into the magic so beautifully: a bit of details and without any added depth that is not needed. I did not find myself wanting to know more of anything then what was written, which is quite rare as I'm usually super curious and want to know everything more about a magical system. This is to say that I do think that the witch system in here fits so well with the academic background as well. This is like if the aesthetic of Cottagecore met with dark academia!

The way this book ended destroyed my heart but was so realistic. There was no part of the ending where you went like okay this is HEA and it was more of like: Okay, this is reality but maybe they stand a chance in the future? This is me manifesting that book two brings them together AND keeps them together. We can only hope ahh

Let me end this review with another quote that I loved so much:
"She wanted to pry apart his ribs and crawl between them. How long could he hold her there in his chest? How long could they carry onward in this delicate state? Not long, she decided. Not long at all."

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the eArc of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is Urban Fantasy and the first in a series.

Our female main character is a witch who's has always tried to hide that she's a witch, but when someone she knows is killed, it seems like someone may be hunting her kind. She ends up accepting the help of her least favourite classmate, who also turns out to be a witch, staying in a remote town while they try to figure out what's going on.

Having seen extremely positive reviews, I was looking forward to this, but I found it a slog to get through. I don't enjoy the kind of writing style where everything is written in the most convoluted way so you need to stop and re-read sentences constantly.

Despite being 500 pages long and the first in a series, there is basically no world building. I have no more idea about the magic or witches at the end of this than I did at the start.

It does seem like there's going to be a plot as the murder happens pretty early, but instead there are 100s of pages of convoluted conversations where nothing actually happens. And I'm not really sure it all makes sense when something does happen!

The romance is also hard to get on board with as the characters aren't particularly likeable - the reason for them being 'enemies' is pretty thin and makes the FMC come across as mean.

2.75 stars. Maybe one for fans of Olivie Blake's style of writing.

Modern Divination is a beautifully atmospheric and immersive fantasy novel that seamlessly blends magic, academia, and romance. Isabel Agajanian’s writing is rich and lyrical, pulling readers into the world of Aurelia Schwartz, a witch navigating the complexities of both the magical and mundane. The setting, Cambridge University, adds a unique and enchanting backdrop to the story, making it feel both grounded and otherworldly.

The relationship between Aurelia and Theodore was a highlight for me—watching their dynamic shift from rivals to reluctant allies was engaging and full of tension. The slow-burn romance and character development were well done, though at times, I wished the pacing of the main plot had been a bit tighter.

That being said, I absolutely loved the world-building and can’t wait to see what happens next. This book set the stage for something even bigger, and I’m eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series!

Modern Divination by Isabel Agajanian is a witchy dark academia story and the first book in the Spells for Life and Death duology.
 
Aurelia is studying at Cambridge University and dreams and goals are within reach. But she’s also a witch and has to keep her magical side hidden. That isn’t always easy especially when someone starts hunting witches and she’s losing more and more of her green magic. I absolutely loved her magic and Aurelia in general because she’s intelligent and strong. She totally gave me Diana from A Discovery of Witches vibes which I absolutely loved.
 
The only one who can help her is her rival and fellow witch Theodore. He’s broody, yet charming and I loved him more with each page. Rivals-to-lovers in an academic setting is my absolute favorite and I loved their bickering and these two push each other for the better. Theodore’s family is also amazing, and it was such a great found family.
 
The plot was so captivating, and it focused mainly on the characters while it also included mystery and magic and I was immediately invested. Aurelia and Theodore are an amazing team and they fit so well together and are each other’s equal. The setting was so secluded and atmospheric and immediately gave cozy vibes and don’t even get me started on the magical bookstore and for that alone you need to check out this book.
 
Modern Divination is cozy, magical, and thrilling at the same time and that in combination with a dash of romance was amazing. I’m already super excited for the sequel. 4,5 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

✨ If you love dark academia, enemies-to-lovers slow burn, and an autumnal, witchy read, Modern Divination is the perfect book for you.

🖤 Aurelia Schwartz has spent her life balancing her carefully built human world with the magical one she must keep hidden. Top of her class at a prestigious university, with a devoted best friend, her life is as controlled as she wants it to be—until everything starts unravelling.

🌿 A Gift Fading & A Deadly Threat – Aurelia’s green magic is vanishing, and a power-hungry witch threatens to expose her secrets. Forced into an uneasy alliance with her arrogant classmate, she finds herself taking refuge with a peculiar family of witches who challenge everything she thought she knew.

Ancient Rules & Forbidden Bonds – The witches’ survival depends on breaking three sacred rules:

⚡ Make no promises
⚡ Tell no one what you are
⚡ Never stay the night

🔥 A Dark, Enchanting Read – With stunning prose and an atmosphere that feels like a warm hug on a cold winter’s day, Modern Divination is perfect for fans of academia, forbidden magic, and slow-burning romance.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A lot of atmosphere, but it is too repetitive. The author's prose holds much promise, but the plot and characters were not interesting.

all I can say is OUCH - the love in this book hurt my heart, the fantasy was interesting, the world building was simple in the best way possible - it set up a good foundation for a series

After a promising start, the plot slows down at times, especially in the second half of the story. It feels like some key events, especially those around the power stolen by the other witch, could have been given more attention. This creates moments where the story seems to stagnate, while there is obvious potential for more dramatic tension. I was also not convinced by the villain of the novel who for me is too monolithic in her ideas, she is a purely evil character without any real outline and we ultimately discover little about her motivations.

Thank you Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am giving this book 3 stars! The premise of the book sounds so good! Listen to this: "Make no promises. Tell no one what you are. And never stay the night." This book, however, does have writing with a lot of show and don't tell. This is a type of writing style I have never been able to move past, so I was really sad to see it down with this one. The book did draw my attention for the first few chapters, and then I began to slowly lose interest. On the bright side, the romance was cute and most definitely slow-burn.

Sadly I have had to put this one down at 22%.

I found the narrative too wordy with little conversation to break it up. The two MCs hate each other which is fine but every time they come face to face they just gripe at each other and it's exhausting.

I'm curious about the murderer but not enough to read more than one book so I put it down.

I did enjoy the descriptions of the magic and the murder mystery element did intrigue me, just not enough.

The first in a duology, this dark academia story centres on Aurelia Schwartz a diligent, postgrad medievalist at Cambridge University. But Aurelia has a secret she’s also a witch in a world where witchcraft seems to be rife yet hidden from outsiders. However, Aurelia’s attempt at sustaining a balanced existence is derailed after a brutal murder takes place at her college. Despite the tantalising blend of ingredients, this just didn’t work for me. I found the pacing agonisingly slow and the ponderous style difficult to navigate. There were numerous promising elements but this seemed in need of extensive editing. I also found the settings unconvincing – the depiction of real-life places like Cambridge were surprisingly generic. However, Isabel Agajanian’s novel’s clearly very popular so others may well find this far more appealing.