The Entanglement of Rival Wizards balances academic rivals with fantastical magic. I was having a really difficult month and I kept coming back to this book. It was something I could read and managed to keep my attention! Keep reading this book review of The Entanglement of Rival Wizards for my full thoughts.
Summary
Sebastian Walsh: twenty-four. Grad student at Lesiara University in the Mageus of Evocation program. Human. The first of his family to go to college rather than the military (and it goes over at family get-togethers about as well as you’d think).
Elethior Tourael: also twenty-four. Also a grad student, but in the far more inferior Mageus of Conjuration program. Half-elf. The latest in a long line of Touraels to grace the hallowed halls of Lesiara U (what would the world do if the Touraels ran out of rich douches to lead their magical weapons manufacturing empire?).
―and the other finalist for the Mageus Research Grant.
Sebastian needs that grant to fund the last few months of research for his degree, after which he’ll get a job that actually helps people. He isn’t about to let anyone snatch this from him, least of all a snob who doesn’t even need the money because his family is loaded thanks to war profiteering.
But there’s something worse than having a conceited academic nemesis steal grant money from you: you could be forced to work with him. Thio is secretive, broody, and his stunning biceps take up far too much shared lab space―but even as volatile as their partnership is, Sebastian just might find himself falling for his rival―and it could blow up his whole future.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
In The Entanglement of Rival Wizards, I liked the different forms of magic. The world of this one had a flair that I latched onto in the book. Like the name suggests, this one delivers rival wizards and a world in which magic has an edge. With awful parents, The Entanglement of Rival Wizards focuses on friendships. This has to be one of my favorite elements and the reason I’m also so excited for the second book in this series. This book gave me “the enemy of my enemy is still my enemy” vibes. While their initial ‘romantic moment’ confused me, I enjoyed this one. Some of the tropes had some weak connections to each other, but The Entanglement of Rival Wizards was an enjoyable read.
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There are some less fluffy romance elements which I think needed a bit more space to develop, but in general I enjoyed the banter and the mix of romance and fantasy. In the month I was struggling the most this year, I fell into this one and enjoyed it. There’s plenty of chemistry and how we just want someone to fight for us. Someone to see us. In many ways, The Entanglement of Rival Wizards is about love, but it’s also how we don’t have to move ‘on’ to move forwards. Find The Entanglement of Rival Wizards on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.