The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones
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Description
"A HANDS-DOWN FAVORITE OF THE YEAR, AND PROBABLY EVER." -OLIVIE BLAKE
"FANS OF THE MAGICIANS AND NINTH HOUSE HAVE FOUND THEIR NEW OBSESSION." -LAURA STEVENFrom New York Times bestselling author Lex Croucher comes an extraordinary dark academia fantasy about dangerous privilege, corrupted power, and two former best friends caught on opposite sides of the secrets rotting at the heart of Britain’s most prestigious boarding school.For as long as they can remember, Briar Jones dreamed of attending the Temple School of Thaumaturgy. Behind its looming ornate gates, the elite boarding school—the place that has produced the most CEOs and Prime Ministers in British history—is whispered to be magical.Briar's best friend, Sebastian Wolfe, never cared about Temple. He just wanted them to stay together forever.When, at age eleven, Seb gets an acceptance letter and Briar doesn't, their childhood friendship is shattered. Seb vanishes onto Temple's grounds and Briar resigns themself to a mundane life. But they can't completely forget their yearning for Temple, for the extraordinary, to be one of the chosen in the ivory tower.Seven years later, Briar secures a temp job sorting through the junk in Temple’s attics. And when Briar takes it, they discover that quiet, sensitive Seb, the boy they once loved more than anything else in the world, has become Bastian: a beautiful, arrogant villain feared by the entire school. And worse, the secrets Temple is hiding might not be so enchanting after all.
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This story was a slow-burn for me. I was a bit meh for the first third of the story, but then something gripped me. And it was not the Dark Academia setting - although this was enjoyable too - but the characters of Briar and Seb and their journey. They're not just hero and antagonist, but they're on a voyage to exploring identity and driven by a wanting to belong. Briar returns to the elite Temple School of Thaumaturgy not as a student but as a temp worker sorting through the attic, only to discover that their childhood best friend Seb has transformed into someone powerful and almost unrecognizable. The way they navigate this new dynamic, uncovering the school's dark secrets and their own place in its hierarchy, was absolutely compelling. The slow reveal of the magic system, the hidden truths in forgotten attics, and the emotional weight of Briar's search for belonging all came together beautifully. Briar's determination and Seb's complexity made their dynamic gripping, and the non-binary MC and the commentary on queerness in a structure of power and hierarchy really gripped me. 4/5 stars. Thank you to @NetGalley and @avonbooks for the eARC! #TheUnmagicalLifeOfBriarJones #Bookstagram #NetGalley
Description
"A HANDS-DOWN FAVORITE OF THE YEAR, AND PROBABLY EVER." -OLIVIE BLAKE
"FANS OF THE MAGICIANS AND NINTH HOUSE HAVE FOUND THEIR NEW OBSESSION." -LAURA STEVENFrom New York Times bestselling author Lex Croucher comes an extraordinary dark academia fantasy about dangerous privilege, corrupted power, and two former best friends caught on opposite sides of the secrets rotting at the heart of Britain’s most prestigious boarding school.For as long as they can remember, Briar Jones dreamed of attending the Temple School of Thaumaturgy. Behind its looming ornate gates, the elite boarding school—the place that has produced the most CEOs and Prime Ministers in British history—is whispered to be magical.Briar's best friend, Sebastian Wolfe, never cared about Temple. He just wanted them to stay together forever.When, at age eleven, Seb gets an acceptance letter and Briar doesn't, their childhood friendship is shattered. Seb vanishes onto Temple's grounds and Briar resigns themself to a mundane life. But they can't completely forget their yearning for Temple, for the extraordinary, to be one of the chosen in the ivory tower.Seven years later, Briar secures a temp job sorting through the junk in Temple’s attics. And when Briar takes it, they discover that quiet, sensitive Seb, the boy they once loved more than anything else in the world, has become Bastian: a beautiful, arrogant villain feared by the entire school. And worse, the secrets Temple is hiding might not be so enchanting after all.
Book Information
Posts
This story was a slow-burn for me. I was a bit meh for the first third of the story, but then something gripped me. And it was not the Dark Academia setting - although this was enjoyable too - but the characters of Briar and Seb and their journey. They're not just hero and antagonist, but they're on a voyage to exploring identity and driven by a wanting to belong. Briar returns to the elite Temple School of Thaumaturgy not as a student but as a temp worker sorting through the attic, only to discover that their childhood best friend Seb has transformed into someone powerful and almost unrecognizable. The way they navigate this new dynamic, uncovering the school's dark secrets and their own place in its hierarchy, was absolutely compelling. The slow reveal of the magic system, the hidden truths in forgotten attics, and the emotional weight of Briar's search for belonging all came together beautifully. Briar's determination and Seb's complexity made their dynamic gripping, and the non-binary MC and the commentary on queerness in a structure of power and hierarchy really gripped me. 4/5 stars. Thank you to @NetGalley and @avonbooks for the eARC! #TheUnmagicalLifeOfBriarJones #Bookstagram #NetGalley