I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. - Freya, arc & monthly book box pick reviewer

I am a big fan of the author's, since their previous sci-fi novel Some Desperate Glory made me fall in love with sci-fi when I am not even a fan of the genre. I have been looking forward to reading The Incandescent since the author first announced it on their Instagram pitching it as: "we love chaotic bisexuals but what about bisexuals who have their lives in order?" I am a highly organized bisexual myself so I longed to see myself understood and seen in this book, especially in a dark academia setting. I have two Bachelor degrees so I have experienced my fair amount of academia haha In fact, Saffy reminded me of myself so much that it was surreal.

The beginning was brilliant with the first 40% of the book being phenomenal even. Then came a plot device that I didn't enjoy, and ultimately the last 20% being a fairly great ending. The plot device involves the mc suddenly not being the bisexual who knows better and has order in their life, and it threw me off a lot. It's like a nagging little voice that keeps asking, "Why?"

Saffy is a thirty-eight year old Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy, which is a boarding school that teaches magic alongside other subjects. She is also (self-professed and otherwise) one of the most powerful magicians in England, and I looooove seeing women in positions of power! I loved Saffy's perspective and insight on education, privilege, teaching, teenagers, and on authority. I truly loved it all. She is irreverent and brilliant and has such a sharp, keen mind. I'd freaking love to have a drink with her.

She is also a fantastic teacher and a brilliant magician, and yet, all of a sudden, when Laura leaves, she falls to a half-charming man's flirting and deceit? It was so in contrast with how Saffy has been that for the life of me, I can't understand it.

Laura, our lesbian love interest, she is a fantastic character. With her own emotional baggage, witty lines, and clear character development, she was amazing throughout the book.

The worldbuilding was great, and the author's writing very unique and intriguing, but at least in my earc, there were a lot of long paragraphs, as in single paragraphs took over the entire Kindle screen. Some terms I had a very fragile grasp on, and the paragraphing didn't help me much. The final version may not have these long paragraphs, I have no idea, but alongside terms that I didn't understand, it made my reading experience not so easy. But hey, demons and magic in a school setting will always be a favourite!

The author's perspective on teaching and teachers was also spot on, and this comes from an actual teacher (me!) so the author earned tons of respect just for that.

Overall, The Incandescent offers an insight on teaching, learning from one's mistakes, forgiving oneself and others, and realizing that it is never too late. Unique prose, great dark academia vibes, demons, and queer women conquering the world.

Alright, this book was good, but not exactly what I was expecting. It had an almost slice of life feel, while still being very much magic and school. It's mundane, in a way. There was less actions than I expected, which isn't an issue at all, the story is built for that, I simply had to shift my reader's focus.

Our main character, Dr Walden, is a 38 years old, with stressing and complicated task of overseeing a magical boarding school. She still teaches a few courses, but her main job is to deal with all the administrative and managing part of the school. She is, also, a very powerful magician, with a secret. Delightful to have a dark academia focusing more on the teaching side, with magic playing somewhat of a secondary, albeit important, role.
I enjoyed her a lot. She has a little bite, hidden under her mask of Dr Walder. It's easy to feel for her and her position, how she struggle to manage the balance between her professional life and personal life (the latter being nonexistent). When some of the teenagers she teaches try to summon a demon, it opens up an old memory box and create a series of events leading to Dr Walden's secret to bite her back.

'The incandescent' is a very well thought book, playing with the mundanity of managing a magical school, but also thinking deeply about the implications of having magic known to all society and as an academic field. Emily Tesh tackles subject like privilege, elitism and trauma.
There is little romance on the side, but it is not the main focus of the book at all. I did feel like the turn was a bit quick and couldn't really get invested in that part of the story, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment at all.

So glad to have read it!

So far, I have loved and devoured everything I read by Emily Tesh. And while I did like The Incandescent (4/5 stars), it didn't even come close to Some Desperate Glory or Silver in the Wood for me. I will say though, this might just be a genre thing. Contemporary Fantasy is not my favourite of the SFF subgenres, so it might just be that. It was still very good, and I do reccomend you pick it up if you are thinking about it.

The Incandescent is set at a british magic school, but the main character is not one of the students but a teacher. I have not read many books from that perspective so it was a nice change, and how much Docotor Walden cared about her students was the best part of the book. Her whole perspective on teaching was great to read.
The comparison to A Deadly Education and Rivers of London is very fitting, the Scholomance books were exactly what sprang to mind the minute I started this. As for Rivers of London, it has been a few years since I read those but while I don't think it's a wrong comparison, I think Her Majesty's Royal coven is more fitting, just because of the strong female and queer voices.

What you need to know about this book going in is that it leans more towards cozy fantasy than the more dark fairy-tale vibes of Silver in the Woods. I'm not saying it IS cozy fantasy, because it isn't, but a lot of the book is about the day to day problems that come with running a demon attracting magic school, as opposed to deep lore or epic magic battles (but don't worry those are there too).

Overall, the book was just a little to mellow for me. To me, it lacks both the atmosphere of Silver in the Woods and the feminist rage of Some Desperate Glory.
The high point of tension comes, weirdly enough at about 30% of the book and then it struggles to build it to the same level for the climax.

I also think, and I can't belive I'm saying this, notorious Romantasy hater that I am, the romance plot point could have used a little more attention. Either that or turn it down even further, because as it is I found it to be lacking but to0 prominent to just be in the background.

The high point, as hinted at above, are the characters. Doctor Walden, as a woman in her late 30s, is a rarity among fantasy protagonist (though it is getting better!) and her age and life experience make for a deep and complex character that is centered in herself and her belief system. All the more fun to watch her loose herself. Her core conviction of doing a grounden, underapriciated job well, instead of striving fo 'higher' things was such a nice breath of fresh air. I also liked that she stayed true to this will the very end. The other cast of characters, from her students to her collegues were of course less detailed but no less lovingly crafted. As said above, I loved her interactions with the students.

So, conclusion: Well crafted novel that lacked a bit of excitement that would have made me love it but definetely still a reccomendation from me.

A heartfelt thanks to netgalley, the publisher and the author for gifting me this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Incandescent is the first Emily Tesh novel I’ve read, so I can’t compare it to her previous works. What I can say, however, is that The Incandescent delivers exactly what its premise promises: a magical academy, from the perspective of the professors. And by that, I mean paperwork, endless meetings, departmental drama and all the bureaucratic headaches that come with academia.

I really, really liked the lessons. In so many magical school books, actual lessons are either glossed over or skipped entirely. Here, the classroom has a real presence, and it felt fresh and grounded. Another major plus: the protagonist is 38 years old! More older protagonists in fantasy, please! Seeing magical academia from a faculty member’s perspective is a rare gem, and Emily Tesh executes the concept with intelligence and originality.

However, while I was intrigued by the premise, I struggled a lot with the execution. The plot's _incandescence_ is buried under layers and layers of paperwork, digressions, meetings, and Walden obsessively managing every detail. I had a really hard time getting into it, mostly because of the stylistic choices. The novel is constantly derailed by long, unnecessary tangents that appear at the most inappropriate times (even during life-threatening scenes involving demons!). Why? These digressions often made me lose focus, and I started zoning out pretty frequently.

And if it wasn’t a tangent, it was an infodump or a character dump. The entire second chapter is one long block of exposition. All of this dulled my reading experience. I get that it’s probably intentional, because Walden is a character who sees the world in a very methodical, categorized way, as she breaks everything down into lists, boxes, checkmarks. But it made for a very dry, almost clinical reading experience, with little emotional connection or warmth. At times, the reading experience was genuinely frustrating, I felt like I was constantly waiting for the story to move forward, only to be pulled into yet another digression or detour that drained all the tension and momentum.

I’m honestly sad for not liking this book more, it genuinely had the most exciting premises and a well-developed plot . However, I think it might appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven novels and a slower pacing. If you liked The Scholomance and are curious about a behind-the-scenes take on magical education, this could be the right book for you.

An addictive twist on fantasy academia where the school and academic program are essential to the plot. The story follows a school year in teacher Saffy’s life, as she teaches at a magical boarding school. If you ever wondered about Minerva McGonagall’s day to day headaches, this gives some insight. I loved the premise for this and really enjoyed the character driven story.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this early, I’m rating it 3.75 stars.

I liked it, I didn’t love it. I feel like my understanding of what this was going to be didn’t quite live up to my expectations which is totally ok.

Here’s what I did enjoy, the mix of demons and magic in an academic setting. I love fantasy in an academic setting, I feel like I would’ve enjoyed this more with some multi POV.. I respect Walden an odd amount, she was quite cool, witty and knowledgable.

I think this is perfect for fans of Deadly Education & Atlas six. It’s entertaining and sophisticated without being pretentious. There’s some awkward teen energy at points as it follows some steep learning curbs when dealing with magic and everything that comes with it. I would read a spin off from this world for sure.

The Incandescent was a story about a year(-ish) in Saffy Walden's life as a teacher in a magical boarding school, which mostly involved a lot of 14-hour busy workdays, but there were also a couple of serious magical disasters. I very much liked how academia-oriented the story was: the school was not just a backdrop; it was Saffy's life and blood. How she taught and her relationship with her students was one of the high points of this story (they were very lovely students). I really liked the worldbuilding as well, it was quite detailed but you may have to look up British school system a little if you're not already familiar with it.

What I'm not really a fan of was the pacing. So, there were a couple of high-tension fast-paced situation but there was also a stretch where this book slowed down into a cozy, mundane, academia pace. Which was not my preference, so it was kinda hard for me to go through that part, especially because this book also had some fast-paced parts.

Overall, I found it very refreshing to read a magical school story from the PoV of the teacher, who was also a woman in her late thirties. There was also a little romance, but it was not too prominent, like it's there because it's a part of life.

eARC provided by NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK.

Thank you so much to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This book is a very high 4 stars for me. It had me hooked from the first page, and this has been one of my most highly anticipated reads this year and it did not let me down! This is also my first book by Tesh, and I absolutely love their style of writing in this one. The whole book is so well-crafted and I loved the way the story was broke up into terms.

The story follows Saffy Walden, the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy, a magical boarding school. We see how she interacts with the students and her fellow staff. We see how she juggles being the director of magic and teaching the most talented kids and grading and lesson plans and dealing with demon incursions. It's never-ending for Walden and I really liked seeing the slightly more mundane part of her life. It was also so refreshing to read from the POV of an older character.

When I was reading this book I kept thinking about the teachers I had when I was younger. I didn't like school and I think if I had been sent to boarding school I would've hated it even more, but I did have a few teachers who were passionate about their jobs and kept encouraging us. It made me think of how much work they put in with all the grading and marking and lesson plans, AND they didn't have to deal with demon incursions! Just annoying teenagers!

I suppose my only issue with this book is that I feel the ending wrapped up rather abruptly. It was a solid ending but I think I would've wanted a bit more, you know?

I highly recommend picking this one up!

Thanks for the opportunity to read this one.

Unfortunately while I loved the concept (and REALLY loved having an older protagonist), the writing style just wasn’t working for me.

I will be the first to admit the charm of dark academia is largely lost on me, but I was still greatly looking forward to The Incandescent because the promise of showing a magical boarding school from the perspective of an elder millenial teacher seemed right up my alley. Plus, Emily Tesh has done some really interesting things with her debut novel and novellas, so there was a lot to look forward to.

First off, things I liked:
- the book is really easy to read. It has this vibe of a magically mundane slice of life anime, slow to unfurl, full of delightful detail and (I assume, never having gone through a British school) minutia of a British public school, but from the perspective of an adult who makes sure it's running smoothly. I read it pretty much in two sittings.
- Saffy Walden is a very good portrait of an overachieving, academically brilliant loser millenial, and I say that affectionally, as a tired thirtysomething academically brilliant loser millenial.
- The school itself came to life easily, like something I could recognize even without having experienced it. Can only imagine how it feels to people who've had similar experiences. It's so vivid and full of life.
- Saffy's ill-timed romance with Laura, and generally Laura's character that refuses to be charmed by the privileged idyll as she remains firm in her ideals and in her pursuits. Honestly we should have had more Laura, she is great.

Things I didn't like so much
- There were a few elements to the story that remained largely arbitrary: the whys behind the protracted plot arc involving the security expert (so many whys, both on doylean and watsonian level), a few magical blind spots, pacing and stylistic choices in the last fourth of the book. I couldn't help feeling that this could have been smoothed out with more editorial work on a structure level and had the intended wham! effect rather than leaving me bewildered.
- honestly, the more I think about the secury expert arc, the more bewildered I get.
- the open secret of Phoenix - I am failing to imagine the magical society as a whole agreed to sweep this into the carpet until the events of the book. How?
- the resolution with the Phoenix also seemed a little too convenient.

Overall, this is one of the books where I can say I am glad I read it, I had a good time reading it and I will continue to await what else Emily Tesh will write, but I wasn't as impressed as I was with SDG - not because this is a different book, but because it seemed at a different stage of polish.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for the arc.

The Incandescent follows Dr Sapphire Walden who is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School. She loves teaching but her job consists of a lot of meetings and securing the school from demonic incursions. Walden loves her job and needs to keep her school safe but demons are masters of manipulation and the school may need protecting from herself.

I’m giving this 3 stars. It was written well and gave me vibes of Carry on by Rainbow Rowell. It’s obvious Walden cares about her school and her students. This book shows how much work goes into keeping a school running particularly a magic school. That said, this was a little boring and it wasn’t the most engaging read for me. I personally found it too focused on the monotony of running a school but maybe that was the point of the book.

This book follows a year in the life of a magical boarding school, but from the headmistress’s POV. It has a slice-of-life vibe, just with demons thrown into the mix. If you liked Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series, this has a similar atmosphere, but shifts the focus to the adults trying to keep everything (and everyone) from falling apart.

I love an 'older' FMC and I've been well treated recently with excellent FMCs that are my age (like the FMC here in The Incandescent, Dr Saffy Walden) or older. I'm hoping that FMCs over 30 become more common because I generally find them more interesting than younger protagonists since they've already lived a bit (or a lot) of a life! Saffy felt like a real, flawed person and her actions throughout the book made sense.

The Incandescent had a lot of technical lore dropping to do in the first 10-15% of the book to explain the world and how the magical school runs, but once that was all established, things really got going and I was surprised by where the plot went. I expected that most of the storyline would be about Saffy and Laura taking down Old Faithful, but instead that was resolved pretty quickly and time moved on through the school year.

The book was full of British humour and references (I don't know how much a reference to John Lewis will translate in America, for example) but as a Brit, I liked it. There were a few things that kept it from getting a higher rating. Sometimes it got a bit too much into the minutia of teacher life, and I'd have liked to have seen more of Saffy and Laura together. There were some unresolved questions relating to the 'villain' that I'd have liked answers on as it was a bit vague - mainly 'why?' and 'what happened to them?'

I definitely get The Scholomance comparisons after reading The Incandescent, but it's nice to see it from the adult, teacher perspective. I was getting a bit of Gideon the Ninth vibes as well, but obviously not the space bits!

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley, but this is my voluntary and honest review.

A story that is partially about demons, and partially - in no small part - about the administrative duties of a school? The latter doesn't sound like it would be the most compelling, but, well-

(Benoit Blanc "It compels me though" gif)

A very high 4 stars. This was so well-crafted and well-written; Emily Tesh writes in such a confident manner, everything feels intentional. Even the pacing, which was not traditional in some ways, worked well in building this sense of uncertainty and chaos for some parts. And really, like a demon incursion is going to wait until the end of the school year just for pacing?

I went into this expecting it to be less fucked up than Some Desperate Glory, more pastoral (if you read this book, you'll see this word choice is fitting and intentional). And it's definitely less fucked up than that - but most things also fall into the "less fucked up than Some Desperate Glory" category, so I suppose that's not saying much. I think this book might get classified as "cosy" once in a while, just because there is quite a bit dedicated to the day-to-day workings of the school, and the not-so-dark academia, so you can get lulled into a false sense of coziness, sure, but let's not forget: constant threat of demons.

The story follows Saffy Walden, a 38 year old director of magic at a magic boarding school and also an expert on invocation, which is the branch of magic dealing with demons. Walden is such a complex, rounded, real character - maybe it's because I'm not far off from her age, but I found her relatable and also found that kind of relatability really refreshing! So, so much of this story is on the strength of Walden as a character, and I loved her.

The secondary characters, from Laura to the student group to, yes, even Mark, were all very well done, with personalities and complexities of their own, so I obviously got attached to all of them. (And did get Walden's romantic predicament, if I'm being completely honest - both of them 😏)

The magic system was another standout! Just the details and the thought that obviously went into it - from the invoking to the demon world to the demons themselves. It definitely added stakes to a book that otherwise was a lot of school ins and outs, and man, was there tension in some of the scenes. The whole School House section? Edge of my seat.

The only thing that didn't work quite as well for me was, unfortunately, how the book ended. I thought it wrapped up a bit too quickly, especially the climax in the penultimate chapter. There is one specific moment where I made a status update about how things were getting horrifying, and then . . . that ball kind of dropped. I'm not saying I want body horror but I'm not not saying th- I DIGRESS. I did think the climax resolved itself a bit suddenly, and would have liked a bit more specifics about one part that could have got horrifying, let's just leave it at that.

All in all, Emily Tesh has easily become one of my read-immediately authors, and with how creative and just plain GOOD her first two novels have been, I can't see that changing anytime soon.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is one of the best dark academia books I've read. I adored the boarding school setting, but told from the perspective of a teacher instead. Walden's commentary had me chuckling throughout and I found the magic system fascinating to read about. I thought Some Desperate Glory was an excellent book but ET has outdone herself with this new book

I’ve read dozens of dark academia books, but this is the first one that focuses almost entirely on the experience of teaching and being a teacher. I really enjoyed it—it's well-written, thoughtfully crafted, and genuinely stands out from what the genre has delivered so far.

Plot-wise, the book is an interesting example of a situation where one seemingly small decision from the past, when exposed to additional external factors, spirals into large and complex outcomes, both miraculously good and disastrously bad. The story is grounded in the academic calendar of Chetwood Academy, a prestigious boarding school that teaches magic, with all the characters serving as educators within its walls.

This book perfectly blends elements of magic with the real-life dynamics of the British educational system. Surprisingly, what I enjoyed most wasn’t the magical aspects—though those are absolutely fantastic, and the demon-fighting scenes are genuinely impressive—but rather how authentic and grounded the main character’s life as a teacher felt, even within the walls of a magical school.

The story is clearly well-researched, and it's obvious that Emily Tesh draws from her own experience as a Briton, an Oxbridge alumna, and an educator. Dr. Saffy Walden, the FMC, is the Director of Magic, yet she faces the same challenges many teachers encounter: trying to do her job well while working within a system that doesn’t always support her. She’s 38, single, and caught in that liminal space—neither “young” nor “old”—which adds depth to her personal journey as she tries to balance work and life. I also appreciated the subtle yet pointed commentary on how women are often perceived differently than men in the same age/professional position.

If you’re expecting a book mostly about magic, you might want to adjust your expectations. This is primarily a novel about the experience of being a teacher, with a poignant yet spot-on commentary on the institutional challenges educators face. It’s the kind of book that will stick with you long after you’ve finished it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I requested this as soon as I saw it was available, having loved the authors previous book (Some Desperate Glory). This new offering did not disappoint and has firmly established Emily Tesh as one of my favourite authors. I loved almost everything about this book, characters, story and worldbuilding. I appreciated the attention given to the actual process of teaching magic (it is very obvious that the author has a teaching background here) however, I will admit that for some people the frequent mention of the tedious side of teaching and the exploration of inequalities within the education system may be a bit too much. The ending was very satisfying. Highly recommended for those who like dark academia!

The covers are gorgeous, especially the UK edition. That hot pink!

This review has spoilers.

The first 1/3 was exactly what I thought I would be reading - a magic school from the perspective of a teacher - and I adored it.
The imp in the photocopier who ate chocolate digestives! The "oooh, enemies to lovers??" with Laura. A butch lesbian love interest (practically unheard of)! A centuries-old demon summoning!

There's a big ol' demon fight at the school and a spur-of-the-moment kiss (and me, maybe foaming at the mouth).

Then, after the fallout from the demon shenanigans and Laura getting canned and leaving....... I don't even know what happened.

Actually, no - nothing fucking happened.

Nothing happened apart from excruciating minutiae about being a teacher. Nothing happened apart from a posh smarmy dickhead being introduced and oh of course Saffy starts fucking him. Nothing happened apart from bungled in-your-fucking-face social commentary.

Finally, finally, the plot starts moving. The Phoenix takes over - but in the milquetoastiest way possible. There was no build up. Saffy realises oh hang on, this pompous knob is actually up to no good and also he's shagging the 23-year-old.

And then, yeah, the teenagers save the day, and gosh the Phoenix would've got away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!

Two stars, only because of how much I loved the opening.