I was very excited to get an ARC for The Incandescent by Emily Tesh, because Some Desperate Glory was one of my top books of 2023. Magical boarding school is a jump from space dystopia redemption arc, but Emily Tesh continues not to disappoint. The Incandescent is a zippy, fresh perspective of a boarding school story that sucked me from the beginning and spat me out at the end screaming about demons. The Incandescent comes out May 13, so add it to your to-read lists and buckle up, because keeping magical teenagers from casually or accidently making themselves into tasty demon treats isn’t a job for the faint of heart.

Chetwood Academy is one of the premier magical boarding schools in England, and Saffy Walden, as its Director, takes her duties seriously. As one of the most powerful magicians in England, she is well aware that she could be making big money in the military or private sectors, but she’s an academic at heart and a good teacher on top of it. Plus, gathering this many magical teenagers into one place is basically setting up a tasty buffet for the demons constantly looking for a way onto this plane, and keeping them safe requires a guardian of power and meticulous vigilance. But working at a boarding school is still a job, and more, a job where you are required to live with your coworkers and you’re rarely really “off.” In between demon wrangling, student wrangling, and staff wrangling, Saffy struggles to find time and motivation for a personal life. But as the crises ramp up over the school year, Saffy’s personal problems are the least of her worries, and the biggest danger to the school may actually be herself.

First of all, I had a great time with this book from the get go. This book is billed as “dark academia” but I would argue that’s a publisher add-on that doesn’t understand the tone of the novel. While there are dangers and literal demons lurking, every page is steeping in the care and trouble it is to properly educate and work with students and give them the start they need in life. Saffy does not love her job in a cutesy aspirational way: to her it is a calling, and one worth doing properly both legally and for the good of society. It was so interesting to read a school story from the point of view of the staff. The magic and demonology was so well wound in also—it was an integral part of Chetwood’s makeup, and magic was just another subject to study. I really enjoy reading this kind of thing, so I was drawn in right from the beginning and loved Saffy as a character. The fact that in a world where demons and magic are established disciplines, one of the biggest dangers is teenagers being teenagers also cracked me up.

I also loved the relationships in this book. Although I’ve never been to a boarding school, I have worked in a similarly closed-in industry where one both lives and works with coworkers, and I felt like Tesh really portrayed the mix of closeness, the desperate need for privacy, and the pressure cooker of poorly thought-out decisions that result. It’s an interesting ecosystem, made more complicated by the omnipresent students. I also appreciated that Saffy is bisexual and is portrayed having multiple relationships. I enjoyed Saffy showing that her relationship priorities are different than those of a younger person, while also containing a fair amount of awkward “does she or doesn’t she like me back.” Laura, the school’s highly competent head Marshall, does not have an easy relationship with school administration, but the more problems that Saffy extinguishes with her help, the more they actually start communicating. I appreciated that they liked each other, but they both have their lives going on, and starting a relationship is not the highest priority on either of their plates—it felt realistic to my life and I liked seeing it in a novel.

In conclusion, this was a beautiful ride of a book, and made me appreciate a boarding school story in a way that I thought I couldn’t anymore. If you’ve enjoyed any of Emily Tesh’s other books, don’t miss out on The Incandescent, and if this is the first you’ve taken a look at, this is an excellent choice. Go forth and read some excellent storytelling in May!

Thank you to both @torbooks and @macmillan.audio for the print and audio copies of this wonderful book!

“Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school’s boundaries from demonic incursions.

Walden is good at her job—no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from—is herself.”

This was SO GOOD!!! Such a delightful magical binge read over the long holiday weekend 😊 I gave my friend Dana a nudge while reading because it sounded like one she would love and she joined me in reading- we both don’t understand why we haven’t been seeing this all over Instagram! This is one not to miss. Walden struck me as a younger Professor McGonagall teaching at a school reminiscent of Hogwarts crossed with Ninth House/Hell Bent where demons and more minor creatures are everywhere and love to possess various electronics (you have to give a cookie to the copier in order to get it to work!). This was charming, magical, immensely entertaining, and made me laugh out loud many times. I loved the passion Walden had for teaching and her compassion for her students. The plot arc had my jaw DROPPING at the end - I thought I knew what was coming, I was wrong! The Incandescent appears to be a standalone, but Emily, ma’am, can I plead for a sequel?? Cue me scrambling to read this author's backlist 😍😍

While I really enjoyed reading The Incandescent, I at the same time was pretty disappointed by it.
It is a very mature story of a magic school, with the main character being an adult woman charged with protecting it from demons and teaching students how to defend against them. That being said, it focuses much more on the inner workings and politics of education, that happens to involve teaching magic. There are demon battles and intense moments; those with the phoenix are definitely my favourite, but majority of the story is the day to day workings of a highly dedicated educator, which may not be what some people are looking for.
Highlights are her current graduating students, who she takes great care to guide and cares deeply about, and Sapphire’s personal history, which was well fleshed out.
There is a queer romance running through it as well, which was well written, but I had hoped it would have been developed more instead of put off to the side for a heteronormative side-thing that even the main character knows to be completely pointless.

Most of my issues came at the halfway point of the book.
There is a mini climax early on that really set a tone of suspense, but is quickly lost and isn’t built up again until the last 50 pages.
Another issue I felt was the assumption that such an intelligent scholar would fail to see the obvious warnings of a conflict right in front of her face. Then as the warning becomes a realized problem, the climax of the book leaves it off much too vaguely, and forgets to wrap up the side plot entirely.

Definitely not her best work, especially after Some Desperate Glory being one of my favourite reads of the last few years, I expected more. Doesn’t mean I won’t pick up the next one! Her writing is the saving grace, and she’s got the chops to write great books with more work and maybe more inspiration.

I've never read a dark academia book from a teachers perspective and I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. It's a unique take on an old format of a magical school. I liked following the teachers and I've already recommended this to some friends who are educators. Also, I enjoyed the sapphic romance!

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for this eARC!

As the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in England, Dr. Walden's day is full of everything from faculty meetings to demons trying to break through the school's wards. She is constantly torn between keeping up on mundane admin while trying to stop idiot teenagers from messing with magic beyond their capabilities. But what is Dr. Walden to do when the greatest threat to the school might be herself?

THE INCANDESCENT is a fresh spin on the magical academia genre, where the overworked, underpaid faculty at an elite boarding school get to shine front and center. Nearly, if not all, magical academia books I have read have been from the POV of the students. I've seen plenty of books where a group of scrappy teenagers discovers a dark conspiracy afoot at their school. They sneak behind teachers' backs, dabble in a bit of forbidden magic or research, and generally defy authority, all in the name of saving the day.

But let's face it, many teenagers aren't noble heroes on a quest - they're idiots. Enter the exasperated staff of Chetwood Academy, trying to help shape students on their quest to discover their path in life, while also making sure they don't fall prey to demonic possession because they cut corners while drawing a summoning diagram. Dr. Walden and her staff are just as often trying to save the students from themselves as much as from outside threats, all while grading papers, offering career counseling, and managing the school's budget.

THE INCANDESCENT also takes a moment to examine and critique the whole structure of elitist boarding school culture. It examines the notion that what parents aren't paying for isn't really a top tier education; they're paying for their child to join the network of alumni scattered across the country and use that network for the rest of their lives. It's the social connections that truly matter to most parents, the security of knowing their child will have plenty of contacts who will open doors for them in the future. This in turn perpetuates systemic class disparities, as most often only those who can pay for the connections, get the connections.

I want to take a moment to note that while the marketing for this book makes a point of mentioning this is a sapphic story, you shouldn't expect a sweeping romance. Relationships are just one part of Dr. Walden's life, and certainly not the focus - which is good, because I found those romance dynamics one of the weaker parts of the story. On the one hand, I liked that Dr. Walden is grappling with the complications of juggling potential romance with the demands of her career. But there was just no chemistry between Dr. Walden and her love interest, leaving not particularly interested in what happened on that front.

THE INCANDESCENT is a worthy addition to the shelves of magical academia, and any fan of the genre should give it a read. It examines school culture from the rare perspective of the teacher, but it doesn't put forth that the teachers have all the answers; one of the best scenes is a student who challenges Dr. Walden's notion of how well their life situation and an elite boarding school education track go together. It gives you food for thought while also being an entertaining blend of school exams and demonic invasions, making THE INCANDESCENT a definite recommend.

Emily Tesh is one of those authors that I’ve been meaning to try for quite some time and just have somehow never gotten around to. I recently got approved for an ARC (obligatory this hasn’t impacted the contents of this review, etc.) for her recently released novel, The Incandescent, so I figured this was a good place to start with her work.

Set at a boarding school that teaches magic (not a magic boarding school, it’s just one more subject for students, along with more mundane topics like languages and sciences), the book is focused on Dr. Walden, the Director of Magic. We follow her as she teaches students a discipline of summoning demons, makes efforts to protect the school from demonic incursions, and deals with her complex interpersonal relationships with the students and other staff.

I loved books about magical schools as a teenager, and I still do as an adult, but often wish there existed more of them that had mature themes. This absolutely delivers on that front—Walden is a super compelling character, and I loved reading about things from her perspective. She’s in her late 30s (please give me more fantasy books with main female characters that are not aged 16-25) and balances out a weary sort of cynicism with a genuine desire to help the students.

The school setting is also great, but it’s very English. I went through primary school in England, so I have a basic passing knowledge of how the school system there works, but I was frequently confused as to which group of students were being referenced (ages, Years, and forms are used pretty much interchangeably), so this is probably going to be even more confusing for any American readers. The plotting was a little bit odd—the first third of the novel feels almost like a prologue to the rest. This does make the middle of the novel drag on a bit, but there is a strong ending.

I really liked this and would recommend. I’ll definitely pick up more of Tesh’s work in the future.

I really enjoyed this sapphic dark academia fantasy novel! Thank you so, so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title!

Blurb:
"Look at you, eating magic like you're one of us."

Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions.

Walden is good at her job—no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from—is herself.

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh is the dark academia novel I didn’t know I was waiting for. Not because it’s dripping in shadows and secrets (though it is), but because it hands the narrative reins to someone we rarely hear from in these magical school stories: the adult in the room.

Dr. Walden, Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy, is not your usual brooding, brilliant student protagonist. She’s a mid-thirties academic, painfully competent, quietly awkward, and methodically unraveling magical disasters like it’s her job—because it is. And for once in fantasy, it’s not the teen heroes saving the day while the professors conveniently vanish into plot holes. Walden shows up, and watching her navigate bureaucracy, demonic incursions, and her own emotional landscape is weirdly riveting.

This book has the bones of classic fantasy—demons, secret knowledge, arcane history—but it’s clothed in something much more grounded. Think faculty meetings and spellwork, gothic buildings with bad plumbing, magical theory next to mundane course loads. It’s the kind of realism that makes the magic feel all the more earned.

Tesh brings an elegant, dry wit to her writing, and Walden’s perspective offers a refreshing, nuanced critique of academia from the inside. This isn’t your typical chosen-one story… it’s about power, responsibility, institutional rot, and the subtle emotional weight of being a woman in her late 30s trying to keep it all together. The fact that Walden is allowed to be messy, self-reflective, and not have it all figured out is a quiet act of rebellion against the usual tropes.

In short: if you’ve ever rolled your eyes at magical schools where the teens outsmart every adult or if you’re simply craving a fantasy that feels like it grew up a little, The Incandescent is for you. Sharp, thoughtful, and grounded in the real-world logistics of running a magical institution, it’s easily one of the most original takes on the genre I’ve read.

so hard these days with finding sapphic books that are about anything other than just... realizing you're sapphic? this was a great refresher. plot that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time with a relationship that slowly, and rewardingly, blossomed, and lighthearted moments to keep you engaged in between. such a good book, thank you ms. tesh

While I don't know if anything will be able to top Some Desperate Glory, The Incandescent was still amazing! I started the book Thursday afternoon and stayed up until midnight to finish it. I love how it plays with the magical school genre. Some of the key tropes/plot devices are turned on their heads, but it never makes fun of it. It's both a celebration of the magical school and reminder about how responsible, caring adults are necessary for young people to grow.

Our main character is Sapphire "Saffy" Walden. I immediately loved her and if you don't we're not friends anymore. I related to her in many ways (amongst other things, she set off my autism tingle) and was always rooting for her to succeed. But that said, boy does she make some capital "b" Bad decisions. Particularly in the romantic department. You can guess pretty early who the 'true' love interest is, but Walden botches it, repeatedly. Luckily (I say sarcastically), a hot guy comes along. He set off my "no good, stay away" radar immediately, but Walden ignored me yelling at the pages. How rude.

I LOVED the world-building, particularly the demons. In many ways, the world is the same as ours. The book takes place in England at a fancy English boarding school, expect the boarding school specializes in teaching magic. Magic requires a combination of effort and talent, and occasionally someone has so much talent that oops, they do magic spontaneously as a kid and bad things happen. Magic is powered by a demon world that sits parallel to our own. There's everything from low-level demons like imps to super powerful arch-demons. Demons can possess anything that has been assigned personhood, which is complicated as we humans like to talk to furniture, devices, and objects, which is enough for a demon to possess it.

One aspect I really enjoyed was how magic is approached like science. It's explored, people run experiments, etc. There's mention of an ongoing experiment in the desert of Arizona that I desperately want to learn more about. Walden basically has a PhD in a specific type of magic (summoning demons). I loved how the author explains magic in a way that is easy to understand, but also hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud often while reading this book. Her description of how we "you" objects, the demons in the clock and the copy maker, were absolutely delightful.

One part I really liked was how, through her descriptions, you could tell who *would* be the protagonist if this was a typical YA magic school book. Walden's star pupil Cassie is clearly made to be a fictional teenage heroine, and don't get me wrong, she goes through a LOT over the course of the book. But Walden and the other adults around her refuse to give up on Cassie, and they fight for her to be able to be young, and student, not a savior of the world. Cassie has a group of friends that in another book is the ragtag crew, including the all-powerful teenage love interest. Just because they're not the protagonists doesn't mean they don't also help save the day, but they're only able to do so due to what Walden's taught them.

There are several lines from The Incandescent that stood out to me, but most prominent is a line that is repeated internally several times by Walden. In my opinion, it gets at the heart of the novel itself. Walden loves to teach, but is not always great with interpersonal interactions. Nonetheless, sometimes she is the one helping a student through a tough situation. In those moments, she reminds herself "every child was every adult's responsibility". Which, yes! This may be a school, and there are individuals directly responsible for any given student, but they're not always available or the right person for what that child needs. And in a time of crisis, the most important adult is the adult that is *there*. And as adults, we owe every child our responsibility. While coming from different places, it echoes the quote from James Baldwin "The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe".

Reading The Incandescent, I can tell Emily Tesh is from the UK (even if it wasn't in the author bio in the back). There is a LOT of UK terminology (particularly in regards to schooling) that went right over my head. Terms used repeatedly I got the gist of, but a lot of it I just ignored. I think most of the terms should be google-able if you're particularly confused.

Overall, The Incandescent is a brilliant follow-up to Some Desperate Glory. The writing is engaging and funny, the characters are great, and every nook and cranny of the world feels filled. It doesn't retread the same ground covered in Some Desperate Glory, but it doesn't shy away from the tougher topics. Discussions of class consciousness and who gets to benefit from magical private schools (not the poor the magical kids, that's for sure) are woven throughout. She doesn't beat you over the head with it, but if you don't come out of the experience with some deep thoughts of your own, I'm not sure you read it right.

This was just okay. I don't think I could really get into the magic system as much as I wanted to for this universe. Some of the concepts were pretty interesting but I wasn't really vibing with how the characters were written. Not bad, but just not great in my opinion.

It’s always refreshing to read something original. When it comes to fantasy books set in an academic setting, we often get tales about students fighting evil forces or navigating treacherous paths. But here, we get a story told from the perspective of a teacher instead.

Following Dr. Walden, the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy, we see the mundanity of her teaching job and the administrative side of running a magical school, while also keeping demons at bay.

There are lots of philosophical themes brought up in this book that I found interesting, but the one that stuck with me was how to navigate relationships as a woman in her late 30s. I found that refreshing because we don’t often get that kind of representation. That kind of representation is rare, and Tesh does a brilliant job crafting a character who is competent, mature, professional, and deeply human.

The plot was chef kiss. A perfect balance of action and theoretical discussion, while still being character-driven. At times it feels like a slice-of-life, but with magical stakes. Easily one of the most unique dark academia books I’ve ever read.

A story with a magical school setting that follows competent adults (with tattoos no less)? How refreshing!

This magical world is unlike any I've ever experienced. This is magic in *today*'s world, where we have boarding schools with ancient, crumbling buildings but we also have smart phones and risk assessments, a place where magic isn't hidden away, but instead woven into society be that in military, academic, or industrial applications.
And WOW does Emily Tesh do a fantastic job with setting: it's both perfectly detailed and dreamily atmospheric at times.

And while I found the overall plot to be only somewhat compelling I was fully invested in the deeper *layers*: there's great exploration of privilege and baked-in biases, loss and neglected grief, how to effectively and respectively communicate with adolescents as adults, and what the world and others expect of us versus what we expect of ourselves.

The Incandescent is one of those rare works of fiction that I'm certain I will want to revisit in the future—maybe at a time when I need to find a new path or contemplate my place in the world at large, or when I simply need a reminder that not all children are devil spawn.

*Thank you to Tor for providing me an e-ARC of this book.*

Dark academia, particularly of the evergreen "magical boarding school variety," is having a moment right now, but I find that many of the recent entries in the subgenre are more interested in the aesthetic than in actually exploring the fertile thematic soil of the space. In that regard, Emily Tesh's latest stands out from the crowd.

Part of what distinguishes The Incandescent from the ever-growing field of magical schools is that its narrative follows the professor and de facto headmistress of the institute in question, rather than the retreading the tired ground of adolescent wizard-in-training adventures. Dr. Saffy Walden is a sorcerous prodigy, a gifted teacher, and an absolutely passionate defender of her school and her students. She's precisely the kind of teacher most of us wish we'd had in our formative years, an impression further solidified by the narrative's emphasis of the titanic amount of care she puts into every aspect of her work, from the approaches she takes to dealing with each of her students to the management of the school, to dealing with the ever-pesky demonic incursions on the grounds. This cerebral, self-aware internal monologue is one of the main pulls of the story, which slows down significantly in the middle portions before abruptly ramping up to what ends up as a nonetheless satisfying finale.

dr. walden, one of the most powerful magicians in england, spends her days acting as the director of magic at chetwood academy. part of her job is to ensure the school is safe from demons…though it’s entirely possible that the school’s biggest threat is walden herself.

i’ve heard such great things about emily tesh, so i was quick to request this one to make my first book by her. this was a very interesting book. most dark academia books i read are from the viewpoints of students, so walden’s perspective as a professor added a unique angle to this genre’s critique of higher education. i loved the writing and will definitely read more from emily tesh in the future!

WOW. The dark academia vibes in this novel were top tier. The magical boarding school is such a vibe and it seemed like a more thoughtful and intelligent read than other dark academia fantasy reads that I've read. I had such an excellent time with this one. Thank you so much for the advance copy!

Walden is no stranger to fighting demons. A school full of magic-learning teens makes for an enticing target for all kinds of hungry creatures and as the Director of Magic, its her job to keep them at bay. When Walden finds herself fighting one too many demon incursions in quick succession she must figure out where the gap in her defenses could be or if someone could be intentionally sabotaging her. Despite the risks, Walden is not worried, she is an expert in her field and has a secret weapon. For over a decade she has had a powerful demon leashed and ready to do her bidding - a last resort if she is ever outmatched. When the attacks continue Walden's hold over her demonic servant starts to slip and everything comes to a head as she desperately tries to keep the children from danger. This pleasing twist on the Dark Academia genre places a teacher as the central protagonist which makes for an enjoyable and original journey through life at a magical school. Tesh draws fantasy lovers in with a well drawn world and an interesting story full of clever plot twists and a likeable cast of characters including some LGBTQIA representation. A must read for fans of Niomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy or for anyone who loves dark academia.

This was a book that had me thinking I knew what was going on, only to find out that I could never have predicted what would happen! The vibe is pretty cozy at the start, with Saffy enjoying her busy yet predictable life, competently managing every challenge and anticipating worst case scenarios. She always seems to find the right balance in her many roles at Chetwood, whether she's teaching her brilliant students, handling staff concerns, or wrangling imps and demons. The magical boarding school is a familiar, comfortable setting, but Chetwood comes with a twist - it's the target of a massive, powerful demon that has been attempting to take over the school since it's founding in the 1400s. And while Saffy likes to keep all things in hand, even she can't predict what will happen when her best student sets out to kill the demon.

I'll be honest, the plot and pacing of the novel was not what I was expecting, and I spent the middle of the book being very frustrated by Saffy and certain things that were happening/not happening. However when things took a turn I couldn't stop reading! I was like "oh, it all makes sense now!" I like that the book examines the inequalities in the education system, and that Saffy is again and again forced to reckon with her privilege and try to see things from other perspectives. While most of the book revolves around the schemes of demons and human, there is a lovely romance subplot that I really enjoyed! Overall, The Incandescent is an entertaining and devilishly clever fantasy!

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh is sharp and brilliant to read, much like the main character, Walden. In the novel, Walden is dangerous but also able to do her job with brilliance. I love the magic boarding school from the teacher’s perspective. In particular, I like how you see how that perspective is used to create an interesting and engaging narrative that slowly brings you in all the while building to an ending with believable consequences.
I love the character of Saffy Walden. In particular, I like how you see her holding pattern in regards to where she works and her lack of a personal life. But she also is deadly with demons and I love her relationship with Laura, the Marshall, where both struggle to find a way to connect. I also love the way Walden connects with her students, each as distinct and interesting as the main characters.
If you like urban fantasy set in a world with demon magic and boarding schools, you just might like this novel. I love the queer characters but most of all, I love how the story builds to a beautiful crescendo, progressing in how Walden uses her magic and ultimately leaving her with a realistic ending. It is both beautiful and brilliant, sharp and dangerous all at once.

So, based on the "Sapphic dark academia fantasy" description, this is not at all what I expected. When I hear fantasy, I definitely don't expect a book to be set quite so clearly not only in the real world, but near enough in time that there are references to how COVID-19 impacted the socialization of kids in school. "Dark academia" generally brings to mind moodier vibes, possibly gothic. And "sapphic" typically doesn't have the majority relationship in the book being M/F (there is a F/F relationship/situationship but it felt like much less page space and development was devoted to it). I think Scholomance isn't a bad comp, necessarily, but this felt more like Sorcery and Small Magics with considerably less romance.

What I got instead was an almost cozy contemporary AU fantasy, with heavy slice-of-life chapters of an academic administrator. The main character is a bisexual millennial who is a bit of a disaster romantically and socially, and oh yeah, there are occasional demon possessions. The thing is, that is generally delightful. I liked the book. It just was very much not what I was anticipating. As far as the romance goes, I think it could have been either developed a little more or left out entirely. I would have loved to see the FMC go further with Laura initially before we switched to Mark, because to me, the ending would have made more sense. As it was, it felt a bit unearned. I really liked the passage of time in the last quarter of the book and the general POV shift (which I won't say more about to avoid spoilers). That was really interesting.

Overall, this is probably a 4.25 or so that I am rounding up because of a unique premise.