Disclaimer: I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about First Degree Magic. I liked the writing style. People and places were well defined and visual. The story developed well through the end. We very clearly had a book-level story arc that was resolved inside a larger arc that will presumably be continued in later books.

The main characters were interesting and one of them grew and changed significantly in the course of the book, but the other two did not. The development of who and what these individuals were and how they fit into the overall story arc also changed significantly over the course of the story. This did keep the mystery and suspense going.

The world building was minimal - only important bits were explained, most bits were just there, for example a protective bracelet that might or might not have been helpful but whose use was never explained, even when it functioned.. Maybe this will come with future volumes (this is clearly intended to be an first in the series book), but it felt unsatisfying.

The setting is an alt-history rendition of post Great War Roaring Twenties Chicago (thugs, flappers and all) with an overarching magic system having 3 degrees of magic. As you would expect from the title, the degrees and who has them matters quite a lot - read the book to see.

My overall opinion: good potential not fully realized.