Colleen Cowley

I really enjoyed this. I guess I would call it speculative fantasy as it’s not quite historical. The book is set in a version of modern-day America changed by the discovery of magic 100 years previously, and having a late 19th/early 20th century feel. The setting seemed predominantly Neo-Victorian to me though and, perhaps because of this, I struggled to imagine how some of the more modern elements, such as cars and fridges, fit in. I don’t know if it was the author’s intention but show more eventually my mind settled on a combination of Suffragette-era and 1950s aesthetic. In any case, the book offers an interesting take on how the discovery of magic might have affected the development of society, particularly regarding women’s rights. I loved the magical system, though I was hoping for more background to it – e.g., how was it discovered, why Old English for the spells? What I really loved most about the book though were the two main characters and the development of their relationship. This was “enemies-to-lovers” done well, with convincing chemistry between two people struggling with an unfair power dynamic (something I found fatally lacking in the last book I read, which just happened to also deal with an uneven power dynamic, ahem, Girl with a Pearl Earring). I’m looking forward to the next book in this series and more from this author. show less

Anything I enjoyed this much I had to give five stars. It’s not five star as in this-changed-my-life or this-is-a-work-of-staggering-genius. More in the sense of I smiled early and often--and that’s how I ended the book too. More in the sense of I made the mistake of starting this late and found myself watching the sun rise because once started I didn’t want to stop. More in the sense that I loved the characters and would like to spend more time with them--if this isn’t the beginning show more of a series, then I guess I’ll just have to read this again--and again.

The biography on Cowley’s website says that her “favorite sort of fantasy is present-day. Because there’s such possibility in the idea that something magical could be happening right under your nose.” That’s a lot of the charm of The Opposite of Magic. Cowley added that when she first encountered the Harry Potter books in her twenties, she “would occasionally dream” she was at at Hogwarts. And that is what her debut book reminded me of--Harry Potter. In a good way--although I see some playful allusions to it, this isn’t some Harry Potter clone like Riordan’s Percy and the Olympians books.

For one, if this is a Harry Potter, it’s definitely one for grown-ups. Our heroine Emily Daggett is a twenty-something--an adult--one of the faculty at Ashburn College. Even if, especially at first, she displayed the curiosity and sense of wonder of an eleven-year-old. When she discovered magic she reminded me of that fan in Galaxy Quest when told “it’s all real.” The sharp-tongued Alexander Hartgrave intrigued me from the beginning. The man had a certain flair; as the author put it, “even his compliments were insulting.” He reminded me of Professor Snape--if Snape were an IT director and more sexy than surly. I relished his clashes with Emily.

But really the way the novel is reminiscent of Harry Potter is the whole idea of hidden magic in our ordinary world. The magical system and basic premise itself though isn’t quite like anything I’ve read. But the bottom line is that it’s just such a witty and fun book to read with lots of memorable turns of phrase, great sense of pace and a nicely twisty plot. In the interest of full disclosure, I did receive a free copy of this ebook from the author for early review--but no strings. Truly, a good read--I loved it. show less

After the first few chapters, I thought this was some blatant feminist circle-jerk for feminists that need a bigger enemy to fight against or something, and that I would just have to dnf pretty soon. But I have to give credit here, it turned out that the author put a lot more nuance into this aspect of the story. It is, unsurprisingly, still very much a feminism-focused story to the point where it can get very annoying even if you don't have any sexist prejudice or backward show more conservative/traditional/religious ideas about women.
But it isn't some unreasonable and one-sided manifest against men.
With that out of the way, let me get to my actual problems with this book.
I am sad to say that the world-building doesn't hold together in the slightest which compromises the entire plot as well.
The core idea is actually much more interesting in practice than it sounded in the blurb.
And on the surface, at least at first, it seems like this could actually be very entertaining.
Even many of the core plot points and conflicts are well-designed to make for a good story.
But it all frays at the edges from the start until everything unravels.
I usually give a book the benefit of the doubt if it starts with an unbelievable premise or some illogical initial setup. There is this initial grace period where a book can basically ignore common sense to get to some interesting starting point.
But I expect that beyond the premise and its surroundings that a story tries to stay internally consistent.
This one does not. The author just makes shit up along the way constantly without having any backing explanation whatsoever.
And these are not just some minor details, the majority of the entire plot and world-building is made of these bizarre additions.
What is even more baffling to me is that this very much seems like it's all planned out and not just some spur-of-the-moment addition or a discovery-written story.
But the building blocks from which the story is built are one more absurd than the other.

The writing style is very enjoyable, I had no problem connecting to the character and the plot pulled me in but the further I got the more I disconnected because nothing makes any sense towards the end.
The ending is just a "to be continued" without any real climax or anything. But towards the end there the logical consistency problem spread to the characters' reasoning as well which made less and less sense either. This loss in character coherence at the end there is what ultimately made me rate this only 2 stars. show less

If You Love Magical Romance, You'll Love This!

Author Colleen Cowley has produced a novel with all my favorite elements: romance, humor, adventure, and magic. Her heroine is a young woman I could identify with: a quirky introvert with a bookworm's love of magical adventure. Her hero captured first my interest and then my heart. He is difficult, disagreeable, and mysterious. What woman could fail to be attracted by such magnetism? Oh, he does have charisma, believe me, with his unconventional show more appearance, the long dark duster that he wears almost like a superhero's cape, and his seeming inability to stay away from our heroine, who finds him both irritating and fascinating. Their dance of attraction begins to agitate slowly, threading details of the hero's secrets and hints of his past into the tapestry of their relationship. As the dance quickened, I found myself growing a bit breathless as I, too, fell under the spell of Alexander Hartgrave, the irresistible enigma - so much so that when the actual adventure commenced with a bang, I couldn't read fast enough to find out everything I wanted to know. The climax of the adventure was unexpected and perfectly executed by this talented author. I found it to be an enormously satisfying read, and I urge you: read now! You'll want to thank me - but thank the author instead, for the gift of this well-crafted tale. show less