Emily Tesh really nails the dark academia vibe in The Incandescent. It’s got all the moody magic, secretive professors, and haunted school hallways you could want — but with a fresh, queer twist. Doctor Walden, the main character, is this brilliant, guarded magician who’s trying to hold everything together while hiding some pretty big secrets. The story is smart and atmospheric, but also surprisingly emotional in all the best ways.

What I loved most is how the book doesn’t just lean into the aesthetic — it actually digs into the messiness of power, legacy, and ambition. The relationships are complicated (in a good way), the writing is sharp, and the whole thing feels like a love letter to — and a critique of — the genre. If you’re into morally gray characters, slow-burn tension, and magic that feels just a little dangerous, definitely give this one a try.

Favorite quote:
"You don’t get to be incandescent without burning a little."

Overall, an EXTREMELY solid book that really scratched some itches for me in regards to what I want out of magic academia books - professor's POV! rules of magic! consequences! magic exists but sometimes technology is just better! But. But. I wish there had been more. I feel like there were some issues we weren't given answers to, and that we SHOULD have been given, considering this is a standalone. I need more motives behind certain antagonists actions. And I feel like the phoenix should have been introduced earlier in the book, because the climactic scenes all felt rushed. There was a huge swath of book where nothing was happening - the first half of the book was so good, so promising, then there was like a solid 25% where I was twiddling my thumbs. And then a solid hustle to the end, it was great. But that 25% where nothing happened just... ugh. Potential!! I'm bummed, because I would really love to see more in this universe.

As far as the narrator goes, my only complaint (and this feels super nit-picky and rude because she really was fantastic), is that she sounded so much older than mid-to-late 30s so I kept forgetting that the protagonist wasn't like. In her 60s.

TL;DR: 4 of 5 stars. Charming story set at magical boarding school beset by demons from the very rare and refreshing POV of a teacher and school administrator. For the aging femme fantasy readers who want a cozy read that delivers the nostalgia of an academic setting, but reflects where they’re at in life.

Dr. Sapphire Walden (Saffy) is a late 30’s teacher and administrator at an English boarding school for youth with magical abilities—the very same one she attended in her own youth. Her days are full of mundanities—giving safety lectures, upholding school rules, and dealing with minor demonic incursions that are apparently inevitable in this world, owing to the fact that demons are immensely attracted to technology. Besides being the point of contact for banishing demons in the teacher’s lounge copy machine or clocks, Saffy still gets to teach one class of upperclassmen. One of her students—Nikki is particularly naturally gifted and reminds Saffy immensely of her self at that age. However, Nikki is also of particular interest to the school’s warden—an official in charge of policing magical activities. The warden—Laura—worries that allowing Nikki to learn and practice magic will lead to a catastrophically dangerous demonic incursion that could put the school and the public at risk. Laura also happens to be a hot butch lesbian that drives Saffy mad in more ways than one.

On a personal level, Saffy is grappling with her descent into school marmdom, wondering at whether she’s destined to be alone and fully devoted to her students and the running of the school. But Saffy also has a surprisingly daring secret, and secrets from her own reckless youth.

I didn’t know I was craving a school of magic story from the perspective of a teacher until I got one. Saffy’s perspective felt a bit like reading Harry Potter from McGonagall’s perspective. It really gave me an appreciation for the limitations on a story when it’s confined to a teenager’s worldview. That said, for me, this wasn’t much more than a cute, fun audiobook listen. There was some interesting commentary on how systems fail children that I appreciated as a teacher. But otherwise, the tone is rather light. Despite the demons and the death, I would hesitate to put this book in the camp of “dark academia.”

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Another spectacular book by Emily Tesh! I have loved all their previous books, and this was no exception. I saw the sapphic dark academia and knew I was going to devour it especially as the book was from the teacher's perspective. I love this when reading academia books and the exciqusion was amazing, as standard for Emily Tesh! The pacing felt unique and like I could never guess when things were going to happening. Kept me on my toes without it being overwhelming. Definitely a slower book with a ton of development. Dr. Walden was such a phenominal charcter who really kept me enganed with the story.
Emily Tesh needs to be an auto-read author for more people, cause their books are so good!!

Narrated by Zara Ramm
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook!

I kept going back and forth between 4 and 5 stars sooooo I'm settling on 4.5 stars.
The Incandescent was not at all what I was expecting from an "academic" tale. It was, however, surprisingly fun once I threw away any expectations and settled in. I loved that the pov was from a teacher versus a student
Saffy is my kind of MC. I found her charmingly understated and caring. The unremarkable (magic aside) day to day grind of her life was hilariously too relatable. The demons were also comical. I didn't see that switch coming! Should I have? Do I need a reread already? Was I even paying attention?
Zara Ramm was magnificent as Saffy and helped set the tone of the story right away..... okay, so 5 stars it is!

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the review copy of the audiobook.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to connect the Main Character, Walden, though I appreciated her methodical approach. The pacing was uneven, and the storyline didn't hold my interest. I've read excellent reviews from other trusted readers, though, so it might be a matter of personal preference.

An absolute wonderful story. It was wonderful to hear a story from the teachers perspective as most are from the students.

This one is a bit tough for me to rate. I really enjoyed the first 35-40% of the book and where the main plot of that portion was focused. But then the next 35-40% I found less engaging and had a more difficult time staying interested. And the last 20-25% was again quite enjoyable, ending the book on a strong note. What kept the first part strong was Saffy’s and the Chief Marshal’s interactions and watching their relationship grow. The plot in the middle part is stagnant, is used as a setup for the end, and introduces another romance that I disliked.

I enjoyed that the work followed older characters, which is generally unusual for stories set at schools. There’s some discussion on the elitism of schools like this, and it was incorporated well. The magic, demon summoning, and the strong secondary characters were also quite enjoyable. There were a few plot-related things that just didn’t quite work though. It was difficult to believe that while Saffy is so brilliant, she couldn’t make a connection to who the villain was. And there were a few other things relating to Saffy’s actions (or lack thereof) that were used to keep the plot going where it needed to, but didn’t make sense with her character.

I liked that this work had a generally cozy feel, which was surprising, but there were still stakes and some tension, which kept it from feeling like it was lacking substance. I wouldn’t call this dark academia, though. Just regular academia (boarding school doesn’t automatically mean it’s “dark”). My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This one was so fun! So much dark academia is about the students. I loved that this one was about adults with adult realities of life. Like Tesh's previous novel. this made me wish it was a whole series instead of a single book because I really liked the characters. Zara Ramm's narration was a blast to listen to and despite having fantastical elements the story as easy to follow on audio.

- It’s hard not to compare THE INCANDESCENT to the absolute fireball that was SOME DESPERATE GLORY, but these books are two entirely different creatures. This one is slower, more interested in character work and the intricacies of blending magic and mundane.
- A magic school story from the perspective of a teacher is one I haven’t seen before, and Tesh knows higher education inside and out.
- I loved Dr. Walden and her deeply academic outlook on the world, even if she missed some obvious things seemingly just for the sake of the plot.
- My main concern with this book is that (unless I missed it?) there wasn’t a reason given for why the antagonist was doing that? We just sort of skipped that part, I think?

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I really enjoyed this twist on dark academia, following the teachers and not the students. As a 35 year old, though I love to read about students, I relate more to the teachers.

I enjoyed following Doctor Walden as she taught and mentored the students, and as she navigated her love life.

I would like to see a book following her studies and battling demons.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

Thanks to @torbooks and @macmillan.audio for the free eARC and ALC via @netgalley

The Incandescent is about as close as you can get to the perfect book for me! Great Dark Academia vibes, set at an elite boarding school of magic, but told through the point of view of the school director of Magic, Dr Walden. She is a committed teacher who is high enough up the admin ladder to bear the responsibility of everything that can go wrong at the school, without any of the authority of the executive board to actually fix anything! All at a school that teaches children/teenagers how to call demons to access the magical world. What could possibly go wrong?

As an academic and a teacher this book felt like a love letter to teachers. Educators who have sacrificed a more lucrative career to work in a broken system in the hopes of making a difference for their students.

There is definitely an interesting magical system developed in the story, but much is easily analogous to everyday frustration of cost cutting “efficiencies” and the reality of being good at what you do in a job that never lets you have time to give any of it the attention it is due as opposed to a stop gap until the next time. Needless to say I could relate so well to the main character.

There is also a dynamic romance here between Dr Walton and Laura, her head Marshall of security (think school resource office ). While not central, their attraction adds to the ways Walden has to evaluate her work life balance —or the lack thereof— and allows for interesting critiques between disciplining student behavior vs educating teens in ethical thinking.

Despite these themes, the book was just dang fun with some well written action sequences and an incredible final act that took me by surprise!

🎧 I loved listening to Zara Ramm’s reading of the book. She captures Dr Walden’s perspective really well and turns the tension up in the action scenes while keeping them easy to imagine. I highly recommend.

I was so interested in the synopsis, the comparisons had me really interesting, and yeah, this book lived up to that! The world in this book, with the magic and the way things work, was so interesting to read! Plus the way that this book was structured was pretty different!

That there's a big major conflict less then 25% and is wrapped up fairly quickly, isn't something that I've seen before. Sure, there is also a pretty big battle at the end, but with what was going on with the story, and all the different reveals going on there, it was structured differently, too, from a standard novel, and both those different choices were so interesting to read!

One big part of my interest in this book was the comparison to the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik, since I love that series. That kind of magical academia, but from the perspective of the adults, the teachers, was wonderful. Though my understanding of England's education system and labels is pretty fuzzy, so some details might have flown over my head. I know teachers have it rough, but this book showcased just how far they stretch themselves because they aren't given the proper amount of support and staff.

If this becomes a series, or there's more books set in this world, I would love to read them! The way the magic works with the different types, and the demons, was such a richly built world. It'd be too bad if we only got to spend this book-length time with it, and these characters!

Loved reading this book and I need to read more by Emily Tesh!

This was so good! I love a good dark academia and this was an excellent dark academia.

First off, making the main character 38, extremely competent, and the director of magic of the school and also one of the teachers? Brilliant. Utterly brilliant. Teenage protagonists are excellent, but making the focus the adult chivvying the students toward understanding and away from catastrophic mishaps gave the story a whole new dimension.

The story did lose a little steam at the halfway point, when the love interest abruptly exits and is replaced with someone else. I didn't love that. It stalled. But it picked the pace back up, and I do understand why Emily Tesh chose to structure it that way. I just think it could have been tweaked a little to keep the momentum going.

The magic system and demons were really interesting and I really enjoyed seeing the magic performed.

Loved the romantic subplot. It was really well done. Lara was wonderful and I loved her and Dr. Walden's interactions.

The twists were really great as well. The plot overall was excellent and kept me reading, and I loved all of the characters. Except that one guy. He's a jerk.

The audiobook was really good and I enjoyed listening. The narrator did a good job bringing the characters to life and making the story exciting.

*Thanks to Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.

Beautiful, breathtaking enticing and wonderful in glad to have read this and miss the way reading this for the first time made me feel, thankyou for this chance and this world

It felt a little slow in places but overall I enjoyed the story. This was a great scratch of the Harry Potter but make it queer itch. I definitely will be checking out other books by the author.

The Incandescent is a sapphic, dark academia fantasy novel. If that sounds familiar (hello A Lesson in Vengeance and An Education in Malice), do not worry, The Incandescent is wholly unique. What sets The Incandescent apart from other dark academia books is that it follows a teacher, rather than a student. The story follows Dr. Walden in her day to day life running a magical school. I really loved following her as a main character. Her love for the students was so earnest and the depictions of what it means to be a teacher and adulthood felt really realistic (coming from someone who's parent is a teacher). Although there were some high stakes moments in the story, as well as some emotional ones, this book felt a lot like a "cozy fantasy". It isn't tagged as one, but it reminded me of the way books in that genre are normally structured - we follow a magical character throughout their day-to-day life without any large overarching plot. If you don't like that format, or are more of a high fantasy person, this book might not be for you. But if you enjoy low-stakes character studies, I'd definitely recommend picking the Incandescent up!

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the e-audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emily Tesh's previous, Hugo-winning novel Some Desperate Glory was a powerhouse of a book, with the kind of momentum that kept me turning the pages late into the night. By comparison, the Incandescent feels a little bisected or confused in its pacing. It's a magic school novel from the perspective of the school's Head of Magic, Saffi Walden who is competent and kind and a delight to spend time with as a protagonist. The novel feels oddly bisected. The first half settles us into the magical school of Chetwood and then shocks us when one of Walden's students as she makes an impulsive choice. After that is resolved, the novel meanders, a slow plot steadily emerging with a new surprise antagonist (which was not that much of a surprise). I respect what the book is trying to do, and it's interesting to have the most tense plot threads be resolved by like 40% of the way through. Things pick up again in the last 20%, but sadly for me, that first 40% remained the most compelling part of the book. I definitely still recommend it, especially for fans of magic school books, but overall, I found it to be weaker than Some Desperate Glory. Narrator Zara Ram did a wonderful performance for all of the characters, but I want to highlight her narration of the smarmier characters which was genuinely hilarious and delightful. All in all, a fun cozy fantasy that lost it's way halfway through.