At the Academie of the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, every mage with the healer's gift has five years to master their power and to prepare for the infamous Grand Exam-a five-day trial whose results will determine their entire future.

The list of exam rules includes:

·        You will perform five practical cases.

·        Your exam group is chosen at random.

·        You pass together, or fail together.

It does not include:

·        On the first day, your exam group will find a classmate's dead body in the exam hall.

And as they will soon discover, this particular group all have something to hide... and all have a connection with the dead girl, a brilliant scholar who would have been first in their class.

Five scholars. Five secrets. Five days in which to solve a murder, pass the most important exam of their lives, and uncover a secret larger than all of their own combined. One with the potential to change the world.

Are you ready?

Let's begin.

Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske is a brilliant fantasy mystery with a unique magic, an absorbing story and incredibly engaging characters that will sweep you into their world and keep you riveted until their secrets are revealed and the death of their classmate is solved.

Part of what makes this story so incredible is that each character gets a solid plot and a resolution. Their lives involve working together as a team but I also like how their lives are rearranged by talent and love. The connections between them, the friendship built over the course of just a few days is well-written and I love the complex world that Freya Marske has built, one that demonstrates her medical background.

If you like detailed and believable healing magic, a murder mystery using magic, and a fantasy novel with LGBTQIA characters that are all friends, then this novel is for you. I won't tell you how the novel is resolved, if it is a happy ending but I can tell you it is a solid murder mystery set in a fantasy world and I loved every minute of this book. I can only give it my highest recommendation.

Rating: 5 out of 5 bodies ~~ Andrea Rittschof

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