Rachel Greenlaw’s The Ordeals emerges as a formidable entry into the dark academia romantasy genre, weaving together deadly magical trials, political intrigue, and heart-stopping romance in a narrative that refuses to pull its punches. This atmospheric debut in what promises to be a compelling series establishes Greenlaw as a novelist unafraid to explore the shadows lurking beneath the glittering surface of magical education.
A Heroine Forged in Shadows
Sophia DeWinter arrives at Killmarth College carrying more baggage than most hopefuls dare dream of. Bound by a blood contract to the enigmatic Collector—a figure who has shaped her through fear and manipulation since childhood—Sophia views the prestigious magical academy as her sole escape route from a life of servitude. Greenlaw crafts a protagonist who embodies genuine grit rather than manufactured toughness, someone whose survival instincts have been honed through genuine trauma rather than convenient backstory.
The author’s portrayal of Sophia’s psychological landscape feels authentically complex. Her relationship with the Collector reads less like typical fantasy villain dynamics and more like an examination of psychological abuse and control. When Sophia finally breaks the blood bond that has tethered her to her tormentor, the moment carries genuine emotional weight because Greenlaw has invested in showing us the psychological chains that bind her heroine.
The Brutal Poetry of Killmarth’s Trials
The titular Ordeals form the spine of this narrative, and Greenlaw demonstrates remarkable creativity in designing challenges that test far more than magical prowess. The first trial—a poison garden gauntlet that transforms hopefuls into werewolves if they fail—establishes the book’s commitment to consequences that matter. When competitors don’t return from the Morlagh forest, their absence haunts the narrative rather than serving as mere plot convenience.
Each subsequent trial escalates both the physical danger and psychological pressure. The Ordeal of Illusions forces competitors to confront their deepest fears and traumas, while the maze challenge blends mind-bending spatial puzzles with genuine mortal peril. Greenlaw’s magic system feels lived-in and consequential, where power comes at a price and magical exhaustion carries real risks.
The author’s background in atmospheric writing shines through her descriptions of these trials. The poison garden writhes with malevolent beauty, while the illusion challenges feel genuinely disorienting rather than merely described as such. Greenlaw understands that dark academia works best when the academic setting itself becomes a character—beautiful, dangerous, and ultimately unknowable.
Romance That Burns Beneath the Surface
Alden Locke enters the narrative as Sophia’s insufferably confident botanist partner, and their relationship evolution provides one of the book’s strongest emotional throughlines. Greenlaw navigates their enemies-to-lovers arc with genuine psychological insight, allowing their initial antagonism to stem from legitimate character conflicts rather than manufactured tension.
The romance develops organically through shared danger and mutual respect earned through genuine trials. When Sophia and Alden finally connect on deeper levels, their intimate moments feel earned rather than obligatory. Greenlaw writes their physical relationship with appropriate heat while maintaining focus on the emotional vulnerability that makes their connection meaningful.
What elevates this romantic subplot above typical fantasy romance is how it interweaves with the larger narrative stakes. Their relationship becomes both refuge and liability as the trials intensify, forcing both characters to grapple with competing loyalties and impossible choices.
The Shadows Behind the Academy
Where The Ordeals by Rachel Greenlaw truly distinguishes itself is in its gradual revelation of Killmarth’s true purpose. What begins as a prestigious magical academy slowly unveils its role as a training ground for an impending supernatural war. The “Great Hunt”—a cyclical invasion by vampiric entities called “cold ones”—provides the book’s overarching threat while commenting on how institutions exploit young people’s dreams for larger political purposes.
Greenlaw’s vampires feel genuinely threatening rather than romantically appealing. These creatures hunger specifically for magical blood, making wielders both powerful and perpetually vulnerable. The author’s decision to make these monsters feed on magic itself creates a predator-prey dynamic that feels fresh within the crowded vampire fiction landscape.
The political machinations behind Killmarth’s facade provide the narrative with genuine depth. When Sophia discovers that the Ordeals serve as both education and military recruitment, the revelation carries weight because Greenlaw has shown us the human cost of this system through characters we’ve grown to care about.
Technical Mastery and Minor Missteps
Greenlaw’s prose carries the atmospheric weight necessary for effective dark academia while maintaining the pace essential for thriller elements. Her descriptions of magical wielding feel visceral and exhausting, while her dialogue captures the distinct voices of her diverse cast without falling into archetype traps.
The pacing occasionally stumbles during exposition-heavy sections, particularly when revealing the larger political machinations behind Killmarth’s operations. Some revelations about Sophia’s parentage and magical heritage feel slightly rushed, though this may serve the larger series arc rather than diminishing this particular volume.
The author’s handling of violence deserves particular praise. The magical trials carry genuine stakes because Greenlaw doesn’t shy away from showing their consequences. When characters die, their deaths resonate through the narrative rather than serving as mere plot devices.
A Fresh Voice in Fantasy Literature
The Ordeals succeeds because Rachel Greenlaw understands that effective dark academia requires more than atmospheric descriptions and academic settings. The “dark” in dark academia must emerge from genuine psychological and moral complexity rather than superficial gothic trappings. Sophia’s journey from victim to survivor to potential hero feels authentically earned rather than predetermined by genre expectations.
The book’s exploration of trauma and recovery through its magical trials creates thematic depth that elevates the material above simple adventure fantasy. When Sophia faces her worst memories in the illusion trials, the psychological weight feels as dangerous as any physical threat.
Greenlaw also demonstrates remarkable skill in balancing her romantic subplot with larger narrative concerns. The relationship between Sophia and Alden enhances rather than overwhelms the story’s broader themes about power, institutional manipulation, and the cost of survival.
Recommended for Readers Who Crave Substance
The Ordeals by Rachel Greenlaw will particularly appeal to readers who enjoyed the psychological complexity of Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House, the institutional darkness of R.F. Kuang’s Babel, or the romantic tension within dangerous magical settings found in Rebecca Ross’s Divine Might. Fans of Holly Black’s Book of Night will appreciate Greenlaw’s approach to magic systems with genuine consequences.
This book offers more substance than typical romantasy fare while delivering the emotional satisfaction that genre readers seek. Greenlaw has crafted a world where magic comes with costs, where academic institutions serve darker purposes, and where survival requires more than raw power.
The Verdict
The Ordeals announces Rachel Greenlaw as a significant new voice in fantasy fiction, someone capable of balancing romantic satisfaction with genuine literary ambition. While the book occasionally struggles with pacing during its more exposition-heavy moments, these minor issues pale beside its considerable achievements in character development, world-building, and thematic depth.
This debut volume in what promises to be an compelling series establishes both a heroine worth following and a world worth exploring further. Greenlaw has created something that feels both familiar enough to satisfy genre expectations and fresh enough to surprise seasoned fantasy readers.
For anyone seeking dark academia that earns its darkness through genuine psychological complexity rather than aesthetic choices alone, The Ordeals delivers exactly what its title promises—trials that test not just magical ability but the very essence of who we choose to become under pressure.
Similar Books You Might Enjoy:
- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
- Babel by R.F. Kuang
- Divine Might by Jenna Wolfhart
- Book of Night by Holly Black
- The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
- A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik