Thank you for giving me this arc for my honest review!

I was really excited for this book to come out with the premise of being dark academia witches with a murder mystery plot. But I felt as though there wasn’t enough development for the witches and the world building with the magic system. The author spent so much time with her inner monologue of the character with their run on sentences that it felt repetitive and unnecessary at times. I was hoping this book would’ve had a revise with it being picked up but I’m not sure much as really changed for the overall plot and structure of the store. Maybe the second book will add to the world but I will never know since I won’t be picking it up.

Thank you to Pan MacMillan and the author for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

It’s hard to explain my feelings towards this book, whilst I didn’t hate it, I didn’t really love it either. I really struggled in the first 40% or so and found my attention being taken away and not really following along with the story. Whilst the story didn’t really pick up in pace I did find that I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the beginning.

I enjoyed some of the writing style, for sure the author knows how to create atmosphere and yearning between characters, but some of the writing felt a little repetitive and spelt things out a little too much. I also struggled with the mix of using first and last names for characters, it felt unnecessary.

This was a good example of rivals-lovers though there wasn’t much focus on the academic part of the story. Much of the story is located in one place which wasn’t the academic setting I believed it would be.

Would I recommend this book? Maybe, I think for those that enjoy soft atmospheric prose and character driven stories this would be a winner but it fell flat for me.

If you enjoy:
• dark academia aesthetic
• fantasy elements
• elements
• romantic side plot

Then you'll love Modern Diviniation. The aesthetic carried this book as the plot was a little underwhelming. Aurelia and Teddy are interesting characters but can become a bit boring or flat after the one note tone of their characters main quirks. They don't have much depth even though the romance can be enjoyed on a surface level. The emotional moments felt like they were trying to hard. They felt like they were trying to be an edgy aesthetic dark academia romance but fell short as nothing was explored beyond the aesthetic.

For fans of the atlas six,

Before I picked up this book the concept definitely spoke to me and I had some high expectations. Unfortunately this book left me a bit disappointed.
It started with a promising magic system in a contemporary setting. The characters have some great chemistry, starting as enemies, evolving to friends and ending up as lovers. I must admit their banter is great. However, the execution left me wanting more. Instead of getting an immersive exploration of the magic system, you get a narrative heavily focused on the main characters and their interactions. This just wasn't the book for me.

Firstly I need to thank the kind publishing team at Tor UK / Pan Macmillan for offering me an ARC of this book, which I’ve grown to love even deeper than when I first was introduced to the tale of Aurelia, Teddy, Louisa and magic.

MODERN DIVINATION came into my life through the original self-published edition and I remember reading it all in one go. Unable to put it down as I was immediately enthralled by the characters and their story. This experience was no different. Right off the bat I could see where the plot was polished and the story more defined. From the glimpse into Aurelia and Ryan’s relationship as roommates and deep friends. To the infamous rivalry between Teddy and Aurelia. Once again I found myself completely immersed in this tale of magic, mystery, love and self-discovery.

I am a reader who greatly enjoys prose and MODERN DIVINATION’s ebbs and flows in a magical way, which enchases the story being told. Some may think it comes off as overwritten, as everyone has their own preference, but that’s not the case for me and I found myself getting further immersed as the story went on. One of my favorite adjustments from this edition was the attention to character relationships and expanding them past just Aurelia and Teddy. The further incarnation as Ryan as a more concrete character assisted in us seeing how Aurelia interacts with a variety of people. For those who enjoy books with well-thought-out character interactions, MODERN DIVINATION will give you just that and more.

The mystery of Gemma and her disappearance still gave me a bit of pause, but I found myself being able to really follow the situation more fully. There are still some holes of course, as there couldn’t be a book 2 without them. But I felt more satisfied in my understanding of everything that was happening. Also, this is really were Aurelia and Teddy go through their own self-journeys of trying to understand what they want for themselves, even if sacrifices must be made at the end of it all.

I will say the love affair between these two is always very engaging. The yearning is off the charts and the slow burn is quite impeccable. There is adult relationship activity, as they are ADULTS, so keep that in mind. But these two have stayed in my mind rent-free since finishing this book and my only hope is that others see the charm and appeal of these characters and their story.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Books and Isabel Agajanian for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

It's MODERN DIVINATION, folks. It was published before, but this is the new, edited edition, where words shine on the page (not literally, of course). You could say it's a story about two academics fighting for the coveted scholarship slot, or about two enemies working together to destroy a powerful witch, or maybe it's just about a boy and a girl realising that somewhere in between magic, spells, and winter holidays, they fell in love.

I wouldn't be surprised if Isabel Agajanian creeps in the corner of my living room while I read and blog, because this book feels as if it was written for me and me alone. It's got everything - dark academia, rivals to lovers, found family, sexual tension, confessions, and a villain that is both terrifying and a bit of a matchmaker for our two main characters. It wasn't perfect, but it didn't matter, because it felt perfect for me. We all know these reviews aren't meant to be objective.

If you're interested in any of the tropes, or just love a good, fun, well-written fantasy book that will have you screaming into your pillow at 3am because why won't these idiots just kiss!!!!!!! then this is the book for you. Please give it a chance. It'll be worth it.

⭐️3.5

Aurelia Schwartz is an attending student of Cambridge who receives top marks while also balancing the life of a witch with fainting magic. Though, she's forced into hiding with her aggravating classmates when a power-hungry witch begins to trail them in hopes of stealing magic.

Isabel Agajanian does an excellent job at structuring their sentences to the point that that's what had me intrigued enough to keep reading from how nicely their words flowed. Both Teddy and Aurelia were interesting characters with their own strengths and weaknesses that made them feel fleshed out enough but I did find myself wanting more. Though, I do love to know every little thing about the characters I read about.

I liked the set-up at the beginning with the villain since it drew in some mystery of who this person was and what they wanted but I found there wasn't a good explantation of why the villain wanted what they wanted. Overall, the whole plot surrounding the villain was underwhelming and I feel like it could've been left out with the story standing just find on it's on if there was an expansion of the exploration of the characters magic. Many things were left without any explantation and it seemed like none of the characters were interested in exploring any of the mysteries and scenes such as this could've served as a great way to keep the plot moving.

Another thing is the romance between the two characters which hardly had any build-up/tension/yearning that had me wanting them to be together. Though, once they were together, they were cute but added tension would've hiked up my love for them.

I will be reading the second book since I would love to see what Isabel has in story for Teddy and Aurelia. Plus, their romance grows on me every second that I'm left no longer reading this story.

Thank you Netgalley!!!

I really wanted to like this more than I did, which is unfortunate because everything about it screams the perfect story for me—Gothic urban fantasy with spells, dark academia rivals to lovers and Howl-esque love interest? Come on. I couldn’t request this faster.

If this was fanfiction I would be giving it 5 stars, but unfortunately being picked up by Tor after being self-published it doesn’t feel solid enough for me to rate higher. Which feels unfair! Because I did enjoy this story, but too much of it needed to be revised before publication.

‪“There was a fine line between the realm of humankind and the realm of the mythical, and Aurelia Schwartz trod it like a tightrope over two high-rises, It corded around her bones, the difference rooted deep within her nervous system, colouring her blood a darker shade of red.”‬

The magic in this story has so much potential. Soft-magic systems allow for so many atmospheric moments and can really create some interesting stakes, however the overall magic system itself wasn’t explained enough in this book for the threats to feel important. The reader is given hints throughout the story of magic, and witches are implied but I feel its still not clear enough that witches exist and are living in the world of this book. Which is disappointing because that’s what made me drawn to this story from the start.

“There was hardly a sufficient amount of space to stay out of each other’s way, as Ingram had promised. But with all the handmade quilts that littered the room, the tea sets and magical tools that rested openly on dark wooden desks, and the scent of seasoned home cooking, the house enveloped her in an intimate embrace that she couldn’t help sinking into. The cottage invoked a hazy and bittersweet nostalgia for something else she once knew.”

What I enjoyed about this book though, was the relationship between Aurelia and Theo. While, again, there is revision missing in both characters back story and a lack of equal character development, I did feel like Aurelia was a strong lead and her internal thoughts were compelling. I wish the reader got to know more about her, or at least as much as what we observed about Theo from her eyes. The banter and snappy wit between these two was enjoyable to read, and I must say I ate up the visual picture of Theo in his many cashmere turtle neck sweaters, yes very dark academia, much appreciated.

Overall, if you are an enjoyer of a combination of at least two of the following; fanfiction, dark academia, witches, magic, hidden libraries, love interest wearing only turtle neck sweaters, stubborn rivals, the image of a cottage on the top of a hill in the middle of a field, whimsical autumn—then you’ll enjoy this book.

There is a sequel to this story coming and I am looking forward to picking it up!

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The prose in this novel is way over the top. A number of times I'd completely forget what was happening in the scene, just trying to get through the ramblings of character inner monologue the author had inserted. It made a book that I might have otherwise enjoyed, a slog to get through. While the plot appeared as something right up my alley, it was incredibly slow moving, the characters underdeveloped, and the promised dark academia vibes weren't even there. These MC's are adults, 23, and yet have the relationship management skills of children. Overall, this book is confused, and needs some pretty serious editing to accomplish everything that the publishers have pitched it as.

wait this was lowkey a banger. i did expect there to b more ~academia~ but rory and teddys development as a couple was so good that i really am not too upset abt the lack of academia which is something that never happens to me. if you like a grumpy mouthy mc that doesn't make you want to jump out a window, rory is the mc for you.

The prologue set such an amazing tone that never delivered. The premise is witches, Cambridge, academic rivals-to-lovers, which sounds absolutely amazing, but there wasn’t really a plot and I found myself bored many times. The pace is very slow and at times it felt like slog to get through. It felt very YA at times but the characters are 23. The rivalry is very petty and immature. There’s high stakes mentioned but then nothing done about it. There’s no world building. As over written and wordy as this is, I would’ve liked to learn more about witches and more background about our characters. I don’t mind a purple prose, but the writing was clunky and repetitive. I’m sure there’s an audience for Modern Divination, but I was not it.

Just a wonderful book. I enjoyed it from beginning to the end. I can’t wait to own this book. I highly recommend it. 10/10

I didn’t originally realise how divisive this book was. By perusing other reviews, it seems you either love or hate this book. I’m glad to say that I fall into the LOVE camp! There is so much originality to celebrate about this title, but it seems that these are the things that are dividing people.

I personally thoroughly enjoyed the writing style, with Agajanian themselves have labelled “purple prose”, and it is really flowery but I found the imagery conveyed through this style to hit deeper, creating a feeling of melancholy at times as well as being downright hilarious at others. However, if the following except doesn’t do it for you, then I don’t think this is the book for you:
“…she could drown in his comfort, breathing in the scent of freshly broken soil and citrus that wafted from his skin.”
“ Words without filter were honest, but they were also messy and raw, scraped off her like plaque from her teeth.”

I’m also a big fan of books that successfully show you the not-so-shiny characteristics of the protagonists, and the MCs in this story are really flawed. The thing I liked most about this though is that they were also incredibly self-aware and worked hard at not giving into these flaws. To try be better. The side characters were interesting - Gemma, Ryan, Alaric, Louisa & even Teddy’s parents all had very strong personalities.

But, like many others have pointed out, there are some parts of the plot that aren’t so much holes as divots - bits of the backstory and motivations that felt glossed over or hinted at rather than fully explained.

At the heart of this book though is a really delicate love story between a sad boy and an angry girl who slowly learn to allow themselves to open to each other and bare their deepest, darkest truths and find a familiar face staring back. I’m looking forward to book 2 very much and am rooting for these two to get their forever HEA by the end of the series.

Thank you to Pan Macmillain / Tor & Aganjanian for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to its release.

5/5

Modern Divination is the perfect example of a book that only settles deeper into your bones the longer it sits with you. This book is an exquisitely crafted blend of tea steeped to perfection, with dark notes of magic and a hint of bitterness rendered sweet through its stimulating academic rivalry. Having read the independently published version of Modern Divination upon its initial release back in 2023, I never expected to read the revised edition and fall even more in love but somehow that is exactly what occurred. This revised edition of Isa Agajanian’s original text is an addictive combination of witchery and fate, complete with enough yearning to make me feel like I was being repeatedly stabbed in the chest. Isa has completely raised the bar with this revised edition — sharpening the atmosphere and the incredible tension between Aurelia and Teddy into something entirely its own. If reading this for the first time left me longing for its sequel, then the updated version left me a shell of my former self and I will not recover until Quiet Spells is in my hands.

I wanna thank Netgalley for giving me this eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was my second read of this book since I’ve read the previous edition last year and now this edited and expanded new version.

“Perhaps it would have been wise to answer him with caution, but aurelia schwartz didnt yield to men who gave her orders. Not even pitiful ones that wielded the hand of death.”

I have loved every single thing about this book, I don’t think I’ve ever been so honest.

Let’s start off with the characters: both Rory and Teddy are so well built, from start to finish their dynamic feels real and well depicted, the rivals to lovers trope is there and developed so well that I was giggling and kicking my feet the whole time and mind you, I’m not a romance reader but this worked on me. Loved Rory’s characterization, her way of handling situations made me see a bit of myself in her and i appreciated it.

The fantasy bit of it just revolves around the fact that they are magic, do not expect a magic world or whatever, the story is mainly set in Cambridge and this village called Townsend where they hide for a while, which felt realistic but magical at the same time.

The plot is amazing and I cannot wait for the sequel to be in my hands!! Not ready to let go of this story <3
so mad at Gemma tho, not gonna lie. (but that’s what expected right? Cause we see everything through Rory’s perspective and she is mad!!)

Just wanna add that the writing is brilliant and although I haven’t had the pleasure yet of reading anything else by Isabel, I feel like they could write everything, like the fantasy and plot driven part? immaculate. The romance part? equally immaculate. I need to read more from this author!!

“to love someone was to deface it - to give it a mark and change its identity forever.”
watch me go cry in my bedroom.

Would 100% recommend.

P.s. If Teddy Ingram wrote THAT letter to me, it would have been the end of me, done.

This book was not at all what I was expecting. There were elements that I enjoyed but for the most part, it felt like a real slog to get through.

Starting with the good, I really enjoyed the characters. The author obviously knows them so well and this comes through really strongly in everything they do, feel and say. Rory goes through a journey that results in a lot of changes, some small but others huge and it's done so well. Similarly, the incremental changes in her relationship with Teddy are also done well and I found myself rooting for them even knowing that there were many challenges in the way of a happy ending.

Onto the things that hampered my enjoyment and meant I sadly couldn't give this book a higher rating. To start with, it is incredibly overwritten. Where one paragraph would do, you often end up with several pages and a chapter. While the language used is meant to be descriptive, it felt like descriptions were often five times longer than they needed to be and I found that it drew out the story so so much.

I was expecting a fast-paced story with lots of action to unravel the mystery and learn about magic. This book couldn't be further from that. It spends far more time on the characters so you're constantly waiting for something to happen. Even though they go on journeys that see them develop as people, they are quite passive when it comes to the actual plot of the book. I wanted the threat to seem more dangerous and for them to do more than run away and wait to be found.

The big bad in the story also didn't end up being that exciting. I was genuinely shocked when that part of the story came to an end 70% of the way through - not least because I then still somehow had 30% of the book to get through!

I really believe that with another round of edits to cut down on the overwriting and to speed the pace up a bit in order to make everything seem more eager and dangerous that this book would deliver what the synopsis promised. As it stands, it is a story about a girl slowly learning more about her magic and falling in love while something vaguely dangerous happens in the background.

Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review!

-

Dnf @ 6%

Listen… This book was one of my highest anticipated releases last year, and then again this year, but it just isn’t working for me. It’s not the book, it’s me.

What I’ve seen so far of the characters, the world, the magic, the atmosphere, the vibes, is all amazing and I want to love it so badly. But the writing itself just isn’t working for me, making reading it feel like an uphill climb through wet snow. I found myself dreading picking it up again every time I put it down for a break, but I didn’t want to give up because I wanted to like it. I really really did. But I eventually had to admit that this just wasn’t for me.

I think this book could be someone’s top read of the year, I see so much potential in it and the vibes are really good. It just won’t be mine.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. It seems like it would be something I would really enjoy. Forced proximity, rivals to lovers, witches. But unfortunately, it fell short. I was confused a lot of the time about what was going on, who was who, and why characters were doing what they were doing. The romance was really lovely, the way it developed as they were in hiding, but the plot was lost on me.

I start from the assumption that I had read terrible reviews of the self-published version of *Modern Divination*, so I had never read it. Once I saw that a publishing house had picked it up and the author herself announced major revisions, I decided to give it a go. We start off quite well with the first 60% of the book. There were a few plot holes here and there, but in my opinion, they could be overlooked (for example: how does the witches' magic system work? Why does the villain change their motivations halfway through the book? Was this an oversight by the author or a deliberate choice?).

Despite that, I was really enjoying the characters, especially Aurelia and Ingram, with the new dynamic they were developing. The problem is that the resolution of the main plot happens halfway through the book, and after that, we only get scenes of nothing between Aurelia and Ingram. Now, if this were a standalone, I’d understand, but since it’s the first book in a series and there are still at least 4 unresolved issues, I do care about seeing their relationship develop, but at the same time, I want some plot progression. As the percentage on my Kindle kept going up toward the end, I became more and more worried, until I reached 99% and still nothing important had happened. No plot twist that could lead the reader to the second book. Nothing.

Now, aside from the fact that it was falsely marketed as dark academia, if you want to focus solely on the romance, then at this point, just avoid including a subplot about murder and fighting against injustices. If you leave open 6 different plotlines and none of them are resolved halfway through the book but are pushed into the second book, I think there’s a problem.

That said, I honestly think the romance between them is very sweet, and it’s what kept me going once things started to lose their way. If you're the type of reader more interested in character development and less in the overall plot, then this book will likely be for you. But if, like me, you focus more on a 50% balance between characters and plot/world-building, you might be disappointed.

Writing that undid me and yearning that’s to die for, I read this book when it was independently published, and somehow it got even better. I absolutely adore these characters and this setting — it’s so uniquely magical and witchy, and beyond cozy. The romance between them is undeniable and feels so far removed from what we’re seeing in the fantasy romance genre time and again, and in the best way possible. I cannot wait to see what happens next and what this author gets published from here on out. A masterpiece.