Early Review – The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy/ Cozy Fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: March 31, 2026
ASIN: B0F88WRKVG
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Mary Anning wants to be a geomagician—a paleontologist who uses fossils to wield magic—but since the Geomagical Society of London refuses to admit women, she’s stuck selling her discoveries to tourists instead. Then an ancient egg hatches in her hands, revealing a lovable baby pterodactyl that Mary names Ajax, and she knows that this is a scientific find that could make her career—if she’s strategic.

But when Mary contacts the Society about her discovery, they demand to take possession of Ajax. Their emissary is none other than Henry Stanton, a distinguished (and infuriatingly handsome) scholar . . . and the man who once broke Mary’s heart. She knows she can’t trust her fellow scholars, who want to discredit her and claim Ajax for their own, but Henry insists he believes in the brilliant Mary and only wants to help her obtain the respect she deserves.

Now Mary has a new mystery to solve that’s buried deeper than any dinosaur skeleton: She must uncover the secrets behind the Society and the truth about Henry. As her conscience begins to chafe against her ambition, Mary must decide what lengths she’s willing to go to finally belong—and what her heart really wants.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this on ebook through NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this, it sounded like a story that I would really like, and it was. The story has Victorian London vibes to it but blends that in with an alternate history were witches are real and others can learn to be geomagicians and use magic for a cost.

This is about a fossil hunter, Mary, who really wants to become part of the geomagician society in London, only issue is they don’t allow women in the society. When she accidentally finds a real live pterodactyl, things start to change. Unfortunately, political unrest in London starts to unravel everything, making her personal ambitions pale in view of civil unrest over basic human rights.

I enjoyed all the discussion about fossils, and liked the world as well (it has subtle Victorian overtones). I didn’t realize how politically heavy this was going to be, and I am not big into politically heavy reads (especially with the world as it is at the moment). However, the political aspects are tightly tied into the rest of the story and were generally well done.

I enjoyed the idea of reliquaries that hold magic and people having the ability to sell their magic. This is the main back story behind the political unrest here; the poor in London end up having to sell their magic for a pittance, and the rich in London buy up the magic and use it for excess.

Some things that held me back from loving the story were that it just wasn’t as exciting as I hoped. I mean we are talking about living dinosaurs! I think the most dire thing that happens (dinosaur-wise) is that the pterodactyl nips at someone. The pace here is also fairly slow.

I also was a bit disappointed in how the characters were portrayed at times. Mary thinks she has friends, but they are constantly helping her only when it suits their ulterior motives. This leaves Mary thinking that everyone is only helping her for their own gain (which at times that is true). While I appreciated the character complexity, I got tired of the undertone that everyone was out to get everyone else.

I will definitely keep an eye out for future books by Mandula. This was an enjoyable read after having a slew of DNF reads.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. I liked the Victorian setting with some alternate historical elements such as magic and witches. I enjoyed delving into the fossil science here as well. I generally liked the characters but wished that there wasn’t such an overtone of everyone being out for themselves. I do wish that the pace had been a bit faster and the story had been, well, just more interesting. However, this was a well done cozy fantasy read with complex politics and some intriguing magical aspects. There is a bit of romance in here as well but it very much not the main focus of the story. I would recommend to those looking for a magical, cozy, fantasy read; especially if you don’t mind some politics and science mixed in.