SIBYLLINE

Three friends are devastated when they receive letters of rejection from Sibylline College of Magical Arts, the Ivy League equivalent “for the magically inclined”; little do they know that danger lurks behind its hallowed stone walls.

Desperate to understand their own powerful forms of magic, Raven Chen, Atticus Garcia, and Dorian Winthrop leave New York City for Vermont, taking staff jobs at the college in hopes of slipping into lectures and accessing lesson plans. Ensconced in strategic positions around campus, they quickly discover that the school isn’t the idyllic institution of learning they’d imagined it to be. Its history is filled with dark secrets, and when someone turns up murdered, the administration seems to know more than they’re letting on. To expose the truth, the trio must push their magical abilities (and their tangled feelings for one another) further than ever before, even if it means shattering the glittering facade of the country’s most elite magical college. This duology opener, with its shadowy library, cobblestone streets, and bookshop cafe where the characters eat cinnamon rolls, captures cozy dark academia at its best. However, too much time is spent rehashing the trio’s romantic feelings for each other, diluting the central mystery. An unexpectedly explicit sex scene toward the end feels jarringly out of place relative to the rest of the book, making the intended audience unclear. Names and physical descriptions cue ethnic diversity among the cast members. Dorian presents white.

Richly atmospheric but unevenly executed.