As someone who is not usually a fan of romance books at all, I enjoyed this one - the narrative still kept me interested overall. This is a character-driven, romance-focused story within a magical realism setting, rather than a plot-driven fantasy novel; I wouldn't personally call it dark academia, it is romantasy that happens to be between university students. The plot is relatively secondary to the relationship development, and it also contains a moderate amount of sexual content during a few different chapters in the second half, so heads up if that's not your bag.

I liked the two MCs a lot, and felt they were well-developed, by the end of the book. They were both flawed, and at times frustratingly introspective but with no real self-awareness, spending a lot of time pendulum-ing between their obsessive love & hate for each other with seemingly no cause (almost that they just suddenly remembered they were still bitter about their past rivalry, then suddenly forgot again) - but they both grew on me during the second half as their views of each other matured. The secondary characters were likable, and although not developed in any great depth, it left a lot of room for them to hopefully build more in the future instalments in this book series.

The writing style itself was really endearing. I enjoyed a lot of the metaphors and prose, though they did occasionally get a little heavy-handed and slightly cringe-worthy. I also loved the queer representation and non-traditional family dynamics at play, and I think they were handled really well which is fantastic to see!

Given my limited experience with romance books, I'm not sure whether the plot being secondary (or even tertiary) to the relationship development & repetitive rivals-to-lovers dynamic is standard for the genre, or specific to this book. Personally I would have enjoyed this more if it had more to-the-point romance and greater development/emphasis of the plot. While I understand that this is only the first book in a series so some mysteries need to be left to explore in the next books, there were a few plot points relating to the antagonist that seemed really interesting but ultimately didn't go anywhere, and it left her feeling underplayed as a character & underwhelming as a threat (after a really promising start). But perhaps that is me trying to make this book fit a different genre rather than reading it for what it is, which would be no reflection at all on the quality of the book or the excellent work of the author in writing a romance novel. As I say, I still enjoyed reading it! And there are still a lot of other great loose ends ready for book 2 which I'm sure will be equally engaging.

I really appreciate Pan MacMillan & NetGalley sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review, it's a good book and I'm very interested to see what else Isabel Agajanian does in future.

I will now include some Content Warnings for those who find them helpful, so STOP READING HERE TO AVOID MINOR SPOILERS!
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Content Warnings:
- absent parents, potentially triggering for child neglect
- alcohol use
- bereavement, including parent losing a child, and children experiencing loss of friend/parent
- biphobia (briefly mentioned, not depicted)
- murder, body horror, violence & blood
- sexual content, mildly spicy

Modern Divination is an extremely character driven rivals to lovers story with a hint of dark academia.

I really loved a lot about this especially in the first half. The writing is beautiful and lyrical. I highlighted so many quotes that really spoke to me and the author definitely has a real talent for prose.
However, there are also a lot of parts that are overwritten where I felt like I couldn’t really follow the story because of all the words. I had to go back and read a paragraph again quite a lot to actually grasp what was happening.

The development and growth of the characters is beautifully done. On the other hand, many of their conversations felt circular and repetitive. I also had trouble grasping their individual motivations but I feel that it added to making them more real and illustrated the messiness of real world relationships.

The plot feels more like a backdrop for these characters to explore their feelings and never really had me hooked. Long stretches of introspection or dialogue between the characters are interspersed with a plot point here and there.

What I really loved was the mundane and simple nature of the magic working more through intention rather than any grand spellcasting. It slotted into the story so well and I wish we had seen more of that throughout.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

I wanted this to hit really badly, but unfortunately it did not. There was so much potential in this story; but i was often left confused and wanting.

The plot is meagre and meandering; secondary to the character relationships. It’s very trope-forward, which some people may enjoy, but for me it took away from the lovely lyrical writing style and the great atmosphere.
The characters themselves often go in circles with each other; which makes their ‘banter’ frustrating to read. I kind of wanted to hit both of them 90% of the time.

Overall, this just wasn’t for me; but if you love a trope-heavy rivals-to-something-more story, you might enjoy this!

I really enjoyed this. The rivals to lovers is perfect, the characters are intriguing, and the plot kept me hooked.
It’s the perfect autumnal read with all the dark academia vibes - what’s better than a magical bookstore?
Full RTC on other platforms.

I could not get through this book without having to constantly re-read passages. The writing is so wordy, like it's trying to be deep but actually is a lot of words for not a lot of information. I also really didn't like Aurelia, nor did I understand her motivations for a lot of her behaviour. Not one for me, I'm afraid.

Modern Divination has an interesting plot and a slow build up between the two main characters. Sometimes it felt like nothing was happening and the story felt a bit stagnant. I wished there was more world building in the story. Nevertheless, even when it wasn't the right book for me, I can recommend it to anyone who likes a slow build up and a character driven story.

Aurelia and Theodore are rivals, who share a common enemy.
Set in academia, we have a slow burn romance, secret societies, academic rivalry and detailed character studies.
I love long book which use the length to give more depth to the story and reward the reader with tying up all loose points.
I liked some aspects of this book, but did not love it.

Plot 2/5
Characterisation 3.5/5
Prose 3/5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc.
I wanted to love this book so much and it had all the makings of a fantasy book. The FMC was so back and forth and there were such good plot points that weren’t put together well.

We were thrown into a world with no world building, with mobiles therefore it’s urban fantasy but it doesn’t feel like it. I grew to love Teddy he has immense character development and I wanted them to be together.

Everything about this was so muddled up. I think had it been written a whole lot better it would be an amazing read. I kept pushing on for it to get better and better because I wanted to love it so bad!

Godddd, I wanted this book to be SO GOOD. And annoyingly, it really could have been. It has all the jigsaw pieces of an excellent, character driven, magical dark academia book.

And yet, most of the really excellent bits of characterisation feel like we'll written paragraphs constructed in silo and then threaded together with less well written parts. It feels somehow too....wordy.

The plot is there, and it could be extremely compelling, but the plot points make barely any sense together and the magical system they are based in is never fully developed. Even the characters never seem to know what's going on.

Add to that struggling to care about any of the characters and this was just a miss for me.

i’m a little confused by this book. you are thrown into a world with little world building but a lot of donna tartt like english, then combined with a magic system regarding witches that is never really explained.

anyway, something happens and we’re whisked away and suddenly ingrams character is completely different and it’s all a bit like ok how did we logically get here? also, aurelia’s hate of ingram becomes almost unbareble. and at the same time the plot is running in the background making no sense. i will say the tension between the two MC’s is good, the author has nailed the tension but the pacing feels off and jumps to each stereotype in the enemies to lover rather than flows. once it hits the almost lovers part, the banter between the MCs is quite nice to be fair and sweet.

as for the plot it’s there, but is slow. for example at 60% of the way through the book you are no closer to knowing anything that you didn’t know before. then the focal event of the plot you’ve been building up to occurs and you’re just kind of like “oh ok”, kind of like that final battle scene against the white walkers in game of thrones that lasted an episode after seasons. that’s how i felt when this book ended too.
but as per, this is a personal preference thing.

the writing oozes dark academia style, including references to theology, psychology and history (and a bit of Shakespeare) and the old money lifestyle. the writing style is sometimes intense with its language, and i wouldn’t call it an easy read. i do feel that all dark academia books feel this way however, so maybe it is my thoughts on the genre that inevitably gave this book a 2 star.

I really enjoyed this and found the pacing to be really well done.
This is for all the academic rivals girlies and Gilmore lovers because this is a great autumn/ winter read!!

As someone who read the indie book and read again now, I cannot get over the wonderfully gothic dark academia world that is created. Often rivals in dark academia romance feels forced or unnatural but not here.
The characters so perfectly contrast one another, the plot has me begging for book 2, and the writing was a joy to read.

Aurelia has spent her entire life maintaining the equilibrium between her carefully curated human life and the magical one that she endured in secret. With a devoted best friend and a place at an elite college, she has everything one could possibly want neatly within her grasp.

Except for the fact that her gift of magic is fading. A fateful encounter with a power hungry witch with a penchant for stolen magic has threaded to unbalance her life and bring her to ruin. Cast into an unexpected alliance with her dreadfully arrogant class mate, she goes into hiding among a peculiar family of witches.

A beautiful exploration of identity and the struggle one must sometimes endure to balance two worlds. This story is deeply emotional while capturing the essence of friendship and the importance of sacrifice in your life. These characters are compelling and the complexities of magic are beautifully developed.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧 (𝐓𝐨𝐫) 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐈𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧

Thank you pan macmillan for this copy of modern divination

Unfortunately I didn’t vibe with this book. DNF at 42%
Iv given it a good chance but this could possibly be a me problem but the book is mostly character driven there’s barely a plot just two characters who apparently hate each other but I can’t understand why. I feel like there’s just too many words and not enough going on.

The first 10-15% was good and I thought I was going to like it but I can’t push myself to keep going. You may love this if you like character driven plots with lots of descriptions.

I got this from Netgalley and thought it was a new release, not a rerelease, and I think I tried reading this before when it first came out and didn't vibe with it, so didn't finish.

Well, I finished this time, and I was definitely worth finishing, but I had my own issues with it.

First of all, if you do not like character driven books, this isn't for you. There wasn't much of a plot outside of the main characters and the development of their relationship. I don't hate that personally, but it did make this feel a little shallow.

I've mentioned in reviews for other books that sometimes a book can feel too wordy. I'm not sure how else to describe it other than that. There was just a lot more than there needed to be, and while sometimes it resulted in something quite whimsical and romantic, most of the time, it just made me impatient. I was growing tired with being told everything and shown nothing. It takes the enjoyment out of a book for me, since I have a very vivid imagination when reading.

I didn't like Aurelia in the beginning, and that left a sour taste with her for most of the book, but I didn't dislike her by the end. She grew as a character, it just took a little too long. Honestly, Teddy I could have given or taken, but I did really enjoy the tension and genuine slow-burn of their romance. That was the main thing done well in this book. If not for that, I'd have DNF'd, I think. Other characters were honestly quite forgettable, though. I wasn't invested.

Aside from the issues, it was quite a cosy read for this time of year.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is it! This is what rivals to lovers should be; no miscommunication, but a lot of personal growth, apologies and a healthy amount of coincidence. The beautiful writing had me flying through it at an astounding pace, and I found myself thinking about it almost constantly when I was not reading.

We follow Aurelia and Theodore, rival PhD students at Cambridge, who are left reeling after the murder of a fellow classmate. Aurelia is a green witch, which means she has power over nature, and not only has she been hiding this from everyone for years, her powers are starting to betray her. Theodore is an arrogant, aggravating mystery that Aurelia is frustratingly obsessed with (sorry Aurelia, you just are), and when the university closes down in the aftermath of the murder, Theodore invites Aurelia to stay with his family, rather than remain alone in Cambridge, after realising that she may also be a target.

The characters are where this book shines the brightest, and as a character driven reader this made the book for me. I loved these characters with my whole entire heart; they are young, and messy, and oh-so-relatable. Fellow over-sharers will love Aurelia; she is incessantly curious, and extremely uncomfortable with silence. The way that they pushed each other to grow, and through this grew closer to each other, was a joy to read. The care Theodore takes over his family was beautiful, his trauma broke my heart, and I would love to see more from his perspective in the second book, although I absolutely adored spending the majority of this story with Aurelia. The moments where she would catch him looking at her a certain way and not entirely know what to make of it were delicious as a reader.

The plot was less of a focus, so plot driven readers may struggle a little more with this one. There is a witchy mystery at the heart of the story, which our characters work together to unravel and eventually confront, but there are extended sections of the book where the plot does not move forward very much, and the majority of the book takes place is one location. Personally, I did not mind this; the witchy vibes were immaculate and the character relationships and banter were a joy to read. There was just enough plot to keep me ticking along, and I did feel like the slower pace at the start gave me a sense of security that then meant when things started to happen, they had a bigger impact.

I would have liked a bit more worldbuilding and lore, and perhaps to have seen a bit more of both MC's parents. They were so influential in the state in which we meet Aurelia and Theodore, so I would have liked to get a full circle moment of growth or confrontation, but I suspect this may be something addressed in the second book. Similarly, I have been left with many questions about the world and lore of this book; we are told that witches fear humans but it is unclear what exactly has led to this extreme fear. I would love to know more, but again suspect this will be addressed in the second book, and from the epilogue I believe we may get to see some locations too, as well as a better understanding of the antagonist in this book. Ultimately my only criticism is that I wanted more!

Overall, I loved this book, and I particularly loved how the ending left room for the sequel but wrapped up the main plot threads without feeling the need to leave us on a massive cliff-hanger. I'll definitely be recommending to character driven readers looking for an academic rivals to lovers or a witchy mystery.

Modern Divination is a stunning exploration of identity and the struggle to balance two worlds. Aurelia's journey is both thrilling and deeply emotional, capturing the essence of friendship, sacrifice, and the complexities of magic. The writing is enchanting, and the characters are beautifully developed, pulling you into a world where every choice has profound consequences. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves a rich blend of magic and heartfelt storytelling.

I made quite a few brilliant decisions in the past year when it comes to my arc request, but none was better than asking for Modern Divination.

Brilliant. That's the only way to describe this book to do it justice and leave the review mysterious enough for the reader to be intrigued. It’s like tasting magic - fresh and dark and all-consuming. An experience like no other.

Teddy and Aurelia have my heart for eternity - both complex and flawed and just troublesome enough to be real and utterly lovable.

And while the ending broke my heart just a little bit I wouldn't change it for the world. Instead, I'm impatiently waiting for the sequel and convincing everyone that the book is more than worth reading.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an arc!
I was so so excited to pick this up because I had heard nothing but great things about this book. However unfortunately it didn't click for me.
I don't know why but I just didn't connected with the characters and couldn't care less about anything happening to them.
The first 10% were amazing but after that I was bored and even thought about aning. My solution was to skim the last 30% honestly
With that saying I might be the problem cause l've seen so many fantastic reviews from other people, this was probably just not for me and I won't be continuing with this series

Modern Divination by Isabel Agajanian is an utterly mesmerizing blend of dark academia, mystery, and slow-burn romance. Following the journey of Aurelia Schwartz—a young witch straddling the fragile balance between her human life and a world brimming with magic—the novel plunges into a story of concealed powers, forbidden promises, and precarious alliances. Aurelia’s waning green magic and a dangerous rivalry with another witch set her on a path that intertwines with that of a contentious classmate, forcing them into hiding within a family whose secrets and survival demand breaking all the rules she’s ever known.

What do you say about a book you loved and devoured in two days? This story is perfect and one I won’t soon forget. Agajanian’s writing style is gorgeously emotional, packed with metaphors that felt as if they were crafted just for me. Every line seemed to scratch an itch in my brain, pulling me further into the story and refusing to let go. The characters—imperfect, raw, and unforgettable—are the heart of this novel. Their development felt achingly real, with all the imperfections that make them resonate deeply. Rory and Teddy, the protagonists, were not only relatable but also brilliantly complex. They lingered with me long after I turned the last page, and I couldn’t help but see pieces of myself in them.

While the magic and world-building were incredibly engaging, it was the characters and their relationships that truly hooked me. I pulled countless quotes from this book because so many lines just hit me right in the heart. Modern Divination is an enchanting must-read that manages to be both magical and profoundly human, and I loved every moment of it.

I‘m beyond happy I got this one as an arc on NetGalley but I’ll surely want a physical copy of said masterpiece.