We chat with author Sara Raasch about The Entanglement of Rival Wizards, which is Ali Hazelwood meets Dungeons & Dragons in this enemies-to-lovers fantasy academia romcom where rival grad student wizards are forced to work together without killing—or falling for—each other.
Hi, Sara! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Sara Raasch, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of now thirteen (!!) books. (Wow, when did that happen?) My books range from teen historical romantasies to adult fantasy romcoms such as THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE KISSMAS and, most recently, THE ENTANGLEMENT OF RIVAL WIZARDS!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I was very cliché in that I always wanted to be a writer! My earliest memories are of wanting to see my book on shelves, and tagging along with my cousins to sell handmade books at their lemonade stand. Luckily, I’m not relegated to hawking my books on the side of the road anymore. Or handmaking them, because letsbehonest, that is not where my skillset lies.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Felicity the American Girl series. I was wholly obsessed with Revolutionary War America as a child, and that says pretty much all you need to know about me.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Sharon Shinn’s Twelve Houses series. It was the first high fantasy book I read that showed me what could be done with sweeping, immersive world building.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Anything by Jordan L. Hawk. I scream about their books with my whole soul any chance I can get, especially their Whyborne and Griffin series. Steampunk historical queer romance, plus Lovecraftian monsters, plus it’s a twelve book series where each book contributes seamlessly to the overall plot and the main couple never breaks up? That series is magic incarnate.
Your latest novel, The Entanglement of Rival Wizards, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
OH THIS QUESTION IS MEAN. Wait, those don’t count as my five words, do they? Crap, focus, Sara.
Okay, five words, for real this time:
Magic STEM Caleb/Essek (one word? One word) bi disasters
What can readers expect?
Magic STEM Caleb/Essek bi disasters. Just gonna use that as my official plug now.
THE ENTANGLEMENT OF RIVAL WIZARDS follows human wizard Sebastian as he competes for a grad school grant against his academic nemesis, half-elf wizard Elethior. They hate each other so much. So very much that they end up kissing. And there’s an invisible fox familiar and discussions about the military industrial complex and pranks as a love language.
Where did the inspiration for The Entanglement of Rival Wizards come from?
My editor suggested my next project be some kind of magic STEM book, and I was immediately like “No way, once magic is science it stops being magic,” and then I sat with it for a moment and went “Wait…but wizards are magic scientists, basically?” Wizards, to me, mean Caleb and Essek from Critical Role’s Campaign Two, so I knew I had to do an homage to them. Thus, my magic wizard grad student scientists with war criminal vibes were born!
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I got a kick out of writing Sebastian’s fox familiar, Nick. He’s invisible and a terror, and I love him.
But I also really loved writing Sebastian’s relationship with his best friend, Orok. I adore writing best friend dynamics, and they were so squishy and supportive of each other. I love them fiercely, and I was so stoked to revisit them in Orok’s book!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
I never went to grad school, so I had to do a ton of research into how exactly that institution works. I asked friends who graduated from grad school programs and did as much online research as I could, and I hope I’ve done it justice, at least enough to pass as a magical fantasy version of a graduate program!
What’s next for you?
Sebastian’s BF gets his own book! THE FAKE DIVINATION OFFENSE comes out May 19, 2026, and follows Orok, now a star athlete, as he’s forced into a PR relationship with a feisty, fan-favorite cheerleader. This book is sports romance meets DND with religious trauma, fake dating, size differences, and a possessive mc!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?
I’ve been reading a lot of poetry books to refill my word well, and I was really moved by FOREST OF NOISE by Mosab Abu Toha. I also had the pleasure of reading an early copy of I KILLED THE KING by Rebecca Mix and Andrea Hannah, a YA closed door fantasy murder mystery that comes out this fall – it was so clever and fun! And Chip Pons’ WINGING IT WITH YOU was delightful and steamy!
You can find Sara on Instagram, Tumblr, and TikTok.
