I really enjoyed reading this book. It felt a little slow at times, it really set up the world nicely. I liked the new take on a magic system - where writers and casters of magic need to work together to achieve the goals.

I loved the banter between Leo and Sebastian, and watching them interact was a joy. It was a pleasure to watch them come into their own - and how they grew together.

The ending left so many wide open questions; I'm excited for the following books. It wasn't quite a cliffhanger... but definitely know you're gonna want to know what happens next!

This was an easy 4 ⭐ read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for giving me a copy to read before release!

The fact that I am giving this book 5 stars even though it is in my least favorite pov (first person with fourth wall breaks) is not something i expected when i started it. To be honest i almost immediately put it down with no intention to pick it back up just because i dislike fourth wall breaks that much. But im so glad that i decided to push through my personal issues and continue reading because i absolutely fell in love with this book.

Leo is cocky and sunshine personified and turns that up to 100 to run away from his trauma.

Grimm is a storm cloud hiding a soft heart and trauma of his own.

And together they’re a hot mess. And I adore them.

Sorcery and Small Magics is engaging and whitty and whimsical but also deals with a lot of internal conflict and tension the main characters have. I found it to be balanced nicely and never hit a lull in my reading journey which is phenomenal for a debut.

I’m thrilled that I was gifted an early copy from NetGalley but I’m devastated that I’ll have to wait for the second book!

Desperate to undo the curse binding them to each other, an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.

Utterly delightful! Leo and Grimm are grumpy-sunshine perfection. I love the co-op style magic system. Can't wait for Leo to really come into his own with his unique spin on scribing. It feels like we've just scratched the surface of the politico-military complex in their world, and I'm also excited to see where the author goes with that. So nice to see a complex-but-cozy queer fantasy.

Review posted to Goodreads
Will run 09/06/24 in perpetuity

Will add to Barnes and Noble upon release, and update with a link once live

This book was freaking adorable.
I adore Leo.
I adore Grimm.
The forced proximity. The grumpy/sunshine. The playing into perceptions. PERFECTION.
I laughed. I squeaked. I wanted to shake them both.
I need more of whatever this is.

I. LOVED. THIS. What a fun, slooooow burn of a cozy fantasy! This is right on the cusp of "cozy" because it was fun and lighthearted a lot of the time, but had enough stakes to keep me glued to the pages! The banter and slow build between Leo and Grimm was straight up chef's kiss level of a slow burn.

P.S. I am BEGGING for a bonus chapter with Grimm's POV pretty please! I would eat that up!!

Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

3.5 stars rounded up

This is a fun, light-hearted fantasy book. I’m hesitant to call it romantasy because it was such a SLOW BURN. Nevertheless, this was a MM grumpy/sunshine and enemies to lovers romance.

Although Leo was at times infuriating, I found him likable in a very insufferable way. His character arc as he grew and confronted some of his inner demons was well done. I really enjoyed the unique magic system. I wish we got to see more POV from Grimm.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an ARC of this book. This review was left voluntarily.

I really enjoyed the world in this book, especially the Unquiet Wood where the magic and inhabitants feel wild and dangerous. It doesn't seem like an area I would want to camp in, but it sounds so adventurous. It left me wanting to explore more of the world and its regions. Also, can I have a magical tower? That sounds amazing. The magic system, which requires collaboration between spell writers and casters, was a unique touch that I enjoyed greatly. However, I did not like the idea of the Coterie, which is dominated by privileged rich kids. Both Leo and Grimm want to shake things up, so I'm hoping this is something that is abolished or reformed in future books.

The writing style kept me engaged throughout and I laughed on more than one occasion. While the plot was somewhat predictable, the premise was still so much fun. I enjoyed the dynamic between Leo and Grimm, with their witty banter and growing bond. The forced proximity between rivals slowly turning into something more? Yes, please! I wish we could have learned more about the other characters, but there's still 2 books left in this trilogy. Overall, I had a great time reading this.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books!

In a world where magic requires both a scriver to write spells and a caster to bring them to life, Leo is accidentally cursed with a forbidden spell by his longtime rival Grimm. To undo the curse, they have to go on a reluctant journey together to find a scriver talented enough to write a counterspell. An adventure in a wild wood and a very slow burn love story ensues....

This book may be a contender for one of my favorites of the year and I would like the sequel downloaded into my brain right now.

I would describe this as a cozy romantasy that hits all the right notes. Although the world building and magic system aren't extremely detailed, they are both developed enough to support the story. Because the focus of the story is our main pair of sorcerers and how they interact with both magic and each other. Leo and Grimm definitely fall along the sunshine/grump tropes, but I feel Doocy elevated their characterization beyond said tropes. I absolutely adored both characters and loved watching them subtly change each other for the better. I may be wrong about this, but Grimm is portrayed with a form of reading disability, and I have suspicions that Leo may be neurodivergent in so way. (If I am off the mark with this, I do apologize.) I liked seeing the ableism of our world reflected in the world of the book as both characters struggle with learning magic in a system that is not set up to help them succeed.

I especially liked the use of magic as a metaphor for and solution to emotional trauma and the recovery process. As is often the case in fantasy, magic is powered by intent and therefore it reflects the lies that characters tell themselves about themselves. Doocy does a great job of showing this without compromising the cozy nature of the book.

Since the ending of the book was left open ended in terms of the romance, I cannot wait to see what these two get up to in the next one....

Reviewed going live on Goodreads, Storygraph and Fable on 10/10 and on Tiktok on 10/11

What a delightfully inventive and cozy book! The magic was interesting, the monsters were unnerving, the quips were amusing, and the burn is the SLOWEST but still worth it. Leovander Loveage and Sebastian Grimm are total opposites, not just because Leo is a rather poor scriver (spell-writer) and Grimm is a genius caster, but also because Leo is reckless and rich and full of good humor, while Grimm is, well, grim. Being forced to work together in class is bad enough, but things take a dire (though hilarious) turn when a rogue spell is cast by accident and its ensuing curse forces them together even further. They eventually journey into the Unquiet Wood, teeming with monsters and outlaws, in search of a mysterious, and possibly not even real, sorcerer strong enough to undo the damage. Many hijinks follow! Leo is an incredibly compelling narrator, and the book does have its fair share of dark moments among the humor. I'm already eagerly awaiting the next installment in this planned trilogy.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for an advanced copy of this book.

💙BOOK REVIEW💙
Sorcery and Small Magics by @maigadoocy
Releases October 15, 2024
-

This book was so fun to read! Sorcery and Small Magics is a light-hearted, fun, cozy, gay and cute as hell!

It starts off very lighthearted with Leo Loveage being the most unserious, silly, almost gratingly reckless against Sebastian Grimm who is very much by-the-rules and grumpy as hell. They’re both constantly at each others throats to the point where the school purposely separated them. When a professor randomizes team assignments they get forced together. During this, they accidentally end up cursed by a strong control spell that bonds them together they must work together to figure out a way to undo it.

I loved the characters so much! I love that they’re such a contrast to each other in the best way. The romance between them is the slowest burn and the entire time I was SCREAMING JUST KISS ALREADY (it was fantastic). This story is very much character driven as the entirety of the book is them trying to find a “cure” for the curse.

The magic system is really fun and I kind of love that they have to work as a team casters and scriver, where one individual isn’t great without another.

TROPES/themes:
💙 Grumpy/Sunshine
💙 Forced proximity
💙 MMC with a traumatic past
💙 cozy fantasy
💙 magic
💙 slowburn

Read if you are a fan of M/M romance, grumpy/sunshine. and enemies to lovers. This first book feels like a build up. Not much romance yet, but we are only just getting to know our two main leads. This story is whimsical, a bit chaotic (but in a good way), and has its share of fun and frolic!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy is a first person-POV Queer cozy romantic fantasy. Leo is skilled in smaller magics, such as charms and cantrips, but has long given up more powerful magic despite the ways it could benefit him. Sebastian Grimm, his longtime rival, is one of the more popular and talented students at their school. When a spell goes wrong and Leo needs to follow any command Grimm gives him, the pair are going to learn a lot more about each other than they had ever planned.

One of the things I really liked was how Leo is part of the upper class while Grimm comes from a more rural background. I’m always here for love interests having differences in their upbringing and personal history and I love a romantic arc across classes and cultures. What really grabbed me with this iteration was how Grimm has tried to use his magic to help his farming community in the past and it backfired on him while Leo’s own experiences with Grandmagic ended up traumatizing him. They both tried to do the right thing, but due to their lack of training, it had negative consequences and neither has truly accepted it, though Grimm is more at peace.

Leo has a lot of negative feelings towards Grimm when we start out but there’s always this layer of admiration or envy that Leo does acknowledge is there. Because we don’t see anything from Grimm’s POV, we don’t know all of his feelings towards Leo when the adventure started, but we do know Grimm doesn’t completely understand while Leo won’t try more complicated magic at first. Grimm is horrified when he realizes Leo needs to follow his orders, showing that he is a lot more compassionate than the reader is initially made to believe.

I love a magic system that has layers and can be expressed in a variety of ways. When Leo used a violin for a minor spell, I got excited. Previously, we’d see cantrips and butterfly magic and the use of paper and ink, but with the violin, it was something that blew the possibilities of the magic system wide open for me. Uniformity would definitely be easier to keep track of and would make sense on some levels for worldbuilding, but it also doesn’t make sense for magic to always look exactly the same across the board because different peoples and cultures would do different things. I would love to see more of the system explored in the next book.

I would recommend this to fans of Queer romantic fantasy who prefer cozier books, readers of cozy fantasy looking for a prominent romance arc, and those who love magic systems with variety

I loved this book!

Leovander Loveage is a mess. He doesn't want to return to the Fount for another disastrous year. The Fount is a magical academy and Leo is on probation there. If he screws anything else up, he will be kicked out. The only reason he's going back there is because if he doesn't, he will be disinherited.

Leo knows he will never be a great sorcerer. He is only capable of small magics.

Then there is his complete opposite, Sebastián Grimm. Grimm is brilliant, focused, and he hates Leo. It may or may not have something to do with Leo turning his hair pink at some point.

Now they have been paired together for a class. Neither is happy about it. They become even less happy about it when a spell goes wrong that could end not only their time at the Fount, but any hopes they have for the future.
They need to find someone to remove the curse before anyone finds out what they've done.

I loved every minute of this! It's kind of a cozy adventure story. I love Leo, and Grimm is Mr. Grumpy Sunshine. I loved their adventure and watching both of them deal with their past mistakes. I can't wait to continue the series!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-arc.

𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓼: lgbtq+, fantasy, rivals to lovers
𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝓽𝓮: October 17, 2024
𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
𝓶𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼:

I was gifted both an arc and an alc for this book and y’all…I’m obsessed.

Leovander Loveage is a master of small magic and that’s about it.
He’s pretty much invisible…except everyone knows he’s a failure and he’s on his last chance.
Sebastian Grimm is his complete opposite.
He’s a powerfully gifted sorcerer who’s well loved by everyone.
But when Leo has a mishap with a forbidden spell, he’s bound to Grimm and they must go on a perilous journey to fix what’s been done.

Such a fun, magical, thrilling ride of an adventure!
We’ve got monsters and spells and betrayals abound.
The plot is SO good and vivid.
I never wanted it to end.

BUT I want/NEED more. This is “book 1” so I’m hoping Grimm and Leo get more page time because their story sounds like it’s just beginning.
The romance was SLOW BURN and it’s not quite a HFN but rather a 🤷🏻‍♀️ ending.
An absolutely delightful queer, ya fantasy.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣.

Rating: 5 stars
Spice: 🌶️

Tropes:
🪄Rivals to allies to… ???
🪄Grumpy/Sunshine
🪄Forced proximity
🪄The slowest 🤌 of slow burns
🪄Bi/Pansexual MCs (M/M main relationship)
🪄Class difference
🪄Magic school
🪄Very unique magic system
🪄Cozy but with decidedly creepy vibes at times

THIS. BOOK. This right here. This is my shit. This feels like it was tailor-made to check off every one of my preferred tropes, and I mean that in the best way because they were actually done well here. I laughed out loud, I teared up, I wanted to throw my iPad through the window when I finished and realized I have very little resolution and now have to wait HOW LONG for a sequel???

Leo is our ultimate little chaos gremlin in a school for magic. He’s a scriver (one who writes spells) who’d once showed immense promise and ingenuity in his spells, but after an accident, he’s determined to sabotage any and all chances that may come his way in lieu of actually attempting any grand magic ever again. When he’s partnered in his Duality class with caster (one who casts spells) Sebastian Grimm, a dour and morally superior boy every bit as uptight as his name might suggest, they accidentally cast a curse with far-reaching consequences. In order to get it reversed, they must journey together past the safe borders of their country into monster-ridden forests in search of a sorcerer who may just be able to create a counterspell.

This book was so much frickin fun. Leo is so hilariously flippant about everything—at least on the surface—and his humor is on. point. When he does sober up and takes things seriously, he shows a depth and even compassion that’s very endearing. He makes for such an entertaining narrator. Grimm, his counterpart, is the perfect tsundere if you know your meme culture—if not, the perfect grump to Leo’s sunshine. It’s so sweet watching him oh-so-slowly develop a crush on Leo in the background but continue to deny it to himself. I would kill for a Grimm POV of this book.

I really have no notes for this book. It’s short and sweet, fun, and just the right amounts of cozy and creepy vibes. I wouldn’t say the stakes are necessarily low, just more personal for Leo than anything like saving the world. If I had anything to complain about at all, it would be the rather abrupt ending. We had some minor resolution from the curse, but almost everything else is left completely up in the air and just cut off. I understand this is the first in a new trilogy, so I can forgive that.

I just want the sequel in my hands yesterday. Go buy this book NOW. What are you waiting for???

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I finished this book five days ago. I loved it so much that I made myself wait to write this review just to make sure I was no longer deliriously high on it and could write something that was 1) intelligible and 2) not so overwhelmingly positive that I seemed a bit out of control. But now that I’ve healed from the book hangover (the likes of which I have only seen once before), it’s still a 10/10, I have no notes, and I think I’m about to cry right now because thinking about how much I love this book makes me really emotional. Sooo, I’ve failed.

Sorcery and Small Magics is a big magical book about forgiving yourself and finding your place in the world. I easily fell in love with the main characters, Grimm and Leo, and I can’t pick a favorite but I have to say that Leo seems like he’d be so much fun. Maybe a little exhausting sometimes, but very fun. The idea of two characters that are complete opposites with more in common than they think isn’t new, but it’s done so well here that it felt fresh to me.

And the magic system! Okay. We have sorcerers, right? But they’re split into two types: scrivers and casters. Scrivers come up with and write the spells on paper. Casters take the paper and cast the spells. They must work together to create the magic. It’s an excellent system, it’s interesting and well defined, and also: Grimm is a caster, Leo is a scriver, they hate each other, and THEY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER. Yes, it’s a common trope, no, it doesn’t feel common. It feels amazing, because witnessing the slow evolution of Grimm and Leo’s relationship from rivals to reluctant allies through forced proximity is like watching a beautiful sunrise. It takes time, but it’s never stagnant as there are tiny changes happening constantly.

I don’t have the ability to visualize but the world of Sorcery and Small Magics is so believable and feels so real that I could almost see it. When Grimm and Leo had to journey together in search of a counterspell, the woods they traveled through were full of danger, and I could nearly see it all, which is an extremely rare experience for me and the mark of fantastic writing. I had a thought that I’d love to watch a movie adaptation, but those are always disappointing, so I changed my mind. Who am I kidding though? It couldn’t possibly be as good as the book, but I’d still watch it and probably love it because Sorcery and Small Magics might be my personality now.

I’m so glad this book is the first in a trilogy because I need more. It’s charming, whimsical, and funny (both haha and hehe). I cried (three times) while reading and when I finished, I yelled “AHHHHHHH!” and then cried again because I was so upset it was over. I will be more than eagerly and less than patiently awaiting the next book!

Thank you so much to both Netgalley and Orbit Books, from whom I received an ARC of Sorcery and Small Magics. I’m almost sorry I love the book so much because I’ve seen people say they don’t trust overwhelmingly positive 5 star ARC reviews. But not sorry enough to lie 🤷🏻‍♀️

I liked this on-the-cozy-side romantasy quite a bit, but the ending frustrated me. Here are the deets:

Leo and Grimm are both students at a magical university. Leo is a scrivener, which means he can write spells; Grimm is a caster, who can take those words and make magic from them. They can't stand each other, but (unsurprisingly, since this is a romance) are paired together in class. When Grimm unwittingly casts a "control spell" on Leo, they have to go on a quest to get it removed. And when it turns out it's also a love spell, they're quite motivated!

Great! Forced proximity, "I can't tell if I'm attracted to him because of the spell or because he's just SO HOT," chaos + order, social class differences... this is a solid romance setup and the fantasy is fun, too! But it wasn't until I was at the very end of the book that I realized Doocy wasn't even giving the reader an HFN. No, they end as "friends"/"spellcasting partners" (though any reader will realize they're both totally in love with each other). It feels like sequel bait for the reader to go through a whole section of will they/won't they in the next book, when I know I, for one, would have been just as happy to read a sequel about the beginning of a tentative new relationship without a spell bringing them together.

I still recommend this book, but with the caveat that romance readers might feel a little cheated.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

A new favorite for sure. Sorcery and Small Magics gets the enemies-to-lovers slow burn so right - there's banter, layered jealousy and bias, tension for days, and the steady build of trust and respect. I did not expect a relatively cozy fantasy romance to bring me near tears, but the climax of this book was pitch perfect. Leovander and Grimm were phenomenal leads - I appreciated complex backstories for both. And those backstories directly tie in to their current predicaments, Leo's especially being an essential part of the climax. Doocy creates deep human characters whose personalities evolve constantly rather than in flashback leaps and bounds. I hope we'll get to see more of secondary characters like Sybilla, the sorcerer anchorite of the woods, and Agnes, Leo's lifelong friend and confidant. Even the eventual villain, while a definite "bad guy", had motives that you could tenuously accept. Just excellent character work across the board, and worth reading on that merit alone.

Add on the fact that Doocy constructs an intricate but understandable magic system, straddling academia and wild magic, and this book checks every one of my boxes. I could not get enough of the scriver/sorcerer system, where some are capable of writing spells imbued with magic while others are able to cast them. This was such a novel system for me, and one that really buffeted the world Doocy writes. But the magic of the Unquiet Woods, with its uncanny monsters, ramble wolves, and deadly plants, has my whole attention. I love a good eldritch wood in any case, but when the monsters ride the line between kind sentience and abject horror, it's perfection. I am so glad we'll be getting more books in this world! I'll be eagerly awaiting book two.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for this ARC.

Maiga Doocy is a debut author and I can’t wait to see what else she creates if this is her first offering to the world of books. I was hooked on this book from the beginning and just got more attached as I kept reading and almost cried when I got to the end and realized I had to wait for book two …. Not to mention the wait for book three.

This is the story of two complete opposites who are forced to work together: from scholarly rivals - to reluctant partners - to friends - to more (please let them reach to more lol). The world Maiga has created is a fun fantasy world with magical creatures, an adventure in the woods, hidden pasts and a confusing present. I love the duality she created where magic is done in pairs, where one person speaks the spells and the other writes the spells. I look forward to seeing where this story goes.

Since misery loves company go read this amazing book then be stuck suffering with me while we wait for book two.

A cozy, magical school story with academic rivals and a side quest into the dangerous enchanted forest? Sign me up!

The magic system feels really unique, with the general requirement of two magic users to make it work: one to write the spells and one to cast them. Thus, we get rivals as reluctant allies.

The story is cozy without being overly sweet, and the stakes are relatively small (for fantasy) but still hold significant weight for the characters. I love that the relationship between Leo and Grimm is really slow-burning, so I can't wait for the next book.