Magic and Romance Book 1: The Entanglement of Rival Wizards by Sara Raasch

 

Magic and Romance Book 1

Ali Hazelwood meets Dungeons & Dragons in this enemies-to-lovers fantasy academia romcom where rival grad student wizards are forced to work together without killing―or falling for―each other.

Will they conjure love, or evoke chaos? Two rival wizards are about to find out.

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.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222376745-the-entanglement-of-rival-wizards

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

Loved this story! No surprises there because Sara Raasch has been killing it with these MM romances! Dive into another fun world filled with fantasy academia. Our story follows Sebastian at grad student at Lesiara U who needs to win this grant in order to fund his research for his degree. He has worked hard for the last several years and this idea has been on his mind for a very long time. And he refuses to lose it Elethior and his rich, snobbish family. A family that is connected to Sebastian’s very painful past. But the research committee has other ideas. They give the grant to both Sebastian and Elethior with the condition that they work together. Their projects have the potential for some great overlap and they believe that together, the two of them can come up with great things. But working for his nemesis is the last thing Sebastian wants to do. However, it may be the best thing that ever happens to him. Forced to work together means seeing a side to Elethior he has never seen before. A side that forces him to stop making assumptions and see him for who he truly is. And who he truly is may just be the person for Sebastian. And after their first kiss? Yeah, Sebastian knows he is in trouble. I adored this story! It was a very interesting new world and I’m excited to see more of it. Sebastian was chaos and hilarious and so many other things. I loved getting to know him and seeing his walls break down for Elethior as they got to know one another. Sebastian doesn’t have anyone except his best friend to open up to and so when he finally tells Elethior some truths, it just shows how far he has come. I also love Elethior! He was Sebastian’s perfect match and had his own things to overcome. Loved, love their book! I really couldn’t put it down and I can’t wait for the next book in this series where it’s Sebastian’s best friend’s turn to get a happy ending!