This book felt like the perfect palate cleanser. It kept me engaged the whole time with just enough fantasy to keep me disassociating from the real world. The author did a great job world building and I enjoyed the romance between the characters. I love a good secret society and enjoyed the mystery element but could have used a bit more on Muriel.

So sad that this did not meet my expectations. The characters are a bit flat and that makes it hard for me as a reader to connect enough to care. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I got a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here we go.
I want to start by telling you what this book is about. We follow Fiadh, our lovely main character, and yes, she is Irish (which is why I cannot pronounce her name—sorry). She has just taken a job as an apprentice solicitor in a fancy law firm in Dublin, Heron Early. But there is a catch—she is there to investigate the disappearance of her cousin Muriel, who went missing six months ago.
Soon after starting, she and some of her colleagues are invited to take part in a test to become members of the SOS, a secret society of solicitors. She believes they might be the key to finding her cousin.
I guess that's the skeleton of it without giving spoilers. Hopefully, this review is free of them.
First of all, I would like to address the love story. Let’s not kid ourselves—there obviously is one. You can see it coming in the first chapter, and you can even tell who it is. I did like the fact that the book could go without it; in reallity it is not important to the plot, but it is kind of nice to have it there, and it adds some depth to the characters involved.
Fiadh is joined on her adventure by O'Keefe, Peadar, and Brigid, who all have their own motives for being there, and they start working on the same project. That's when weird things start to happen. All these random events make them think that someone is messing with them—and that person is likely a member of the SOS.
Things get very interesting around the halfway mark when the author introduces a magic system that is quite unique—and law-inclined? It felt very niche, but I liked it. It's different, and it makes it seem like there is some accountability in the acquisition of power and, of course, its use.
Even though we have one main character, the author takes a deep dive into the friendship dynamics, and the group grows closer under the pressure of working together and trying to figure out what’s really going on with the SOS.
Maybe a bit of a spoiler, but I wouldn’t consider it one—Fiadh has not told her friends why she is there. So while all of this is happening, she has her suspicions about who is involved in her cousin’s disappearance and who is entangled in this whole mess. And yes, she keeps it all to herself because she doesn’t trust anyone.
You would expect that keeping quiet would blow up in her face—but you’ll see if it does. I understood her reasoning, but I also found it a bit annoying because it puts blinders on her. She can’t see beyond what she wants to see.
Overall i is a good story, I ate the book up, I cannot complain at all. Having said that I would give it 4 star because I found Fiadh a bit annoying and the author tries to tick way to many boxes, but it does keep you engaged and it is a very original magic system.

A secret dark society located in Ireland? Yes, yes yes! I enjoyed this book and the storyline. The only reason why I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that the pacing felt a little inconsistent for me. We can see them bonding in some scenes and then there are some jumps that make the moment feel rushed. Other than that, I would most definitely read a sequel, if there ever is one.

I really enjoyed The Lost Apprentice. I liked the academia feel of it and the magical elements. I thought it was well out together and enjoyed the characters.

I think this was a great read. I really enjoyed it. I felt the world building and character development worked well together to give a well rounded story and I enjoyed it greatly

In exchange for an honest review, I received an arc of this book. All thoughts are my own. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.

So, unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of this. To be honest, I struggled to finish this book. The only reason why I did was because it was an arc I received. Which is a shame because I loved the premise of this. Irish dark academia set a law firm with a dark secret society. The novel is described as Ninth House meets Atlas Six. This sounds like it was written for me in particular. Unfortunately, like I said, this just didn’t do it for me. The main character, Fiadh, is supposed to be searching for her missing cousin, the reason the whole novel happens in the first place. Except the search for her cousin got abandoned halfway through and picked back up again towards the end. Not only that, but the characterization was weak and I couldn’t connect to any of them so it was hard for me to actually care about them. In terms of writing, there were punctuation issues here and there, which is fine, I received an arc after all. However, some of the writing felt very telling, not showing to me. The one thing I liked in this was the magic, I thought the more fantastical elements were done well.

Overall, wonderful premise, but I wish the execution was just a bit better.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

This didn't really work for me.

On the plus side, I liked the references to Celtic folklore and the details of Dublin. It is an extremely easy read and it held my interest until the end. It would be a good introduction to a more adult type of book for a young person who hasn't read very much apart from school books or even to pique the interest of a reluctant reader.

For me, however, there were too many minuses.

I felt that the characters were thinly drawn and I was not convinced by either the law firm setting or by the secret society or by the magic system itself. I felt that the legal references were too clunky and simply thereto justify the the Academia label. Possibly the book would have worked better with a university law dept setting rather than an attempt at the real work of work.

For me, there were too many coincidences in the plot - Fiadh's landlady who lives on the premises just happens to be more important than you might expect, almost a Deus ex machina really. This lady also just happens to be related to one of the apprentices but the connexion is not even mentioned even although they all know where Fiadh lives. As we get to the conclusion obstacles just fall away and not by means of the magic system. There just happens to be an amphibious bus on the quay and how fortunate that Brigid knows how to sail/drive it. Characters have unexpected changes of heart to suit the story etc., what is the point of Peader? One of the Big Bads is easily guessed but as far as I recall, the other one is not mentioned at all before he is revealed.

There is a very cringe sex scene which I felt was entirely gratuitous, although a plus point for the mention of the condom. I feel that these sorts of sex scenes where the mere touch of the man gives amazing pleasure to the woman gives young girls unrealistic expectations of sex.

Furthermore, I was shocked that the price of using the magic for (literal) dark deeds is to lose a piece of your soul and I felt that this price was dealt with in a very light "so what" sort of way. I would have liked to have seen something about how all this magic, which seems to be bottomless and and all powerful affects a long term user. We see a little of this in Joyce but it doesnt have much impact.

I do not usually mind about bad grammar but the number of clauses used as sentences is huge and became annoying to me. I found the changes of tone from matter of fact storytelling to flowery prose quite jarring.

I would not be surprised if this book is the start of a series but I would not read any further adventures.

I wouldn’t have read this had I known it has a spicy scene towards the end (not my thing), but I received this book as an ARC and so my review will be for the other aspects of the book :)

This is a very different “fantasy” book from any other I’ve read (I’d almost describe it as fiction?). The setting is academia/law firm and feels very much like the “real world” aside from the magic, but the magic system is super interesting and it fits into the story perfectly.

I enjoyed the writing style a lot; it’s elegant and sometimes poetic, but I never found it flowery. Imagery is done so well it almost reads like watching a movie!

The story was interesting and I feel like the pacing kept me very interested. I enjoyed the resolution and feel the setup for a second book is really great!

I enjoyed this book a lot, it's a short-but-sweet type of novel and I loved the pace and the characters. The whole setting is really unique and interesting, I personally have never read any books centered around solicitors so that's a first for me. Plus, I enjoyed the mystery and it had me hooked until the last possible minutes. With that said, there were a couple things I didn't enjoy during the story that kicked my rating down a bit:


· I would've loved to see more building on Muriel's and Fiadh's relationship before the disappearance. We didn't get a lot of flashbacks and I think that's something I would've enjoyed a lot.

· The wholeperiod pain plotline, while short, felt weirdly detailed for the importance that it actually had. It kind of felt like the author was maybe wanting to fit a lot of female rage on the topic but it wasn't that huge for the plot and in my opinion it read as too long and kind of weirdly introduced. I'm not uncomfortable at all with the topic, I just didn't like how the dialogue was introduced and developed.

· There were a couple of badly placed commas that made some sentences just not well written, but that was probably an ARC thing (I'm sorry I'm insufferable when it comes to punctuation signs)

Overall it was a good time and I'm curious to read more novels set in this universe as I think it has a lot of potential. The magic system is quite original and that's really hard to find nowadays!

PS: Keefe I love you SO MUCH you are amazing

I ended up captivated by The Lost Apprentice—Tara O’Toole has a knack for weaving an intriguing story that keeps you hooked from start to finish. The premise is fascinating, and the pacing kept me turning pages late into the night. However, while the plot kept me engaged, I couldn’t help but notice some inconsistencies that occasionally pulled me out of the story.

The biggest drawback for me was the lack of character depth. Other than their shared aspiration to become lawyers, I feel like I know next to nothing about the characters. I wanted to connect with them on a deeper level, to understand their motivations, personalities, and what makes them tick. Without that, the stakes felt a bit less impactful.

Despite these issues, the book’s charm lies in its ability to draw you into its world, and it’s clear that O’Toole has a talent for crafting an engaging narrative. If you’re looking for a quick and entertaining read, this one’s worth picking up—but don’t expect to walk away feeling like you truly know the characters. I’m curious to see where O’Toole takes her storytelling next!

Very fun! I liked the characters (justice for Brigid, my queen did nothing wrong), the prose was nice, and the secret society was appropriately creepy (just like where I did undergrad). The beginning was a bit slow (and not improved by the somewhat cliche character introductions), but once it got going, it got going and I was putting off doing my readings for the next day of class so I could finish this.

Loved the magic system as well, and I would definitely fuck with a sequel, bc I wish they had gotten to play around with it more! Show me the magic, show me the fucked up side effects of the magic, yes that was present in the text of the work, but I want more because I am a freak. Also would have loved watching them write out that part of the magic system, because I am insane.

My only complaint would be that it felt like everything got wrapped up a little too neatly at the end? I would have liked a slightly more ambiguous ending.

Overall, a fun, quick read.

I received this book from NetGalley.

Just finished The Lost Apprentice by Tara O’Toole, and I have mixed feelings about it. The book offers a unique blend of dark academia and fantasy, set in a Dublin law firm entangled with a secret magical society. The premise is intriguing, and the setting provides a rich backdrop for the story.

The protagonist, Fiadh, is determined and clever, driven to uncover the mystery of her cousin’s disappearance. Her journey through the competitive and secretive world of the law firm kept me engaged. The dynamics between Fiadh and her fellow apprentices, especially Keefe, added an interesting layer to the narrative.

However, I felt that the pacing was uneven at times, with certain sections dragging on longer than necessary. Additionally, while the magic system was unique and well-thought-out, I would have appreciated more depth and exploration of its intricacies.

Overall, The Lost Apprentice is a solid read for fans of dark academia and fantasy. It offers a fresh take on the genre with its Irish setting and magical elements. While it didn't completely captivate me, it was still an enjoyable experience. I would rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

An engaging dark academia novel with roots in Celtic folklore and mysticism, this was a fun read! Thank you to NetGalley and Tara O'Toole for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This novel was just the right thing to get me out of my reading rut. The worst thing possible has happened to Fiadh Whelan: her beloved cousin Muriel has gone missing and is presumed dead, and Faidh suspects that Murial's coworkers are the only people who know the truth behind her cousin's disappearance. To get close to these suspects, Faidh had to infiltrate the law firm where her cousin was working. Luckily, Faidh herself was finishing law school and was about to be assigned to a firm that would mentor her in her final term…the same firm her cousin was assigned Heron Early LLP.
There is something sinister happening at Heron Early; law apprentices are being kidnapped and forced to engage in death-defying tasks, all to become part of a secret society of lawyers who dabble in magic and psychological coercion. Will Faidh muster the courage and skill to pass these tasks? She must succeed in these tasks and get to the truth to find closure in Murial's disappearance.
I love novels set in Ireland, and O'Toole does a lovely job of developing a wonderfully detailed setting and subsequent atmosphere that successfully immerses the reader. This novel is filled with suspense, humour and a dash of romance. It's a perfect read to help get you out of a reading slump. Although a bit predictable, it was engaging enough to keep me reading, and I finished it in a day. I will definitely be on the lookout for more novels written by the author.

I didn't really know what to expect from this book, I just found the synopsis interesting. But it ended up being way better than I was expecting. The light magic was well crafted, the characters were interesting, and the plot kept me glued to the pages.

The legal setting was also well devised. All in all, it was a very interesting read.

A review will also be posted in my blog in February

https://peixinhodepratablog.wordpress.com/

This is a very interesting premise of a book. I loved the build of intrigue and the building of relationships with the other apprentices and delving into those stories. The writing was sharp and I always understood what was happening even when sleep addled so good job, the tonal writing is especially strong, the atmosphere felt tense and never broke even when there were light moments and that was sick. More than that the setting and world feels very whole, the magic system really fits into the world you have created and was a super original idea. I have to say i was majorly let down by the ending: the plot is made completely redundant by the last 50 pages or so, the entire infiltrating of the SOS and the company reveals nothing and then Oscar essentially just takes Fiadh to the person she's looking for the whole time and then suddenly they're in court and everyone agrees with them and the bad guys go away. Characterisation was super strong (the debating between the junior associates is an awesome detail that shows how they have had to be immersed in a law for years and have that thinking style to get to where they are and make them seem qualified for what they're doing) I did like the coinciding storylines revealed at the end but they aren't used in the rest of the book.
good ideas, good writing, ending leaves something to be desired.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book. Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing at 38%

This book has a really interesting premise: a secret society at an Irish law school that our group of protagonists are competing for entry into. I rarely find books that use Ireland as something other than a generic flavoring in fantasy, so I was excited to give this a go even if I’m not the biggest fan of dark academia. Sadly, I struggled to find the motivation to pick it back up anytime I closed my e-reader app.

My biggest gripe with this book was the writing style, which was full of sentence fragments that seemed designed for emphasis but really just made the narrative feel clunky and disconnected. The dialogue was easier to read, but I felt so little connection to these characters that I often had to go back and double check who was in a scene. There was also a lot of repetition - I swear I read the main character, Fiadh, complain that her new leather brogues were pinching her toes about five times in three chapters.

I’m sure this book is for someone, but it just wasn’t my thing.

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.