| Title | : | Modern Divination (Modern Divination, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9798842785018 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 418 |
| Publication | : | First published January 30, 2023 |
Except, her gift of green magic has begun to fade, and if that wasn’t enough to upset the balance of her life, a fateful run-in with another power-hungry witch with a penchant for stolen magic has threatened to bring it all to ruin.
Cast into an unexpected alliance with her dreadfully arrogant classmate, Aurelia goes into hiding among a peculiar family of witches, where she discovers that the secret to their safety requires breaking rules she has followed all her life:
Make no promises,
Tell no one what you are,
and
Never stay the night.
Modern Divination (Modern Divination, #1) Reviews
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If you like to read about academic rivals, read this book
If you’re a winter person, read this book
If you rewatch Gilmore Girls and Supernatural every year, read this book
If you like cozy secluded settings, read this book
If you want magic and mystery but to focus mostly on the characters, read this book
Only one thing she was certain of: that Theodore Ingram had answers hidden somewhere behind his inky black veil of secrecy, and she would open him up to find them, piece by piece, even if it meant pulling him apart.
This originally came into my TBR because of the modern-corpse-bride look of the cover; the synopsis made it move to my 5-star-prediction list.
My Obligatory Taylor Swift Playlist:
-The Archer
-Anti-hero
-cowboy like me
-peace
-Snow on the Beach
“Can we pretend a little longer?” she whispered.
“If you want. Just until it’s real.” -
Eat up babies, new Howl-coded love interest just dropped!
Thank you so much to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
His heartbeat leapt under her palm; and she was Icarus, unwinding as he held her to his chest. How far would she go until it was too late? Until enough of her had melted off that she could no longer be reshaped?... Just burn me, she thought. Let both our wings be damaged.
MODERN DIVINATION is a haunting fantasy romance featuring a dark academia backdrop, a witchy mystery, a rivals-to-lovers slow burn, and a magical bookstore I would give my soul to visit.
Rivalry, like love, required some measure of possession.
More than anything, MODERN DIVINATION is absolutely dripping with atmosphere. The prose lifts off the paper like mist, lingering in your mind long after putting the book down. Agajanian conjures a vivid, precise tonal setting that allows the book itself to feel precious and mystical. It's a tale you easily get lost in, as you forget about the world beyond the one at your fingertips, instead imagining yourself amongst the patter of rain on cobblestone, with warmth radiating from a mug of tea coddled between your palms, and the smell of lavender and petrichor just wafting beneath your nose. I found myself creating entire settings in which to read, wanting to replicate the sensory experience: surrounding myself with lit candles, putting on a curated playlist, and certainly never without a cozy drink. (I highly recommend a london fog or mint chocolate tea!)
There were many burned bridges behind her, but she made a point never to look back at them, because she thought it would hurt — like a wound beneath stitches, still tender and raw. Like Orpheus damning Eurydice with his affection.
This is certainly a very character-driven story, and these characters are brilliantly raw and messy and relatable to a fellow floundering and emotionally guarded 23-year-old. I couldn't help but see myself in their hopes and in their fears. Even the times they are solidly in the wrong or delusionally crafting their own misery, I found them easy to understand and connect with. Aurelia is so wonderfully stubborn and dense and a fantastic character to carry us on this journey. Her development is so rich and her perspective is so fabulously flawed. I think everyone who has had to fight and claw their way forward in life will really see themselves in her. And though it isn't a major part of the story, I do feel as though I have to mention that she's Jewish, which of course, won her some points with me. And Teddy is SUCH a delicious love interest. I'm literally gay and yet... he's my new book boyfriend. He's so broody and whimsical, and such a haunted little bird boy. I'm desperate for more of his POV in the second book.
You’d be surprised by all the things that scare me.” “Like what?” “You. You terrify me. And torture me a bit too.”
And the romance was heart-wrenching, poetic, and timeless. Teddy and Aurelia mirror each other and play off their similarities, finding moments of contention and attraction in tandem. It was such a joy getting to watch them learn to take down their walls, bit by bit, and learn to look at each other a little deeper. I loved the way that they grow throughout the text, not just individually, but together. They bring about each other's growth through their poking and prodding and yet also through their love for each other. Their chemistry (and their banter!!!) are absolutely unparalleled. The Icarus metaphor absolutely gutted me like a fish.
“You say that like your affection is a rotten thing,” he said. Aurelia shrugged. “Because it is. Mine is. Like you said, it’s all diluted.” And it’s just you I’m rotten with.
I will say, this book had a slow start, and for probably about the first half, I felt that at times the prose got so tangled in its beauty it lost a bit of clarity. (It sadly was most definitely overworked.) But at some point along the way, it just hit its stride and balanced itself out and all of that fell away to blossom into a gorgeous piece of storytelling. And especially for an indie debut, a slow start is nothing to hold back my praise. It's been a while since I've been so entranced into a book that it forces me to stay up past my bedtime, but I had to stay up til 2:30 AM because I refused to rip myself from the clutches of this story. Even writing up this review, my fingers are itching to return to this book's pages and to fill its margins with annotations, unravelling the strings of Agajanian's narrative brilliance. And even more, I cannot wait for book 2.
To love something was to deface it—to give it a mark and change its identity forever.
MODERN DIVINATION is for the tea lovers, the Howl's Moving Castle girlies, the readers who annotate their books into oblivion, the romantics with trust issues, the underestimated academics, the purple-prose lovers, the gays, and anyone looking for a book to cuddle up with on a blustering winter night.
CW: violence, murder, blood & gore, injury detail, dead body, bullying, loss of loved one, grief, limb loss, abusive parent, sexual content, emesis -
such a strong debut and one that i’ll be thinking about for a long time. RTC
-
I think I need to stop taking book recommendations from TikTok.
I want to make a few things clear before I share my
opinions:
1)The author clearly loves their characters a lot, and invested tons of time and energy into crafting their story.
2)I don’t know where people are getting “Howl-coded” from the love interest in this book. If you pick this up hoping for a character even remotely similar to Howl, you’ll be sorely disappointed (as I was).
3)Some people have a high tolerance for self published books that haven’t gone through rigorous editing cycles, provided there’s enough “atmosphere” to sustain it. Sadly, I am not one of those people.
Moving on. This book is severely overwritten. While the author clearly has a grasp on good sentences structure and interesting vocab, they need someone with a critical eye to comb through their writing. There were so many instances of repetitive sentences and clunky word choice that could have been easily pared down. I think making this book about 40% shorter would have made it more bearable for me.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe the issues lie entirely in the lack of editing. About three-fourths of the way through I realized there really wasn’t much plot to speak of. The story seems to be held up entirely by repetitive, circular conversations between the two leads. Most of the story is spent milling around a singular location, caught in meaningless introspection. When the “climax” finally happened, it felt abrupt and quickly glazed over. The antagonist (?) was barely a character at all, and I’d be hard pressed to tell you anything about her other than the singular goal she monologued to the leads (which felt like an attempt to justify her place in the story).
Modern Divination also suffers from a bad case of telling and not showing. Almost all the information we learn is spelled out for us. Meanwhile, locations and scenes are so sparsely described, it often felt like the characters were standing around talking in an empty void.
Side note: This book is not dark academia. The first handful of chapters are set at a college (which is supposed to be Cambridge but honestly it had so little identity it didn’t feel like Cambridge). The first handful of chapters have a murder. That does not make it dark academia.
I have a feeling this book will be picked up for a traditional publishing release (à la Atlas Six). While MD wasn’t for me, I’m hoping the author gets a chance to really improve on their writing and story telling. -
THAT LETTER!!?!?!? dear god. i am so whipped. Teddy Ingram the man that you are <3
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“The way he imbued her name with devotion was a sorcery of its own merit”
I am in love with how comforting this book feels. It is a warm hug during a cold winter day.
The writing is absolutely stunning, I’m so impressed and in awe with how beautiful everything was. It is a very atmospheric witchy reading with some dark academia vibes which makes it a perfect autumnal / wintery book. It is the PERFECT enemies / academic rivals to lovers slow burn. I’ve rarely read a book that has an enemies to lovers so well written and not rushed. You can really see the development of the relationship, it is so satisfying.
A MUST READ -
and guess what the only good thing about this book is the cover😍😀👍🏼
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i'm here bc of the cover😍 -
The vibes were immaculate and it absolutely delivered on the promised Howl/Sophie dynamic. The pacing lagged in a few spots for me, especially towards the end, and there are a few plot points that I’m still confused about. But overall this was exactly what I wanted it to be.
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We had a Show vs Tell discussion at a book club just last week, and if I could time travel, I'd take this book back with me as an example of what not to do for a Tell-Only Narrative. I forced myself to make it to chapter four, and I was bored to tears the entire time.
I try to be kinder with debut authors, but man this really could have used an editor. The sentence structure was unnecessarily clunky and verbose, paragraphs started and ended in strange places, and the mc repeated her thoughts a lot? I had to reread multiple passages before I could parse what was actually written because a lot of this was utter word salad. -
3.5. I enjoyed this, and the elements that work, really work, but at the end of the day I didn't quite love it as much as I wanted to.
What I liked:
Teddy and Aurelia are both great protagonists. I especially loved Aurelia's spikiness and the way it served her as a defense mechanism. I respect a grudge-carrying girl.
The story is perfectly steeped in autumnal atmosphere, with surprisingly cozy settings: I was obsessed with the quaint small town, the coffee shop with its terrible coffee, the magical bookshop and the warm witches' cottage.
The slow burn ? Is burning S L O W and it's to die for.
What I feel conflicted about:
I literally still, at the end of the book, cannot make my mind up about the prose. At times, it seemed to snap into place for me, and it worked beautifully with the story. But sometimes - maybe more often? - I found it actively distracting.
The pacing: I like vibes over plot stories, and this is definitely one of those. But I feel like it pushes the plotlessness just a *bit* too far for me. There are too many things that I was left unsatisfied with, which leads me, unfortunately, to:
What I did not like:
Spoilers past this point!!!!!
Too many elements are set up and not revisited or resolved for my personal taste (although I know that there is a sequel planned and I will definitely be picking it up.) What the hell happened with Gemma? What's up with Teddy's parents that's so terrible he would refuse urgent medical care? Teddy blames himself for his friend's death, but later mentions he was in another city when it happened - what's up with that? How does magic even work - I'm all for soft magic systems generally speaking, but it becomes frustrating when the plot literally hinges on the function of magic and also you want to hit me with a major reveal about the main characters' magical abilities in the last act but it doesn't land for me at all because I never really got any information about how their abilities functioned to begin with.
Most egregious of all was the villain: I'm sorry, but she was just a bit... cartoonish. Her motivations are flimsy and almost comically evil, and they don't emerge until the climax, in a dramatic villain monologue. That just didn't work for me at all.
Overall I want to stress that I definitely still liked this ! I just have a lot of Feelings about it -
ending a book like that is sick and twisted MY HEART
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DNF 38%
This book is about two adults behaving like teenagers, no I take that back one adult behaves like a teen, the other like a bloody child. He is beyond insufferable and oh so broken and life has just been soooo hard on him, he treats the main character like dirt but no, he’s not a bad person, he just wants to protect her… from himself 🤣. He whisks her away from university after a student is murdered, tells her it’s for her safety and when she asks normal questions like where are we going? and what are we doing? he rage quits and tells her “you just don’t understand” LIKE OFC SHE DOESN’T and then he tells her to leave if she thinks she can take care of herself, what? This is where I had to stop reading to protect my peace.
I’m sure the writer will give him a redemption arc and she’s going to explain how there are reasons✨ for his assholery, probably something really tragic like he killed his friend Kenny, but I really don’t care. Also there’s no plot, a girl was murdered and they are likely to be the next victims, you’d think there would be some urgency but nope, they spend all they’re time arguing with each other. And man do they argue, now I myself love a good academic to rivals/ enemies to lovers, but neither character had a personality trait outside of their dislike for each other. The writing felt so repetitive, like I get it, she doesn’t like him and he doesn’t like her, move on. Give me a reason to like either of them, maybe?
NOTE: I’ve seen some people class this as dark academia. It’s not. Setting a book in Cambridge doesn’t make it dark academia. Having a girl murdered doesn’t make it dark academia. Having every character be extremely dislikable and arrogant doesn’t make it dark academic. Tbh if the writer didn’t tell me it was set in Cambridge I don’t think I’d have noticed. The descriptions were poor and the pacing was too slow to keep me interested. The prose was littered with metaphors and tried to be dramatic all the time but it just came off stilted and juvenile. All in all not my cuppa tea. -
This is real rivals-to-something-more done right.
”Because I like it when you're mean. I think that's when I like you best."
Aurelia Schwartz is a witch with a green thumb, capable of making plants grow. She’s attending Cambridge as the top student in the Medieval History programme, careful to keep her magic a secret as it can get her killed.
Aurelia spends her days warring for the favour of her professor with a tall, dark-haired boy called Theodore Ingram - her rival, her nemesis, the centre of her resentment.
They’re thrown together despite their mutual dislike in a tentative alliance when they see a witch get murdered at one of their department parties.
Aurelia’s vehement opposition to Ingram seemed so absolute. They lived to be at each other's throats with extended claws and venomous words, him epitomising everything she hated yet coveted.
This did sometimes feel frustrating at the start as it becomes clear Aurelia had festered this grievance against Ingram for years whilst he never even knew it existed. Of course he would react to her simmering contempt with similar behaviour.
That was the difference between men who grew up coddled, spoon-fed success until hunger formed only from its loss, and women who'd reached success by clawing through their own flesh.
The writing in this was beautiful. Lyrical, yet also filled with modern British terms like Tesco, sloshed that directly places you in an urban fantasy setting filled with magic, whimsy, and mystery.
It was not a love story after all— between Icarus and the sun-but an obsession, a chase.
Whilst I would classify this under the sub-genre of academia, I would also caveat it with the fact only the first 20% primarily occurs in the College. After that, they retreat to an isolated countryside cottage.
The last 20% did not to be there. The climax happened and then the plot just stopped and meandered and it felt more like fanfiction or an extremely extended epilogue.
For that reason, I’m tempted to give it a three stars, but ultimately I enjoyed the first 75% or so: 3.5🌟, but it would have been 4 if not for that last part!
I also don’t feel compelled to pick up book two when it comes out.
Bookstagram -
“It’s you I want. As you are, as I am.”
I am in love, this book is so cozy and comforting. The writing was so beautiful, a perfect fall/winter read!
Modern Divination is a cozy, contemporary, fantasy romance with some dark academia vibes. There is academic rivals to lovers, slow-burn, great banter between the characters, forced proximity, a bit of found family, magic, witches, mystery, tending to wounds, and a beautiful heart-wrenching romance.
~
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile before. Not to me. Sometimes, I’d see you smile at someone else in passing; but knowing I was there, it would vanish.”
“Because I like it when you’re mean. I think that’s when I like you best.”
The rivalry was so well written! The banter, the hatred, the groveling, the emotion was perfectly executed and the slow-burn was paced perfectly. I loved how their relationship wasn’t rushed and we got to see those flawed and stubborn moments between the characters before the development.
“You’ve seen me, she thought. You, of all people. You see me still.”
“Sometimes you feel like the only thing that’s right in my world.”
“We’re not pretending anymore, are we?”
“I’m nothing anymore if not real for you,”
“Sometimes I think I was made for you,” he said. “To be yours. To touch you like this.”
THE ROMANCE!!!! It was so worth the wait. Aurelia and Teddy were made for each other! Even when they were just rivals they both noticed those small details about each other that no one else would think twice about, they knew each other so well. I loved their development and seeing them slowly open up to each other and take down each others walls and letting one another see and understand who they really are without hiding.
They have such a deep connection. Usually I don’t like reading spice in books as it makes me uncomfortable sometimes but not this one. It was so beautifully written. The vulnerability, the intimacy, the yearning, the love! I may have cried a little; I’ll be thinking about them for a long time, they have my heart.
~
I still have so many questions!! I need to know more about Ingrams parents and their relationship and how it got to that point! And I need more of Gemma after what happened and some explanations for that! I also hoped to see more of the magic system as I felt it wasn’t thoroughly explained. And that ending!!! It was so bittersweet, the letter!!! I really hope book 2 expands on all of this!
Speaking of book 2, I need it in my hands now!
~
Some more quotes I loved !!
(Theodore Ingram is being added to the fav book bfs list)
“You’re very pretty, you know that?”
“Tell me again. While you still can.”
“We’ve never done this before,” she told him.
“Haven’t we?” He murmured. “Maybe not in your dreams but in mine.”
“And I would have brought down all of bloody London for you if I had to. If that makes me irretrievably selfish, so be it. I wasn’t going to stand by and let someone touch you. Let someone hurt you.”
“I love the way you smell,”
“I know you do, Rory. I wear this stupid thing for you.” -
Many thanks to the author for the ARC!! This review is entirely my own thoughts and will feature plenty of crying over how much I adore this book.
Modern Divination is a gorgeous contemporary romantic fantasy following our MC Aurelia as she navigates life, love, growing up and her own particular brand of magic. It’s set mostly at Cambridge and a few other spots around England and includes a touch of dark academia, a wonderfully witchy magic system, a gripping mystery plot line and some of the most beautiful writing I’ve ever come across. I’m seriously in awe of Isa’s talent because this book perfectly captured the intricate complexity of letting yourself be seen and understood by another human, with all the vulnerability that comes alongside it.
There are three things that are guaranteed to make me love a story, and ModDiv has them all in droves. First— a truly sickening amount of yearning. Seriously, the pining in this book was absolutely immaculate. I’m always a sucker for characters who are slow to love and desperate for connection, but it takes them a long time to admit that to themselves and the other person. The way Isa was able to delve into Aurelia and Teddy’s relationship as they navigated the process of chipping down each others walls and letting the other person fully know them was so, so beautiful. I’ll be thinking about their relationship for a very long time.
The second thing I love in books is atmospheric and emotional prose. There were so many lines I had to stop and reread just to get the full impact of them. Isa has such a talent for crafting the most incredible metaphors and subtle observations to capture the emotion and tone of the story. Not only was the setting and descriptions clear and evocative, the inner monologue and conversations between Aurelia and Teddy really displayed how immensely talented they are at taking something as fragile and ambiguous as the human experience and putting words to it.
Lastly, and on a more of a niche note, Teddy is my perfect love interest. Seriously— I’m in love with him. At the start he and Aurelia had such a funny and entertaining academic rival type relationship, mostly fuelled by Aurelia, that slowly moved into begrudging allies into *more*. I loved the progression of their relationship so much and thought it moved at a very natural and realistic rate. I fully believe in their relationship and loved every minute of them together. It doesn’t hurt that Teddy has that particular brand of slightly ridiculous, grovelling nature that I love in a man (I call it the Howl effect, after the indomitable Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle). He was soft in all the right places and I already want to reread it just to experience their love story again.
Overall, Modern Divination is a heartbreakingly beautiful debut from a hugely talented author and I’m so honoured I got to read the story early. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a NA romantic fantasy with a focus on character building, gorgeous prose and a relationship that will stick with you long after the final page.
The easiest five stars ever! -
Magical, heart wrenching and utterly romantic. Modern Divination falls into my category of *books that are truly something special*.
Modern Divination follows Aurelia Schwartz and Theodore "Teddy" Ingram as their lives are uprooted, and inevitably tangled together in a dangerous and magical mystery.
I absolutely adored these characters. It was so refreshing reading a story that clearly depicted young adults who do not, in fact, have their lives together. Fumbling around, doing their best to navigate the world around them. It all felt so realistic and raw. Seeing their growth both separately and together, throughout the novel, was so tender and left me missing them so much after I finished the last page!
The pacing was phenomenal. I never found myself feeling that it was dragging, or wishing for certain parts to slow down. It only took me a few days to read through (because I literally could not put it down), but it was a book that made me feel like I'd been immersed in the world of Aurelia and Theodore for years; and I love that.
The magic system was very thorough and clear, and purposely left just enough mystery for me to ponder over until the next installation in the series comes out!
Above all, the way that this story was written, is mesmerizing. The language, the mood, the atmosphere...I have so many bookmarked and highlighted sections of this beautiful book. The prose is thoughtful, soft, vulnerable and intricate. The type of words that make you want to turn the pages delicately for fear of breaking the spell. I cannot praise the author enough for the way that they made some of the most beautiful quotes I've ever read, seem so effortless.
This is a book to curl up with. A book that you hug to your chest and it hugs you back. I felt ALL of the emotions; from giggling and kicking my feet, to gasping audibly, to downright face crumpling tears.
I truly cannot recommend Modern Divination enough!
Favorite Quotes:
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"Debt, she reasoned, was a strange way to measure something that should have been love."
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"If she could keep nothing else for herself, she would have his look of unparalleled reverence branded into her mind."
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"She had planted that poisonous seed of information in his head, and somehow expected it to flower into something beautiful."
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"Throughout her brief adulthood, she had cataloged men by the way they looked at her. She had filed away all their lingering stares into a locked drawer in her mind. Sometimes, she'd resurrect them, but most went there to die. To be forgotten. It was always one look, something just long enough for her to understand how she could become what they wanted."
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Scattered Review:
- I broke my bookish rule and started folding the corners of pages I loved and wanted to come back to swim in. 10 dog-eared pages later, I’m thinking - What has this book done to me?! Agajanian’s debut surprises and delights. I just didn't expect it to take my breath away.
- I think that troop, ask-me-to-stay is quickly becoming a favorite for me. I feel like a few scenes will live rent free in my head. *more magic world building scenes please*
- Academic Rivals + found family- this is was a perfect read for autumn season.
- Filed under// Books-I-refuse-to-criticize. I think the imperfections make it kinda perfect. I’ll be showing up with my thermos of tea when book 2 shows up. -
This slowburn of a story featuring an interesting background villain/mystery, a very sad howl-coded love interest, and a stubbornly flawed protagonist was everything I needed once the temperature dropped.
I don’t even like hot drinks but this book had me CRAVINGGG hot cocoa or a warm cup of tea.
I need that sequel NEEOOOWWWWW
CW: death (including dead loved ones), murder, grief, sexual content, kidnapping, violence, blood -
RTC!
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2.5 stars
This book has a lot of show, don't tell and it's so slow but romance is cute so I will probably read second book. -
No offense, but at some point I thought I was reading a Penelope Douglas' book.
Half of it, I did not understand, I kept getting lost in some weirdly articulated prose, the other half looked like it was written by a first grader.
I will never understand why, even at 80% of the book, they were referring to the caracters by their first AND last name. When they didn't, they kept changing the way they called them, for example Theodore was Theodore, of course, but also Teddy, Ingram and Theodore Ingram altogheter in the same chapter. For God's sake, just pick one! It bothered me so, so, so much.
I don't know why I even wasted my time reading – and the author writing – the last ten chapters, they were basically usleess, the story could have folded after Leona's departure. And I'm all for a beautiful, long prose that says basically nothing, words for the words' sake, so I don't really mind a slow paced book or an empty plot if it is well written. Sadly, this one was not. It was so very chaotic, I'd argue that she didn't reread it after writing it, because there's no way you wouldn't make those much needed corrections and cuts.
The character were as confusing – and confused – as the rest of it all. Their personalities were so foggy, like why did Gemma leave? What was Leona's motive? What exactly was the purpose of Ryan? What about Alaric? I'll only excuse the child, since she was a literal child. Theodore had the potential to be great, but at times he was very, very cringe, so I can't ultimately say I liked him. Don't even get me started on Aurelia because she was a mess, the worst of it all, the epitome of the messiness of this book.
Oh and dark academia was just their 'personalities', there was no trace of an academic setting – except for the spare and rare mentions of Cambridge – nor of smart arguments. -
3.75 / 5 ✰
I'm rounding up just for the romance. ♡
I picked this book up a month ago but could not get past the first few pages. The writing was unnecessarily verbose and dense. I feel like the author used way too many descriptors to the point that some scenes were confusing and muddled. I immediately dnfed but decided to try again. I picked up right where I left off the first time. I enjoyed the story much more than before after I got used to the writing. Despite the issues I had with it, this author is definitely talented and had some very beautifully written lines. I just think it needed better editing.
The main character, Aurelia, was a little insufferable in the beginning. A little bit of "woe is me"/"nobody has it harder than me" vibes. ✨ I felt that her hatred for Teddy was uncalled for. It was to the point of obsession really and it made me uncomfortable. She was very obviously projecting her own inadequacies and resentment onto him. They would bicker for seemingly no reason. I suppose this was the point though because it gave her an opportunity to grow and be more comfortable with vulnerability. Even though she frustrated me at times, I did honestly relate to her character. She is flawed but that's what makes her human. She and Teddy were really cute together once they stopped "hating" each other. Because of the slow burn, their love felt intense and genuine. The romance is easily the best part of the book and was very well done. 💞
The plot is basically non-existent/ underwhelming. It is a very slow-paced and character-driven story. It is quiet, cozy, and magical. It mostly takes place in a cottage in a small town so there is little to no action or adventure. If it had a stronger plot and antagonist I would have easily given this five stars! I recommend if you like witches, fall/wintertime, cottagecore, and/or academic rivals to lovers.
Content warnings: Sexual content, animal death, blood, gore, murder -
THE BURN WAS SLOW BUT SO WORTH IT! I need book two immediately pls.
Modern Divination follows the slowest of burns romance between Rory and Teddy, two academic rivals who find themselves taking shelter together from a common villain. That's right! FORCED PROXIMITY. These two were so oblivious head over heels for each other but refused to admit it to themselves. Watching them slowly fall in love was beautiful.
This story is beautifully weird and creepy. It is the fall version of cottage core and I adored it! -
4.5 stars!
writing that undid me and yearning that was to die for. plus, dark academia witchy vibes and the characters felt so dramione coded <3 -
If you believe yourself to have been emotionally wronged by hot yet irredeemably arrogant academic rivals, if you have ever kept affection at bay for ego's sake, if you have ever felt pride and if you have ever felt prejudice, you may be entitled to compensation. And you may just love Modern Divination as much as I do.
Basically, Aurelia Schwartz and Theodore Ingram are studying in the same tiny, specific field at Cambridge and have come to hate the very idea of the other. Yet the find themselves irrevocably intertwined when they witness a murder at an academic social. And they suspect the murderer may be seeking them as well. Because secretly, they are both witches. And now they must rely on one another to survive.
OLIVIE BLAKE + AVA REID FANS ASSEMBLE. The writing in this book is incandescent. The verbal sparring, the arrogance, the undampened ego, and the YEARNING. My god, it was the perfect storm and I reveled in it.
"Aurelia Schwartz couldn't admit to Ryan that she was the kind of person who let a grudge fester and grow, knowing she had more than enough time to quash it...Aurelia had never been above things like jealous and ego."
Aurelia is me and I am Aurelia. But truly, I have not related to a character like this in so long. She is unapologetically ambitious. She has no time to linger on human affection and other emotions. And yet, in the darkest hours of her darkest days, can she finally lay her sword down and concede that she needs help? And that it must come in the form of the one person she refuses to consider?
"Because I like it when you're mean. I think that's when I like you best."
EXCUSE ME with this self-pubbed debut? How DARE you portray the torturous, unsure, biting journey of a true enemies-to-lovers romance so correctly? The AUDACITY of this book to portray academic rivals so at odds with one another that you feel their hatred radiating from the pages?
I will be over here wallowing alone until 2025 when the revised version comes out and you all can scream about Modern Divination with me. -
"to love something was to deface it—to give it a mark and change its identity forever."
a perfect read for the upcoming transition between autumn and winter, isabel agajanian's MODERN DIVINATION is a cozy, haunting, and tea-stained dark academia fantasy that'll steal your heart straight from your chest. when the novel opens, aurelia schwartz and theodore ingram's bitter rivalry makes civil conversation a near impossibility, but when one of their classmates is killed as part of an ongoing witch hunt, they reluctantly go into hiding together at teddy's quiet home in the countryside, where the mask of higher academia falls away and all their personal demons and vulnerabilities come to light. slowly, as they attempt to unravel the mystery that threatens them, aurelia and teddy's relationship develops into a poetic, timeless romance so full of yearning that i wanted to reach straight through the page.
MODERN DIVINATION is one of few books i've read that feels very specifically written for my interests. it contains a slow burn couple i am hopelessly in love with, a magical bookstore that feels like all my dreams made physical, an eerie and lethal mystery, an introspective character-driven focus, and a shot of inspiration straight from HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE. with its fascinating magic, vivid atmosphere, and gorgeous prose, MODERN DIVINATION is easily one of my favorite books of the year. it's difficult to overstate how much this book enthralled me, and i hope it captures you just as thoroughly. -
I have truly never been more lost on how to rate a book. This book is simultaneously a 3, 4 and 5 star read.
I feel like everything I LOVED there’s a “but” to.
The atmosphere. This book starts off with the dark academia vibes (albeit without many of the corresponding themes) and then shifts to a cozy secluded winter atmosphere (slightly cottage core?). The way the author described the weather all felt very visceral to me (MC is literally always cold, tugging on her sweater sleeves and sniffling) but I have to admit the actual visuals for what Cambridge and their house is supposed to look like felt underdeveloped (maybe assumed an understanding on the the readers part).
The romantic relationship. The dynamic between Theodore and Aurelia was everything with a well executed academic rivals to lovers trope. This book truly focused on these two characters and they jumped off the page for that reason. Their CHEMISTRY, the PINING. It was almost painful. If you want 400 pages of slow burn longing and angst look no further. They are both sad bisexual hot witches with emotional baggage like YES. There was hand touching, teacup sharing, numerous descriptions of secret smiles and long stares with eyes that ~could hide NOTHING. But then sometimes there was character inconsistencies, like Teddy was described as this charming magnetic person and then he would be blatantly rude and standoffish to people (still in love with him though). I also felt we spent so much time in the characters minds that I often lost track of what was happening in the scene. Regardless the romance was a strength.
The writing. I have never been so Jekyll and Hyde with how I feel about a writing style. It’s flowery and over written and confusing (and I’m someone who likes Olivie Blake and This is How you Lose the Time War). Sometimes the writing really worked for me (I have a million highlights saying “that’s a great line” or “stunning prose”) but other times… talk about nonsensical metaphorical tangents. I don’t often get lost reading books so I really think maybe some more editing was needed to ensure a reader can follow the general staging and mechanics of a scene. I had to reread several sections and was still like “am I missing something”. When I can’t follow the flow of an author’s thoughts it takes me out.
The magic system. The witchiness!! Green magic! Empaths! Healers! Diviners! Reapers! People who can turn into birds! Magical portal libraries!! And yet, I had zero understanding of how any of this worked. I wanted more magic use to get a better feel for it… maybe this will come in book 2?
The plot. I heard there was going to be a murder mystery element and I was pumped but this was by far the weakest element to the story. I can do a “no plot all vibes” story but this book tried to have a plot and it was so incredibly half baked. A truly flat villain that behaved so illogically and conveniently for the MCs. A climax that was underwhelming. The way that the MCs spent 80% of the book wondering “what should we do”? Just to ultimately go “let’s go to the same area we think the villain might be and see what happens”. NO plan to speak of for two of the smartest academics at Cambridge? Also the way that a side character DISAPPEARS and the main characters are like “guess they dipped” even when that went completely against that character’s personality.
I say all of this and yet I’ll admit,,, I couldn’t stop reading. It was a story that surprisingly crept under my skin despite all the flaws. I found myself thinking about it all the time. The potential of this story with some HEAVY editing is truly criminal -
It's extremely long winded with a lot...useless nothingness happening as an example, I feel like this book should have been edited a lot more. I am at 55% which is page 256 and nothing important has happened. I've now gotten to the part where something IS starting to happen and I don't know if i have the care to read anymore.
I've read a lot of the reviews before i started the book and had high hopes for this book, 55% in and i don't see the "howl coded" Teddy that others have been raving about. I also hate the trope of "Don't tell the main character anything but drag her into the mess anyway."
55% into the book, and nothing is happened or explained. In the description it talks of her power fading but all I've seen is her magic overflowing from being built up because she isn't doing anything with it and this power hungry villain? at most, we know her name.
The characters talked in circles around each other for most of the half of the book I've read and their interactions were...mediocre at best.
I think I will probably dnf this book. It's just dragging on for too long.
I'll be honest as well, I read until the half way point PURELY because I really like the cover. the cover promised me something great and instead what i read was mediocre -
4.5 ⭐️
Ruined. This book ruined me in the best way possible. If you've listened to hozier and felt the yearning only his songs make you feel, that's how this book felt. This book was like listening to lord huron on a rainy day with a cup of tea. With academic rivals to lovers, working together to combat an impending evil, cozy, atmospheric settings, little bit of paranormal, magic and mystery, witty mcs, a howl coded mmc and a character centered story, this book was stunning. The writing style is something I want imprinted on my soul. It was so clever and beautifully artistic. The characters were extremely relatable, particularly Aurelia. From the mommy issues, commitment issues, narcissism, pushing people away cause you don't know how to deal with continuity; I saw so much of myself in her its not even funny. Now for their chemistry. From the minute teddy was mentioned, you could feel the palpable yearning, and their chemistry was astronomical. She always 'hated' him, but he was nothing short of obsessed with her. I was highlighting almost everything this man said. And that ending?? I will not know peace until I get my hands on that sequel.
TeddyAurelia, you were both my favourite translation 🫶🏻
