DRC Review: The Geomagician by Jennifer Mandula
- Story Eater
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Release date: 31 March 2026
Rating: 2.5/5
Synopsis: When a Victorian fossil hunter discovers a baby pterodactyl, she vows to protect him, with the help of a fellow scholar—her former fiancé—in this enchanting and transporting historical fantasy.
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.
Review
I had high hopes for this one. The synopsis gives the impression it shares commonalities with The Secrets of Ormdale series (highly recommend that one and that author). It started that way. I also thought it would be a nice, cozy, sweet, historical fantasy with a dash of romance. It started that way. In fact, just about all the expectations I had for this book based on reading the blurb hit the mark until about halfway through, and then the book starting slipping further from it. I wish I could say the book was amazing, but I can only say it was mildly okay in part yet wholly disappointing.
I'll begin with the inaccuracy regarding the period in which the book takes place; though the synopsis puts the setting during the Victorian era, the author gives a specific year in the book—1829—which comes before that time. The monarch mentioned is a woman, which could mean Victoria ascended the throne early (it is speculative and alternate reality fiction), but I didn't read any kind of details offering explanation or context for the seeming error. If Victoria were in fact queen early, she'd be 9 or 10. It's all small beans unless one finds that bothersome and a hindrance for truly immersive fantasy, which I do. There are other inaccuracies and anachronisms, etc. regarding other historical details as well. I won't nitpick all of them.
Though I do quite like that the romance isn't central to the plot, I'm still irked at whatever romance was there. Much of the irk comes from my taste, as I don't like second-chance romances, and if I do like one, it must be craftily done. I haven't read one yet that has. I don't feel the main character's wit and intelligence level line up well with the circumstances surrounding Henry and Mary coming together again. I also don't like love interests with hearty doses of arrogance, whether perceived or otherwise.
Coincidentally, about a month before I started The Geomagician, I began reading Dr. Gerta Keller's The Last Extinction, a very intriguing foray into the debate in parts of the scientific community about how the dinosaurs met extinction and whether an asteroid impact or Deccan volcanism spelled their doom. I could be annoyed at Mary because I projected onto her a standard I arbitrarily set based on my newly found respect and admiration for Dr. Keller. I don't think so, though, it is wildly serendipitous I happened to read the two almost concurrently, despite not knowing the former existed before I read the latter.
Overall, 2.5/5 rounded down to 2. Separately, the elements of the novel make for a great story, but they need a bit of culling and better focus to make them successfully cohesive. I kept reading mainly because of the relationship between Mary and Ajax, which got overshadowed and felt a bit convenient and forgotten by the end of things.
Content advisory—for those who try to read clean, this book may not be suitable, as it contains copious amounts of explicit language and sexual content.
My thanks to Del Rey for the DRC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.