Synopsis

Desperate to undo the curse binding them to each other, an impulsive sorcerer and his curmudgeonly rival venture deep into a magical forest in search of a counterspell—only to discover that magic might not be the only thing pulling them together.

Leovander Loveage is a master of small magics.

He can summon butterflies with a song, or turn someone’s hair pink by snapping his fingers. Such minor charms don’t earn him much admiration from other sorcerers (or his father), but anything more elaborate always blows up in his face. Which is why Leo vowed years ago to never again write powerful magic.

That is, until a mix-up involving a forbidden spell binds Leo to obey the commands of his longtime nemesis, Sebastian Grimm. Grimm is Leo’s complete opposite—respected, exceptionally talented, and an absolutely insufferable curmudgeon. The only thing they agree on is that getting caught using forbidden magic would mean the end of their careers. They need a counterspell, and fast. But Grimm casts spells, he doesn’t undo them, and Leo doesn’t mess with powerful magic.

Chasing rumors of a powerful sorcerer with a knack for undoing curses, Leo and Grimm enter the Unquiet Wood, a forest infested with murderous monsters and dangerous outlaws alike. To dissolve the curse, they’ll have to uncover the true depths of Leo’s magic, set aside their long-standing rivalry, and—much to their horror—work together.

Even as an odd spark of attraction flares between them.

*Blurb taken from the StoryGraph

Review

This review contains spoilers.

Characters: Leovander Loveage (POV) proves to be a chaotic, though humorous, main character. Due to his privilege that comes from wealth and a gentry position in society, he has the ability to act out and up, but remain relatively free of consequences. This leads to a rambunctious and rambling lead that I could see many readers not being in the mood for. While I found him fun and loveable, there were times when the fact that this is a cozy fantasy kept his more reckless decisions from being downright aggravating. If the novel were high stakes, I would have been in distress.

Aside from Leo, we don’t get much growth or character development in the cast. I would have loved for Sybilla to be more fleshed out, and was downright disappointed that Grimm (the love interest) stayed fairly flat. My hope is that, since this will be a trilogy, there’s more of Grimm to come.

Plot: The blurb of this novel lead me to believe it would be an easy and cutesy read, and I was correct! The pacing here comes slow and rambling, which works just fine because that fits the personality of our protagonist. Our main conflict starts when Grimm accidentally curses Leo, propelling the two into an adventure as they attempt to undo the curse before Leo becomes Grimm’s mindless puppet to control. The second conflict is Leo’s inability to write Grandmagic. This hiccup becomes more prevalent as the curse wears on him, and it ties most directly into his growth as a character. At first, I didn’t enjoy the fact that Leo’s aversion to Grandmagic was only a mental block. It felt lackluster. But after sitting on my review for a few days, I’ve completely flipped my stance. Bringing in this obstacle that is faced every day by readers and giving it space to be overcome was quite magical in and of itself.

Despite the ample number of events, much of this novel focuses on Leo’s character growth and how his circumstances force him to reckon with past trauma. Between the growing influence of the curse, the trek into the Unquiet Wood, the time spent with Sorcerer Sybilla, and the final (inevitable) use of Grandmagic, quite a bit happens in this novel, though it feels like not much happens at all. I honestly didn’t mind that so much because the tone from the beginning was that this would be low-stakes and endearing storyline.

World Build/Magic System: I adored the way magic is built in this novel. The partnership between Scrivers, who write spells and imbue them the with magical capabilities, and Casters, who then take those capabilities and cast them into the world, was fantastic. Especially when paired with Sybilla’s sentiment that there are as many ways of understanding magic as there are diverse people in the world. It leaves so much room for growth while still following simple rules (who can do what) and mandating consequences (the cost of using magic without a sufficient ability). It creates an intricate system of give-and-take that I can’t wait to see expanded upon in future novels! Getting to see the ways magic can be utilized, while having the tier distinctions of cantrips, charms, Grandmagic, and more, kept me fully immersed. Especially since this magic system was used to distinguish different parts of the world and how the towns used different techniques to stay safe from the monsters in the wood. The magic system intwined elegantly with the world. I honestly think this was my favorite part of this novel, and would be thrilled to see spin-offs to this trilogy just so I can soak in more of this intricate weaving.

Romance: This is a slow burn. And, quite honestly, it’s hard to call this a romance at all. Due to the curse, which turns out to be more love spell than control spell, any of Leo’s intimate feelings toward Grimm can’t be trusted. He was, essentially, under the influence. We can assume a genuine affection that’s beyond a friendship will grow in the following installments, but it can’t have started in this book because Leo was magically coerced into his romantic interest in Grimm. And since Grimm himself was a flat character and remained stoic and linear most of the novel, it’s hard to feel a romantic connection from him. That being said, I’m taking a leap here to guess that Leo’s curse broke, not because Grimm cast the transfer spell and counterspell, but because Grimm now loves Leo. The issue there is that I inferred this (potential) twist based on plot framework and being an avid reader, and not because of Grimm’s depth or his character development. The chemistry simply wasn’t there. But we’ll see how that changes in book 2!

Craft: Doocy took care to incorporate world-building elements into dialogue and colloquialism, which gave an added level to both the craft and the world-build. Though this isn’t a lyrical masterpiece (and was never meant to be), the writing is done in a way that makes the story easy to take in, as well as quick to parse through.

Overall Thoughts: This was a fast, cute read with low stakes and a whimsical feel. Though the pacing leans toward a slower, more winding venture, that fits well with our rambling protagonist. Most of what makes Leo’s personality work is the fact that readers can anticipate a happy outcome in a cozy fantasy. That being said, I could see some people getting irritated by Leo’s questionable decision making. What absolutely made this book for me was the magic system. I thought it was absolutely fascinating, especially considering the simplicity. Truly, a genius way of creating an immersive magical world that depends upon a push-and-pull structure. Though I was expecting more romance here, I wasn’t disappointed in the lack of it. Especially since more romance would have slipped into coercive territories with the control curse being more love spell than anything. Still, I hope we get a more fleshed out cast in future installments, with an authentic connection between Leo and Grimm. In this novel, the chemistry was certainly lacking.

I’m excited for the rest of the trilogy!

Content Note

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