Reading this series (just two books thus far) has been an unusual experience. While reading (/listening), I had a strong feeling that I SHOULD have been enjoying the boom, and yet I didn't really. I struggled to get interested and invested, to want to know what was gonna happen next and care about the outcomes of the characters. Usually when I feel like a book seems like it should be enjoyable, but I'm not feeling it, I chalk it up to a reader problem, which is genuinely often the case. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a particular genre or style. I did try to put down the first book and come back to it but taking a pause did not change my opinion at all. I'm pretty convinced this isn't a mood issue. I suspect two reasons I felt this way about this series.

1. The characters are annoying and underdeveloped.
I don't mind flawed and unlikable characters in books different long ad I still have some reason to be invested in their outcomes. There's also a difference between characters who are intended to be flawed and unlikable and ones who aren't supposed to be. Since it's nearly the entire cast here, this kind of feels like it's the latter. I found most of the characters annoying, too impulsive, too opinionated, and while they did have variation in personality, they didnt have enough of it. They all felt like different versions of the same base personality (the authors maybe?) which made it hard to feel like these could be real people. I did like Daniel and Axel was tolerable, and the chapters with them were better in this book than the first, but many of their details and backgrounds didn't feel subverted l sincere or believable. Like Daniels gambling addiction which is mentioned but we never see it. We never see him acting in any way shape or form like an addict or a former addict. Addiction ruins lives and it changes people. If this man was supposedly deep enough in an addiction that he was on the run from bookies who wanted him dead, why do we see none of it in his personality. Axel was a little better because we actually saw him struggle with wanting to use, but still his trauma that led him to addictio has now magically vanished now that hes been removed from the traumatic circumstances. But thats not actually how trauma works. These are examples of how these characters are underdeveloped. They all do speak a little differently, they have different motivations and different circumstances, and yet they all feel moderately unaffected by their different backgrounds and eerily similar to one another. Ellie is also another example of us being told one thing about her background, but not seeing it in her character. When we firat meet her, before she even enters into the world of magic, she claims to be a mild-mannered, type-A, rule follower, and yet we never see it. There's a convenient explanation that magic "changes people", but we meet Ellie before she encounters magic, before she's changed. Our first scene with her has her acting impulsively and while doing so surprises herself, we only have her word that this is out of the ordinary for her. And her personality does not change at all from the moment we meet her. We only have the word of the narrative that these people have somehow been "transformed" by magic and that they used to be different.

2. The stakes and obstacles don't feel believable.
This is partly due to the magic system that according to this book "does not follow the laws of physics or chemistry" and therefore is unlimited only by the imagination. That's fine, but what is preventing these characters from using their OP magic to solve the "poisoning problem" sooner? There are some flimsy obstacles. We tried and failed and need to recover our magic, we have not yet identified the "boosting magic" ability, the people who can fix it are busy addressing things that are apparently more urgent (are they really though when people are supposedly dropping like flies from said poisoning?). I already don't understand why Maggie and Ellie didn't say, "We'll help fix the poisoning to out and end to the need for us to stay, and then we'll go." Before making angry and impulsive choices entirely for the sake of the plot. Meanwhile, there are some many instances when characters are standing around having conversations when they could be taking action against these plot conflicts and have things wrapped up in 5 pages.
But what about the political woes and the factions? Well, sure, we can't just magic those away. But why are these centuries old witches splitting into factions and not resolving things in the first place? Because they all share one impulsive, angry, and annoying personality! There is no nuance in the politics happening here and it takes all the intrigue I could have had for it away. Why do I, the reader, care that they couldn't find any solutions to the misery every single person in their community seems to share? Because some people want to suck their misery up and others want to get violent? Sorry, I don't feel any sympathy for either factions there. Perhaps if there was more time spent on building in some history and nuance, that all could have made more sense or been more interesting.


Now that doesn't mean there aren't positives in this book. There is a lot of potential in the magic system with different people having different skills. And while I didn't like the characters, they did all have well-paced arcs that tied into the main plot in a well-executed way. The prose was also good. No complaints whatsoever about writing style. And despite my complaints, this universe has some whimsy. The Hobs, for example, are cute and fun.

And while my critique has mostly focused on the series so far as a whole, I will say, I enjoyed this book more than the first one. I think the plot issues weren't quite as bad as in the first one and the characters were slightly less annoying in this one. I geuss a little more time with the characters did help me become a little more invested in the story.

Overall, I think this story needed some deep editing of the plot and characters, but had some good things to offer too.

I also want to praise the audiobook narrators who did a great job bringing yet more differentiation to all the characters and POVs in the book. I would recommend audio if you're interested in checking this series out.

With a large cast of characters and diverse perspectives on romance, this adventurous fantasy packs a punch. The story is strong, but does get weighed down with the interpersonal entanglements along the way. The best parts are the action sequences, but they are few and far between. I wish we had gotten this narrative packed into one, succinct novel instead of spread over two books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for my copy. These opinions are my own.

So many delightfully written characters. It's so much fun to listen to this book and "watch" the stories unfold between the characters. I enjoyed being pulled into the lives of the characters and hope there will be a third book soon.

Melissa Marr is masterful in her relationship building and provides each character with the challenges and the ability to find their own love is love with a partner. She also gives "badgering" a whole new meaning. Mature readers will love the audio version of this story with its amazing narration. I would listen again, it's just that good, and it made my daily walks a whole lot more interesting. This is a must listen (read).

It took me a bit longer to get to this one since I wanted to read the first book in the series first. Honestly, the first book was better. This sequel felt like a bit of a stretch—the plot dragged, and I found myself putting it down multiple times before finally finishing it.

One of the biggest issues for me was the characters. They all came across as whiny, and I didn’t find myself connecting with or even liking a single one of them. The emotional arcs just didn’t land. On top of that, the magic system, which started off intriguing, became overly complicated and hard to follow.

Overall, it felt like the story lost the spark that made the first book enjoyable.

When I started Reluctant Witch I didn't realize it was the second book in a series. But thanks to a happy coincidence, I've already read Remedial Magic so thankfully I wasn't missing out on any background info. After realizing how familiar so many of the characters were, it was so easy to immerse myself in the story and pick up where it left off. The characters all showed so much growth. So many of them went through big life changes and had to come to terms with drama or betrayal. The plot was somewhat slow but the big focus on characters really made it easy to not mind. The audiobook was pretty great! It really brought the story and characters to life.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start out by saying I did not read the first book, but it didn't seem to be an issue, this book did what most do and it filled me in along the way as far as what was going on. The main issue was, I never really cared about what was going on or the characters involved. I tried, I put the book down and picked it back up in different moods on different days, but it was a slog all of the way through. It seemed like my kind of book too, if you look through the books I have liked I think you'd agree the premise of this one fits right in. And yet.

That being said, the narrators were great! I wish the book had been worth their efforts, I'd gladly pick up another book with them narrating, just not THIS book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for providing me with a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📖 Bookish Thoughts

I’m so glad I stuck with this series, because Reluctant Witch was definitely a step up from the first book! I found it way easier to connect with the characters this time around. The cast felt more likable overall, and while there were still a lot of POVs, they flowed much more smoothly in this one. It felt more structured, less chaotic !

I loved that the romance showed up more in this one—it made me way more invested.

The plot did drag a bit around the 75% mark, but not enough to take me out of the story. I still really enjoyed how everything came together by the end.

🎧 Audiobook Vibes: 4 stars
The narration was solid and easy to follow. I’d definitely listen to the next book in audio too!

💭 Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.75 stars)
This was a fun, magical continuation with stronger character work and better flow. I’d totally reread this one and can’t wait to see where the series goes next.


I received a free copy of this audiobook via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

While I liked the first book in this series and was excited for Reluctant Witch, I struggled to get invested in this story that had a lot of characters to keep track of and different worlds/realms. The audio narration was fantastic though and I'm sure others will enjoy it but I wasn't feeling this one sadly. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

After being left on a major cliffhanger I was so excited to get to read this sequel! I love the school setting and a secret magic society.

I like the concepts in this book and the vibes of the world. I think if the romantic relationships had been more loving and straightforward this book could have been a 5 star for me.

This book is trying to be morally grey but is missing enough doses of good. The relationships are uncomfortable and toxic.

The narration was good, but had some flaws and I wish it had been dual narrated. With all these characters it was hard to follow.

Genre:Fantasy / Romance
Age: Adult
Tropes: forced mairrage, amnesia
Read for: Netgalley
Obtained from: Thanks to McMillan Audio and Netgalley for the Advance Listeners Copy
Song recommendation for the vibes: Narcissus by Paris Paloma

This book is probably fine for some readers. I just felt like I wasn't able to connect with it. It has so many charters. Even hours into listening new couples were being mixed in. So much brooding from our main charters that made them a bit unlikable so there for uninteresting. The magic elements were a bit confusing too. This seems to be a layered world with a ton of regulations and horny residents to some eternal hogworts university. Personally not a place I would like to live for centuries. No wonder everyone is fighting, it seems like a miserable place to be. Regardless, you can tell sometimes that something isn't for you but could have appeal to others. I think some will like this book. It was a well produced audiobook with quality narrators. Thank you net galley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

While this book had a cute premise I just didn't connect with the story anymore. The first book was fun, but slow, and I didn't mind that in the beginning. For whatever reason, this book felt even slower and that nothing really happened. I checked where I was and even at 57% in we didn't have a whole lot of action going on and I just wanted a bit more.

I would recommend this to someone who enjoys a slower pace book that focuses more on relationships rather than the magic/witchy side of things.

While some things were a little hard to understand because I did not read/listen to the first book, I was still able to follow along with the story just fine.

The story flowed well and I like having multiple POVs to get all the sides of the story. I will definitely be going back and reading book one to get the whole picture of the story.

I really fell for Dan, I just really love his character, so when he dies I was so devastated. So thank god that he was brought back because I don't know if I could have given it as many stars if he stayed dead. I just loved that the book ended with him.

The spicey time in this book is OMG amazing. I wasn't sure what to expect but wow, it did not disappoint.

I don't know if there will be any more books for this series but if there are I will definitely be adding them to my TBR.

Reluctant Witch (audiobook) by Melissa Marr is an engaging urban fantasy that follows a witch struggling with her powers while uncovering dark secrets in her world. Marr's writing is fast-paced and filled with mystery, magic, and emotional conflict. The audiobook's narration effectively brings the characters and the tension-filled plot to life, making it an enjoyable experience for fans of supernatural fiction and strong, relatable protagonists. It's a great choice for listeners who love stories of magic, personal growth, and suspense.

Book review: 3/5 ⭐️
Genre: high fantasy
Themes: memory loss, insurgency, dark academia
📖 Read if you like: The Magicians, Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, Legends and Lattes

I think I am more generous when listening to an audiobook out in the sunshine, so I will say I enjoyed this one though many may not feel the same. It is marketed as a romance, but I would characterize it as a multi-POV dark academy fantasy. There is a lot of romance between couples of varying sexuality, but there was also memory loss, trauma and secrets. This all happens while the magical world of Crenshaw is under threat after a sub-sect of magicians seek a path back to the real world.

It was a soapy play on The Magicians - feelings and fornication, but also full of unusual magic, the weird and a dark hunt. The world building was well done, but note that you really need to read book one of this series to understand the storyline and place. It picks up right after the events of book one with two witches in sham marriages and wiped memories forced to stay in Crenshaw. When the protection barrier is damaged and their world begins to crumble the escapees must be hunt down and the magic restored.

It had the vague shape of a plot with several steamy elements, though I was rather lost at times. I think the memory loss didn’t help with this and slowed the pace of this book. I am perhaps a little generous with this rating, but I enjoyed listening to this one. It managed to be lighthearted and cozy, while also having some darker elements that moved the plot along. I liked all the magic in this world that overlapped with our own. I would actually say this part of the story was more high fantasy than romance, but there were long passages of therapy sessions between the couples that certainly qualify it.

🎧 thank you to Netgalley and @Macmillan.Audio for a copy of this audiobook. The narrators were able to pen their own spin on each of the POVs making this cast of characters each have their own unique quirks and voices. They managed to be diverse and likable misfits in different ways. So certainly appealing for those that like character driven revelations.

This picks up immediately after the end of Remedial Magic, with the fallout of all of the memory-altering that Prospero had to do and marriage deals everyone had to make to continue to live in Crenshaw.

A lot of the issues I had with Remedial Magic are still here - while there is a lot of back and forth about which side is better or "right", both sides on the "should Crenshaw and magic stay separate" debate are doing a lot of morally questionable things and this is never really addressed. It is instead again swept under the rug with a distraction of the romances, which continue to be mostly insta-love and a lot of telling us the couples are good together with little chemistry. For all that Prospero and Ellie are supposed to be the main couple, I can't help but feel like Sondre and Maggie actually get the best development. Ellie spends so much time brainwashed that any potential development she and Prospero could have had comes too little too late.

While Remedial Magic felt a little more like it was trying to present both sides of the debate as having some sort of legitimacy, this time we're full-in on "no, the brainwashing and kidnapping side is the rational one, and the others are power-hungry racists, sexists, and murderers". So you can see how it's hard to really root for either side, which I would be okay with, but this book also wants to be a romance with tropes, and that just doesn't balance out well. It feels like whiplash, and never quite settles.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

Still not for me. I really didn't like how the last book ended and had hoped that it would get better, but it did not. The consent issues just got to me, like I just found 2 out of 3 relationships to be utterly creepy because of the power imbalance. I also hated how quickly even the good parts of the ending situation was tossed away. I guess if you liked the first one, you might like this book.

I did enjoy the narrators of this book.

Thank you to the publishers as well as Netgalley for allowing me to listen to and review the audiobook edition in advance of the release date.

When I saw that there was a chance to review a book of Melissa Marr's in advance, I jumped at the chance. I have been a fan of her works for quite a while. It wasn't until after that I realized it was the second in the series. I had missed that fact in my haste to submit my request. However, I was still excited as this is the sequel to a book that's been burning a hole on my TBR shelf.

Right from the beginning, the story drew me in. I really enjoyed the main characters as well as the land of Crenshaw that it is set in while also involving what readers would consider our normal world adjacent to it. Listening to this book definitely has me hooked and I intend to circle back to the first in the series and reread Reluctant Witch as I would definitely consider it a fun re-read!

As for the audiobook aspect of this, I really loved the use of two narrators to help diversify the voices of characters as well as lend to the fact that there are multiple POVs. Jeremy Parker and Max Meyers both did an excellent job with the narration.

Overall, I'd say this is worth reading if you're looking for a good fantasy series that features queer protagonists.

I think I liked Reluctant Witch more than book one! Now that the world building is over we really get to see what happened after the cliffhanger from Remedial Witch. It really begins with a case of "Oh, we're married?" That progresses into an action packed story between worlds. Now that Ellie, Maggie, and Dan have acknowledged their new witch status they now have to play a game of "Clue" to find out what's really going on. The ease that the story teetered between Crenshaw (the witch world) and the non-magical world is seamless and vividly written. There was even a point that I was thinking that one of the characters was pointless and he died!!!

I highly recommend to anyone interest in a fun, sapphic, fantasy/romance.

I received an ARC audiobook in exchange for a review.

I really struggled to connect with the characters in this one. The world building was a little weak and the swapping of characters pov left more to be desired.

Being an audiobook, some of the characters voices seemed off and were distracting from the story.

Thank you so much for an advance copy!

🎧 Audiobook +📗 Ebook: Reluctant Witch-A Course in Magic #2

✍🏾 Author: Melissa Marr- I read Remedial Magic and gave it 4 ⭐

📃Page Count: 320

📅Publication date: 4/1/25 | Read: 3/30/25

🏃🏾‍➡️Run Time: 10:40

🌎 Setting: Crenshaw-magical land

👆🏾POV: 3rd person, multiple

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Contemporary

Tropes: LGBTQ+, magic, witches

⚠️TW: death of parents, shooting


🗣️Narrators: Jeremy Carlisle Parker and Max Meyers voice all the characters with standouts from Sondre, Prospero, and Ellie. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrators worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrators paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.


Summary: Prospero is filled with guilt over erasing Ellie and Maggie's memories of escape. Ellie knows Prospero is hiding something as Prospero starts pushing her away. Scylla is shot by a member of the New Economists who wants to take over the non-magical world. The barrier keeping Crenshaw from the Barbarian Lands is still failing and the toxin in the village is killing witches. Ellie, Prospero, Sondre, Maggie, and Walt try to keep the town safe while secrets could ruin everything.


👩🏾 Heroine: Elleanor "Ellie" Brandeau

👩🏾 Heroine: Prospero

🎭 Side Characters:
*Maggie + her son Craig- Maggie married Sondre
*Sondre-headmaster of the College of Remedial Magic
*Walter-acting chief witch
*Scylla-Prospero's friend
*Agnes-Lady of Grendel House
*Dan+Axell- both witches, in a m/m relationship


🤔 My Thoughts: There were more storylines with multiple POVs. All the characters had their own agendas, lying to the people closest to them. Prospero hid Ellie's memories from her. Sondre loved Maggie but was part of the opposition. Even Dan felt guilty after he helped Prospero. I liked Sondre and Craig's talk, each wanted the best for Maggie.


*Spice: 4/5 🌶️ open door
*Rating: 4/5 ⭐

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group| Bramble, Macmillan Audio, and Melissa Marr for this ARC & ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.