The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones

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