The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones

Name: The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones
Brand: Hachette New Zealand Ltd
SKU: 9781399624640
Price: 31.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

Discover the next dark academia sensation from the instant New York Times bestseller

By Lex Croucher

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Brief Description

From instant New York Times bestseller and Nero Award-shortlisted TikTok favourite Lex Croucher comes your new dark academia obsession...Briar always dreamed of going to the elite Temple School of Thaumaturgy. Briar's best friend, Seb, just wanted them to stay together.When Seb gets in and Briar doesn't,... Read More

Format: Paperback / softback

$31⁹⁹

Elsewhere:

~~$37⁹⁹~~

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The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones

$31⁹⁹

Elsewhere:

~~$37⁹⁹~~

The Secret History meets witches in this explosive fusion of dark academia and fantasy romance following an aspiring magician who fails to gain admission to the UK's only school of magic...

Expect tyrant prefects, trials-by-sorcery, queer found family fighting the establishment, and childhood friends-to-rivals-to-enemies-to-more.

Description

From instant New York Times bestseller and Nero Award-shortlisted TikTok favourite Lex Croucher comes your new dark academia obsession...

Briar always dreamed of going to the elite Temple School of Thaumaturgy. Briar's best friend, Seb, just wanted them to stay together.

When Seb gets in and Briar doesn't, their relationship is shattered. Until, on the cusp of their final year, Briar secures a summer job sorting through the old magical textbooks strictly forbidden from the students who know how to read them, finally gaining entry to the notorious ivory tower to see what their closest friend has become and to learn, at last, who really controls the secrets of magical selection...

Dark academia meets fantasy in this timely page-turner about a student who fails to gain admission to the UK's only school of magic but then finds their way there years later and unearths the ugly secrets simmering behind its ancient walls - unmissable for fans of Babel by R.F. Kuang and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

PRAISE FOR LEX CROUCHER:

'Exactly what I needed right now' ALICE OSEMAN
'A total, rollicking delight' CASEY MCQUISTON
'Fun and genuinely funny' RAINBOW ROWELL
'I loved this book to a degree that's slightly ridiculous' BECKY ALBERTALLI

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781399624640

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 June 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Gollancz

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 320

Collections

Fantasy Fiction General Fiction Horror & Supernatural Lex Croucher New Release Science Fiction & Fantasy Books Romance Romantasy (Fantasy Romance) Sci-Fi & Fantasy

About the Author

With a background in social media for NGOs, Lex Croucher's books include adult Regency romcoms Reputation, Infamous, and Trouble (Zaffre); and YA medieval romcoms Gwen and Art Are Not in Love and Not for the Faint of Heart (Bloomsbury). Gwen and Art Are Not in Love was an instant New York Times bestseller, winning the Books Are My Bag Readers' Award for Young Adult Fiction as well as being shortlisted for the Café Nero Children's Fiction Award. In 2023, Lex was also one of four authors shortlisted for the inaugural TikTok Book Awards. You can find them on Twitter @lexcroucher and on Instagram and TikTok @lexcanroar.

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