Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school’s boundaries from demonic incursions.
Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from—is herself.
by Iris
I managed to get my hands on an ARC of this book way back in April 2025, about a month before it was actually out. Which was great, lucky me, perks of the job and all that, but… it also meant I had to wait for (what felt like) FOREVER before I could actually talk about it with other people. Which sucked, because I loved this book and was very eager to hear other people’s thoughts.
This author does a bit of a genre flip with every new publication. The Greenhollow duology (consisting of Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country) are atmospheric, folklore-influenced novellas, and Some Desperate Glory is a chonky, dystopian sci-fi set in space (you can see the review for this one HERE). I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from The Incandescent, which is an urban fantasy story taking place at a contemporary magic school in England. But I always enjoy an academia / magic school setting, and this one in particular because the main character is not some hormonal teenager, but the Director of Magic. Although on second thought, some hormones are definitely involved.
Still, it was refreshing to read a story like this from the perspective of an older, female protagonist who is unabashedly at the top and really good at what she does. She genuinely cares, but is also not about to let anyone walk all over her. The not-so-subtle social commentary really grounded the story in reality, and the sapphic romance was a lovely cherry on top.
