Magical Readathon: Orilium - Autumn Equinox 2025 - Wrap Up & Mini Reviews

Happy Friday everyone!  Today, I'm sharing my wrap up and mini reviews for my Autumn Equinox 2025 classes at Orilium for the Magical Readathon, hosted by G. @ Book Roast.  You can check out my original tbr here.  This semester I took four courses: Elemental Studies, Inscription, Restoration, and Lore with an O in Elemental Studies, a D in Inscription, an O in Restoration, and a Q in Lore for a grand total of seven books to read.  I completed all of them and I have now officially graduated as a Master Scribe.  I can't wait to pick a new calling for the Spring Equinox of 2026.  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read for this challenge:

Elemental Studies

O - Stormcall - Water on the cover

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton is a solid mystery thriller. I didn't feel as invested in it as I had hoped to given how much I enjoyed The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The world-building and the ship itself were probably my favorite elements of the story.  I also liked that the lead duo somewhat reminded me of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.  Now, I just wish I felt more strongly for the characters one way or another.  I also felt like the book was a little too long overall even if I appreciated the detail.  

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Inscription 

O - Magic of Primes: Prime number of letters in the title

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ 

Craven Manor by Darcy Coates may not be the greatest novel, but I still absolutely loved it. It's perfect for the spooky season and it had plenty of twists to keep me hooked. My favorite element though was the characters. I really appreciated Daniel's outlook on life and surprisingly Bran became the character I was the most interested in. From where this started I wasn't expecting to want a sequel to it, but I would like to see what Daniel gets up to a few years down the road.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Q - Archiving - Vertical spine title

❋ ❋

Death Comes As Epiphany (Catherine LeVendeur #1) by Sharan Newman isn't terrible, but I realized pretty quickly I wasn't as interested in the characters or the story as much as I thought I would be. That said I did like the realistic look into medieval France.  I don't think I'll be continuing this series.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

D - Animal Training Runes: Animal on the cover

❋ ❋ ❋

Seven-Year Witch (Witch Way Librarian Mysteries #2) by Angela M. Sanders was quite a step up from the first installment, but it still isn't a favorite. For me the weakest element of this are the characters, but at least now the magic is  there whereas it felt like an afterthought more than anything in book one. This book definitely reminded me of why I loved the Magic Ex Libris series by Jim C. Hines. I'm sure Isaac Vainio and Josie Way would make a great team as magical librarians.

My review is also on Goodreads and the StoryGraph.

Restoration 

O - Unbroken Focus Tincture: Single POV

❋ ❋ ❋

Back to the Future is one of my all time favorite movies, so it's an experience to read this novelization, Back to the Future (Back to the Future #1) by George Gipe, which was based on an earlier version of the screenplay. This wouldn't be bad at all if you've never seen the film, but otherwise it's just a bit weird seeing how scenes could have been. Plus, the performances of all of the actors, and especially Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd really add to the story. Let's just say Marty and Doc are much more likeable onscreen. Also, the movie's sense of humor and pacing definitely works in its favor. One of the things that I wish was added to the film from this, though, is the scene where George talks to his dad, Arthur McFly, about applying to college. It's depressing, but it gives Marty more insight about his dad's outlook than anything else up to that point.  I would say that fans of the movie might want to give this a try.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Lore

O - Forgotten Tongues: Translated book

❋ ❋ ❋

I can't believe I've finally read the last book in the series, The Troubled Man (Kurt Wallander #10) by Henning Mankell, even if I've still got 4 left somewhere in the middle. I don't know why I've done this out of order.  It's another solid installment of the series.  It may not a favorite, but I do still enjoy seeing what's next in it.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Q - Ancient Post: Letter or notes on the over or inside the book

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

It was definitely interesting to read Suffolk Summer by John T. Appleby.  Appleby was an American soldier who impression cycled around Suffolk, UK towns taking brass rubbings during and just after WWII. I really liked being able to see the photos of a variety of the places and things he discusses.  Anyway, I also thought I'd mention that on the inside cover of my copy "7 Wyndham Way, Newmarket".  Of course, I had to see if there was still a house there in Google Maps which there is.  Then, I zoomed out to see what towns and other places of interest are nearby.  It turns out that Grantchester is about 22 miles away. Seeing that inspired me to see do Street View in front of The Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Mary which is the real church used in show (if you couldn't guess, Grantchester is one of my favorite shows).  Anyway, it turns out they were doing some filming for season 10 the day that the Google Street View car drove by in October 2024.  Isn't that cool?!  Just think if it wasn't for John T. Appleby's book I would have had no idea.  Wow!  If you'd like to see the Street View, you can check it out here.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Did you participate in this readathon?  Have you read any of these books?  As always, thanks for visiting and perhaps even commenting down below!