“The Freshmen’s Potion” is Natalya Alexina’s novel, the first book in the “Witch Secrets” cycle, genres: romantic fantasy, humorous fantasy, and adventure fantasy. When you enter a Higher School of Magic, what do you plan on doing? Studying and showing yourself from a slightly experimental— but still the best—side. And brewing potions the scientific way, not burning targets to a crisp with spells. But it turns out it all goes a little differently, and sometimes completely against common sense. Mainly because we, modest initiates, brew potions that require specific ingredients. A bit of friendship, a handful of brawls with bruises, battles for the heart of a beautiful lady, pointy-eared problems, and gloomy teachers.