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.

I really enjoyed that this magical school was from a teacher's perspective, instead of a student. I liked the way it made the themes and language feel more adult, too. The characters were all unique and well-written, and the writing was wonderful---those two things combined made for a really compelling plot. I am absolutely looking forward to more from this author as this was a stunning book. I am excited to get our physical copies in at my branch so I can push them into the hands of every patron.

If you look behind all of the aesthetics and moodiness of any dark academia novel the heart of the matter is this: a contract has been broken between the educational system and one or more character in the book. There is a crack in the foundation, the world has become unbalanced, and that’s where you’ll find the book’s central conflict.

The Incandescent isn’t the first novel to take a different approach to dark academia than the usual student protagonist: Lee Madelo’s Summer Sons has a student’s brother as the protagonist, and Lauren Nossett’s The Resemblance has a police officer/alumni as the protagonist (including The Resemblance as DA is something I do because I believe it meets all of the markers save the aesthetics and supernatural element). It’s not the first to have a teacher as the protagonist either (The Swallows by Lisa Lutz has a teacher protag). It is the first dark academia novel I can think of to have an elder millennial, pseudo-head of house/part-time teacher as the protagonist. It’s also the first dark academia novel I can think of where the contract that was broken was between academia as an institution and the administration/staff of the school, which led to the central conflict of this book: How do you protect a school full of bright, promising, young students from demons when no one seems to want to foot the bill?

One of the best things about this book is that Tesh (being a Millenial herself, I think) knows that not everything about this book has to be taken so seriously. Doctor Saffy Walden, our protagonist, does her marking in her ratty pajamas, works 14 hours a day, is awkward talking about anything that’s not work, doesn’t date, knows her students are completely unserious about nearly everything, and deeply loathes smart phones (demons just love technology). Saffy knows she’s deeply uncool and she’s okay with that. Saffy is okay with almost anything so long as the 600 students of Chetwood are as safe from a demon incursion as possible.

This book was very engaging and interesting, with an awkward wit to it and an unexpectedly sweet and caring side to it that comes from the teacher-student dynamic between Saffy and her four Upper 6th Invocation students. There’s a romantic and wistful dynamic between Saffy and a kind-of government-mandated demon hunter/security guard. There are a good deal of dramatic and creative magical scenes that are extremely well-written that fully capture your attention that I wish I could see fully rendered in film.

The Incandescent will remind you that your teachers and administrators were once students too, often making the same mistakes and now living with the various outcomes, both positive and negative, of those mistakes. Everyone was young and dumb once. Only time will tell how much you learn. 5⭐️



I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Adult Fantasy/Dark Academia/LGBTQ Fantasy/Sapphic Romance/Supernatural Fantasy

Walden is one of the most powerful magicians in England, able to summon a demon higher than the 12th level — which one should never do. She loves Chetwood, the school she went to as a child, the school where she studied magic and learned to summon demons. Upon graduating school, after a brief stint in America where Walden decided she very much did not want to work with the Pentagon, she returned to Chetwood to teach. However, as the most powerful magician there, Walden has more duties than teaching. She also must test and repair the wards, especially the thaumatic engine; give assembly; corral, listen to, and help teachers; listen to parents … in short, to do all the necessary work that no one else either can or wants to do. Walden is always calm, always prepared, and always follows the rules, because that’s how things work. There is tradition, centuries of it. A tradition Walden loves, is proud of, and is proud to be a part of. It’s that very tradition that forms her armor, it’s the trellis that has supported her all her life. But … Walden is nearing 40, and the nights, well, they can be long and lonely.

In the past, Walden’s lovers have always been magicians of some power. Much as some people might like a nice ass, lovely breasts, or a pretty face, Walden’s first attraction to someone is through their magic, through that part of themselves that will never be artificial. No makeup, clothing, or illusion will hide the shape and vibrancy of someone’s magic. Their skill, their competency, their cleverness and quickness, how skillfully they use it and what they use it for. These are the things that draw her.

Laura Kenning, a Marshal — or demon hunter — working at the school is both an irritant (Walden does not like the idea of having a police officer in her school) and a necessity, as demons do enter the world unsummoned, and, when they do, there isn’t always someone strong enough to banish them. That’s where Marshals come in. But Laura isn’t a thug with a sword. She’s thoughtful, funny, honestly devoted to her cause, and a fearsomely skilled magician. Where Walden relies on complicated arrays, Laura uses her weapons, and when the two of them have to come together to fight a demon, it’s an effortless melding of their skills.

Mark Daubery is a bluff and manipulative man who is equal parts charming and untrustworthy, but he’s also a damned good magician. His ideas are good ones, and because — unlike Laura — he and Walden both went to Chetwood for school, they have a shared background, and a shared understanding and use of magic. They can talk in a way Laura and Walden simply can’t. And it’s nice to be flirted with by a handsome man who, like Walden, wants nothing more than a friendly physical relationship. They’re both using each other equally.

Then, there is the third love in Walden’s life … Chetwood. More than a collection of buildings from various ages, more than acres of ancient trees and a church whose roof needs repair, it’s the hundreds of students and the dozens of staff, all of whom are known to Walden, all of whom are and have been and will always be part of her life. It’s palpable in her thoughts, in her conversations, and in the demon Walden has bonded to, how important the school is to her, but she’s not blind to what the school is to other people. Magic is the least of what you gain at Chetwood. What matters is the power to walk the walk and talk the talk, to have your résumé picked out of the pile and the interviewer already speaking your language. It is the power to know the people you ought to know, to befriend them easily over a commong bond, or to laugh together about how ridiculous the whole theme park experience of childhood had been. A few can afford that power. Most can not. Plenty of parents who love their children work appalling hours and then remortgage their homes to pay for it. They do it for love, and for terror. You can never completely future-proof your children, but power will keep them safe from the bitter grind of survival in a way that nothing else can.

I’m going to be honest, this book isn’t going to be for everyone. In essence, it is a long and languid character study — at 432 pages — of a middle-aged professor of an English boarding school for rich, entitled children (and some scholarship students) that teaches magic and demon summoning. It’s almost a love letter to teaching, with Walden going through her day, organizing her schedule, dealing with emails, grading, attending assemblies, more scheduling, so on and so forth. She works 16-hour days, seven days a week, and you’ll feel every one of them. And I love it. So, let me sell you on this book!

There are a lot of thoughts in this book, conversations with students and other teachers about the ethics of personhood, and what it is (can a plant or animal be considered a person? What about a demon?); the ethics of consent (can a demon consent to be summoned?); about classism and entitlement, about grief and loss, about the difference between being a good teacher and being seen to be a good teacher. Walden is flawed, heavily so. She is emotionally stunted, manipulative, complaint, and vain. She thinks she knows more than she does, she thinks she knows better than everyone, and she’s a bit of an ass. And I love her.

The world of this book is shown through Walden’s eyes, but it’s not just her words, it’s the things she sees but doesn’t understand, the things she sees and does. It’s the shadows behind the exposition and the knowledge that Walden is — sometimes more than others — an unreliable narrator. I had fun trying to find the moments where she slipped, where her blind confidence led to the small openings in her defenses, and just reading her story.

The plot is straightforward and the twist is expected. It’s very well done, though. The writing is clean and crisp, and all of the side characters — seen through Walden’s eyes — are always innocent of malice. She sees them as flawed and foolish, but always forgivable, her people to protect and shelter, and it’s that fondness, that love that ends up saving everyone. I loved the world building, I loved the demons, I loved the end …

Again, not everyone is going to like this book (and I forgive them for it). It’s long, it’s slow, and it’s almost entirely in Walden’s head, as she ponders aging, loneliness, and her school. The world building is subtle and doesn’t hold your hand; there’s no lengthy explanation of the magic, because that’s not the point of the book. So if you’re looking for a hard magic system and epic levels of world building, you’re going to be disappointed in this book. This is a slice of life through the eyes of a teacher at a magical school where students are taught to summon demons. And I love it. Expect to see it in my yearly Annual Favorites.

I love retelling of a magic school from a teachers perspective. As a teacher myself I get the frustration and bureaucracy that goes into managing students. I would recommend this to anyone.

I really enjoyed this. It was a fun fresh take on dark academia. The characters were unique and I thought the prose was beautiful written.

The Incandescent is one of those books that really just clicked for me and I was hooked from the first page. I really appreciated fine and intricate detail in stories, which is exactly what we get from page one via our protagonist's role as Director of Magic at Chetwood School. This world is fascinating and I loved the school setting from Doctor Walden's perspective rather than the students. I loved learning about her role in keeping the school safe from demons (yes, you read the correctly--demons; it is a magical school, after all), and I was fascinated to see what directions this story would take. The writing was wonderful, which is no surprise coming from Emily Tesh, and I was so enamored with the academia setting, as it is one I'm both familiar with and love exploring. Really loved this one and would absolutely recommend it!

This was quite possibly the best book I've read so far in 2025. The writing was so evocative, the story so engrossing! I was RAPT from page one. As a survivor of higher academia, I laughed out loud a hundred times throughout the book. If this was a series, I would read nine parts. Let! Them! Kiss! More! God, I loved this book.

This book was genius from start to finish!!! I love Emily Tesh’s brain and I want to stay inside the worlds they create long after the last page.

Emily Tesh's new book provides readers with a new twist on academia-related fantasy, the teacher's perspective. Dr. Walden is an administrator/teacher at Chetwood School of Magic, and her magic is powerful. She keeps the school running while dealing demon incursions, large and small, and teaching magical teens (and drama ensues). This change of pace is engaging, and at times, delightful. Demons demanding "blood" and then "paper" to clear up a paper jam strangely makes sense. This book will appeal to readers who appreciate a slower-paced narrative, strong characterization, and a unique setting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I read this author's previous book and really enjoyed it, so I was pleased that I also enjoyed this one! I am a little cautious about dark academia, but I loved how Walden was a teacher and not a student. I thought that was a very clever way to add a twist to the genre! This was very cleverly written.