CJ Bailey

I wanted to like this book. There were so many things about the premise that appealed to me, but ultimately it was a chore to slog through, and after two months of forcing myself to pick it up, I'm calling it quits. I thought Jane could do better - Rosie actually irritated me, and their relationship came across as kind of toxic. The supporting cast had very little depth, and I even found myself struggling to remember who was who a couple of times. The sex scenes were lukewarm at best. And the third act conflict felt unnecessary. 

This was my second attempt at reading this book. The premise is so good, and I've wanted to read it for so long that I decided to give it another go. A magic college? Yes, please! However, the characters were kind of miserable to follow around (and I can deal with an unlikeable character), but none more so than the MC. Everything exciting happened either off the page or was told at such a distance that it felt more like a lecture. Even the magic and the magic school felt mundane and were almost painfully tedious. It's as though the author tried to write a grown-up Harry Potter (which is more or less what this book is billed as) and in the process sucked all the joy and magic out of it. It actually makes me a little sad, because this could have been so amazing if done well.