A fantasy set in a magical school in England where kids are taught to harness and use their magical skills but told from the perspective of an elder millennial teacher and all the mundane teacher things she loves to do, but which also includes protecting and warding the school from all the demons attracted to its magic that try to get in from the demonic plane.

When it appears that someone is purposefully breaching those wards, essentially inviting the demons in, she must investigate and deal with the problem.

I loved this book! How we go from Saffy being the apparently stuffy, boring, set-in-her-ways Dr Walden to the true badass that she always was at the end was such a fun ride! I found the spell casting and magic use plus all the demons very interesting and it really enriched the world building. The romance aspect was very secondary, which I preferred. Definitely a favourite of the year so far!

"You will never meet an innocent adult. Everyone fails. Everyone. What matters is how you meet failure, and how you face up to it. How you learn."

The Incandescent brings a fresh twist to dark academia by having the main character, Dr. Walden, as the teacher/director of magic instead of a student. Following her through her very long workdays had a bit of a "slice of life" feel, which I enjoyed. It manages to capture both the view of teenagers/students and their struggles, but also how a teacher processes it and might act accordingly. This book also offers an insightful look at the complexities of grief, privilege and guilt.

The beginning was strong, kicking off with an early action scene that draws you in. However, while I understand that the slower pace in the middle of the book serves to explore Dr. Walden’s daily life, I found this section the least engaging, as it felt like we were progressing very little on plot. Towards the end, the story picks up again with more action. The plot twists, while not particularly surprising, were executed well and still satisfying.

The romance element isn't central and feels a little like an afterthought, but I thought it fits Dr. Walden well.

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for the eARC.

Sapphic dark academia laced with wry humour which owes a conscious debt to the English school story but here squarely aimed at adult readers. Award-winning author Emily Tesh’s entertaining exploration of the life of a harried teacher of invocation – summoner of demons - has a realist feel that stems from Tesh’s personal experiences of teaching – so the perils of magic jostle with questions around the nature and philosophy of education itself. It’s set in scruffy but upmarket Chetwood School nestled in the English countryside. A character in its own right it's partly modelled on aspects of Wells Cathedral School with dashes of Cambridge architecture thrown in, as well as echoes of Tesh’s childhood school.

Tesh’s story revolves around work-obsessed Director of Magic Sapphire Walden aka Saffy whose sensible attire masks a wilder element that dates back to her misspent youth – as well as concealing a potentially deadly secret. Saffy’s ordered existence is disrupted by the rise of a powerful demon invoked by two of her favourite pupils, setting in motion a battle that threatens to destroy both Saffy and everything she cares about. Tesh’s world-building’s thorough and convincing, although I found the shift in tone towards the end slightly awkward. But Tesh is a highly skilled writer and her atmospheric plot unfolds at a more than decent pace, despite the odd dip and lull, accompanied by a muted but ultimately satisfying love story.

I absolutely adored this book - it was such a nice change of pace that the point of view was a teacher rather than a student in the school. As a science teacher myself, the attention to detail was exquisite - the author went to great lengths to accurately reflect school life. I have recently struggled with fantasy set in the modern era, but this one was excellent. Modern day ideas were well incorporated.

The world of magic was unlike any I had read before, the demons were so interesting. A new take on fantasy and academia - loved it!

3.5⭐️. Thank you NetGalley & Little, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC.

I was so sure this would be a 4-4.5 star read by the end, but boy did the second half really fell off. It was such a strong start — the introduction to our 38-year-old protagonist, Dr. Sapphire "Saffy" Walden who is a teacher, her batch of 4 students, and her eventual love interest Laura. Then came such an exciting magical battle/confrontation in the 30% mark (sapphics vs a higher demon!!) ... after which, it didn't really pick back up.

I have to start with how refreshing I found this novel's premise to be, of having the POV of the teacher as opposed to a student in a magical school setting. As a former teacher myself, the beats and daily grind of being an educator was so familiar and relatable to visit: from doing risk assessment forms and lesson observations, to appeasing parents and always being prepared to the ruckus of young people, to oh god never having enough time for everything! The classroom settings and Saffy's interactions with her students were my favorite parts, so when there was less emphasis on these in the second half, my interest dipped so much. Regardless, the Teacher Inspires Student talk between Saffy and Nikki near the last third was one of the best scenes of the entire novel, and gave me hope that this might end with a bang.

Alas, it didn't, because THE climatic Final Boss Fight of the novel was so poorly built up. The sudden POV switch from Saffy to the demon was a poor narrative choice for me because we're left to fill in the blanks of what was essentially a timeskip of months. Imagine getting to the point of the story where the protag Finally Figures Out The Baddie's Plan and then bam, fast forwarding through it all.

What should've been the other highlight of the book—the sapphic romance—was RIFE with potential but flopped, such that I'm getting grumpy just thinking back on it. It's a shame because Laura & Saffy's contrasting personalities and how they bounce off each other are so fun to read. The classic "Book Smart with the Street Smart". But the removal of Laura as a key character after the 40% mark was a huge detriment. I wish Emily Tesh had found a way to keep her around, but we're stuck with the blandest Colleagues With Benefits in the form of Saffy & Mark, the magical consultant hired by the school. I get that Mark is never meant to be endgame, but if we're going to be reading about him so much, could his personality and this dynamic be even a smidge more interesting? And less obvious. Oh, SOOOO obvious.

I do really appreciate the commentary given on how inaccessible tertiary academia can be if you don't have the finances for it. Sure, the presence of demons certainly puts the "dark" in dark academia, but the true darker side of it lies in the elitism.

Great concept, probably would not re-read a second time. If Tesh decides to expand this world though, I'd pick it up.

A sapphic dark academia fantasy that puts the focus on the school administrators and staff at an arcane magical boarding school. Focusing on arcane safety courses and maintaining the thematic engines that keep the school from collapsing out of mundane reality altogether and disappear into the demonic plane. A fascinating take on a popular genre that puts it’s teachers front and centre with a focus on class differences, growing up in a boarding school and owning your mistakes, especially when it costs someone else their life. Perfect for readers of fantasy and dark academia!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐔𝐊 | 𝐎𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐡

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved The Incandescent! Emily Tesh managed to create a school that mashed up the excitement of learning magic with the actual challenges (and sometimes boring daily routine) of running a learining institution. The characters were complex and not perfect - my favourite kind! Read this if you love fantasy mixed with real life.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

I loved Emily Tesh’s “Some Desperate Glory” when I read it in 2023; something about the way she wrote those character arcs was so incredibly satisfying. So when I heard about “The Incandescent”, I was already sold. Fantasy Dark Academia, from the point of view of the teacher; That sounds perfectly up my alley.

And it was! I read this in two sittings, absolutely devoured it. Emily Tesh writes queer stories so incredibly well. I loved the complicated relationship at the centre of this, the Demons and the magics, and the close look at why Academia so often isn’t up to standard.

10/10, a fantastic stand alone novel.

This book is a beautiful, begrudging love letter to educators and education.

Emily Tesh's character voices are some of the strongest I have ever encountered. I absolutely adored Walden, even though I constantly wanted to shake her. The sapphic love story that develops in this novel is hilarious and sweet and full of excellent banter.

The Incandescent is a lovely next step for the concept of dark academia/academic fantasy. It is about the way academic systems fail people and the people trying their best to prevent them form falling through the cracks. A hilarious, moving, page-turning read!

Two years ago I reviewed Emily’s last book, Some Desperate Glory (review here) which was a science fiction novel. I liked a lot of it, although my general impression at the end was that it was a little predictable and – gasp! -overrated. But what do I know – Some Desperate Glory then went on to win the Hugo Award for the Best Novel for 2023!

Nevertheless, despite my reservations there was a lot of it I liked, so when this new book arrived for review, I was intrigued, mainly because it sounded like it was going to be different. And so it is – The Incandescent is an urban fantasy set in the now of 2025. Think Harry Potter, but with Emily’s spin on it.

From the publisher: “Dr Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood School 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 good at her job – no, 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. But it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from . . . is herself.”

Let’s get the obvious Hogwarts comparisons out of the way first. Yes, this is a story about a private school who are teaching children and young adults’ magic. But really there the comparisons stop. This is clearly a book for grown-ups, written from the perspective of adults and with all the sensibilities that experienced adults provide.

Focused around Dr Sapphire (Saffy) Walden, Director of Magic at the school, the plot gives us her experiences of being an ex-pupil and a teacher, as well as a manager – she is, as the book explains, an “academic turned educator turned school management”, which gives us a unique perspective to the school over time.

“The difference between a schoolchild and a schoolteacher, one of Walden’s mentors had once remarked, is that a teacher who finds herself miserable at school can leave.”

It is this that makes the book work for me. It also helps that the book is literate and intelligent, with nuanced characters that felt honest and also have depth and resonance. The actions of those we meet seem genuine – not forced, and cobbled together for the sake of a plot point, but as people would do say and react if such an environment was actual.

“Teaching wasn’t about being right, or being clever, or being in charge. It was about making them believe.”

Through Saffy Tesh makes the important point that there are major, major benefits in being a teacher – the positives of teaching, of developing professional relationships, of helping young people learn and grow, even with the added complication of having magic involved. It would be easy to just spend most of the book telling the reader about Saffy’s love for the job, and the students she teaches and whilst the novel does do that, in terms of plot much of the book is also about how Saffy herself develops over the course of the novel.

The flipside of this is that there is also a lot of trials and tribulations of being a teacher, even without the magic element. With the tension of potential OFSTED inspections, lesson observations, endless meetings, preparation and marking and so on, the academic year progresses and embeds the fantasy element in some semblance of normality. The pressures these cause were spot-on – and I say that with nearly 40 years of experiencing such things in both state and public schools myself.

We also have the magic element, of course. Much of Saffy’s work involves maintaining the wards around the school, ensuring that the nasty demons being kept at bay stay that way. There are minor imps around the school that leaven the dark atmosphere a little – for example, the Gremlin-esque imp in the school photocopier may cause some wry moments to anyone that has had issues with such a machine – but the nasty ones on the whole are really nasty, giving a sense of genuine peril to the characters, both teenage and adult.

As if teaching wasn’t enough, as a manager as well as a teacher Saffy has a lot of additional administrational tasks to do, magic as well as mundane. Dealing with difficult colleagues as well as students is part of the job, and Saffy finds a number of them irksome. In particular, Laura Kenning, the commander of the Marshals (a kind of magic police force) at Chetwood, seems to really get under her skin. So too the arrival of a new member of staff given the task of overseeing the school after a major magical incident there, both of which affect Saffy’s professional and personal life.

All of these elements are fixed into a setting that feels appropriate. I was pleasantly surprised how well the book’s setting worked. Chetwood feels like a real school, whose long history and attractive countryside setting adds to the book a great deal. There’s a lot of backstory for both the history of Chetwood School with its 600+ years of magic, and its adult characters which I enjoyed a great deal. (I would love to read more stories from Chetwood’s past.)

The upshot of all of this is that these elements work together to create a realistic feel to the events of the novel – and I say that knowing that I’m talking about an urban fantasy. When romance becomes part of the mixture, I did feel at times that the book should be subtitled “The Life and Loves of Saffy Walden”, although it does humanise Saffy somewhat. it’s well done on the whole, even when I felt it made the book more of a soap opera – Saffy’s romances in the book create a tension that is straight out of the “will they – won’t they” playbook.

All of these elements drive the book forward, and should keep you reading until the end. The main issue I had was towards the end when I felt that some of the things in the final scenes were perhaps a little too convenient in wrapping things up. The denouement was not bad – but not quite as effective as I hoped it was going to be after such a careful set up. I will also say that the title doesn’t really work for me, although I accept that that may be a personal bug-bear.

Nevertheless, in summary, The Incandescent is a book that for me was a major, major improvement on what Tesh has written before. Although there were elements that didn’t quite earn it the very top marks from me, as a sort of British version of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians it is one of the best books I’ve read this year and certainly one of the best urban fantasies I’ve read in years. For anyone wanting to try dark academia or simply enjoy a fresh and original take on it, The Incandescent is recommended from me as one of the best in a currently popular sub-genre.

The Incandescent was such an entertaining and unique take on dark academia for the magical. The dark part is generally down to the demons, they are literally everywhere and the magic to keep them at bay is complex and flawed. The rest of the story is very much a witty and fun take on academia through the eyes of the educators.
The FMC is a teacher and a great character to explore the themes of power, privilege and identity through. Her experience and devotion to her work is a testament to her character. I was totally there with her watching her seemingly mundane life unravel.
Throughout the author is able to show us a very real story of adulthood and the pressures of life. Another very true to life element was the romance subplot, this was absolutely charming. Overall I absolutely loved the whole feel of this book.
At times there were some pacing issues but these are forgiven as I found it a compelling read and highly recommend to the teachers out there, fantasy and academia lovers.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

This was definitely one of my favourite reads of the year so far! Even though there was one aspect that I was slightly disappointed with it does everything else so well that I still had to give 5 stars.
The Incandescent is a dark academia with a very heavy focus on the academia part. In fact, it is absolutely a love letter to teaching while also exploring the systemic failures of educational systems and how this impacts students and teachers alike.
We follow a teacher at an elite magical school and see a lot of the day to day effort that goes into her work. I really liked Saffy and her character development. It felt refreshing reading from the perspective of an almost 40 year old main character.
I was absolutely ecstatic when I realised this included a sapphic love story, with a butch modern knight no less! However, we get surprisingly little page time from the main love interest and only get very few scenes of them developing their relationship at all.
The setting and world building is another point where this story shines. We have a creepy old magical school in alternate world England with all the atmosphere that brings with it. The magic is unique, expertly interwoven with our own world and the theory behind it thoroughly explained through our main characters academic career or teachings. 
I loved the humour that was brought into the story through the demons possessing mundane items like phones and photocopiers.
I also really enjoyed the ending with it being one of the most satisfying conclusions to a book I’ve read in a while.
All in all, I’ll be keeping a look out for this author’s future work! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

If you're looking for a story with magic, mayhem, and a quietly unraveling protagonist, The Incandescent might catch your interest, but you’ll want to go in with your expectations tuned to something a bit more introspective than explosive.

At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was going to be a dark academia thrill ride: powerful magician, elite school, demonic threats. And yes, that’s all there. Doctor Walden, our main character, is the kind of person you'd trust to hold reality together with nothing but sheer competence and a cup of tea. She’s measured, powerful, and just a little bit lonely, which is exactly where things start to get interesting.

But the magic here isn’t just spellwork. It’s metaphor. Emily Tesh plays with power and identity in ways that feel deeply personal, if sometimes a bit elusive. There’s an aching sense of disconnection running through the book, as Walden tries to hold everything together while slowly realizing she might be the biggest danger of all. If you’ve ever found yourself quietly spiraling while looking absolutely fine to everyone else, you’ll get it.

That said, The Incandescent isn’t without its rough patches. The pacing lags in places, and some of the more intense emotional moments are muted rather than cathartic. There’s a cool detachment to the prose that suits Walden’s personality, but it also creates a bit of distance between reader and story. I found myself wanting to care more than I actually did, which is a frustrating place to be in as a reader.

Still, there’s something oddly beautiful about this book. It’s not a page-turner, but it’s a slow, steady simmer. If you’ve got patience for quiet character work and enjoy magic as a metaphor for the self, especially the parts we try to lock away, The Incandescent might hit just the right note for you.

TL;DR:
Come for the demons and academic drama. Stay for the soft unraveling of a woman trying to be the strong one all the time. Just be prepared for a slower, more internal journey than the blurb might suggest.

Okay, so this was a perfect take on dark academia. In every dark academia book I've read its a student MC, and they are super confident in their abilities even though they have not finished their schooling. They survive by sheer luck or are saved by a teacher or some kind of experienced adult. In this book the FMC, Doctor Walden, is the undeniably best backup you could get. She has decades of experience behind her and the power to show for it. She loves being a teacher, making sure the academy itself doesn't slide into a demon realm, and saving students from themselves.

It's original, it's exciting, and the frustration I've felt from YA MCs having a teenage fueled response based on an inflated ego due to a superiority complex is nonexistent. It's such a relief to read about Doctor Walden who actually has the life experience and knowledge to deal with malevolent forces attempting to kill everyone and destroy everything.

I can't recommend this enough! I want to yell from the rooftop how much I love this book!

I think I need to go through my ratings and round down my 4.5 stars, because this is standing out from my other 5 star reviews! I'd give this book 6 stars if it were possible.

3,5 stars

The Incandescent should be everything I want from a magical school story. Yet I have some mixed feelings about it as a whole.

We meet director of Magic Saphire Walden as she is taking care of one of her mundane tasks at a magical school. We follow her for a whole school year as she preps her 4 eldest students for their A Levels (United Kingdom, senior year high school). Unfortunately that doesn't go quite according to plan.

This story is heavily character focused as we follow Walden in the mundane of her task with some magic thrown in here and there. While I liked Walden as a character I struggled with her lack of emotions. We're doing a deep dive into a character. But this character is hiding a lot from herself. She buries herself in her work to not have to deal with her emotions that go as far back as 20 years ago. Of course that comes with consequences. I don't think the story wrapped up that portion of Walden very well.

After the events of October it was like watching a slow moving train wreck that you can't really look away from. She is making all the wrong decisions. And the one character that would have called her on that, is removed from her vicinity. Well isn't that convenient. The wrap up of the consequences of that did not at all feel satisfying to me. It is like Walden just shrugs. Oh well. Oopsie. Again, she buries herself in learning something to not have to deal with her emotions and she shows no inclination that this will change in the future. So clearly she has learned so very little. I find that very frustrating.

Having said that, I was very charmed by the setting of the school, the mundane things that were shown and some of the relationships between the characters. Especially the bits and pieces we get from our four students through Walden I found great to see and the way she clearly knowns them felt very endearing to me. I thought the key keeper was also a great add. Walden is also a character that sees a lot. She observes a lot. And Tesh uses that to show us the rest of the school. It has a lot going for it in that regard.

This is marketed as a dark academia. It sits on the border of that. It doesn't quite hit the macabre I think. The mundane of the story shifted a lot of the mood where it didn't quite feel like a dark academia at a lot of times.

Despite my mixed feelings I do think that The Incandescent is worth a read to those who love magical school settings or those who would love to read these settings from the end of the teachers.

Very clever thesis on being a schoolteacher, and privilege and power and academia. Incandescent adolescent indeed - and the titular character being the protagonist was a great twist

This is such a smart, thoughtful take on magical academia. Rather than the usual glamour, it focuses on the everyday realities of teaching: lesson plans, difficult students, and the quiet weight of responsibility. Saffy is a wonderfully nuanced protagonist, and her voice brings both humor and depth to the story. A compelling, well-crafted read that lingers after the last page.

This magic school novel offers a refreshing twist, focusing on the teachers who must keep a group of powerful, overconfident, and reckless teens from destroying themselves and the school. The author draws from her own teaching experience, which adds a unique touch.

Easily one of the best magic school books I’ve read, it might even surpass Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy.

Saffy Walden, MThau, PhD, is the head of the Invocation department (demon summoning) at Chetwood School, an ancient boarding school in England known for producing top-tier magical talent. Her job is demanding, balancing typical teaching duties with the added complexity of a magical institution. Managing everything from quirky magical creatures to dangerous exorcisms. She’s also caught in bureaucratic turf wars with Laura Kenning, chief of the school’s demon-fighting Marshalls.

Much of the story is a slice-of-life narrative, following Walden as she supports her students; each with their own unique strengths and challenges. The book has a comforting, almost cozy feel, as Walden cares for her star pupil, Nikki, and helps others navigate their magical education and personal struggles. But there’s a looming danger in the form of a powerful demon that has haunted the area for centuries, a threat that is definitely not ignored.

What makes this book stand out is how it subverts many magic-school tropes. Magic is widely known, technology works alongside it, and students are held to high academic standards beyond just magical studies. Chetwood is both a place for magical education and a well-rounded school that emphasizes real-world knowledge. There's also some romance, particularly between Walden and the ever-competent and attractive Chief Marshall, Kenning.

This book is an absolute must-read. The author has delivered another fantastic story. Highly recommended!

I loved some desperate glory, so when I heard Emily tesh was doing a school fantasy I knew I would love it! And god did I.
This story was so clearly written by someone with a deep love of teaching and engaging with teenagers, and really made me sympathise with all my teachers from years past.
As a fellow Cambridge alum I loved the peak into the academic world I know so well, and the commentary on the social issues that come with it.
The story itself was fantastic, with some great character work and a wonderful premise! The world was the perfect amount of removed from ours that felt like you'd stepped sideways into a familiar place.
This is definitely my favourite read of the year so far, and has solidified Tesh as one of my favourite authors.

It doesn't happen often, but this time I discovered this book through Netgalley. I was scrolling through the database and the cover caught my interest. When I read this book was set in a magical school and was for readers of A Deadly Education, I was sold. I requested a digital review copy and Orbit granted me one.

It's hard to describe this book. It's not filled with action. It's not action packed. It's not really romantic. And yet, yet I was intrigued from start to finish. Especially because the book is insanely atmospheric. The author does an amazing job painting the picture of the magical school, of the dorms, the sports fields, the entire scenery. It also does an amazing job introducing us to the students and their influence in the main character of the book.

And the main character I loved most of all. It doesn't happen that often that the main character of our stories is well into her thirties, having a job and just doing her work. It's clear that she cares a lot about her school, her students and what she's doing. And despite her character flaws, she's clearly not that great when it comes to personal communication, she's so easy to love because we spend all the time in her head and mind. As a thirty-something year old myself she was insanely relatable.

On top of that I loved the magic and lore. At times the explanations of the magic feel a little academic, but that totally fits the setting and the main character. So, after making it through the beginning of the book, where things could be slightly overwhelming, I really loved seeing the demons at work, starting to understand the magic, getting a feel for the risks and the danger. Although I understand this story is told, I would be happy if the author would write more stories with this lore!