Thank you Netgalley and author Tara O'Toole for granting me a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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This year, I'm trying to branch out from my comfort genres and experiment with ones that are new to me. I've felt like dark academia might appeal to me but never really knew where to start. I also tend to shy away from mysteries because I try too hard to figure them out and it detracts from my enjoyment of the reading experience.

But O'Toole wrote a fantastic little dark academia mystery with a magic system I've never seen before. And I love it. Secret societies, a missing person, questionable morals, dangerous ambitions... all so good! I think a lot of what I enjoyed about the mystery aspect was that a lot of the clues pointed in the right direction, they just weren't always interpreted correctly, which ultimately made for a satisfying and climactic reveal at the end. I do love a flawed character, and I love a character who isn't magically omnipotent. I love when they make mistakes, accusing the wrong person but for the right reason. Because not all the clues were given on page (again, every character has secrets) it helped me not try to readily solve the mystery before the author was ready to deliver it in a dramatic courtroom scene. I don't object!

Readers should know that while this isn't really a romance, there is some tension between two characters, and they do end up acting on those tensions in a single open-door scene.

This is an incredibly atmospheric read, perfect for late autumn, and gives amazing spooky Irish vibes.

In this book we follow Fiadh. She has to find out for herself what happened to her cousin Muriel, who suddenly went missing six months ago. In order to find out what happened, she applied to the same internship Muriel went to, gets accepted and goes sorta undercover to figure out what happens to Muriel. In the mean time she gets sucked into a darker, secret world with the Society of Solicitors and now she has to juggle her internship, the SoS and the disappearance of her cousin.

First I would like to say that this story has a lot of promise. The set up is nice, the mystery is there and even though I did not enjoyed it like I would have liked, I wanted to continue to find out what happened to Muriel.
I did find a lot of lacking in the writing. Where some passages where very long and could have been significantly shortened. Other passages where over in an instant where I felt like I would have loved to read more.

This book is being advertised as Dark Academia. And yes, it takes place at an academia setting, but it felt insignificant. I would have liked to read more about the internship, the classes and all the things that take place in that academic setting. However, the plot was mostly about the SoS and their initiation. Even the disappearance of Muriel felt very insignificant compared to the premise.
I would have loved to read more from the months before Muriel's disappearance, but the only "flashback" we get is in chapter 3, where Fiadh is looking back to the vigil, where she saw her suspect.
Also, I have noticed some consistency mistakes. This book takes place on roughly two weeks time. In chapter 2 Fiadh mentions that she saw her suspect six months ago and after the flashback in chapter 2, she mentioned she saw her suspect five months ago. The time did not go on during the flashback. I have noticed this a couple times throughout the book.

Furthermore, the use of the nick name "swan man". I could not understand why she keeps on referring to Keefe as swan man. In the beginning when she does not know his name, I can understand it. But she uses his name and the nickname she gave him both, and it makes absolutely no sense. He has a name. Use the name.

The mystery surrounding Muriel's disappearance is lacking in my opinion. We keep getting reminded she is missing, but we never get any clues, other than the suspect. And then, after 55% into this book we get another clue, that Muriel was part of the SoS. Then a whole lot of nothing, no hinting, no small clues. At 75% we suddenly find Muriel and then the story lost me completely. To me it felt like all the hell broke lose and in the last 15% every possible "shock" was thrown into the ending. It made no sense to me. The only thing we had clues about was Joyce and a bit of Edna. Paedar suddenly turning against them, then not and then he does and then he doesn't makes no sense. Keefe's father being the head of the Council made even less sense and it looked like it was added just for the shock effect.
I would have loved to have a better build up to the end. It felt rushed and because there was little to no build up it felt all over the place.

Overall, this story has the potential to be great. It could have used a bit more polishing and editing, but overall it was an ok read.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.

The Lost Apprentice by Tara O’Toole was a decent read but didn’t quite live up to its premise. I was not an initial fan of the style of writing, but was able to get used to it. I did enjoy the world-building and magic system, but the pacing felt uneven, and I kept waiting for the characters to develop more depth. Overall, there were a few standout moments that kept me engaged.

This novel follows Fiadh on her journey to find her cousin, Muriel, who mysteriously disappeared from her internship at a law firm. To investigate, she enrolls in the same program as her cousin. Her investigation soon pushes her into the folds of a mysterious secret society: the society of solicitors. The strange circumstances of her cousin's disappearance only become stranger as Fiadh finds herself in a world of magic and power.

I think this book has a lot of promise, but it needs a bit more polishing. I found it kind of difficult to care about Fiadh's relationship with her cousin for the first bit of the book and the dialogue was a bit confusing at times. That being said, the mystery surrounding the secret society made me want to learn what happened next, and the magic system is truly unique. I think this has the potential to be a five star read with some editing.

Unfortunately this missed the mark for me. Many thanks to the publishers at NetGalley for letting me read this and write an honest review.

This had a lot of promise - the concept of a dark academia style fantasy set in a Irish legal graduate scheme was pretty novel, and I saw quite a few good reviews, so thought I would go ahead with this.

I'll summarise a few of my thoughts below, but overall I thought this was poorly written, one-dimensional, with the plot and characters relying on archetypes of the 'romantasy' genre, rather than building anything genuine for itself.

1. Going to strike this one off early, but there are quite a few spelling and grammar mistakes that are just difficult to get past (once is forgivable, but over 3, 4, 5 times and it becomes a problem).

2. Very odd pacing. Most of the time this seemed to be going at a breakneck speed with every single trope imaginable being shoved in - a set of initiation rituals where the apprentices have to complete "tasks" (Hunger Games/Goblet of Fire/Divergent), mystery plot of a missing cousin, starting a legal graduate scheme, induction into a magic legal cult (yeah I know). Then, weirdly, amongst the madness, there are whole paragraphs that drag on as we are told again and again and again about how upset our central protagonist is without much action to back it up. Everything seems to be building to a massive climax, but the moment it actually gets interesting and our characters face legitimate conflict (the missing cousin has a spell over her meaning she forgets who everyone is), the spell is undone in, I kid you not, 4 sentences, and then it's all sunshine and roses and we're onto the next trope. The big "reveal" at the end was extremely underwhelming and in a Scooby Doo-esque removal of masks (yes, masks are actually taken off), the villains seem to have no other real motivation than some absurd child-revenge-career climbing nonsense.

2. Excuse making. I completely get that this genre of fiction may not be for me, but I started losing my patience when some of sentences the characters utter make it so blatant that the author knows the shortcomings of her work. FIX THEM! When you literally write your characters dialogue that tries to redeem your writing choices, maybe that's the point you try to rework a chapter. I'm talking about quotes like "is everyone in Ireland related" to explain away the EXTREMELY convenient fact that every single character you meet in the book will somehow wind up at the denouement (abusive divorced father, landlady/grandma etc), or "it's hard to believe we're only 2 weeks into our apprenticeship" - yes, it is, and you saying that is only furthering my annoyance because you're clearly aware that the pacing of the book is insane. Besides that, all the plot points are just way too convenient - there's always an object/person/revelation that is introduced before the characters experience any sort of conflict or confusion, making the text predictable but also cluttered as a problem is introduced and resolved within the space of a sentence.

3. Flat, one-dimensional characters - every single character in this book seems to have been given traits and emotions like a label slapped onto them. Instead of inferring the kind of people they are from their actions, there is a distinct lack of any real personality, replaced by overwrought phrases like, "my tattered soul" - ok? and? tell us a bit more? The author repeats the same metaphors over and over to describe how ruined the main character is, but it never goes beyond the surface of those words. In the same vein, the villains are nasty and mean, but only because we're told so - it almost feels like the characters react before anything has even happened - e.g. a legal partner is "vitriolic" but other than one sentence of him being slightly rude, there is nothing to back up SUCH a strong generalisation which then becomes a massive plot point without which the story doesn't work.

I think the author had certain plot points she wanted to aim for and knows which emotions she needs to make them happen (e.g. love interest feels betrayed, main character feels upset) - instead of finding ways to get to the plot points organically, the characters just react very bizarrely. Someone will say something pretty inoffensive and our main character will storm out because, of course, that needs to happen so she can realise she needs to hide in the boot of someone's car (it's a very A to B kind of writing).

4. General cringe. There is a whole chapter when the 2 main male characters have a hex put on them meaning they get period cramps. The two female characters spend the rest of the chapter moralising about how this is "the norm" for women - it's supposed to be funny I think, but for me it was just such a poor attempt at a crowd pleaser for the female romantasy audience - "It appears Peadar has come to the realisation that many women in the workplace have to deal with this every month" - YAY FEMINISM!

I don't want to spend too much time on the "spice" scene because, yeah, what was that. BUT. For a "romantasy" branded novel, it really is out of nowhere that our main character decides she fancies this apprentice - who she lovingly calls "swan man" (dying inside typing that). They hook up, and you betcha, she keeps calling him swan man! They seem to have developed this inextricable bond, again, without any evidence to back it up other than being told this. I had to put my Kindle down at the line our dashing young man utters: "I have something important to discuss and, soz, but no snakes allowed" :)

5. Foggy setting and world-building. There ARE some nice moments in this book that will appeal to the dark academia lovers. But it is just so hard to picture what is going on. Focusing more on the affect of her protagonist, the settings and actual movements of the characters in the space are really murky. Other than the mountain episode (which was actually pretty well described), there's a lot happening without much visuals. People do things in spaces that haven't been mapped out for you, and given that world-building is one of the backbones of the fantasy genre, this didn't help rescue the book from its flat characterisation. The magical elements were just...there...and the pace is so so rapid, you are only just familiarising yourself with one location before you are ripped to another.

I realise this has been a pretty damning review, but I unfortunately HAVE to say something as I, too, was led in by the current 3-4 star ratings of this book. Reading this ironically rather than for quality, I can see how this would be a fun and mindless pick, and I did actually find a lot my issues with this book amusing as I read (although I fear this was not the intention).

The Lost Apprentice is what I hoped for in The Atlas Six, though the execution leaves much to be desired.

The beginning was a bit heavy-handed with the set-up of Fiadh's cousin Muriel's disappearance which made me a bit slower to pick up the book and get into it. But once our main ensemble cast was introduced, the plot got rolling and I was immersed in the dark academia atmosphere.

Despite the gripes I have with this book, the mystery had me jumping around my apartment with each reveal. As Fiadh was determined to discover what happened to her cousin, I was pulled into the magic as well. I loved the last 20% where the narrative was dedicated strictly to the mystery and figuring out what happened to Muriel.

But, the gripes.

The characters were a bit flat to me, very cookie cutter. The romance was also lackluster because of that. I knew who I was supposed to root for, but I didn't feel invested.

The writing style wasn't a hook to me either. Sentence fragments had me flipping pages to make sure I read correctly. I'm unsure if it was an intentional part of the author's writing style or something to be edited since I read the book from Netgalley where you find early copies of works.

What kept me reading were the dark academia atmosphere because who doesn't love a magical secret society of solicitors/lawyers and what I think is the backbone of the novel: the mystery.

3.5 ⭐️ ARC review from Netgalley
Ynoo this was a fun, short and lighthearted.
I enjoyed the magic element, nothing too far fetched that it couldn’t be believable in the setting and it was straight in to the story from the get go so gets you hooked quickly.
Loss of stars for a bit of repetition throughout the book, for example at 70% ‘Brigid heaves with excitement’ and in the line following this still talking about Brigid, ‘her eyes burn with excitement’, I just find this frustrating. (This is a YA book so this may be why)
If you’re looking for a quick little face paced read this definitely fits the bill and would recommend.

An addictive, fast-paced contemporary thriller perfectly leavened with an oh-so-sweet romance and moments of laugh-out-loud humour.

Tara does a great job of maintaining tension, allowing it to steadily build while providing enough lighthearted moments to ensure things don't boil over.
I absolutely adored the Scooby Gang. Fiadh, Brigid, Prender and Keefe are a fantastic team with great chemistry. And I admit to a soft spot for snarky snake Dawson. .

Another thing I loved was the unique setting - the insight into the crazy, chaotic world of law, solicitor's apprentices, and their after-hours shenanigans.

All in all a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ read! Recommend!

The writing in the book is incredible, as O'Toole shows us without over explanation. The weaving details and storylines that don't end up the way you expect is beautiful. I enjoyed the reveals, the many different faces our characters have. No one is all they seem to be, and even when I thought all the secrets were revealed, there was still more to come.

Thank you to Tara O’Toole, Book Sirens, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read The Lost Apprentice as I love the book comps and the description and cover were intriguing. Unfortunately, the first-person present tense did not work well and every sentence felt overwritten as if the author had used a thesaurus for every possible word. I had to dnf.

Fiadh goes looking for her missing cousin and ends up being tested to join a secret society.
It had very interesting bones, though I think the story could have been fleshed out more. Still I think it would make a good series.
Good for lovers of dark academia.

I loved a good dark academia book and “the Lost Apprentice” is for sure one of those! It gives me all the right vibes : the fantasy element is present but in a delicate way. The magic is present but it blends perfectly with the reality. The writing style is a little byt choppy, but it’s fine given that i found the book engaging and cozy!

This dark academia was good. Not my favorite, but it wasn't bad. I finished it but I didn't give a hoot about any of the characters, their love interests, nor the plot.

What I did love about this book was the dark gothic vibes of the novel. I also liked the short chapters.

This dark academia novel had me hooked from the start with its secret society and intriguing magical system—both of which felt fresh and unique in a genre that often leans into the familiar. The atmosphere was richly drawn, immersing me in its mysterious, academic setting. However, the choppy writing style clashed with the otherwise fast-paced narrative, creating moments of disjointedness that pulled me out of the story. Dialogue, in particular, was sometimes confusing, with unclear attributions that made it hard to track who was speaking. Despite these frustrations, the originality and allure of the world kept me engaged. If you’re a fan of dark academia and are willing to overlook some structural issues, this book might still be worth the read.

The combination of dark academia, mystery, and fantasy is captivating. The stakes are high with Fiadh trying to unravel her cousin's disappearance while navigating the complexities of a secret society. This setup promises tension and intrigue, which are hallmarks of compelling storytelling. Fiadh seems relatable and determined, with an emotional connection driving the story. Her flawed past and her rivalry with Keefe add layers to her character, making her journey feel personal and engaging. However, with secret societies, rivalries, and workplace drama, there’s a lot going on and the world building is not as clear as it could've been. The pacing slowed down there in the start but picked right back up through the middle and didn't stop until you read the last word. This book was a perfect balance of dark academia aesthetics, compelling mystery, and fantasy intrigue, and in my opinion was executed well enough to deserve four stars in my eyes.

It was not bad, but not great either. I think some more exposition on Fiadh’s part would suffice. Or also more development with her and Keefe..

This was an interesting read, not perfectly executed but original and well-plotted with some fun characters. I found the ending a little too neat and tidy, and the big scene in the court at the end was too easy. The story was pretty focused on specific scenes spread out over several weeks/months and didn’t t have the detail between scenes to round the characters out; I finished the book without really caring about the outcome at all. I also found the masks and “dark deeds” over the top, plus the magic itself wasn’t ever explained to my satisfaction. Still the premise is unique and while it didn’t work for me, I could see it being a stellar play or film.

The Lost Apprentice blends high-stakes legal grad scheme and an exclusive society steeped in forbidden truths. When Fiadh’s cousin Muriel vanishes without a trace, Fiadh dives headfirst into the frenetic, enigmatic world Muriel left behind, determined to uncover the secrets that led to her disappearance.

What follows is a tale with magical compulsion, unexpected companionship, and a thread of romance. While I would have liked the romantic arc to have more depth and buildup, O’Toole’s sharp commentary on the challenges women face in male-dominated workplaces was a standout. From navigating chronic pain in silence to grappling the cruel dichotomy of choosing between career and family, these moments of realism ground the plot in modern truths.

Great for readers dipping their toes into light fantasy, with a realistic and fast paced plot.

The Lost Apprentice is an imaginative and light-hearted blend of fantasy and modern-day life that offers readers a quirky take on magical realism. The story follows Fiadh, a young woman who joins a law firm in Dublin as an apprentice to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her cousin.

The fantasy elements, though present, are not overwhelming. It’s a silly, almost whimsical concept—magic used in the context of a law firm—and it certainly provides some entertaining moments. A small subplot of romance adds a bit of sweetness, though it feels more like an afterthought than a fully realized part of the plot. While it’s charming, it doesn’t pack much emotional weight.

One of the book’s drawbacks is its pacing and character development. The relationships, especially those between Fiadh and other key characters, could have been explored in more depth. Additionally, the magic system, which is an essential part of the story, feels underdeveloped. We hear about magic, but we don’t see it in action as much as we’d like. The eventual magical climax is engaging, but it could have been more satisfying had there been more buildup and practice of magic earlier in the story.

Ultimately, The Lost Apprentice is a fun, easy read with a unique premise, but it falls short in fully fleshing out its world and characters. It has potential, but there’s a sense that it could have gone deeper into its magical elements and character dynamics. A solid read if you’re looking for something light and entertaining, but it doesn’t quite reach the heights it promises.

This is a really interesting story! The world of this book was easy to get into, and the world-building was well done. The magic system was super unique and well thought out and I could have read so much more about the magic and the history of this secret society.

The characters did feel a little bit flat, I didn't quite feel invested in the relationships; and I had trouble caring about the big reveals - I think they could have had a little more punch to them.

Some of the writing was a bit choppy for my taste, especially the dialogue, but the writing style was easy to follow and the story was easy to fall into.
A quick, fun read!