3.5⭐️

My favorite parts:
•A bisexual, 38 year old teacher working at a Magic boarding school and fighting demons
•Dark academia with a mystery
•A modern twist (demons love technology)
•A huge plot twist at the end that I absolutely never saw coming
•The narrator’s accent

My least favorite part:
•The middle of the book

I loved the first 30% or so and the last maybe 20% but the 50% in between that was kind of boring. I love magical academies because the kids are always up to something but from a teacher POV and all the administrative stuff - I was excited because it’s different but it really just dragged. I was also sad that our love interest was gone for that 50% in the middle.

However, the good parts were GOOD and intriguing and this book was overall different and fresh. If you love dark academia, definitely give this one a read!

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy!

DNF at 16%

This one had so much potential but it started to read like a diary into the management of a school and I was just so bored.

I did not enjoy this. I should have dnf'd it, but it had so many good reviews I had to know if it got better, but it did not. worse, it switched to second person pov near the end for a chapter and I HATED it. if you like character-driven stories, you might enjoy this, but there simply wasn't enough plot to keep me engaged and interested in what was happening. it felt almost like two different stories put back to back because the first section we dealt with the demon Old Faithful and the second section were dealing with what's going on to the school. the structure of it all didn't sit well with me.

Imagine a highschool where the lessons revolve around demons, how to summon them, how to deal with them, how to negotiate with them...

Now imagine the director of said school keeps inside the toughest of them all, which safeguards the school from other demons... or that's what everyone thinks.

Following dark academia life from the POV of an adult dealing with hormone powered students and annoying colleagues is the best way to do it.

Although blaming students for her hormones when you got a crush on the head of security with her tattoos and her bike isn't fair. And the conversation they have about how to deal with a relationship in your 30s and how sometimes your own peace is worth more than another attempt at dating was my favourite part of it.

Emily Tesh might know how to disappoint people, but I don't think we'll discover it with her books.

Despite some minor cultural differences of this book being set in the UK, I was still able to follow along and immerse myself into the world of this story. The plot and upcoming conflicts were pretty predictable from the beginning; however, I still enjoyed following along as they all unfolded in time. I also appreciated how several races, sexual orientations, etc. were represented by the characters and incorporated naturally into the storyline (instead of tokenizing them/making their identity based entirely off this). I also appreciated the moments of insight and consideration of the humanity of demons in the story instead of blindly accepting them to always be evil. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in basic character development and has the patience to follow along with a slower-paced story.

Audio notes:

Was just given access to the full audio version of this, and again, crying that I didn't wait because the narrator is INCREDIBLE and I am sure I would have loved it even more on audio. If you are planning on reading to this and you like British narrators, LISTEN to it!

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Original Review:

4.5 stars, rounding up. Can confirm this is far superior to the Scholomance series and a standout in the "dark academia" genreas a whole. This book has some truly incredible characters and an ending that I absolutely didn't see coming. The only real critique i have of this is that the writing style is bit dense at times. Also, if you aren't familiar with the British education system, there will be parts where you'll need to do some googling...

The story as a whole is a reflective, slightly slice of life, character driven story that focuses on the day to day administrative duties of someone with way to many responsibilities and little to no social life. There's also demon summoning and a historic magical school.

This is a really unique novel in that the protagonist is 38, and is a fully well rounded and realized character. As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, this age is criminally underrepresented in favor of 18 year olds, and as a 30 something I found this so refreshing and unique. It's nice to read MC's who have a bit of life experience and aren't just running at every obstacle full blast while simultaneously monologing about their lover's eyelashes. Also, this may be the first time I've read a dark academia told from the point of view of the teacher, not the student!! I would love to read more books about this and I hope other authors are out there taking notes.

4.5 and would definitely read more from Emily Tesh.

The Incandescent, to me, read like a story where an Emily-Wilde-esque FMC was the director of a magical boarding school who, in this episode-long arc, is fighting against the demonic infestation of her school. Like Emily, Doctor Walden fervently studies magic, and wears her bookishness and accolades as a researcher as a badge of honor; she'd much rather abscond away into her rooms studying or grading papers on a Sunday night rather than have a night in town socializing. What I loved about the premise of this book was that it was a FMC in her 30s (38, in this case) in the fantasy genre (gasp! not a trembling virgin in her 18 - 22 y.o. range?!) and the concept of a magical school told from the perspective of the staff rather than as a student.

Positives
• I loved the concept of magical tattoos talking back to magic wielders. Made for a fun personality that added variety to the cast and conversations, keeping the dark academia setting from feeling overly dark

• I also appreciated the thought that Emily Tesh put into the various types of magic one could cast (like Doctor Walden can summon demons or Chief Marshall Kenning using more physical magic to enhance her fighting rather than setting up intricate spellwork like the academics)

• The author acknowledges the privilege that some students are born into vs. those who are less well off (for example, the Chetwood school costs I think 50 grand/yr, not tuition that's attainable for families in lower to middle socio-economic strata), at least at a surface level

• I actually liked the main love interest and thought it was a shame that she wasn't featured more in this story

Drawbacks
• If you're actually a fan of coy fantasy reads, then this is not a drawback for you, however maybe the cover might be misleading: this story is actually a lot cozier and mundane than the high-contrast majestic phoenix image on the cover may suggest. It's a slice-of-life story, with a significant amount of time going over the administrative duties following Doctor Walden, grading students, thinking up lesson plans, getting lost in the intricacies of some magical function, getting emotional over students' acceptance letters to XYZ colleges, etc. It felt like Walden put out school fires, like those pesky demonic incursions, as if they were perfectly normal things that could go awry--almost like she was a janitor who, yes would ideally never have to plunge a clogged toilet, but does indeed understand it as a inevitable accident that could occur--fix and move on, no need to fuss.
• Even though I am so down for a magical school story to be told from the newer perspective of the adults, I fear Tesh went a little too far on "the adults" side, and put all the important characters as the old folks. The students felt cardboard thin in development; a number of students were mentioned by name, and the only one that stuck out really was the star pupil, Nikki, and even she only had a mildly larger role in the scheme of the story--the others felt like they were interchangeable with each other and were just filler to make the world feel bigger around Walden.
• What I'd hope to see in the next book is more student involvement in resolving the conflict alongside the adults--or the results of the student's performance be more significant than whether or not the professor will feel proud that they'll get into a good college after.
• We needed more romance. I know, shocking, coming from me. I'm normally complaining that in things that are even remotely anywhere near "romtantasy" or fantasy that features romance, that lately the releases getting the most hype are all focusing way too much on the chase and thrill of "catching" a new love interest. But here in The Incandescence, I honestly feel like we could've used a little more of it. Walden was awfully resigned and detached when it came to her romantic relationships in this book--I get coming to terms with accepting that you are a 38 y.o. bookworm who doesn't date much and finds joy in getting lost in research and reading, but also she as so nonchalant and aloof about her sexual encounters or crushes, it made the romance feel a tad bit uninspiring.
• Sometimes Tesh go into over-explaining the magical systems to the point where it made the plot feel like it was stalling for too long. More elaborate explanations of how the in a fantasy world works if it feels like the payoff for learning it is worth it, but imo, since this was largely so full of banal and cozy day-to-day meanderings of an academic, it felt slightly bloated instead of ammo to a large, exciting payload.

Overall 3.5 ⭐️'s. If you're interested in a cozy magical school story about a bookish FMC in her 30s, told from the perspective of the staff rather than students, give this book a try.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 stars. I had the ALC from MacMillan Audio for the Incandescent by Emily Tesh. The book is narrated by Zara Ramm. The narration on this book is excellent. This is a dark academia fantasy but instead of the focus being the teen-agers, the FMC, is Dr. Walden, called Saffy by her friends. Dr. Walden is the lead teacher of Invocation (demon summoning) at Chetwood School, a centuries-old boarding school in England, and one of the finest places to study magic before going off to university. There is humor and romance, Dr. Walden is bisexual, and finds herself attracted to Marshall Kenning, who is responsible for protecting the school from demons. Demons, as it turns out are attracted to technology. This story is set in our world but with magic and the magic is not hidden. I really loved both women although sadly Marshall Kenning is sidelined for middle part of the story. This is a standalone, but I really hope there is another book focused on these characters. Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for my ALC. This book releases May 13, 2025.

Thank you to Emily Tesh, Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

You had me at sapphic + dark academia + fantasy. There was no way I wouldn’t have picked this book up with that description. I was really intrigued by the book description. I love academic settings and I thought that the perspective of the school director instead of a student was a really nice change after reading so many other “magic school” themed stories. The narration was well done, however, the story itself fell a bit flat for me. Had I not been listening to the audio and physically reading instead, I probably would have DNF’ed this. There were a few “action scenes” that were really interesting, but the rest of the book was very slow paced and lacked an element of tension or intrigue to drive the plot forward. The highlight/plot twist of this story is pretty much given away in the book description, so if you want to be surprised, don’t read that. Overall, this was just okay. If you absolutely love exclusively dark academia books, this might be for you. If you need higher stakes and tension in your stories, this will probably bore you. I rated this 3 stars for the narration, world-building, and unique perspective.

I loved this. I can't get enough of the trope where a book takes place in a modern workplace filled with drudgery--but also there's magic. In this case, demons. I also love having a middle-aged woman save the day in a fantasy novel. I thought both the teenagers and the middle-aged people were so realistically portrayed--middle-aged romance, too. It had humor and heart and beautiful writing and plenty of tension to keep me going. I got really absorbed in it and am honestly going to miss the world. Highly recommend!

This was a great audiobook. I loved the story told from a teachers POV. The reader did a nice job with the characters and I enjoyed the production. The story was so interesting and unique and although this was told in third person I felt very connected to the FMC. The magic system was unique and interesting. I look forward to more from Emily Tesh.

This was made to be an audiobook! The narrator did a great job, and I swear I was transported to the halls everytime I tuned in. I had my issues with the story, but the audio version was incredible.

I rejoiced when I saw that Emily Tesh was writing fantasy again; I loved the Greenhollow duology but was unable to even finish Some Desperate Glory. The way Tesh writes about magic's existence in the world, in nature, is just so lush and perfectly marries the fantastical and the mundane. This is even more true in The Incandescent, which takes place in modern day England. Dr. Sapphire "Sapphy" Walden was just as interesting and memorable as Silver or Tobias as a POV despite having very little personality overlap with either of them; the academic setting of Chetwood School was marvelous, and being in the shoes of a faculty member was a refreshing change compared to all of the dark academia books featuring a student protagonist.

While I think the average reader will not be surprised by the primary conflict (nor the primary cause of it), the way Tesh wrote the final act still caught me off guard in the best way. I was DELIGHTED when I realized what was happening, even though I had known it was going there all along. I was grinning listening to the narrator, Zara Ramm, use such a lovely and subtle vocal shift to add that extra layer to the storytelling. That aside, some may find the narrative jarring with its constant jumping around and time skipping; I did not mind it, as it perfectly captures the experience of the somehow simultaneous chaos and cyclical order of a school, but the narrative definitely skims over plenty of time passing in that way that we can look up one day and go "WOW this month flew by" while mentally listing all the things you had planned to take care of and didn't get to yet. Adulthood. This narrative style captures adulthood so well haha.

A definitive 5 stars, and probably making my best of 2025 list!

Read Completed 5/7/25 | 3.5 stars | Book #66 of 2025

I really hoped to love this, but it was just okay! I loved the concept, the setting was good, the characters were good, but things never really got past "good" for me to really start picking up. I was a little confused at the plot or the main motivation or purpose of the book. Is is a romance? Is there a big plot to pay attention to? Is it just a slice of life for Saffy? It was definitely a slower-paced story, which I don't mind, but it felt like it was supposed to be more character-driven, but I didn't get enough from Saffy personality-wise to really engaged me. Work is her whole life, which also isn't a bad thing in this case -- I enjoyed seeing her life as a teacher at a magic school -- but the emotion really wasn't there and I feel like I didn't get to know her enough.

This was marketed, in part, as a romance so I was expecting that part to pick up, but it kind of meandered around, coming in and out of importance. It really wasn't the whole driving force behind the book and I really wouldn't call it "a romance", more so that it had a romantic plot line in it.

There were definitely elements of the plot that had been established since the beginning, but I sometimes wasn't sure what was going to be important and which of the plot lines was going to carry us through to the end. I liked the teacher aspect and I really liked getting to know Saffy's students. I would have almost loved some other POVs, especially a student, popping in and out to get some different pacing and tone.

The concept of magic existing to fight demons was interesting, but I just wanted to geek out more with the rules, the world-building, etc. I did like the lessons we got to see and I wanted to spend a bit more time in all of that.

Maybe this pacing / plotting just wasn't meant for someone with my particular reading tastes? I don't know why, I just had different expectations from the cover. There were some more intense action scenes, but overall, it was pretty quiet. We spend a lot of time with Saffy and her role as a teacher, which again, great, but it just wasn't ENOUGH to really have me feel so invested.

If this was a series, I'd absolutely pick up the second book. I loved the bones of it and did like everything that was happening but it just felt a little... underwhelming.

AUDIOBOOK THOUGHTS: Zara Ramm was the audiobook narrator for this book and this was the first I've listened to her. I did enjoy her narration for the most part! I thought her performance was very fitting for the book and she did really well with the different voices. Her American accent wasn't great, but that's not a big part of the book so that wasn't a huge deal. I would listen to her narrate something else!

If you liked the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik, you will love this series! The Incandescent takes place in a magical school where we follow one of the professors, Dr. Sapphire Walden, through a school year. Small demons popping up around the school is run of the mill and are easy for Walden to get rid of but when some students decide to test their burgeoning skills on Old Faithful, a big time demon, it sets off a chain reaction in Walden's life.

Emily Tesh became one of my favorite authors with this book! I'd read her Greenhollow duology and fell in love with her story telling style and The Incandescent cemented her place in my all time faves. Her wit is so fun and fresh! And Zara Ramm did an amazing job narrating the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A stunning and unique magic school narrative. I don’t have all my thoughts together quite yet, other than to say it’s yet another 5 star read from Emily Tesh. Every laurel she gets for this one will be deserved.

Audiobook narrator killed it. Dry, witty, perfect voice for the POV character. I loved every second.

Dr. Sapphire (Saffy) Walden, the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy, is an expert at invocation (summoning demons). In her job at Chetwood, she teaches A-level invocation and maintains the school's magical security system that keeps demonic incursions at bay. But following a major incursion caused by several of her students, Dr. Walden has to work with an arrogant contractor to shore up the school's defenses.

I really enjoyed this one! I loved that this felt fast-paced with some dangerous events (hello demonic incursions) while also exploring the academic structure and setting.

The characters were well-developed, and getting to see Dr. Walden's genuine interest and concern for her students was a joy. Tesh spends quite a bit of time talking about invocation, the demonic plane, and possession by demons, which I thought gave the story and worldbuilding a lot of depth.

Unfortunately, the romantic aspect of the book seemed weirdly out of place. The fact that Dr. Walden is bisexual comes up multiple times, and she considers pursuing a relationship with the Chief Marshall, Laura Kenning, but most of the time they're just awkward around each other, and the sexual tension between them never really amounts to anything. Then Mark comes along, and they take up a sex-only relationship that might be more to Mark's benefit than Saffy's. Although I don't need romance in a book to make it good, the romance here felt like Tesh couldn't commit to either putting it in or leaving it out.

I also spent a chapter toward the end of the book feeling slightly confused when the POV suddenly switched from Dr. Walden to The Phoenix, although The Phoenix spoke in second person. Luckily this only lasted for a few chapters.

I listened to this one on audio, narrated by Zara Ramm. Since the book takes place in England, I think it really benefitted the audiobook to have a British narrator. She did a wonderful job creating voices for each of the unique characters, although her portrayal of Saffy's American ex did feel a bit forced.

Read if you like:
Queer rep
Summoning demons
Dark academia
Late 30s FMC
Semi Dual-POV

Usually I take notes while reading, just whatever my thoughts are or things I’ve found funny, but by the time I was 83% in, I realized all I had written down was, “writing a book set post pandemic is always a brave choice.” And there’s something about that that works for this book. It feels grounded in a way that fantasy books often don’t, so you’d have to work pretty hard to get lost in the world building - because there isn’t all that much that is different from the one we currently live in. Not my favorite book of the year, but definitely an enjoyable mindless fantasy romp. I did like how the ending swung around though.

Part fantasy dark(ish) academia, part love song to teaching, fully enjoyable all the way through. The Incandescent follows the Dr. Walden (Saffy) the Director of Magic at an elite magical boarding school in England. Tragedy in Walden's past drives her to be the best magician possible to protect and teach her young charges. But as usual, all magic comes at a cost. Having the great magical power may help her protect her school from demons or that could all backfire spectacularly. As sometimes focusing too much on one aspect of our lives leaves us vulnerable in other areas.

The best part of this story, aside from a truly engaging plot, is watching Saffy's growth as a character. Understanding what motivates her and what she feels beholden to. Watching her personal relationships mirror her inner demons (metaphorically speaking). Looking back at it, I'm surprised how interesting I found the teaching bits. But I genuinely think they don't slow the book down, rather they add something extra and further develop Walden's character.

I think Emily Tesh might be an auto buy author for me at this point. I was hugely impressed with Some Desperate Glory and I absolutely devoured this book. I both listened to the audio book and read this book electronically. The narrator was absolutely fantastic. (It's probably worth mentioning that I'm very picky about audio book narrators.)

4.5 stars*

A magical school story that centers around the adults? This was a great concept! I really enjoyed getting to see this kind of setting from the teachers point of view and it’s always nice to have characters that are over thirty.

I thought that the relationship could have had a little more build up in the beginning of the book, and gone a little deeper into what a relationship between a magic teacher and a magic cop would have potentially struggled with. I would have liked the book to be longer in general with a little more of the world fleshed out. But this was definitely well worth the read and a really unique perspective in the genre.

The audio was well done. Clear and easy to listen to. I thought it was also a really nice pace as someone who needs to speed up audiobooks to be able to focus.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.