“I wanted to belong to this old world of dusty tomes and ancient stone.” - The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is the type of book you long to savor. Rich with myth and history, this novel follows a group of friends from university to adulthood as they grapple with secrets, scholarship, and magic beyond their wildest imaginations.

In 1920s England, Clover Hill discovers the existence of magic after her brother Matthew returns from the front lines of WWI injured by a faerie curse. Determined to save him, Clover earns a scholarship at Camford, a school for mage’s, to study magic despite the doors to faerie country having been sealed. At Camford, Clover catches the eye of golden boy Alden Lennox-Fontaine and is taken in by him and his friends Hero and Eddie. The group spends the year and subsequent summer studying faerie lore in secret, attempting experiments that would surely get them expelled, but the thrill of academia and unknown magic are too enticing to pass up. Years later, a faerie seal breaks and Clover is certain it’s a result of what her and her friends did that fateful summer. Clover will have to reunite with her former friends to face the repercussions of their actions and save their world before it’s too late.

Divided into four parts, the first half of this novel takes on full dark academia vibes as Clover settles in at Camford and befriends Alden, Hero, and Eddie. Clover’s naivety pertaining to the magical world and excitement for her studies is on full display as the bonds between the group form. Slowly, the intricate dynamics between each party unfurl, highlighting Alden’s hedonism, Eddie’s quiet intelligence, Hero’s practicality, and Clover’s raw talent. I loved reading about the group’s magical studies. The scholarship surrounding faerie magic was unlike anything I’ve ever seen! It read like a historical text despite its fantastical leanings and I was wholly engrossed with the group’s experiments.

There is a time jump in the second half of the book and the narrative takes on a new but equally irresistible tone. Gone is the youthful ignorance we saw in the first section. The stakes are upped and danger is projected onto a world stage. We get to see how our characters react when faced with real world implications and how desperation and ambition can carve away at a person. The novel becomes part heist, part fugitive arc and the author took this story to soaring heights I could barley fathom.

H.G. Parry pens a story of friendship that begs the question, what will one sacrifice for the pursuit of personal ambition? The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is also a commentary on classism and privilege — who is given a seat at the table and who must claw their way to the top? Parry’s use of foreshadowing is impeccable and I can see myself returning to the pages of this book for future rereads to try and find all the details I missed. The kernels of foreboding pay out handsomely in the latter sections, as nothing is mentioned haphazardly, and I was in awe as all the threads started to bind together.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction with a fantastical twist, The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door should be at the top of your list!

Thank you Orbit/Redhook Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Book review: 4.5/5 ⭐️
Genre: magical realism, fantasy
Themes: dark academy, vengeful fae, inequity, magic
📖 Read if you like: Emily Wilde, Babel, A Deadly Education


This has a classic spin on dark academy. A narrative based off of a disparity in privilege, the classes and colonization (albeit in a magical world), gender roles and the dangers of youthful hubris. It followed a fairly predictable arc, but it was done really well with an immersive world and was in essence an ode to learning. A love letter to research and books formed the cornerstone of our central character, and I am sure she will be relatable to several bookworms here.

It is slow paced, but it somehow felt appropriate so that we could really get to know these characters and the difficult relationships between them. I am not sure I have read any youthful relationships that are quite as truthful in all their complexities as these. By the end, these four people felt like my very own friends with all their insecurities and dark secrets stripped bare. It really is the mark of a fantastic writer to make me want a sequel to a standalone fantasy just based off of the characters alone.

It started off with a similar Harry Potter revelation with the dowdy and poor student Clover entering a world of magical wonder. While reminiscent of Oxbridge in all the old world charm and tradition, Camford managed to become even more wondrous in this post war era. While plagued with the same problems persistent in the mundane world, this school of magic is where power and friendships thrived. Hero, Alden and Eddie each have their own reasons for taking part, but the group of friends unite around a singular goal of making entering the faerie world safe again. As the bonds between family, both born and found are tested these four friends will be torn apart and find out just how much they are willing to do for each other and themselves.

There was of course a dark secret driving this plot that lay with the fae and the magical administration. It was all very well integrated and richly imagined. From the magical system to the dryads, I believed these marvels could be real. I really enjoyed this book with the cunning fae, clever magic and really flawed people. It honestly would be a five star if I wasn’t so contrary these days!

Thank you to Redhook books, Orbit books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this e-book.

There was something simply delightful and magical about this one. It has such a nice atmospheric dark academia setting mixed in with fae creatures and magic. Their characters were so well fleshed out that it was easy to see why they did what they did even as you wanted to yell for them to stop it. There is a time jump that separates the dark academia side of the story from the more fantasy/world-expanding side of it. And to top it all of the book explores exploitation and the consequences in such a unique way in this fantasy setting.

Thank you to @orbitbooks_us for my ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the opportunity to ARC read this gorgeous book. All opinions are my own and are given freely!

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door was such a beautifully written story! Parry is a fantastic writer, both in terms of the story she constructed and in her prose. She also explores relevant societal issues in a way that I really appreciated.

I loved the setting of post-WWI. It worked so well as a complement to the political conflicts between Families and non-Family people, and the personal conflicts of the main characters. I also loved the academia vibes as Clover spends time at Camford.

The four main characters are so well constructed because they have realistic flaws that they recognize in themselves and in one another. They make mistakes and have to decide how to respond to what they’ve decided to do.

Parry brings in a lot of detail to the world she’s built and does a fantastic job of making it feel real.

According to H. G. Parry there is a secret magical society. In World War 1, a German magician lost control of a Faerie Door on the battlefield and hundreds of soldiers died. As a result all the doors were locked. Clover learns about magic when her brother returns from the war badly wounded. With some help she learns enough magic to get a scholarship to the magical university and starts researching ways to help her brother. She makes three close friends and her first summer goes to a manor, owned by one of them. There is a half-opened Faerie door in the manor and she and her friends try to open it, barely surviving, but she does get a cure for her brother. Most of the action of The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door (paper from Redhook) takes place a decade later when Clover, with a PHD , finds that one of her friends from the manor has killed her husband and broken one of the chains that keep the door to Faerie closed. Unfortunately the magical world has a deep dark secret, and Clover and some friends are soon on the run from assassins as people in charge try to keep everything under wraps. Very exciting.

3.5

Perfect if you love dark academia! This had a very mysterious atmosphere with an intriguing premise.

The writing was strong, though I personally loved the first half but found myself more disconnected from the story towards the second half due to the style of the story and the time jumps, but it was a still a strong story overall.

Very reminiscent of other popular dark academia books, so definitely recommend if you like dark academia with faeries.

This. Was. Great! It was such a great mesh of dark academia tropes but with fae! I thought that the themes were well integrated into the plot, and the characters were really compelling. This was really magical and unique, and gave me this longing sense of nostalgia for an experience I definitely didn't have...almost like The Magicians vibes. This was so good and I am honestly a bit heartbroken that there aren't more pages or a secret last chapter to keep reading.

There is something about Parry's writing that just keeps me coming back for more. I thought that The Magician's Daughter was my favorite but this book has stolen that spot. The world building as always was absolutely beautiful and it was so easy to be transported to the farm, the school, and everywhere in between. The characters are so great even the characters that got less page time were memorable and lent to the overall story. Clover for me was an absolute delight and though slightly misguided here and there she really grew into a formidable FMC. I loved her drive and the way that she tried always to do what was right. Hero, Alden, and Eddy were great in their own ways even when you wanted to hate them. There are some serious twists in this book that I really did not see coming and it made for a story that just could not be put down. I loved the epilogue and Clovers coverage of the events that follow the main story line. I thought that it was really special and made me really not wanting to turn the page because I knew it was going to be over. I wish that I could forget the entire book so that I could pick it up for the first time again. Parry has solidified her place as an auto buy author for me and I cannot wait to see what is next!

Such a delicious dark academia tale! I was totally surprised by how much I loved this one.

We follow Clover, born to a non-magical family in a world where magic is a secret, similar to the world of Harry Potter. Her brother is injured in WWI in a faerie aided attack, and comes home with injuries that introduce Clover to the world of magic. Although most magic users are born into the world, Clover is determined to teach herself. And she does, eventually landing a coveted scholarship position to a magical university.

She falls in with a group of well connected students, and is dazzled by the world they represent. When something dark happens, we flash forward to the future, where perhaps the fruits of that time will all come to a head.

This book is a true cross between dark academia and fantasy. The historical setting and WWI details were excellent, and I would highly recommend it to fans of both genres.

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is a historical fantasy novel set after WWI and follows Clover, a young woman whose brother was struck with a brutal faerie curse. Determined to break the curse, Clover enrolls in England’s secret magic academy and is thrown into a world of dark academia, elitist magical families, and cunning fae. I’ve been on a big fantasy kick and this was such a satisfying read. Parry has a knack for bringing complex characters to life and crafting phenomenal worlds that blend fantasy and reality. This one has it all—mystery, action, romance, coming-of-age, and found family. I highly recommend if you’re looking to be swept away! I also loved Parry’s last book, The Magician’s Daughter.

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is a historical fantasy following Clover in the 1920s as she navigates life at a magical academy. She is a commoner and attends the school on scholarship, which creates an isolating experience at school. This novel has strong elements of friendship, family, power vs ethics. I enjoyed The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door immensely and deeply cared for the characters until the very end.

I received an ARC from Redhook Books | Redhook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: fantasy, dark academia
England, 1920

Set in a fantastical England just after the Great War, magic is held by the Families, aristocracy who closely guard the secret of magic. Clover's brother returns from the War a changed man, not only injured from the battle at Amiens, but faerie cursed. Clover is willing to do anything to help save her brother from dying by this curse, and along with Matthew's brother-in-arms, she learns enough magic to be accepted to Camford, a magical university, where a golden summer with best friends turns to devastating tragedy.

When I pick up a book about faeries, this is what I'm looking for. The complex plot is written in multiple parts keeps the worldbuilding straightforward. Parry borrows the horrific events of World War I as a backdrop for her world. We never set foot on the battlefield - a decision I appreciate in the scope of this book - but the tragedies of a lost generation echo throughout the story, as does the devastation of the 1918 Influenza. We see this clearly in both the 1920/1921 parts, but also in 1929 when the undergraduates’ shorter memories don’t remember the horrors.

The Great War is a fascinating era to watch the collapse of the European social hierarchies. In our own history, the War began to erase class differences. In Parry’s England, the hierarchy is between the magical Families and those from whom magic is a secret. Clover represents that breakdown. In theory, anyone can learn to use magic, but it’s kept hidden from the common folk. Clover learns it in order to save her brother and by her own force of will and determination, which is a danger to the aristocratic controlling class.

The magic system is highly practical and easy for the reader to grasp. Magic is a series of precise hand gestures with some incantation. The precision of which is critical to success, and one theory for collapse at Amiens was tired and cold hands that could not form precise enough gestures. The Faerie Doors have been closed since Amiens and The Accord, and Parry gives us just enough detail about the door to paint an outline, and lets us fill in our own imagination of what lies in Faerie beyond the doors for the majority of the book. And what we know and get glimpses of are framed in the terror experienced by Matthew, and the mystery that Clover, Hero, Eddie, and Alden are trying to crack.

I loved this book, and it’s hard to go into too many more details of the why without spoilers. The characters are richly developed, the setting is bucolic tinged with nostalgia and looming terror, and the plot kept me turning the pages.

This was such a good take on the classic tale of childhood-best-friends-do-a-bad-thing-and-lose-touch-becoming-strangers-as-adults.
The chronological retelling built the world and magic system and character dynamics flawlessly, to where I completely forgot that they were destined to fall apart until it happened. Over all this was a beautiful, real, melancholic tale of academia, magic, and friendship.

Loving character driven stories is both a blessing and a curse. Is it worth seeing so much of someone– seeing their personality, their likes and dislikes, their fears and dreams, their relationships, if it all ends in heartbreak? But I digress.

If you like hidden magical schools, dark and forbidden fae magic, and saving the world with your estranged friends, you might fall a little bit in love with The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door. Yes, there’s magic and curses and plants galore, but the true heart of the story is within its relationships– the bonds between our four main characters: Clover, Alden, Hero, and Eddie. If you’re a fan of the Raven Cycle series, I think you’ll want to give this a try. The story is told in four parts, allowing us to witness how their relationships evolve over time; and what I think Parry does a fantastic job showing is how love can conflict with personal ambition.

Title:  The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door  
Author:  H. G. Parry        
Genre:  Fantasy       
Rating:  4 out of 5

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

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.

I loved this setting and world and found it fascinating. The whole magic school premise has been overdone, but this story focuses on the characters and their friendship, not the minutiae of what’s happening in the classroom, and that sets it apart. I loved that friendship was the center of this book, without getting distracted by romance and flirtation. I was drawn into the story from the beginning and found it hard to put it down when I had to go do something else.

H. G. Parry lives in New Zealand. The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Redhook Books in exchange for an honest review.)

I really enjoyed this dark academia, Interwar period, standalone historic fantasy novel set in England. This is the type of book you can get lost in - the prose was lovely, the plot interesting, the characters flawed but relatable, the fantasy fascinating but approachable. Perfect for fans of Heather Fawcett’s Emily Wilde series who want something more serious and academic. I’m excited to jump into more by this author!

Pub Date: 10/22/24
Review Published: 10/25/24
eARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What a bummer... I really liked the premise of the book and I really loved the beginning of the story. Mixing real life with a whole underground world of magic unknown to most people. A sister trying to cure her brother from a deadly curse. Everything seemed so good at the beginning.

But what a disappointment. After the really good beginning NOTHING happens. Clover goes to the magic university and I had the hope of following her learning about magic, seeing her in the classes. But, nope. Clover goes to the school and becomes obsessed with her three new friends (to be honest just 2, the other one is kind of just there). After reading it, I know basically the same thing I knew in the beginning about the magic and the school. But I know a lot about how much Alden likes to go to parties and how much Hero has to prove that she deserves to be at the school as well despite being a girl. That's the worst thing, the world and the magic that seem so interesting is put on the background and on the foreground I have a main character that has no personality (besides being horrible to her family with no reason) obsessing with 3 other people that also have no personality. It's a complete nothing burger of a book. And what makes me so mad is that the beginning promised me something really magical. I had to read about Clover brushing her hair and going dress shopping with Hero in excrutiating detail but the rare times that the magic appears is glazed through.

I felt I was reading the book for so long. What a slog.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

There is something so intriguing about diving into the world of the fae time and time again in new and different situations. I think the reason people are drawn to the genre is the magic and lore which permeates history and cultures.

This story weaves in some dark academia with the magical world of the fae, set in the 1920's, this might be what you are looking for. Someone else made a mention it has hints and vibes of The Secret History by Donna Tart and even though that one didn't have the magical element, it has a similar tension and atmosphere throughout the novel.

This one was not a quick read for me, but I was engrossed. I took my time to thoroughly sink into the world and I really enjoyed the conversations of entitlement, consequences, and so many other topics which dwell within these pages.

Though it seems stand alone right now, I feel ( as other reviewers seem to feel) there is potential for more to explore. I loved visiting this world. It was dark and magical in all of the best ways and I would love to reenter should the author feel its the right path to take. I am going to be on the look out for more works of hers, she has a great writing style!

I am laughing, crying, in love, devastated, all of the above. The story of Clover Hill takes us from rural English farmland to prestigious, magical university, expressing the dazzling joys of scholarship, the invincibility of youth, post-war wounds and guilt, opportunities and their sacrifice, the strength and blindness of love. Parry’s gift is describing the unordinary in such a way that it feels like something I’ve always known, and evokes memories of things that are gone. (I remember those schoolday nights, pretending we knew enough to spin ideas about nothing and everything.)

To make a comparison: Emily Wilde’s Encylopaedia of Faerie meets The Warm Hands of Ghosts.

**Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC**

‘A relic of the old world and a promise of something new.’

My rating: 4.5/5

An enchanting tale of friendship, sacrifice and betrayal! I loved reading this dark academia vibes with immaculate library, mysteries and political intrigue. Some of the world building was similar to Harry Potter but had a unique plot. The twists ate and left no crumbs! I was crying by the end of the book! It was so cute!

Thanks to Orbit books for gifting me this book!