Molly O’Sullivan’s debut novel is written as a collection of various documents — a rejected research paper written by the main character, footnotes from various characters, journal entries from a possessed girl, and field notes from a rival researcher. One of the most enjoyable things about this novel was the form— the various different documents allowed each character’s unique voice to poke through, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It also contributed to the academic vibe the novel was aiming for, which supported the college setting.

The central plot is a mystery — the possession of one student, Dani, and her subsequent murder of another student. I found the mystery interesting, though I wish more about the eventual solution had been hinted at in the first half of the book. The reveal that tied into the main character, Cella’s, backstory was fun as well.

Overall, I thought the characters and premise of The Book of Autumn was very solid, but found that the pacing was a little disorienting, switching from slow to breakneck speeds at the midway point of the book. Still, I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a dark academia book with some exciting cowboy vibes.

i love the discussion of christianity and the part it plays in this book - taking real and true aspects of christianity and ancient philosophy makes the world feel complex and complete.

i also loved the setting, i felt like i could picture the places so well and they evoked emotions for me.

i did find that the end wasn’t for for me:
- i had put all the information together and then had it ‘spoon fed’ to me a little, which made it feel like it was dragging
- but then i did not feel like any of the conflicts between characters were properly resolved but rather pushed aside, which felt rushed

i think this was a really good story and could just do with some polishing to make the end feel more satisfying.

Book of Autumn is an enchanting blend of magic, culture, and soul-deep connection. Set in a magical school rooted in the mysticism of New Mexico, the story weaves together witchcraft, philosophy, and religion in a way that feels both grounded and expansive. The concept of a magical soulmate—or “mate”—adds a compelling emotional layer, and the magic system itself is creative and well-structured.


Where the book stumbles is in its tone and pacing. Despite the main character being 29, the voice and emotional beats lean more toward young adult, which occasionally pulled me out of the story. Some plot elements, especially in the latter half, felt rushed or too neatly resolved, leaving me wanting more depth and complexity.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the arc!

I hate stupid protagonists. I really do. So imagine my disappointment when I opened up this book, a bad feeling already creeping into the back of my mind, and discovered that this FMC is so dumb she ignores clues to the mystery she is trying to solve. Sigh. There are so many times the book tells us she’s smart, yet whenever she’s on page, I’m resisting the urge to bang my head against the wall as I’m asking basic questions the FMC is actively ignoring. Violet Sorengale who?

The MMC (no POV from him) is also a pain in the ass. He starts out… alright. He isn’t my cup of tea, but I could see how someone might like him. At the very least, he wasn’t like all the other love interests that are popular right now (that is to say, dark, brooding, and mysterious), but he says some absolutely horrendous things about the FMC’s brother (who killed himself while all of them were attending college) and his apology is so below sufficient I’m surprised the FMC didn’t punch him in the face. If any of my friends said anything like that to me if my little sister killed herself, I wouldn’t talk to them ever again. If I did, I would expect them to bow and scrape for the next six months, at least. He’s also very paternalistic and annoying as the plot continues so overall, boo.

There’s also some critiques of social media and its effect on mental health, but they’re surface level at best. They’re not problematic or anything, but they basically just say “social media bad!” without going any deeper. It’s possible the brother’s suicide was due to bullying on social media, but it was really unclear and anything beyond that wasn’t mentioned. And as someone with depression and has been suicidal in the past, the way depression is discussed is also surface level at best. It’s spoken about as if the author read the Wikipedia page on depression and called it a day. I understand the FMC isn’t the one with depression and it can be a bit difficult to understand from an outside perspective, but for depression and suicide to feature so heavily in the FMC’s backstory, some more thought and care should’ve been put in.

Speaking of the lackluster writing, and I’m going to say this in the nicest way possible, but this reads like bad fanfiction. The scenes are disjointed and seem to end right after their purpose has been served without thought to how they’ll flow into the next scene. The characters are shallow and can be described in one or two words each. The mystery is mildly interesting, but if I, who am famously awful at murder mysteries, can peg the villain the first time he walks on screen, you should probably go through another few rounds of editing. The magic system was also messy despite the fact that the rules were repeated multiple times. I got it the first time, thanks, doesn’t make it any better if you repeat it. Luce and her fungus should’ve been the protagonist and I don’t take criticism on that opinion.

Overall, this book was boring and the characters dull. If you’re looking for a dark academia book in a school (not collegiate, though) setting with an actually intelligent protagonist, I would recommend The Incandescent by Emily Tesh, which I actually read right before this book. The contrast was stark, I’ll tell y’all that.

A mysterious magical mystery is how this was described. For lovers of Adrienne Young, and Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House - perfect I enjoy both of these. I was excited to dive in but unfortunately this one wasn’t for me.

Marcella has returned to her magical school to help solve a mysterious murder with her partner Max.

Part of my issue is there is zero indication of anything magical for almost half the book. When it is mentioned and introduced it is done so in the barest way possible. I was also confused why Cella and Max were the only ones who could solve this mystery. Cella’s past leading to her fleeing the school felt more like a plot ploy that an actual reason to go. Finally I felt the story dragged. The mystery was only a mystery because the suggested villains wouldn’t cooperate.

So let’s focus on what was good! The slow build ex- to lovers relationship had good tension. The writing was also decent. I liked the relationships between the characters and felt like their characters development was good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Net Galley and Kensington publishing for the chance to read this ARC.

I went into this book unsure of what to expect, but Molly’s debut had me hooked from the very beginning.

This book includes modern-day dark academia, ancient sorcery, magic, and a little romance. Cella and Max are invited to investigate a murder, and along the way, they uncover secrets about the magic school and its staff and students. In a world where magic is prevalent and people possess objects as sources of power, things are not as they appear. The two must navigate a complicated relationship and other tragedies.

I thoroughly enjoyed the character development and the storyline. Molly’s writing style is engaging and easy to read, making it a pleasure to delve into this captivating world. I look forward to reading more of Molly’s work in the future.

The Book of Autumn promised an intriguing blend of magic, mystery, and academic intrigue, set against the unique backdrop of a New Mexico magic college. Unfortunately, it largely delivered a story that felt like a paint-by-numbers urban fantasy, failing to truly ignite the potential of its premise.

Marcella Gibbons, our reluctant anthropologist-turned-Magician, felt more perpetually grumpy than genuinely conflicted. Her insistence on ditching magic and her "other half," Max, felt more like stubbornness for plot's sake than a deeply rooted emotional struggle. When Max inevitably appears with his charming cowboy grin and "one last favor," the setup felt less like a compelling reunion and more like checking off a tired trope from a list.

The dynamic between Cella and Max, meant to be the heart of the story, felt more like a tired dance than a genuine connection. Their past "tumultuous" year lacked the necessary on-page development to make their forced proximity feel anything but perfunctory. The "dimidium" concept, while interesting, felt under-explored, existing primarily to justify their constant, often frustrating, interactions.

The mystery itself, revolving around strange happenings and ancient origins at the college, had glimmers of potential but ultimately felt a bit flat. The "power she could never rival alone" hinted at epic stakes, but the execution left the ancient evil feeling surprisingly mundane. Pacing dragged in places, especially when focused on Cella's internal brooding, only to rush through crucial magical revelations.

Ultimately, The Book of Autumn reads like a draft with good intentions but lacks the polish and originality to stand out. It's a serviceable read if you're desperate for a quick magical fix, but don't expect to be enthralled. The characters felt underdeveloped, the magic system was a bit muddled, and the plot, while moving, never quite soared. It had the bones of a great story, but the execution just didn't quite get there.

A magical, melancholic, and mind-bending blend of dark academia and second-chance romance.
this book offer a fresh twist on dark academia and magic school fantasy. Its richly drawn characters, atmospheric setting, and scholarly narrative voice are distinctive highlights. However, pacing issues and the intrusive footnote structure may frustrate some readers. If you enjoy intelligent, emotionally charged fantasy with a touch of romance and mystery and don’t mind an unconventional format, this is a compelling read.

This book was not what I expected. It had a unique writing style that made it seem like a combination of a field journal and personal diary. I especially liked all the annotations written from the different characters throughout. The combination of magical theories and ancient philosophy was captivating, and I enjoyed following Cella on her journey to uncover the truth about what happened at the school. Overall a very interesting and engaging read.

Marcella returns to her hometown after years away to investigate a mysterious murder at her old college for magic. There, she must face her former friend and lover Max—two halves of the same magical soul—and confront the trauma she tried to escape.

The writing is beautiful, but I struggled to fully connect with the story. It took me a while to finish, and I was tempted to skim at times. Personally, I’m not a fan of footnotes in novels, as they tend to break the flow for me. The magic system was interesting but occasionally felt overcomplicated, with some nuances I didn’t quite grasp.

I appreciated the darker, mysterious tone and the horror elements, but the resolution felt a bit random, not like the pieces of a puzzle falling into place. I also wished for more background on the villain—his motivations were unclear and left me wanting more.

All in all, it’s a thoughtful exploration of loss, grief, and humanity, but it just didn’t fully pull me in.

Ever thought of the science behind magic? Ever believed there was more to it than just mumbling a few words and watching as you make fairy lights? Then this book is for you. A college for magic and science, set in America, where students sometimes vanish. And now a student was murdered by another student. But why?

Marcella Gibbons cant escape her past, no matter how much she tries. At every turn there is her magical twin, her didium partner, and ex, just howing up and trying to talk. Until one day he turns up with a request from the magical council for help. A student has killed another student, and now seems possessed by something that no one can understand. So she is pulled back to Seinford and Brown College of Agriculture (and Magic) and to Max. But this is no straight forward investigation, it will push her and Max to the brink, and threatens their lives.

This was a fun book, showing a good range of emotional understand of the author. It shows how hard college can be, but when you add in magic and dark forces, anything can happen. A good and fun read.

So I did like this. I liked the writing, I loved the premise. The dealing with death and the grieving process and ending up back in school trying to find some sense of normalcy with none to be found. It seemed like a lot happening at once. I liked it, solid book.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. The cover of this book is gorgeous! It is what initially caught my eye. Unfortunately, I could not finish this book. The plot had potential but I felt like the story was all over the place. It felt like the beginning of the book was the middle and we were supposed to have already developed a connection with these characters. I tried but I couldn’t understand what was going on with who or why.
That being said, not every book is for everyone. Someone else may give The Book of Autumn a try and absolutely love it.

What a cozy little gem this turned out to be! The Book of Autumn is like stepping into a pile of crisp leaves with a hot mug of cider in hand and absolutely no intention of doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Molly O’Sullivan has a lovely way with words. Her prose feels like a warm blanket and her characters are charming without being overly sweet. I especially loved the way she captured the quiet magic of the season. Everything felt touched by golden light and the soft crunch of nostalgia.

That said I did dock a star because a few parts meandered like a lazy forest path when I was ready to get to the pumpkin patch already. Still it never lost its heart and I was happy to wander along with it.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants a little escape into amber woods and wistful days. Just be warned you may crave cinnamon pastries and spontaneous leaf-peeping adventures.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the eARC.

Cela Gibbons, una exmagíster que ha abandonado su carrera, su magia y su pasado tras una serie de tragedias personales. Pero cuando es llamada de regreso a Seinford & Brown, su antigua universidad, para investigar un extraño incidente mágico, se ve obligada a enfrentarse a sus miedos, a su ex, y a una oscura verdad que amenaza con consumirlo todo.

Una estudiante ha sido asesinada brutalmente, y otra ha quedado atrapada en un misterioso estado de levitación, hablando en lenguas extrañas y con cicatrices que desafían toda lógica médica. Lo que comienza como una investigación de rutina se transforma en una exploración profunda del alma humana, el dolor, la memoria y el poder destructivo de la magia mal dirigida.

Acompañada por Max, su antiguo compañero (y ex novio) con quien comparte un raro vínculo mágico llamado dimidium, Cela debe analizar los objetos mágicos que revelan más de lo que los involucrados quieren decir, descubrir secretos enterrados bajo años de tradición académica, y confrontar su propio pasado (incluyendo la muerte de su hermano y la razón por la cual abandonó la magia) mientras el tiempo corre antes de que intervengan fuerzas externas.


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Tiene mucho potencial, pero no se aprovecho. Tenemos un dark academy con magia en donde apenas se utiliza la magia, las investigaciones son pésimas y todos los hallazgos parece que se dan por casualidad. Y ni hablar del romance que queda a medias.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

I read up to 40% of the book until I felt the need to skim the rest. I always like to give books a chance and time to allow the stories and the world to unfurl.

Although this book had a very interesting magic system and a unique format that helped to break the story a little, I will be honest and say that I had a hard time feeling engaged in the story. It took me a little too far into the book to understand how some of the magic worked. it seemed like people had connections to objects and through these objects, magic could be cast. At the same time, it never was revealed if the students who go to S&B were innately born with magic or they were just able to learn it. In addition, the pacing of the book was what really gave me a hard time.

It felt like as they were trying to solve this mystery, they kept going through dead ends and it didn't feel like it was going anywhere until closer to the 60% mark. I quickly became bored due to this and lost my investment in finding out who the culprit was.

Despite me not being a big fan of how Cella and Max were trying to solve this mystery, this book still deserves some praise. I loved how they chose this specific character as the culprit and how it came out to be (closer to the end) nicely. It made sense in a satisfying way. This person, who is seemingly so charming, had everyone fooled and for some reason or another, this felt very relatable to real life situations. In addition, the side characters had a lot of dimension which I really enjoyed. Dr. Strauss, Luce, and Vern. I particularly loved the bit about Vern and how he tried to catch The Fish.

All in all, this book was difficult to get into but it had its star moments.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this and provide my honest review.

The Book of Autumn - Molly O'Sullivan
Rating: 3/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for giving me early access to this dark academia story (out October 28).

This story is a murder mystery set in a modern day magic university. It's a unique blend of magic into a modern day setting which was enjoyable. The story and the investigation that is undertaken is interesting and kept me engaged through all the plot twists. The setting is gorgeous and well fleshed out and the villian of our story is interesting in their motives.

The format of the writing is very unique with several footnotes throughout as if providing references in an academic research paper. While I respect that this is fitting for the setting, I found it quite jarring and it felt like some context was missing as it had been put in a footnote instead of the main story. I think this is especially difficult for people using an e-reader like myself.

I also found the main character's Max and Cella missing some depth. A lot of the character development we get from them is focused on the past and it wasn't entirely clear how these events were impacting them in the current time.

Despite my above commentary this is a very solid debut book for Molly O'Sullivan and while the style was not my cup of tea, I can see dark academia fans loving this book.

The Book of Autumn by Molly O'Sullivan is written in first-person POV, but I struggled to get a feel for it. I loved that it took place in New Mexico as I spent so much of my childhood there. I think it was my mood more than the plot or anything, I will try again if or when audio comes out.

Vibes found in the book are: dark academia, ex-fated mates, forced proximity, murder mystery, "who did this to you?"

After five years, Marcella Gibbons returns to Seinford and Brown College of Agriculture and Magic because of an emergency at the school that only she, and the other half of her dimidium pair, Max Middlemore, can solve. What follows is a story about humanity, history and mythology, and a magic system that would probably be considered 'small magic.' Through it all, Cella grapples with her past and feeling of constant displacement. This story about magical academia felt like a real academic world, and included distinct fields of magical study.
Some characters, like Max, his family, and Cella's parents lacked depth. A couple more chapters featuring them would have helped. It was also somewhat obvious who the villain was early on, if you've ever read another story in your life. Nevertheless, the mystery sucked me in as it unfolded, and reached a satisfying end.
Tiny pet peeve: while the long-winded rant about the evils of social media wasn't false, the main character never seemed to consider the possibility that she didn't need to have any at all.

You had me at the title and stunningly beautiful cover. I love a seasonal read and whilst technically not in the traditional sense this book has everything an autumnal loving reader could want . Set in a magical school (so great for back to school term time reading) with engaging characters and exciting premise fabulous dark academia vibes. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy . Thoroughly enjoyed read on kindle for NetGalley