Sorcery and Small Magics

i think this book was made in a lab specifically to appeal to me. this fulfilled my itch for a character driven book like emily wilde's encyclopedia of faeries so well, and i'm incredibly excited for the rest of this series. actual review to come but this was so good

This was a relatively light-hearted story with fun characters that turned it into an enjoyable read.

Leovander is an insufferable rich-kid, with a tragic childhood incident that causes his once prodigal status to fall, leaving him with charms and cantrips. Grimm also has a tragic childhood incident, which doesn't hold him back academically but gives him the personality of a plank of wood. They can't stand the mere presence of each other, but are paired together by a teacher who I'm pretty sure secretly ships them.

The adventure in the latter half of the book was more interesting and to my taste than the initial half. It was paced in a way that allowed ample time for the scenes to take place without feeling rushed, as well as good character interactions. I loved Sybilla, and I hope to see more of her in the rest of the trilogy.

I also did expect more of a romance to bloom between Leo and Grimm, especially when they theorised two potential ways of removing the spell - felt like foreshadowing. Not only that, but I'm inclined to believe that it sneakily came into play during the events of the last scene, setting us up nicely for the sequel.

Looking forward to seeing more of Leo and Grimm (Beau too maybe?) soon!

There's a type of fantasy romance book where the story is so focused on the love interest that it almost feels like the characters are in a bubble. And I'm realizing I don't like these kinds of stories.

It's kind of hard to describe what I mean. Like, Leo is at school in the beginning, but the only time we really see him in class is when he's interacting with Grimm. It just makes the world feel very small.

On top of that, this is a slow burn in the sense that they don't even realize they like each other in this book. They'll obviously get together in a future book, since the story is SO focused on the two of them annoying each other. But don't go into this expecting the pay-off of them getting together.

 The fact that I am giving this book 5 stars even though it is in my least favorite pov (first person with fourth wall breaks) is not something i expected when i started it. To be honest i almost immediately put it down with no intention to pick it back up just because i dislike fourth wall breaks that much. But im so glad that i decided to push through my personal issues and continue reading because i absolutely fell in love with this book. 

Leo is cocky and sunshine personified and turns that up to 100 to run away from his trauma.

Grimm is a storm cloud hiding a soft heart and trauma of his own. 

And together they're a hot mess. And I adore them. 

Sorcery and Small Magics is engaging and whitty and whimsical but also deals with a lot of internal conflict and tension the main characters have. I found it to be balanced nicely and never hit a lull in my reading journey which is phenomenal for a debut.

 I'm thrilled that I was gifted an early copy from NetGalley but I'm devastated that I'll have to wait for the second book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with a copy of this book! I voluntarily leave this review!

Leovander Lovage is a sarcastic and witty character. Quick to turn to humor when things grow uncomfortable, and has a penchant for mischief. Leo has a complicated relationship with magic, and discovering his limitations is enlightening and heartbreaking. While he is a scriver, he is limited to writing small magics. Anything else grows out of control when cast. There is much Leo has buried from his past which influences how he writes magic.

Sebastian Grimm has his own difficult past with magic as a caster. And having to deal with Leo’s constant pestering wears down on his nerves. When he is paired up with Leo as his scriver, things quickly go from downright annoying to terribly wrong when a curse is accidentally included in Leo’s spells. And while at first, they think they’ll have enough time to deal with it on their own, the curse has other ideas.

Forced together to find a cure, Leo and Sebastian must embark on a quest to traverse a dangerous forest and find the one sorcerer who can help them. Leo’s going to have to learn to curb his mischievous side if they're going to make it out alive. And all the while the curse, a love spell no less, will hammer away at his emotions driving him closer to Grimm. The rivals will have quite the journey, and mishaps along the way as they search for the sorcerer.

The evolution of Leo and Grimm’s characters is entertaining and remarkable. Forced into a situation neither of them wants, they have to work together and put aside their rivalry. The curse adds an extra layer of complication, and Leo begins to second guess everything he feels. The tension between not only the characters, but the sense of running out of time heightens the reader’s experience. Coupled with sarcastic humor and witty banter, Sorcery and Small Magics is for those who enjoy magic and fantasy have to read.

I finished this book five days ago. I loved it so much that I made myself wait to write this review just to make sure I was no longer deliriously high on it and could write something that was 1) intelligible and 2) not so overwhelmingly positive that I seemed a bit out of control. But now that I’ve healed from the book hangover (the likes of which I have only seen once before), it’s still a 10/10, I have no notes, and I think I’m about to cry right now because thinking about how much I love this book makes me really emotional. Sooo, I’ve failed.

Sorcery and Small Magics is a big magical book about forgiving yourself and finding your place in the world. I easily fell in love with the main characters, Grimm and Leo, and I can’t pick a favorite but I have to say that Leo seems like he’d be so much fun. Maybe a little exhausting sometimes, but very fun. The idea of two characters that are complete opposites with more in common than they think isn’t new, but it’s done so well here that it felt fresh to me.

And the magic system! Okay. We have sorcerers, right? But they’re split into two types: scrivers and casters. Scrivers come up with and write the spells on paper. Casters take the paper and cast the spells. They must work together to create the magic. It’s an excellent system, it’s interesting and well defined, and also: Grimm is a caster, Leo is a scriver, they hate each other, and THEY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER. Yes, it’s a common trope, no, it doesn’t feel common. It feels amazing, because witnessing the slow evolution of Grimm and Leo’s relationship from rivals to reluctant allies through forced proximity is like watching a beautiful sunrise. It takes time, but it’s never stagnant as there are tiny changes happening constantly.

I don’t have the ability to visualize but the world of Sorcery and Small Magics is so believable and feels so real that I could almost see it. When Grimm and Leo had to journey together in search of a counterspell, the woods they traveled through were full of danger, and I could nearly see it all, which is an extremely rare experience for me and the mark of fantastic writing. I had a thought that I’d love to watch a movie adaptation, but those are always disappointing, so I changed my mind. Who am I kidding though? It couldn’t possibly be as good as the book, but I’d still watch it and probably love it because Sorcery and Small Magics might be my personality now.

I’m so glad this book is the first in a trilogy because I need more. It’s charming, whimsical, and funny (both haha and hehe). I cried (three times) while reading and when I finished, I yelled “AHHHHHHH!” and then cried again because I was upset it was over. The only reason I haven’t preordered a copy is because I’m waiting to find out if I can get a ride to the book launch/author talk so I can meet Maiga Doocy and get a signed copy in person (and if I can’t, I will probably cry for a fifth time, just saying).

I will be more than eagerly and less than patiently awaiting the next book!

Thank you so much to both Netgalley and Orbit Books, from whom I received an ARC of Sorcery and Small Magics. I’m almost sorry I love the book so much because I’ve seen people say they don’t trust overwhelmingly positive 5 star ARC reviews. But not sorry enough to lie 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me the ARC of Sorcery and Small Magics for an honest review. I to be very honest, I put off reviewing this book for a while because I wanted to make sure I was fair but it turns out that this isn’t going to be much of a review because I really just didn’t care for this book. I really didn’t like the main character at all and it was hard to appreciate the story. I think the writing was decent but I found Leo to be very immature and self destructive in nonsensical ways and just extremely annoying. So much so that I had to walk away from the book several times because I found him so ridiculous. I also didn’t really understand the magic system where one group writes spells for the other to cast because neither group can do both well enough to be independent from the other. So with the strong dislike of the main character and a few other quibbles there’s really not much more for me to say.