Remedial Magic
A Course in Magic – Book 1
❤️❤️
(Spoiler free: everything mentioned is in the first few chapters)
I have been really into cozy fantasy with a side of romance lately. So when I saw this book at my local library, I assumed it was right up my ally. In retrospect, the description on the back does very clearly say that it is a romance with a side of fantasy. Not inherently a bad thing, just not really my style.
The romance is not my issue with this book though. I actually rather enjoyed the romance.
My issue has to do with why it took me two weeks to finish a 300-page book, something I can usually finish in a couple of days. It took me forever because the first half of this book was a nightmare to get through.
When we are first introduced to the main character Ellie, she is depicted as someone who has a strict routine for her life. She lives in fear of being remarkable enough to be a missing person, so she does her best to live a truly unremarkable life as a librarian.
And she loves this life, she is content. But a part of her longs for a romance that would sweep her off her feet. Her beloved aunt, that she lives with, is constantly encouraging her to get out and find a nice woman to settle down with.
But Ellie has trained herself to be a rule follower and someone who stays between the lines. Not the type of person to pursue grand adventure.
All of this is laid out in the very first chapter and it had made me excited. I wanted to see the transformation Ellie would go through to become more like the woman she dreamed of being.
Unfortunately, this transition took place almost off-screen. She is whisked away to the magical land of Crenshaw and immediately latches on to the idea of magic and that she carries the power to save the dying homeland of the gorgeous witch Prospero.
There is almost no fighting from her as she processes this information and the whole time, she is head over heels in love with Prospero, a woman she has barely met.
I understand that Ellie had secretly been dreaming of this for years, but dreaming and having it be reality are two very different things. Especially for someone who is so set in routine and carefulness as she is. It was just very unbelievable character development on her part to suddenly be ok with being a missing person if it meant she could be closer to Prospero.
This problem, in my opinion, slowly did resolve itself as the book went on. Not because the transition was made believable, but because it was forgettable.
My other issue with this book was the side characters. There were other romance subplots that were happening at the same time, and I just could not force myself to care about them. Anytime they were mentioned I found myself rolling my eyes and wishing the plot would get back to Prospero and Ellie.
I think these side romances would have been more exciting to read if the characters they revolved around weren’t so one dimensional. There is one character whose whole personality is being a pawn and I just didn’t want to read about him anymore by the end of the book.
I would have rated this book lower, but the friendship between Ellie and Maggie, a character we are introduced to in the second chapter, really saved this book for me. I found it very believable and Maggie was one of the side characters that had a real personality that complimented Ellie’s very well.
That and the fact that I did want to know how they would save Crenshaw.
I like high stakes, what can I say.
Because of this I will be reading the second book in this duology. Although, I sincerely hope that it doesn’t drag as much as this one did.
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