Babel meets Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Fearies! Really fun academia book, I enjoyed the characters and the world building. It is a little slow but in general it’s low stakes and cozy.

I’m a bit conflicted. Disappointed even. The storyline was quite good. I have to admit it had all of the features that I love in fantasy novels about faeries. And I love the Fae, truly, and every novel I read about their wicked ways. It’s just like so good I don’t know why I have an odd fascination with it but it’s so fun! It’s just so interesting to read about people studying things that I know that do not exist. Magical schools intrigue me very much and Camford was no different. It reminded me almost of Hogwarts in the best way possible and when the character (Clover) walks up to it for the first time there was just something so magical about it!
This novel is not just about a girl from a non-magical place trying to learn magic. It’s more than that, it’s found family, friendship, and what it means to really truly trust someone. However, not all the characters in this book are trustworthy. It shows you the world and people through different lense.
This book reminds me of Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries. This book would be like what I imagine studying under Professor Emily Wilde and I think that’s really cool. That's what I imagined the whole time while I was reading the first part at least. When I made it to the 60% mark of the book, I felt like I was reading a completely different book at first. It wasn’t the story but how it was structured that bothered me. The first part of the book follows Clover and her friends when she is about 18 and in university and the second part is when she’s older. I felt like it just wasn’t connected but it was, but it also wasn’t. I don’t know. Like I said I was very conflicted on this. I really did think that this was going to be a five-star read for me, but unfortunately, it was not.
If it was possibly written in more of a diary-like format to begin with and then the ending stays what it was I think that I would’ve liked it better? I hope you can tell how conflicted I am right now. I do highly recommend this, though. The writing and the characters especially! I will definitely be reading another book by the author this time. I’m not sure if I will purchase a physical copy when it comes out later this year though. But I might.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Book Group for allowing me to access an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

<u>The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door</u> is a dark academia book in the style I usually adore. It’s reminiscent of all of my favorites (<u>If We Were Villains</u>, <u>The Atlas Six</u>) but with a world building that’s uniquely H.G. Parry. I’ve always admired how reverent Parry is of magic; even in the worlds she builds, where magic is ubiquitous, she allows the reader to experience magic through the eyes of people who don’t take it for granted, such that the magic never loses its <i>wonder</i>. And that is the case for the protagonist and narrator of <u>The Scholar</u>, Clover Hill, who is introduced to magic when her brother, Matthew, is cursed by a faerie during WWI. In an attempt to save his life, she forces herself into the upper echelons of English magical society and becomes not just a practitioner but a scholar of magic, even as her relationships with other students drag her into magic’s more sinister roots.

The story itself, here, is good. Along with three other students, Clover discovers a way to open the faerie doors that have been closed since Matthew was cursed at Amiens, and this discovery has radical implications that shatter her only friendships, as well as the broader magical world that she has come to love. Clover’s desire to right her wrong is admirable, and a sufficient backbone on which to hang the plot. I was never bored while reading this book; I was fully invested in both the world building and the plot, and was ultimately satisfied with the way things resolved at the end.

However, there was something lacking in this book that made me unable to enjoy it as much as I’d hoped. Part of what I tend to love about books like this is the relationships that grow, fracture, and rebuild between the main characters. That can only be accomplished by <i>showing</i> exactly how the characters grow together and apart, and the ways in which their worldviews and morals evolve as they get older. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Clover spends a lot of time with Alden, Hero, and Eddie, we’re mostly <i>told</i> that she loves them and that they love her. And, perhaps since Clover is a bit of an unreliable narrator, I never truly believed in their closeness and affection.

Which is all to say that, although I did appreciate, plot-wise, how the story ended, I missed the emotional depth of the characters’ choices and resolutions. It says a lot that I cared more about what happened to the fae than what happened to Clover and her friends, with the possible exception of Eddie, who actually managed to be human and relatable in a way that the other characters did not.

It’s possible that <u>The Scholar</u> was never meant to be about the relationships between the characters, and was rather meant to be a study of inherited power, in which case this book succeeds quite well. And some people will probably love this book for that exact angle. Unfortunately, I need a little more emotional depth to my reading experience to really love a book, so while this was a <i>good</i> read, it was not my <i>favorite</i> read. And that’s okay.

This one was kind of hard for me to pick a rating because the first 50% was SO slow. The world building was awesome — We love a dark academia setting. But I was bored. Around 50% it started to pick up. By about 75% I finally was putting the pieces together and I was addicted. Overall, I would definitely recommend giving this a try!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is a slow burn, but not a slog.
In this world that Parry has created, magic exists, but only the elite know about it-the Families. Clover Hill finds out about this magic world after her brother is struck with a faerie curse. She's determined to find a way to break the curse. when the magic world bans all faerie magic, what lengths will she go to to find a solution?
I really enjoyed the world building here, and found the way the elite hid magic to be so realistic. The characters had a lot of depth and I enjoyed the academic setting. This book does require some patience, but I felt it was worth it.
I definitely want to check out some of Parry's other work.

Thanks to Netgalley and Red Hook for an early copy for review.

The writing was nice, the story was lovely, the fairies are appropriately sinister...but I'm likely to forget every single thing about this book within the next three days - it just didn't have any lingering stick to your bones material for me.

This was simply beautiful! The academic setting, secret magic society/university, clever mages, and the found family aspect all came together and gave me everything I wanted in a cozy faerie fantasy. We didn’t get the pretty high fae, this time we got the dangerous tricky fae and I ate that up! I loved the pacing, the little plot twists, the dark curse, how flawed and real the characters are, and definitely how well that this story was written. 5/5 ⭐️

Dive into a world filled with magic, but not everyone knows it's there.
Clover Hill's brother is shipped off to fight the Germans, but returns with a unique injury; a faery curse.
Follow Clover as she demands entry into an exclusive magic school made for men. Not only is she one of the only women allowed, she is the only student not from a magical Family.
Clover fights her way into the school to learn of a cure for her brother, making friends along the way who have their own secrets.
The four work together to learn how to open a door into the fae realm, but unseen consequences arise.
8 years later, those consequences face the light of day and Clover is forced to join forces with those friends again to fight the fae.

I'm having trouble writing competently about this book. I looked at what I wrote about H.G. Parry's last two books, and I was hard pressed to write about those with the level of enthusiasm I felt for them. Maybe I'll circle back and rewrite this closer to publication day if I find the right words to convey how captivating this story was!

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is a sweeping, engrossing read that combines dark academia, WW2 fiction, and fantasy. There's also some great social commentary about the aristocracy and social classes.

We follow a group of four students while they're at university for magic studies (part 1), at one of their estates for summer vacation (part 2), and then dealing with the aftermath of their experimentation during school a decade later (parts 3 and 4). I was prepared for this to be a story simply solely about students at university and that part of the story was fantastic, but when the time jumped ten years, I was even more fascinated.

Our main heroine is the underdog - a common girl named Clover Hill who gets special tutoring to pass the entrance exam for a magic university. Her motivation is to learn how to remove a curse that was put on her brother at the Battle of Amiens by a faerie. Much of the scholarship about the fae is off limits in the post-WW2, as the powers that be have decided that the faerie world is too dangerous after what happened at Amiens. Clover is smart and determined to find the information she needs. Being a commoner at a school full of aristocrats, who have been using magic since they were children, means she's got plenty of time to study...until one of those aristocrats brings her into this small circle. Their friend group of four is united in wanting to study the fae, but they go their separate ways after one bad interaction with a faerie. What they don't realize is that there are lasting effects of what they did as students, which they have to deal with as adults.

The writing is gorgeous, as I've come to expect from H.G. Parry. This is a book I know I'll find myself reading again and again.

Thank you to Redhook for the opportunity to read and review this title early!
Out Oct. 22, 2024!

After her brother returns from WW1 with a deadly faerie curse on him, Clover Hill leaves her family farm to attend Camford in order to learn all that she can about the faerie world and magic in order to cure her brother. There is only one problem - the doors to the faerie world were locked after the war, and summoning them is now illegal.
It Camford, Clover is drawn into the circle of society's golden boy, Alden, and his small group of friends. Her first summer at Camford and with Alden leads her down a path of forbidden magic gone awry. Years later, when the doors come crumbling down, Clover knows that she is partly to blame and must team up with people who used to be her closest confidants in order to save the world.

I loved the synopsis, but ended up not connecting with this one, and this is coming from an HG Parry LOVER. Uriah Heep and A Declaration on the Rights of Magicians are my favs of hers.
If you are more into The Magician's Daughter, I think that this book will be right up your alley!
There is nothing wrong with the book, but I think that it is just slightly too similar to other fae books that I adore, and I could not stop the comparison (specifically to Emily Wilde), which is not fair to the book.
I loved the academic set up and the setting, but I struggled with the slow pacing and the characterization. At 35%, I felt that hardly anything had happened, and found myself wanting to skip to the end to figure out what happened. I also desired more scenes of genuine connection from these friends, and I failed to feel connected to them. I wanted them to be slightly more fleshed out.
I think that so many people will love this, and that it is a book worth loving, but it was just not for me unfortunately.

Thank you again to the publisher for this ARC!

The only word I can think to use to describe this book is decadent. From the first, the author slowly, deliciously introduces you to a world that at once feels familiar and exotic, a dark academia setting of wealth and power and magic. Like the protagonist, Clover, an outsider who forces her way into a society that at every turn makes sure she knows she is neither welcomed nor worthy, we want so badly to know, to learn, to uncover the secrets of a hidden magical world and the elite university meant only for those whose blood is right, and like Clover, we are confronted with the realities of elitism, colonialism, and complicity in oppression, even when oppressed ourselves.

There is no part of this book I did not love. There is no character who does not feel sparklingly alive, no connection between them that did not have my spine pricking with recognition. I've been Clover, stubbornly shoving my nose where it doesn't belong because I refuse to acknowledge the very concept of belonging. I've been Eddie, on the outside looking in and just so grateful to even be at the window. I've been Hero, pulled in two different directions by the privilege I wield and the systems that exclude me. And I've been Alden, blurring the lines between passion and mania in a misguided attempt to get what I think I deserve. I could have read a thousand more pages of this quartet, of their delicate dance, of the ways they pushed and pulled each other without really moving. Parry so perfectly encapsulates what it is to be not quite a child, not quite an adult, with too much curiosity and not enough sense but most of all so much love for your friends that you don't know what to do with it.

I also have to commend Parry on her restraint. The scope of this story is broad, both in time and location, and quite easily it could have spiraled into a familiar fantasy trilogy structure. But the limits that being just one novel put on the way this story was told serve the narrative so well; we are forced to keep moving forward, never spending too much time in one feeling or one moment, no matter how much we want to. Time marches on, and the choices characters make must eventually have their consequences. One can only hide away at Ashfield for so long. Again, though I selfishly would read so much more of this world, I feel that what I was given was exactly correct.

There are a number of plot twists wound into this story that, in a lesser writer's hands, would have felt cheap or gimmicky. In Parry's writing, however, they feel right, appropriate, necessary. The pacing is such that each new wrench thrown into Clover's life, while understandably overwhelming, never bogged the plot down. Parry has a gift for keeping her readers on their toes, never quite comfortable enough in the now not to be worrying about the what's next, and as a result, the twists hit less like a fist to the face and more like an unexpected turn in a labyrinth.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this book, one of the most exciting reads of my 2024 thus far. I will be sure to pick up my own physical copy of this book when it comes out, because I know I will be revisiting it many times to come.

Dark academia, faeries, magic school. This book on paper was everything I love, and i could see how it would be the perfect book for many. The characters are incredibly well developed as is the world. It had a dark edge to it that i loved, but it lacked the charm and whimsy that usually draws me deeper into stories like this one. That said, it is one I see myself returning to for sure!

All they needed to break the world was a door, and someone to open it.


The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door
by H. G. Parry
Pub Date: Oct 22 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Camford, 1920. Gilded and glittering, England's secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother Matthew, one of the few survivors of a faerie attack on the battlefields of WWI which left the doors to faerie country sealed, the study of its magic banned, and its victims cursed.

But when Clover catches the eye of golden boy Alden Lennox-Fontaine and his friends, doors that were previously closed to her are flung wide open, and she soon finds herself enmeshed in the seductive world of the country's magical aristocrats. The summer she spends in Alden’s orbit leaves a fateful mark: months of joyous friendship and mutual study come crashing down when experiments go awry, and old secrets are unearthed.

Years later, when the faerie seals break, Clover knows it’s because of what they did. And she knows that she must seek the help of people she once called friends—and now doesn’t quite know what to call—if there’s any hope of saving the world as they know it.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. I really enjoyed this book. Spoilers: This book is about about a young woman, Clover, going to magical school as a scholarship student, having learned about the existance of magic after accident to her brother during WWI. But while a lot of books would just be about the magical school, it then picks up 8 years later, once Clover had finished her initial schooling and became a scholar mage. In this present day, she now has to deal with the consequences of something she thought she had left behind in her undergraduate days. I felt very satisfying to me to have both storylines since nowadays I feel like it would often be broken up into seperate books.

I did have one question about the world building, namely the fact that post-WWI France, Germany, and England decide to lock the border between the human world and the faerie country, and each lock it within their own countries. This is good enough to cover the whole world? There's references to studying magic in both India and Japan. But I guess it does, or you would have faeries popping out elsewhere? idk it seems odd if there are magic traditions all over the world that they can just lock it down in Europe and it counts for everywhere. But I'm probably waaaay overthinking this. I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you to the publishers for approving me for an e-arc so I could read it early.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Redhook for providing this digital advanced reader copy (e-ARC) in exchange for an honest review.
If you want to read a book set in a magical school in the 1920s, where life coexists with fairies, you need to put this on your tbr.

I enjoyed this book a good amount. The dark academia setting, with all the magic lessons (incantations and runes), was my favorite because it is so unique, especially in how they create connections with the fairies. I liked how the portrayal of one reckless choice and flaw could affect the entire plot. In this book, I truly saw how people’s greed for power affects their morality and challenges what they tend to believe. The friendship and journey of these characters fascinated me, because, in the end, they come back together to support each other and make things right.

Even though I liked almost everything about the book, it was very slow from beginning to end. I think I finally got into the story about halfway through the book. The concept of this book is good, but there are some execution issues that were somewhat lacking. I know it focuses on the main characters, but the depth of them and other characters that actually effect the storyline was somewhat lacking. The world-building is mesmerizing, but at the same time, some aspects feel small and lack detail. There’s also a plot hole regarding the magical abilities; even though half of the answers were provided by the end, it’s still confusing. By the end, I felt like I needed more from the book, but it just ended in a way that was actually acceptable yet still left me unsettled.

However, despite all of that, I still felt good about this book. It’s not boring and is somewhat engaging. Not to mention, the writing is beautiful, so I was in awe from chapter to chapter. I think if you liked emily wilde series you should pick this one up, it has similar vibes and a really good plot.

"The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door" is a book that really took me by surprise! We follow the story of a young woman named Clover, who finds herself thrust into the magical world after her brother is cursed by a faerie. She will do anything to help save him, and along with 3 friends, gets caught up in some magic that has serious consequences.

I hadn't heard anything about this book until I saw an "upcoming releases" youtube video from peruse project. When I saw it was available for request on netgalley and had a 5 star rating, I felt I had to give it a try. Let me tell you those 5 star ratings are absolutely right! From the first page I was hooked! The story was so fast paced that I never wanted to put the book down, and it kept my interest the whole way through. I loved learning about the magical world and the intricacies of faerie bargains. The author did a great job of foreshadowing events to come, which kept me on the edge of my seat. I could not stop reading and highly recommend!

I think you would like this book if you are into the mischievous type faeries, dark academia, and stories of non-magical people being thrust into the magical world. This book would be great for both the teen and adult audience. I found a lot of similarities between this book and Babel, but this was way better! This book will certainly be on my top books of the year for 2024.

5/5 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Redhook Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Redhook, Orbit, and H.G. Parry for the ARC copy of The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door to read.

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is my first read of H.G. Parry. I found this book to be very enjoyable, however it was a slow read for me. The pacing of the book is one of leisure. It took me a while to become invested in the characters. I felt Parry created well-developed and likeable characters. She did exceptionally well with the four main characters: Clover, Alden, Hero, and Eddie. I really enjoyed Clover's insatiable desire for knowledge and found her to be the most relatable character. While Clover and her friends quested for knowledge to answer the questions of their world and especially faerie magic, I found myself wanting to know more along with them. Parry does a fantastic job at writing the story so that the reader feels they are on the journey too. I loved the dark academic setting and the magical world that Parry has built.

This book has strong themes of friendship, finding ones' self, family, "righting the wrongs", and a strong need to do what is right. I have seen that some compare Parry's The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door to Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde series. I feel the only similarities are faeries and an academic setting. Parry's book is less whimiscal with no focus on romance, however more on serious matters including saving a brother from a life-ending curse and saving a lost brother. I am a fan of both the Emily Wilde series and Parry's The Scholar and the Last Faerie door. Both authors have given readers their own unique yet magical take on the Fae.

What I enjoyed most from this book is Parry's special view on Faeries. I liked the depication of the Dryads. The Faeries are not romanticized in Parry's world she has created. There was magic present, through out the story, but I wanted more. I feel Parry had a good foundation, but there could be a bit more whimsy. Besides the pacing of the story and the sometimes wordy passages, overall Parry's The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door was a worthwhile and enjoyable read!

*Thank you Netgalley, Redhook, and Orbit for this arc in exchange for an honest review*

Honestly, I really wasn't feeling this book. It felt like it was dragging its feet through the early chapters, and when it finally reached what should have been the big, pivotal moments, they ended up being surprisingly lackluster. The pacing was off, and the buildup to the climax was so slow that by the time the big reveal or resolution arrived, it was almost a letdown. I think that the time jumps (not a huge fan in general) also detracted from the book for me.

That said, there were some redeeming qualities. The characters had depth and were well-developed, and the premise had a lot of potential. I genuinely liked the concept and the world the author built. Unfortunately, despite the intriguing setup, the execution didn’t quite live up to the promise. It was like watching a suspenseful thriller that fizzles out just before the end. For me, the book just didn’t hit the mark it seemed to be aiming for.

This book took me a while to get into it, but once the twists started getting revealed I was sold. The setting felt fresh with a premise that had the best of both worlds of dark academia and fantasy. I love all four of these characters. They make sense as a unit, and as individuals. They all broke my heart in different ways. This story transports you to a time and world so familiar and yet so different. The writing does much of the same. It felt like reading a folktake or watching an old movie. I will be thinking about Clover, Alden, Hero, and Eddie for some time

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H. G. Parry
The scholar and the last faerie door is a magical story about a young lady finding her way in a new world. This story brought me through the wonderful ups and downs of reading a great novel. I began to read this book with a bit of skepticism. I was sure if the book would be too much of a young adult to read. I was surprised to find that this is a wonderful book for all ages. The author writes clearly and cleverly. Reading this book was relaxing and had me holding on to my chair.
The main character Clover, is a very likable character. The reader is able to grow with her and learn with her as if you are a scholar. One of the best attributes to this novel was the actual learning you were able to understand about faerie magic. While Clover learned, the reader learned with her. You were able to understand exactly what was happening with the faerie doors and the magic. I felt very connected and inspired by the characters' friendships. I found myself not wanting to put the novel down. I would say this is a great novel for young adult fantasy. It’s understandable and very intriguing.
Overall, this novel was a great twist on the usual fantasy faerie novels. It showed us a whole new world at play while also tying in to the real world. The time setting for this book was a great way to connect the war to the storyline. I’ve read many fantasy books but this one felt different. I felt very connected to the main character Clover and wanted her to succeed. I felt it was a very well written book, both in setting and the timeline.
Additionally, I may have found one error on page 31. The book states “…never since the war…” and I believe it’s meant to be “ever since the war”.
I would also like to add that when reading books oftentimes the reader has a very strong emotional reaction to the book. Whether we are aware of it or not as readers our brains actually take on the emotions of the characters. While this novel had a wide range of emotions, I always felt a very warm positive feeling while reading this book. I can’t quite put a name to the emotion, but I really do think the author did an amazing job at creating these great characters and story. I would be delighted if I was reading this book and someone came up to me and asked, “What are you reading?”