Thank you to #netgalley and #macmillanaudio for the audio ARC.

When the synopsis for this beauty included sapphic dark academia I was immediately convinced. I’ll start by saying I did enjoy the book, it just felt underdeveloped. It felt like a couple of storylines with some buzzy tropes thrown together. I got to the end and looked to see when the next book would be out only to discover that it was a standalone.
The narration was engaging, easy to follow and understand.

Incandescent is an academic fantasy novel from the perspective of Doctor Walden, director of Magic at The Chetwood School.

This was an enjoyable fantasy story with dark elements such as magic and demon possession.
I enjoyed watching Dr. Walden going about her day and navigating the politics that comes with being a school administrator, while getting insight on the students and other teachers that calls the school home. There is one aspect of the mystery that I was not predictable and I really like how it played out.

There is a sapphic romance subplot that was cute but it was not a large part of the story. I would have like to see that grow on page.

Audio Narration Review: I loved the narrator, I think she brought the characters to life perfectly.

Thank you Macmillan for the ALC. This review is my own opinion.

The Incandescent is a well written, cozyish fantasy set in a magical school that also happens to be a magnet for demons. It has a dry, dark humor, queer relationships, and a healthy dose of private school politics. It reads like The Scholomance series, but from a teacher’s point of view.

The first half of the book felt pretty slow to me, and I think that pacing was intentional. It leans more into atmosphere and a character study than plot at first, which might not work for every reader. That said, the second half really picked up and aligned more with my preferred style of storytelling, more action.

Zara Ramm is meant to narrate Professor/Doctor Walden. She does an excellent job bringing her personality to life.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for an early audiobook copy in exchange for this honest review.

The Incandescent By Emily Tesh and Narrated by Zara Ramm - May 2025

The Incandescent was a joyful magical academic story I had the pleasure of reading. I adored the characters Dr. Walden and Laura, our chief of security. This book was really difficult to put down because it was just so captivating to listen to and to read. The writing style was simple, fluid, and straight forward with solid world building (but not too complex). I adored the characters Dr. Walden and Laura. Their individual lives and characters were a pleasure to read and to see their chemistry and relationship develop throughout the story was wonderful! I have not read many books with middle-aged women represented, especially in the realm of dating. Not only that, but also we get to see epic magical fights against demons, intriguing magic systems, and learn the lore of Chetwood academy. I felt the character of Dr. Walden emanated feelings of strength, power, and dedication towards her students which resonated with myself as a reader seeking this kind of representation and strength depicted of women in literature. The Incandescent explores Dr. Walden’s relationship to identity, power, and magic beautifully.

The audiobook format was wonderfully produced with an incredible narrator, Zara Ramm, who delivered these characters magnificently. I felt very close to Dr. Walden and have no doubt this was because of the skill and talent of both the voice acting by Zara Ramm. Her pacing, intonation, and lyrical voice brought the characters, emotions, and world of Chetwood Academy with its magical demons and lore to life.

I would whole-heartedly recommend The Incandescent to avid readers of magical fantasies - especially those looking to fill in a gaps left by the world of Harry Potter and for those seeking representation we do not always get to see on the page. I would happily read more stories by Emily Tesh and Audiobooks voiced by Zara Ramm in future! My gratitude and thanks to the team at NetGalley, Emily Tesh, Zara Ramm, and Macmillan Audio.

#NetGalley #TheIncandescent #MacmillianAudio #FiveStarReview #FantasyBooks #LGBTQBooks #LGBTQIAP+ #SciFI #Fantasy #BookReview

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh is like...what if Hogwarts was a little bit gay, less problematic, and also had competent teachers and staff who actually care about their students. Zara Ramm did an excellent job narrating this story, as well. I enjoyed the magic system and world building and found the book to be a delightful experience.

Who doesn’t love a 40 year old bisexual and bookish main character who is a professor at a magic school??

I was immediately charmed by this book and the feeling of academia you step into, seeing it through the perspective of an instructor advocating for their students.

My only complaint is that I wish everything went deeper. Our primary narrator seems to go about life with a very logically coded mindset and reasons her way through her experiences, past, relationships, role, and management of students. There was such opportunity to really broaden her emotional experiences while being faced with some of the interesting action the book brought to the plot, but instead we would pivot to the next plot point or have a distraction enter the narrators mind.

Some of the details created interest in side characters that we never get to really visit. A student divulges their upbringing and conditioning while also expressing their racial experiences in the school as a Black woman, but ultimately that is a moment we move past quickly instead of allowing a deepening of relationship between the student and her mentor based on this new sense of trust that is hinted.

Otherwise this was incredibly enjoyable and I admire Tesh’s ability to create an immersive world right from the jump.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was action-packed but still had a lot of heart. The intricacies of how the magic system worked and how demons behaved was interesting. It felt like Naomi Novik's *A Deadly Education* all grown up. It was refreshing to see a well-written bisexual character. I particularly liked Saffy's relationship with her black student, Nikki. How she guided and mentored Nikki was endearing and spoke to the privileges and inequality in academia. The narrator was skillful, but I don't think she was the right pick for Saffy's character. She sounded a little older than Saffy's 38. The story, although somewhat predictable with an abrupt ending, was engrossing and well-developed. Definitely a good readalike for A Deadly Education or V.E. Schwab's books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this audio Advanced Reader Copy of the Incandescent.

This was a mistake for me to request. I've gotten about halfway through this book and my tastes have changed from when I requested.

Sorry! I will request better in the future

What a delightful read this was. It was not at all what I was expecting from the story but it surprised me in the best way.

This book is very unique from others in the genre in that it takes the mysterious and magical and turns it into the mundane. This is not a bad thing, it was very refreshing and a nice change of pace.

The pragmatic way Walden approaches both the magical and non magical problems in her life is so charming and fun. Walden as a character was an interesting narrator. I liked having an older, logical, no nonsense (on the outside) FMC. It’s so rare to have older main characters these days.

I loved seeing magic as a well known, normal occurrence for both magical and non magical people in the world instead of it being hidden away and kept secret which many books tend to do.

The world building and magic system were so nicely thought out and developed. Because of that though, I think the plot suffered a little as a result. There were moments, especially in the beginning, where there was so much information dumped. Throughout the story, there were parts that were slower and harder to get through.

Overall though, I had a very fun time with this.

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh is a sapphic dark academia fantasy that follows Dr. Sapphire Walden, the Director of Magic at one of England’s most prominent magical boarding schools.

This one is a bit of an oddball to review. The first few hours are info-dumpy as the story sets up the school and a complex magical system. Listening on audio made it harder to follow, and at first, the blurb felt vague and uninformative. Now that I’ve finished, I realize just how fitting it is. Though my review may sound critical, I truly enjoyed this book!

The story takes place over the course of a school year following Dr. Walden, whose dedication to her students and disciplined mind had me picturing a younger Professor McGonagall. The pacing can be inconsistent at times, leaning more toward character driven novel than steady plot progression. However, when the action gets going, it is an enthralling account of magical powers, demons, an ancient school for magic, and layered worlds.

The narration of the audiobook is spot on, the tone of voice and pacing matching what I envisioned a younger Professor MacGonnogal to sound like. The only slight issue I had was her American accent, which really only appeared in one chapter so it did not detract much from my audiobook experience.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy academic fantasy and characters who’d rather logic their way through chaos than feel their feelings.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this story and the narration was excellent, however my biggest issue is that the time skip in which Saffy is possessed is not clear in the audio and added to a lot of confusion.

Am I glad I read it? I had SO MUCH FUN with this book. Give me some demons—ranging from copy machine-inhabiting imps going on strike to actually terrifying greater demons—and a magic system based in contracts, and I'm interested. I really loved Tesh's approach to the magical school setting: the world-building is incredibly thorough (it's obvious that Tesh herself is a former teacher), easy to digest, and nails the intensely limited setting of a boarding school, where Saffy never really escapes the shenanigans of 600 teenagers.

I have to note how generous of spirit this book is towards the students, despite being told by an overworked teacher. Saffy teaches the most advanced magicians and some of the oldest students in the school, sure, but her admiration of and respect towards them as people is palpable. It's not lost on me that, despite the protagonist and narrator of the story being a teacher & admin, the title is a reference to the brilliance of Saffy’s students. (The scene near the end when the narrative hones in on our 4 invokers discussing what to do about What's Gone Wrong is absolutely hilarious in a very clever sort of way and pitch perfect for this story.)

There’s a groundedness and reflectiveness to this story, mixed in with the invocation classes, magical ethics musings, demons, and stellar dry humor, that I really loved. It’s chock full of the minutiae of Saffy’s roles, yet I never grew bored with it. I can’t help but think it’s because the narrative rests on the belief that good teachers matter and so does all the mundane work involved in being one.

Zara Ramm's narration was absolutely perfect for the posh British boarding school setting and for our very-clever-and-is-fully-aware-thank-you protagonist Saffy, and I highly recommend the audiobook.

To others who may be drawn in by the "dark academia" descriptor: I would not even remotely call this dark academia in aesthetic, tone, or theme.

Rating: ♥️ (loved)

HUGE thank you to Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook! All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Emily Tesh delivers a mesmerizing blend of dark academia and sapphic fantasy in The Incandescent. Set within the gothic walls of Chetwood School, the story follows Dr. Walden, a powerful magician tasked with keeping her students safe from demonic incursions—while quietly battling a growing darkness within herself. The atmosphere is perfectly eerie, the magic system richly developed, and the stakes refreshingly personal.

What makes this book shine (pun intended) is its exploration of power, control, and identity, all while embracing queer themes without ever making them feel performative. Walden is a beautifully complex protagonist—sharp, flawed, and quietly vulnerable. Her relationships with her chaotic yet endearing students add heart and humor to the otherwise brooding tone.

If you love Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series or the twisty, gothic charm of Plain Bad Heroines, The Incandescent belongs on your TBR immediately. It’s smart, sapphic, and crackling with tension, both magical and emotional. I devoured it in a day and haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tags: #DarkAcademia #QueerFantasy #SapphicMagic #TheIncandescent #NetGalley

This author is one of my must reads so I am very grateful that NetGalley allowed me early access to this FANTASTIC audiobook. This is dark academia from the point of view of a millennial magic teacher, and it's so great. I love the world building and the characters and the daily details of classroom life. Some of my favorite parts were how Dr Warden got the students to think about the subjects, which is a big part of how Tesh taught us about her world.
Even though it was a magic school dealing with demons, the kids were so rebellious, getting into more trouble than they could handle-- like normal kids. The audiobook flew by, because the narrator was great and something interesting was always happening.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

This was such a perfect witchy spring read and oh my goodness I flew through it. It's somehow so whimsical and yet deep. It's fun in so many different ways, from the breath of fresh air that it feels like, to the complexity of the story and its characters.

The romance was super refreshing! It was different in that it was not this wholly intense burning, but it felt more real in that it was a spark that might one day be kindled into a flame. And it was adorable to boot!

This was such a fun book, and I can't wait until more people hype it up to what it deserves!

I was somewhat disappointed by this. I enjoyed some parts of the story but found other parts lacking. I liked the writing style and thought the story flowed well. The concept was great, but not the execution. It was extremely slow in quite a few parts and didn't really hold my attention. The romance felt underdeveloped and not very believable. It also lacked personality and charm. I did enjoy the narrator. I thought she put on an excellent performance and kept me engaged when the story failed to do so.

5 Stars! No Spoiler review!!! Readers who are fans of Gideon the Ninth, Deadly Education and a certain wizarding book that I'm not going to mention will want to put this at the top of their TBR!

A mark of a good writer is the ability to tell multiple different kinds of stories, rather than a repetition of the same story repackaged with different characters. With The Incandescent, Emily Tesh shows her depth with a novel that is wholly different from previous works, while retaining the same readable, engaging style.

I jumped into the Incandescent without having even read a blurb because - if she writes it- I'm going to read it!. And while I wasn't quite prepared for a school marm in a magical boarding school, by chapter 2 I was completely invested in the drama and whimsy of Chetwood School. As a former boarder student - it was quite on the nose and brought back quite a few relatable moments indeed!

Told from the perspective of a school admin/teacher, adult readers will relate to the very real adult problems and concerns and giggle at the fantastical issues that crop up while running a magical school. (Imps in cell phones? Students disabling vape alerts with magic? Thalamic Engines that are poorly understood but also vital? I' was definitely there for all of it!

The audio book is narrator by Actress Zara Ramm. It was well read. Ramm does not "Do the voices: which I appreciated as that can be tricky and when not well done - distracting. Her performance was clear and well paced and I felt immersed in the world- and was never pulled out of it by an odd pronunciation or inflection.

This is a charming novel with lots of action/adventure, inventive magic, and fully developed characters that I found myself thinking about long after I finished the book. While there is one character that had a very predictable arc, I found I didn't care because I loved that moment of joy when I was able to say "YES, I WAS right about them!!!" Upon further reflection, I started to note that there's so many deeper messages about relationships, hubris, self-sabotage, and coming into one's own as an adult.
Thanks very much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance Listener copy

This book was such a fun time! I loved Walden and how she managed to be incredibly smart while also being so stupid, and I adored having a 38-year-old heroine, especially one that didn't have her life together as well as she thought she did. And I loved all of the secondary characters, even the ones I hated. It was definitely very fast-paced at the beginning, and slowed around the halfway point, but it was a nice break of breathing room.

Unique dark academia novel with some thought-provoking commentary on schooling, magic and ethics. Perfect for fans of dark academia/magic schools who want to view the experience not as a young student but as an adult and teacher.

As a professor myself, I found much of this story both amusing and insightful. It is very clear that Tesh has experience as a teacher, and while the sidebars could get a little long, I found Saffy's musings on teachings and how to interact with students both amusing, relatable and thought-provoking.

The overall pacing of this book is a little unconventional - it has some elements of a cozy slice-of-life type story, but at the same time does deal with dark themes (I mean, they are battling literal demons). The first story climax came much faster than I expected, but while slower paced, it didn't feel forced in the way that I sometimes complain about pacing. It is also refreshing to have a magic school based story based definitively in the current era - set in 2025, it references the COVID lockdowns, and social media and it is interesting to think about how magic and technology interact.

<spoiler> The sort of villain arc doesn't really make that much sense and is never truly resolved. While sort of annoying, I think it still kind of fits because that was a side plot at best, meant to move along the main storyline of Saffy's demon. That bit did feel a bit rushed, all happening in the last 5% of the book </spoiler>

Overall, enjoyable. I also very much enjoy the narrator, who I think perfectly captures the type of personality that Sapphire Waldon is.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced listening copy.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an early review copy.

This book follows Doctor Walden as she is the director of a magical school for teenagers, and the efforts she has to take to keep the school safe. The dark academia vibes were immaculate and narrator Zara Ramm delivers a great performance.