THE ARCANE ARTS follows Rawlins and Ellsbeth as they explore the limits of arcane magic at the university level. Ellsbeth’s sister died at the beginning of the book but she is determined to figure out what happened, even though the police insist it was suicide. She decides to enroll in Newlyn’s graduate program to work with the famous Dr. Thaddeus Rawlins. She wants to write her thesis on the outlawed “writ magic”. It is a kind of magic that can control others, physically or otherwise. You get the idea pretty quick that she is pursuing studying (academically of course) illegal magic in order to get the answers from the police. Rawlins, for his part, is excited to have a student willing to cross lines for the sake of discovery. An affair ensues, and gets quite steamy. Of course they are both holding out on each other and if you add manipulation magic to the mix, who is being honest with what?

This book features an affair between a professor and his student, but I think it addresses the issue well. There is no sense of trickery, at least on Rawlin’s part. He understands the power dynamic, having experienced it from her angle before. There is no happy ever after but the resolution of the affair was hopeful in the end. I particularly loved the epistolary moments. Rawlins and Ellsbeth write emails back and forth. They help guide the affair into fruition. The themes of consent and power flow throughout the book (in both spicy and non-spicy ways).

The magic system was complicated and involved the use of mathematics and calculus, though thankfully doesn’t go much into those details. As the reader, you get what you need to understand what happens and to guess what might happen. It was fantastic. I especially love how the kinky use of magic actually comes back later to be used outside of the bedroom and thus you, as the reader, are able to understand everything that happens.

This story bridges genres to me. It is Romance, it is Fantasy; all through the lens of Dark Academia. It has nerdy research and imaginary sources, secret societies, and dark rituals. And S.D. Coverly is actually a pair of co-authors! Dana Schwartz and Dan Frey wrote this one together; I would assume for their respective gendered characters. It gave them both interesting personalities and dark secrets that each withheld from the other. If you enjoyed books like RED CITY by Marie Lu or NINTH HOUSE by Leigh Bardugo, then this one will be right up your alley.