Bodies of Magic [Marske, Freya]

Author: Freya Marske

Grey's Anatomy meets A Deadly Education in this dark academia fantasy from USA Today bestselling author Freya Marske.

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.

Publisher: Macmillan Publishers (MPS)
Published: 09/15/2026
Pages: 464
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781250341655

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 06/01/2026 pg. 72
Booklist 07/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 07/27/2026

About the Author
Freya Marske is a USA Today bestselling author and has been nominated for three Hugo Awards. Her books include Swordcrossed, Cinder House, and A Marvellous Light, which was an international bestseller and won the Romantic Novel Award for Fantasy. She lives in Australia.