I am currently about 24% in and this is unfortunately a DNF for me. I can tell the author loves the characters she's made, And on paper, this story has everything that I love, witches, dark academia vibes and lots of back and forth between academic rivals, but it feels slightly too opaque to be an easy read, and I have had to put it down a few times now because there is just so much "language" that it feels like the plot, the characters and the character development becomes stiff, immovable. I struggled getting through this despite knowing that I would love this, and knowing that this came highly recommended.

If Teddy Ingram was the sun, I would fly directly into him. I would stare at his brilliance on the off chance that he might annotate a book for me. I am smitten with his guilt-laden heart.

This is the academic rivals story of my dreams. All of those sharp tongues and soft touches are maddening. Can I have some more?

This is my new favorite book of all time. The characters are so well thought out, the romance is so slow and chock full of yearning, and the vibes are immaculate. The plot is a little lacking but I didn’t care; I just loved the story so much.

This was a cozy fantasy with a lovely slow-burn romance that hit all the right notes. Perfect for fans of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.

Hear me out. This book isn't working for me, even though it was one of my most anticipated releases this year. It's not the book; it's me. This book didn't live up to my initial expectations. I found it quite a struggle to get through, even though there were parts I liked. I often had trouble figuring out what was happening, who was doing what, or why the characters acted the way they did. While I believe my current reading slump is largely to blame for my difficulties with the writing style, I'll definitely be picking this one up again in the future.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan / Tor for the opportunity to read and review this book

Wow!

I'm utterly mind blown!

This was such an atmospheric and emotional reading experience! I love the combination of dark academia.

Our MCs are just so brilliantly written I love their banter and seeing the characters develop with each other and learn about their powers was such a treat!

This book also deals with some difficult subject matter around grief but it's handled beautifully.

My only critique would be that the climax was over too quickly, I just wanted more from it and I’m not entirely sure what but regardless I really enjoyed this book and spending time with these characters.

I don't think I can wait for book 2 to be out next year, you can't leave me with that ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC. Unfortunately, Modern Divination turned out not to be for me and I DNFed it at 46%.

Modern Divination is the first book in a romantic fantasy series with dark academia and mystery vibes. Aurelia is brilliant at balancing her hidden green magic and her academic career at Cambridge. That is, until a tragic accident happens and her magic starts acting up. Suddenly, she find herself in an unexpected alliance with her longtime rival, Theodore, who helps her hide from a danger neither of them can quite understand. Living with a surprising family of witches, Aurelia has to let go of her secrecy to stay safe and begin to unravel the mystery.

The blurb of this book sounded really interesting: I love witches, academic rivalry, magic that acts up and the implied promise of a rivals-to-lovers romance down the line. The set up of the MCs' life in Cambridge was interesting - I enjoyed seeing them woven into the society of the university, and how Aurelia manages to keep her magic hidden from her delightful housemate.

But then I found myself growing bored rather quickly. by 20%, I realised I was really not caught up in the story, but decided to give it more of a chance... by 46% nothing had changed in my feelings for the book. Other than the tragic event that is the catalyst of the story and that is foreshadowed in the blurb, nothing much happens at all. Conversations are stilted, arguments come out of nowhere, and the FMC is unnecessarily rude even when the MMC is trying to help. the writing style makes the reading more difficult, too, as the sentences are sometimes too complicated and one has to go back to reread to understand what has happened.

Anyway, I can see this book appealing to others, but unfortunately it didn't work for me.

I struggled a lot with this. I previously read the indie published version, and with that, I felt like the story was a little messy (particularly the ending) but mostly on a sentence level. Since I absolutely loved the main characters, I thought I would try the newly revised traditional version.

I continued to really enjoy the character work. I think both Rory and Teddy are complex characters and I enjoy their backstories, the exploration of their motivations, their rivalry and eventual sort-of romance. I really wanted them to end up together and I think the push and pull was really interesting and slow.

However, I'm not sure that the aspects that were removed/moved around actually worked better, and I still struggled with the same immersion issues when it comes to the sentence-level prose. It felt highly flowery, which I don't mind! but it was almost to the point of being hard to comprehend and very unnecessary. I don't feel like enough was explained about how magic or witches worked, while way too much was discussed re: the academic world and the past rivalrywhen the vast majority of the book did not take place at the university. It started to feel more repetitive than atmospheric. I remember Alaric slightly differently as well--more intriguing, I think, in the indie version, but possibly there were no real changes but I can't put my finger on what was different. The ending remained really unsatisfying to me.

Overall, I don't think I would continue with this particular series but I would give the author another shot if they wrote a new series.

I was super excited about this book but unfortunately it wasn't quite what I expected. It was really slow-paced and leaned much more towards cosy fantasy than towards dark academia, which is what I was interested in. I also feel like it was really character-driven rather than plot-driven, but I couldn't connect with Aurelia so it was a struggle. The magic system could have been so interesting but I feel like it was only explained and explored very superficially. Maybe that'll come in later books though. I liked the romance, but it felt like the rival thing was pretty one-sided to begin with so not quite what I expected either. Basically I think this is a fine cosy fantasy with a slightly darker atmosphere and a decent rivals-to-lovers arc, if that's your thing, but if you're here for the dark academia and Cambridge vibes it just doesn't deliver in my opinion. It's by no means a bad book but it's not what I thought it would be at all.

I really thought I would live this book but it went in a different direction to what I thought it would be and I got bored reading it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this novel!

Unfortunately, this novel is a miss for me, and I'm worried it will affect my reading mood if I keep reading, so I am DNF'ing at 20%. I love the synopsis and the concept of the book, but I have quite a few issues with the characterization and world building. At 20% of the way through a novel, I expect to have a pretty solid understanding of who the main character is as well as the world, and I have neither of those things. There is so much telling about who the main character is through her repetitive thoughts and not enough showing us who she is. Likewise, I couldn't really explain to someone what the magic system is here or why witches are viewed the way they are if someone asked me to, and, again, I should have a solid enough understanding a quarter of the way through the book to say something. All I really have to hold onto is that witches are viewed negatively (I think? Is magic well known in this world? Like is it a taboo subject or sort of accepted subject or what?) and that the main character has green magic. There's also a discussion on how magic is a build up of energy and when it's built up too much it overflows (essentially) but no reasoning as to why this is.

I can also already tell that the romance is not going to be for me -- the FMC and MMC feel very young and immature in a way that will, I know, ruin the reading experience for me.

Again, I really wanted to love this. I'm sad that I don't. I know so many people do love this, so I will encourage folks to pick it up to see if it works for them, but It does not work for me.

This was just as good as the indie version! Isa has such a way of spinning emotions to where you can't tell right vs. wrong or even if you're projecting onto the characters. This story is so immersive you don't want to ever leave and I cannot wait to read the sequel! Best indie book to be picked up by a publisher.

Excellent book I can see why everyone is raving about it!! I loved the world building so much and found the story fast paced!

The magic system was so interesting and cant wait to meet the author at the london event!

This book was a joy to read. It had a lot of the tropes I'm growing to love - enemies to lovers, magic (green magic!), an academic setting, cosy vibes and more. On top of that, the writing was excellent - different to others I've read lately which made it stand out in a very good way.
I admit there was a section in the middle where there was a bit of a lack of action that lost a teeny bit of interest for me, but it was an excellent character building section. Honestly I think that might be me-problem though because the fantasy books I've read lately have pushed a lot more plot forward, so it wasn't the usual formula I was expecting!
There's a lot of dialogue, not only in the mid-section of the book where characters and the plot are being built, but throughout, and it's very well done. These are realistic, fully-fleshed out characters that I haven't stopped thinking about after finishing the book. They even invaded my dreams the night I finished, which was a little unnerving considering some of the subject matter!
I also really loved the representation in this book of bisexual and non binary characters. It's not a world I've delved much into in the books I read, so I'm so glad to have discovered it. This one introduces the topics in a way that doesn't at all make them token characters or as a huge plot point, I loved that.
I highly recommend this one and can't wait to read more from the author - I think they have big things coming!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

Aurellia (Rory) has been hiding her magic all her life, trying to live like a normal human, chasing after the first rank to prove that she is better than Tristan (Teddy). When everything that she tried to protect threatens to unravel, and the only person who seems able to help her is the rival she is supposed to despise, what other choice does she have?
It is painfully slow. I don't feel anything much happened in this book that I felt frustrated at times. Almost DNF-ing this book, yet stayed for the writing (though it also confused me at times). Mixed-feelings about this one.

This is another one of those books that fell flat for me. The premise seemed intriguing- academic rivals to lovers, slow-burn, witches, magic intertwined with academia. But I could not connect with Aurelia and the romance kind of disappointed me too.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc.

I really struggled with the beginning of this book but persevered with it, I liked the vibes it had and the atmosphere but found some of the plot slow

!!!! erm, HELL yeah

need i profess my adoration once again for tortured, moody academics who won’t admit they’re in love? or are we all on the same page.

“you act like you still hate me, and I pretend I am not clutching at your mercies like I’m starved?” ha ha, i am unwell.

dark academia with a touch of magic has become my absolute fave genre. i loved the moody, dark atmosphere coupled with super sweet and tender moments between the two MC’s. the melancholic and lyrical way in which this story is told is so far up my street i may as well live there. also, as an avid tea drinker, the many references to drinking tea and tea types was super fun.

my favourite tropes are included:
✨a real slow burn (hooray)
✨academic rivals to lovers (thank u)

there is so much angst, longing and quiet kindness woven into these pages. even though i wouldn’t quite describe this as a ‘cosy’ book, cosy is definitely how i felt whenever i snuggled down to read.

i’ve had this book on my TBR since it was self published, im delighted to have received the earc of the re-release now that its been traditionally published. thank u so much, i will be purchasing the hardcover.

my onlyyyyy gripe is the publisher changed the cover for the reprint. the original cover (pictured) by nastya litepla perfectly encompasses the ✨vibes✨ of the story imo & i love it.

Modern Divination reads as if the writing of Divine Rivals was mixed with an occult dark academia, and I admit up.

From the get go we see an intense rivalry between Aurelia and Theadore, one fuelled by sharp tongues and vitriol so longwinded it’s hard to root out. But a magical conundrum soon forces the two into close proximity, and I loved the slow but steady progression in their relationship - their uncertainty, the small moments that meant more than expected, their relapses into bickering. I came to love reading about our lil duo, and could easily fall into their story.

The book did start to feel a little long, with that in turn making the stake feel…not as intense as they maybe should’ve been. But I was happy to experience this writing and enjoy my time with the characters, aided even more by the audiobook being fantastic. The narrator did a brilliant job at portraying emotions in a way that only heightened the intense back-and-forths, and their knack for accents is a wonder to listen to.

This definitely feels like the sort of dark academia that thrives off the definition of “ruminating”, with each character thinking over small moments and sayings and considering their place in the world at a constant rate. Both feel like lost souls, lonely despite having people around, and seeing their story unfold together is just heartwarming.

DNF

Before viewing this edition I want to preface that I read and ADORED the indie copy and wanted to see how both editions differed! am so excited to carry on with this series and me DNFing this edition has nothing to do with the new editors / not enjoying the plot nor characters. Whilst reading Modern Divination, I fell IN LOVE with the characters, the atmosphere and the plot (I adore an academic rivals to lovers). Isabel Agajanian paints a gothic / eerie setting perfectly and I am so so excited to read more from them! The only reason I DNFed this edition on this occasion, was that I found the differences only slight, and I carried on my reread with the indie published version!