June 20, 2022
Atwater concludes her Regency Faerie Tales series (after Ten Thousand Stitches) with a sweet standalone fantasy that combines mystery, magic, and queer romance. Abigail Wilder, the 18-year-old ward of the Lord Sorcier of England, would much rather study magic than attend balls or afternoon teas with her aunt. When the young ladies of London’s high society start dying in their sleep unexpectedly, the Lord Sorcier suspects a dark magician may be the culprit. Eager to prove her magical abilities, Abigail jumps at the chance to investigate. With the help of the ghost of her eight-year-old brother, Hugh, and Mercy, a self-taught magician whose strange appearance and powerful faerie magic are as mysterious as they are enchanting, Abigail digs into the deaths—and along the way, learns that there’s more to Mercy than meets the eye. Abigail and Mercy’s chaste, slow-burning romance is endearing and the supporting cast are a fun and vibrant bunch, including some familiar faces for returning readers. Atwater ties things up perhaps a bit too neatly in an epilogue that jumps far forward in time, but getting there is diverting enough that many won’t mind. This is a delight.
July 29, 2022
Building on the exceptional world building of her first two Regency Faerie Tales (Half a Soul, 2022, and Ten Thousand Stitches, 2022), Atwater's latest is a charming, magical romp through the rich beau monde of historical England and deep into the wilds of Faerie as a sinister force conjures ghosts in an attempt to cheat death itself. After being saved from the clutches of a dastardly faerie lord, Abigail Wilder is now back in England living as the Lord Sorcier's adopted daughter and honing her magical talents with varying results. A series of mysterious deaths among the ton catapults her into an amateur investigation and introduces her to Mercy, a magic-wielding laundress from the realm of Longshadow. The two join forces, traipsing through both London and Faerie in search of a killer. Mistaken identities and shocking motives give way to a satisfying conclusion, and the epilogue offers enough happily ever afters to warm even the most hardened of hearts. Atwater's considerable writing skills are on full display here as she fleshes out a rich cast of characters from all ends of the magical spectrum. With Longshadow, she has crafted a low-stakes mystery that will linger.
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