Rating: 
Summary: A College of...something
Review: I bought this book based on the advice of my best friend. She and I are basically obsessed with reading and if it has any type of a romantic relationship in it we're that much more for it. She didn't tell me a thing about the book, wanting not to spoil it, but I thought it would be great, seeing as how the word "MAGIC" appeared in the title. I don't deem myself a practicing witch or of a like nature, but I do believe in magic and love books of the mystical kind. BUT...when there is hardly anything related to the title of the book IN the book, it's rather dull and misleading. I don't see this as being a book for those under 16, mainly because its long and you have to be totally enthralled in every other word to follow it all. But the thing I didn't like was that the subject of love (Faris and Tyrian) #1- took so long and was very minor at that, #2- there's no way for them to be together at all in the end. I was totally into the book until that last 20 pages or so.
My idea of this book was that it should have been filled with magic, soft romance (nothing at all hard core or lucrid), and a somewhat of a happy ending. Call me sappy, but thats my nature.
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Summary: I loved this book!
Review: I have read this book about three times now, I loved thecharacters and the storyline.END
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read
Review: I just love the imagery in this book! The descriptions of places, clothing and food are perfect. I've read this book many times over and I always come away from it wanting to get well tailored clothing. This is also an amusing read for anyone who has been, or will be going to an All-Female school.
Rating:
Summary: dreamy sexy awesome
Review: I love Caroline Stevermer so much. Okay the book:
Faris Nallaneen is a really cool name. And...when you read the book, you get a picture of her in your mind, thin but shapely (aesthetic) slightly unkempt vivid red hair, long sharp nose, very fair skin. Yes, super aesthetic. She's that cool.
And Jane is extremely well put-together, mentally. I want a best friend who's that competent. And the study-halls, warm and cheery and non-parented, and the gloomy castle college, it's all so English and Victorian without the stuffiness, I love her world. And it just never gets boring...it's not really a deep book, or a likely to be chosen for English class book. It's a woman who loves to write, writing, and it's such a gift that she would write, her writing is so unaffected, unprofessional and easy to fall into. For me. Not everyone but hmm yes very happy about this book. And sad too because the ending is queer.
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Summary: I loved this book.
Review: It reminded me sort of LM Montgomery + Diana Wynne Jones. Its a warm and comfy book with a spunky heroine and just the right amount of intrigue, danger and boarding school. The ending left me wanting more.
Rating:
Summary: Subtly exquisite
Review: It's a classic. I think you should read it. The characters, the plot, her style of narration, is all perfect.
Rating:
Summary: A good read despite flaws but little interest for children
Review: My attention was caught by the claim of a cover critic that this book was better than the Harry Potter novels. Not true, but not a good comparison either because this book is not even remotely similar to those works and it is certainly not written for children. (Not that it contains 'adult' material- it doesn't at all- but it would likely be of very little interest to most children who like Harry Potter because of slower pace and more difficult language.) Since much of what I'll be saying about 'A College of Magics' is going to be a bit negative, I do want to mention that, overall, I do think it is quite an interesting fantasy novel. Even though it is designed to appeal more to women, after I got past a few of the duller sections it held my attention quite well to the end. And the end itself is quite good in its avoidance of the obvious cliche's. Here are the things I DON'T like about the book: * The title is very misleading. While there is certainly 'A College of Magics' in the novel, it is probably less interesting than most schools of dentistry. It really plays no major role in the book and, with a few minor alterations, could have been left out completely. It is a definite disappointment to someone like myself who was actually interested in reading a book about a college of things magical. * I could bring myself to care about the main character but she was entirely too reactive. If the author's intention was to portray Faris as a symbol of strong, independent womanhood, she failed utterly in that. When she does something it is always because she is provoked and the much vaunted Greenlaw school seems to help very little in letting her gain self control. * The character of her companion Jane is alternately overly competent and annoyingly insipid. 'Overly' competent because she does things it would have been better left to Faris to do to show more of her capability throughout. * A minor character, Odile, is used for a specific purpose in the book and dropped from the story completely after that. She was far more interesting and would have made a companion of much better contrast than Jane. * And last, but certainly not least, was the annoyingly cliched use of a sexually active woman as the villain. Ladies, could we get a grip here and try not to perpetuate the kinds of Patriarchal attitudes I'm sure you really dislike? After reading the book, rather than comparing it to Harry Potter, I would tend to say that it bears some similarity to the Deryni books of Katherine Kurtz. I love the Deryni books but I do hope Caroline Stevermer can avoid the kind of excesses in multiple pages of clothing descriptions that sometimes clutter them. There is really no need to compare this book to other works as it stands nicely on its own. With all its flaws, it still manages to draw you in and make you care about what happens until the end.
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Summary: Excellent quasi-historical fantasy!
Review: Set in the early twentieth century, A College of Magics is pleasingly peopled and carefully plotted. Faris, the young duchess of Galazon, is simply delightful, as are her 'menial paramour,' dastardly uncle, and malevolently beautiful arch nemesis. These characters, far from being mere caricatures, are often humorous and lively. Clever dialogue and many surprises abound. If you enjoy this type of quasi-historical fantasy, also try Patricia C. Wrede's Snow White and Rose Red, set in Elizabethan England and Mairelon the Magician (and its sequel, Magician's Ward) set in quasi-Jane Austen England. For excellent reads from the Victorian era, try Teresa Edgerton's Goblin Moon. Lastly, Caroline Stevermer has written two other books well worth reading: The Serpent's Egg (again, set in Elizabethan times) and her collaboration with Wrede-- Sorcery and Cecelia.
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Summary: Stevermer successfully combines wit, romance, and suspense.
Review: Stevermer successfully combines wit, romance and suspense into a brilliant and touching book. Readers fall in love with characters and the only dissapointment is that there isn't more to read once your done.
Rating: 
Summary: The WORST book I have ever read.
Review: The only thing keeping me from burning this book halfway through it was my streak of finishing every book I had read. (some get better as you go) But this one was truly terrible. The author followed no logical progression for the events and the magic was so weak as to be non-existant. Their was no clear plot. The setting of a Europe with magic, which could of been interesting, turned out awful. I would have burned the book when I finished it, but it was not mine so I had to return it to the library so some other poor soul could read this abomination. Worst book ever!
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