A wonderful new fantasy book, thank you so much for the ARC!

The story takes place in London a long time ago, during the Victorian era. It blends real history with exciting magic. The book is written beautifully, and the author makes the old streets of London feel interesting and intense.

The romance between Kit and Wilfrith is sweet and exciting, with a lot of emotion. Kit also has to live his normal life during the day, where he meets a clever woman who loves art and believes in magic. All the characters feel like real people who make mistakes, which makes it easy to care for them. The magic in this world is fun to read about in general, despite it being dangerous.

The story moves fast and keeps you interested from start to finish. The end in particular will make you want to read the next book right away!

What a gorgeous, dizzying read. The writing was so gorgeous, from the descriptions down to the dialogue. All the characters had such unique voices and personalities – I was a little obsessed with Agatha and Theodora! I really enjoyed that this was accessible fantasy too, not too much world-building but still highly imaginative and unique. It has all those yearning vibes between Kit and Wil, and I have to admit I am quite torn about who I want Kit to end up with! The book ends on quite a cliffhanger, so I cannot wait to read book two. A really impressive debut!

Kit Finchley loves magic, but what will he do when his magic leads him to Wil - stuck in a 800 year curse by the Faerie Queen? Will he be able to save him?
The writing was beautiful and so detailed, the magic system was also explained perfectly, but still leaving some hidden secrets for us to find out.
I felt deeply connected to the characters, especially the strong women (Agatha, Theo and Ro) and Wil, who I related to a lot. Kit was a bit naive at first, but he really went through some character development!
The ending left me wanting to grab the second book and find out what happens next!!

If you are a fan of A Darker Shade of Magic or Witch Hat Atelier, this book blends both really well, magic and alternate worlds!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A World Apart completely swept me away. From the very first pages I was drawn into a beautifully crafted world filled with magic, mystery, love, and so much yearning that I never wanted it to end and was so sad when i turned the fnal page.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous, creating a rich and atmospheric Victorian setting that felt vivid and immersive. Meghan Nesmith has created a magical world that feels both familiar and wonderfully unique, balancing fantasy, adventure, and emotion perfectly.
What truly made this story shine for me were the characters. Kit was such an easy protagonist to root for, and watching his journey unfold was incredibly rewarding. But it was Wil who completely stole my heart. The connection between Kit and Wil was filled with longing, hope, and emotion, and their first meeting genuinely gave me all the feelings. The idea of someone finally being able to truly see him after so long was both heartbreaking and beautiful.
I also absolutely adored Agatha. Every scene she appeared in seemed to sparkle with life and energy, and she quickly became one of my favourite characters. The supporting cast as a whole felt vibrant and memorable, adding so much depth to the story.
The magic system was imaginative and refreshing, revealing just enough to keep me intrigued while leaving plenty of mysteries waiting to be uncovered. Every chapter seemed to introduce another fascinating layer to the world.
And that ending! I immediately needed the next book. There are still so many questions to answer and I cannot wait to see where this story goes next.
A magical, heartfelt, and wonderfully imaginative fantasy filled with adventure, friendship, longing, and unforgettable characters. This is a series I can already see becoming a favourite, and I have no doubt fantasy readers will be talking about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC opportunity. 📚

Cute initial premise of an aspiring-magician nobleman in London who stumbles upon a hidden away world and falls head over heels for the man he briefly glimpses there that develops in an intriguing tale filled with fae magic, conflicting loyalties and the desire to be together.

I got entangled in this story and couldn’t flip through the pages fast enough. Tiredness from long overnight travels were not enough to stop me reading in my in-between wakeful moments. I loved the magical London premise, the descriptions of magic - especially the feeling I got from this book that magic is just bubbling under the surface of our world ready to be felt and perceived by those who believe.

Have to admit that it was quite instant-love for Kit and Will, but nevertheless it worked well with the overall plot.

This was quite the cutesy romance read with a strong focus on the magical world and bigger plot. I’m hoping there will be a sequel!

Overall recommended! Try and get a copy for when you are in a cutesy magical romance vibe.



Thank you Aria & Aries publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy.

This book had some intense world building at the beginning that took me a while to get into, but once I did it hooked me!
Set in Victorian London, the weaving of magic, societal pressures and mystery really added to the story and I fell in love with both of the MMCs and their love story! Watching their connection deepen throughout the book was especially heartwarming.
Overall I enjoyed this book but it was slower to get into than normal. The story was intriguing and the characters were likable however!

Historical fantasy with queer romance?
Yes please!
I love this subgenre to the moon and back so getting approved for this ARC easily made my week.

The premise:

Christopher Finchley was fascinated with magic for as long as he can remember. The tricky thing is, magic is evasive, unpredictable and — to those who don't believe in it — invisible. Except Kit's mentor, no one believes his obsession is anything but a flight of fancy. For the longest time, he believes the tiny illumination spell to be the limit of his abilities, until Will crashes into his life and changes everything.

To Willford, magic is a curse. Being trapped by a Faerie Queen in a timeless place for the past 800 years, he's not exactly the trusting type when it comes to those with the powers. But how bad can this boy with earnest eyes be?

My thoughts:

The tone of the romance feels much like a ballad. Each meeting can be the last, yet they can't stay away and keep finding their way towards each other. If you enjoy this type of love story, it's going to be a great fit. Don't be like me, read the blurb properly, because I made a surprised Pikachu face at some point. I'm really curious to see how it plays out in book 2!

Lyrical prose and slower pacing can be great, but here I feel like some chapters would have really benefited from things moving along a bit livelier. I think we're going to see lots of action in the sequel, with how things ended.

In short, this was a fascinating, beautifully crafted story: the prose, the characters, the plot — it all works great. The cliffhanger is not brutal, which is always a good thing! I'm looking forward to seeing how this story continues in book 2.

P.S. I really hope Kit will catch a break in the next book because my boy is one step away from losing it.

Thank you NetGalley and 'Aria & Aries' for the eARC in exchange for the review. All thoughts are my own.

This book swept me away from the very start. I requested it because of the gorgeous cover and finding out it was a queer historical romance sealed the deal. The story itself takes place in London a long time ago, during the Victorian era, and follows our two MMCs, Kit and Wilfrith. The world building at the beginning is pretty in-depth and takes a while to get your head around, but I loved that. It was so imaginative and deeply thought out. The way they weaved magic, societal pressures and mystery added so many layers to the story and made it so easy for me to fall in love with the characters and their heartwarming love story. I love yearners!! Blending real history with magic is always such a fun trope, and the beautiful prose in this one only made it richer. I loved everything about the book, from the magic system to the realistic, unique characters and the intense, captivating plot. This was such a brilliant read, especially for a debut, and I look forward to reading book two. I would recommend A World Apart to anyone who wants an accessible queer fantasy romance, the perfect read for pride!