no_mourners_'s review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Sexual content, Alcohol, Violence, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Child death, and Vomit
butterbrioche's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The writing was very beautiful. It’s what drew me in but there were just some things that I didn’t feel exactly worked for me. I will say Aurelia and Theodore’s E2L progression was really just that and it was slow as hell but it made a lot of sense.
Was getting howl vibes at one point from Theodore (iykyk).
I’m confused by some of the motivations of the characters but I understand that will be fleshed out in the next book.
Was getting howl vibes at one point from Theodore (iykyk).
I’m confused by some of the motivations of the characters but I understand that will be fleshed out in the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence and Body horror
inkdrinkers's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Witchcraft was a secret worth killing for."
For Aurelia Schwartz there are only two goals in life: to be top of her class at Cambridge and to keep her status as a witch secret from the humans around her. This has led to an insular life, one where even her closest friend and flatmate doesn't know who truly sleeps in the room next door. But when Aurelia finds her magic spiraling out of control from disuse and a startling murder happens during what should be a night of academic achievement - she must turn to the only boy she thought she had nothing in common with, Teddy Ingram, her academic rival who has his own golden-threaded secrets.
I was completely taken with Modern Divination from the very first page, swept away in both the magic and warmth of Isa's writing. There are so few books that get dark academia right and this one does it and then sets the bar for everything you read after it. Rory and Teddy's characters are driven by their desire to do more, to be more, and each obstacle they run into - magical or not - deliciously develops their relationship and feelings for each other. Rory, particularly, became one of my favorite female characters. She's written in such a way that just feels like Isa rooted around in my soul to pull up my darkest insecurities and threw them onto the page. Rory isn't interested in being soft or sweet, she's not here to mince words or offer an encouraging smile - she feels like an innately feminist view of what it's like to be a modern woman grappling with your own shit and trying to survive it all. This entire book feels like sinking yourself knee-deep in the female gaze and understanding you can trust it to never betray you.
The side characters shine in this book. From Ryan to Gemma to Lou to Alaric there is someone for everyone. (Even though one of my favorites ended on the cutting room floor, RIP Carmichael) Each character is their own being, separate from the plot and this makes the representation in this book incredibly realistic - Ryan is nonbinary, Rory and Teddy are bisexual - but there's never a question if it's tokenism, they just are and it's so refreshing. I loved the interpersonal relationships and the way everything felt rooted in the way humans seek each other out - whether for love, kinship, or more nefarious reasons. Modern Divination, at its root, is about people. It's about people who have their own experiences coloring their actions and have to strive to do what they feel is best, regardless of how misguided they might be. This book feels like a masterclass in how to write a character that feels real - like a stranger you might happen to meet in a coffee shop who you won't forget for your entire life.
I had the extreme pleasure of reading Modern Divination in one of its rawest forms as a beta reader and I'm lucky enough to call the author a close friend. I wish I could tell you this impacted my review, or colored my feelings about it - but it didn't. This has cemented itself as one of my favorite books I've ever read and my mind is still reeling that I get to fangirl about these characters with the very person who created them. I would highly recommend this for anyone who wants to feel like they've been swaddled in a warm blanket, tucked into bed, and told a heart-pounding bedtime story full of magic, adventure, and the soft glow of love.
Content warnings: *some listed at the beginning of the book*
Vomiting (on page), murder, animal death, body horror (light), blood/blood magic, cannibalism (in a dream sequence, not graphic), sexual content (brief scenes), mental health, allusions to body image issues
For Aurelia Schwartz there are only two goals in life: to be top of her class at Cambridge and to keep her status as a witch secret from the humans around her. This has led to an insular life, one where even her closest friend and flatmate doesn't know who truly sleeps in the room next door. But when Aurelia finds her magic spiraling out of control from disuse and a startling murder happens during what should be a night of academic achievement - she must turn to the only boy she thought she had nothing in common with, Teddy Ingram, her academic rival who has his own golden-threaded secrets.
I was completely taken with Modern Divination from the very first page, swept away in both the magic and warmth of Isa's writing. There are so few books that get dark academia right and this one does it and then sets the bar for everything you read after it. Rory and Teddy's characters are driven by their desire to do more, to be more, and each obstacle they run into - magical or not - deliciously develops their relationship and feelings for each other. Rory, particularly, became one of my favorite female characters. She's written in such a way that just feels like Isa rooted around in my soul to pull up my darkest insecurities and threw them onto the page. Rory isn't interested in being soft or sweet, she's not here to mince words or offer an encouraging smile - she feels like an innately feminist view of what it's like to be a modern woman grappling with your own shit and trying to survive it all. This entire book feels like sinking yourself knee-deep in the female gaze and understanding you can trust it to never betray you.
The side characters shine in this book. From Ryan to Gemma to Lou to Alaric there is someone for everyone. (Even though one of my favorites ended on the cutting room floor, RIP Carmichael) Each character is their own being, separate from the plot and this makes the representation in this book incredibly realistic - Ryan is nonbinary, Rory and Teddy are bisexual - but there's never a question if it's tokenism, they just are and it's so refreshing. I loved the interpersonal relationships and the way everything felt rooted in the way humans seek each other out - whether for love, kinship, or more nefarious reasons. Modern Divination, at its root, is about people. It's about people who have their own experiences coloring their actions and have to strive to do what they feel is best, regardless of how misguided they might be. This book feels like a masterclass in how to write a character that feels real - like a stranger you might happen to meet in a coffee shop who you won't forget for your entire life.
I had the extreme pleasure of reading Modern Divination in one of its rawest forms as a beta reader and I'm lucky enough to call the author a close friend. I wish I could tell you this impacted my review, or colored my feelings about it - but it didn't. This has cemented itself as one of my favorite books I've ever read and my mind is still reeling that I get to fangirl about these characters with the very person who created them. I would highly recommend this for anyone who wants to feel like they've been swaddled in a warm blanket, tucked into bed, and told a heart-pounding bedtime story full of magic, adventure, and the soft glow of love.
Content warnings: *some listed at the beginning of the book*
Vomiting (on page), murder, animal death, body horror (light), blood/blood magic, cannibalism (in a dream sequence, not graphic), sexual content (brief scenes), mental health, allusions to body image issues
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Body horror, and Vomit
Minor: Cannibalism
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