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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was a solid book. A bit slow and not particularly engaging, but it was informative to learn more about women's dress and style in the mid 19th century.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
This was bad. I keep reading Mercedes Lackey books because I loved them in high school, but it seems like she no longer uses an editor. This reads like a Wikipedia research dump, with a sprinkling of “I read a Georgette Heyer novel for some fun slang terms”. One major secondary character’s name changed on subsequent pages, and w only actual plot took place in the last 20 pages.
I have read better unbeta’d fanfic than this.
I have read better unbeta’d fanfic than this.
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is one of Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters novels, the first one of that series I have read. It's a pleasant visit to Regency era England with two young American ladies, who are visiting to help with family business. One is an Earth Master, one is a Fire Mage and shape shifter. I enjoyed parts of the story where the ladies are concerned with matters of household management, such as how to update their wardrobe with trims and ruffles and accessories, their shopping. The class difference in England and how the characters navigate this is fascinating to me. The presence of magic and those who are mages and elemental Masters adds another layer to the typical Regency romance. There is romance, and this is somewhat of a cozy mystery as well. Recommended for fans of
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Napoleon is loose, the Year without a Summer is upon the world, and Amelia and Serena, elemental mages and cousins, have picked a terrible time to travel from America to England to help the family and find husbands. Still, Amelia has a List and if she keeps to it, all will be well. Right?
Well... right, basically. Yes, all will be well. This is an absolutely gorgeously-written rich slice of life that has zero conflict in it at all until the 90% mark, and no real driving plot until the 95% point. Now, don't get me wrong, it's lovely. I would have probably spent another 400 pages watching our main ladies trim clothing, go to balls, and be sensible about the state of the world, but I do warn anyone going into it that you will be literally pages away from the end before anything 'happens', plot-wise. Napoleon is a background fear but the protagonists will have nothing to do with him whatsoever (beyond a little insider trading), and likewise, the Year Without a Summer is just an excellent excuse to show off how competent our protagonists are at sewing warm clothes and using earth magic to make sure the locals don't starve. There's simply no conflicts; they do things to solve problems before they become problems. Even when the plot actually hits, it's so EXACTLY related to an item that is kindly given to the protagonist earlier that it doesn't actually feel like Amelia herself does anything to solve it, beyond making use of something someone else did.
It's because of that I'm giving this three stars, because it really is charming and beautifully written and I think if the plot had come in a little earlier and there had been a few more trials for the characters to overcome, it would have been a five-star read. I'd highly recommend it to someone who enjoys a slice of life regency, but someone looking for a regency romance with all the tropes won't find them here, nor someone looking for an adventure fantasy.
Thank you to Daw and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Well... right, basically. Yes, all will be well. This is an absolutely gorgeously-written rich slice of life that has zero conflict in it at all until the 90% mark, and no real driving plot until the 95% point. Now, don't get me wrong, it's lovely. I would have probably spent another 400 pages watching our main ladies trim clothing, go to balls, and be sensible about the state of the world, but I do warn anyone going into it that you will be literally pages away from the end before anything 'happens', plot-wise. Napoleon is a background fear but the protagonists will have nothing to do with him whatsoever (beyond a little insider trading), and likewise, the Year Without a Summer is just an excellent excuse to show off how competent our protagonists are at sewing warm clothes and using earth magic to make sure the locals don't starve. There's simply no conflicts; they do things to solve problems before they become problems. Even when the plot actually hits, it's so EXACTLY related to an item that is kindly given to the protagonist earlier that it doesn't actually feel like Amelia herself does anything to solve it, beyond making use of something someone else did.
It's because of that I'm giving this three stars, because it really is charming and beautifully written and I think if the plot had come in a little earlier and there had been a few more trials for the characters to overcome, it would have been a five-star read. I'd highly recommend it to someone who enjoys a slice of life regency, but someone looking for a regency romance with all the tropes won't find them here, nor someone looking for an adventure fantasy.
Thank you to Daw and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was enjoying the story until I got to the end. If choosing a kind husband for her or her cousin was so important, and if she turned down [spoiler] because he wasn't kind, then WHY did she decide he was okay to marry her cousin?? Why?
Many, many years ago, a friend of mine was trying to get her husband, a published author, to read some of her favorite writers. She gave him what she thought was the strongest book, the middle volume of a trilogy. He handed it back to her, only half-read, and complained, "The first action doesn't happen for fifty pages and it happens off-screen!" My friend and I hadn't noticed, since we had read multiple series by the author and knew and enjoyed the characters' interaction prior to the off-screen attack.
I now fully understand the husband's frustration.
In this episode of Lackey's magic-filled alternate history, the first action happens on page 309. The book has 325 pages.
Up until a conflict finally happens, the book is a fairly boring tale of two young women from North Carolina arriving in England not long after the War of 1812 is done and making their way through high society on cheat mode. Of course them being elemental mages opens doors - they easily win the protection of Lord Alderscroft (probably the grandfather of David Alderscroft who features in a few other books in the series). Much is made of the fact that they are very competent and capable, used to pulling their weight at home in both daily and magical chores. When needed, they are stellar dancers and singers, so they can impress yet more of the aristocracy and be invited to yet more events. And we are reminded over and over how superior these girls are to the society around them, with their abolitionist views, democratic ways, and virtuous insistence on helping as many people as they possibly can.
With the frequent mention of Hunts, situations where mages are needed to deal with dark or evil magic, I kept expecting our heroines to be called upon to join or insist on joining a Hunt and prove their magical worth. Never happened. With the underlying thread of the titular list (Amelia's criteria for rating potential bridegrooms for herself and her cousin Serena), I expected more romantic intrigue. Never happened. A single gift from one of those impressed aristocrats is the only foreshadowing for the climax of the book.
One of the reasons I grew to love this series was the way it played with classic fairy tales. But two recent entries that I haven't read are Sherlock Holmes fanfic, one appears only to have been written to include a song lyric as a pivotal moment, and this one doesn't appear to have a tale at all. There are some uses of the historical background of Napoleon's wars, but again, such events are far away and don't have much direct impact.
Speaking of fanfic, this feels like fanfic of "Pride and Prejudice", with Miss Amelia developing a grudge against one of the highborn lords after overhearing his conversation and slapping down a very condescending marriage proposal. The text is full of lists of clothing and furnishings that only demonstrate that Lackey apparently found a lot of extra vocabulary in whatever reading or research she did and wanted to show it off. She still has an editor phoning it in - Lord Alderscroft is introduced as Roger but his wife thinks his name is William.
I am glad I used a library for this book rather than spend money on it. If the next book is as bad as this one, I'm likely to give up on reading Lackey for good.
I now fully understand the husband's frustration.
In this episode of Lackey's magic-filled alternate history, the first action happens on page 309. The book has 325 pages.
Up until a conflict finally happens, the book is a fairly boring tale of two young women from North Carolina arriving in England not long after the War of 1812 is done and making their way through high society on cheat mode. Of course them being elemental mages opens doors - they easily win the protection of Lord Alderscroft (probably the grandfather of David Alderscroft who features in a few other books in the series). Much is made of the fact that they are very competent and capable, used to pulling their weight at home in both daily and magical chores. When needed, they are stellar dancers and singers, so they can impress yet more of the aristocracy and be invited to yet more events. And we are reminded over and over how superior these girls are to the society around them, with their abolitionist views, democratic ways, and virtuous insistence on helping as many people as they possibly can.
With the frequent mention of Hunts, situations where mages are needed to deal with dark or evil magic, I kept expecting our heroines to be called upon to join or insist on joining a Hunt and prove their magical worth. Never happened. With the underlying thread of the titular list (Amelia's criteria for rating potential bridegrooms for herself and her cousin Serena), I expected more romantic intrigue. Never happened. A single gift from one of those impressed aristocrats is the only foreshadowing for the climax of the book.
One of the reasons I grew to love this series was the way it played with classic fairy tales. But two recent entries that I haven't read are Sherlock Holmes fanfic, one appears only to have been written to include a song lyric as a pivotal moment, and this one doesn't appear to have a tale at all. There are some uses of the historical background of Napoleon's wars, but again, such events are far away and don't have much direct impact.
Speaking of fanfic, this feels like fanfic of "Pride and Prejudice", with Miss Amelia developing a grudge against one of the highborn lords after overhearing his conversation and slapping down a very condescending marriage proposal. The text is full of lists of clothing and furnishings that only demonstrate that Lackey apparently found a lot of extra vocabulary in whatever reading or research she did and wanted to show it off. She still has an editor phoning it in - Lord Alderscroft is introduced as Roger but his wife thinks his name is William.
I am glad I used a library for this book rather than spend money on it. If the next book is as bad as this one, I'm likely to give up on reading Lackey for good.
This book doesn't read like a Regency romantasy. It reads like a mediocre history textbook of the Regency, with occasional bits of plot sprinkled in. Just when you think you're finally about to get some character development, you get buried in 20 pages of unnecessary detail about how morning visits (or ladies' dress, or servants, or carriages, or something) worked in the Regency period.
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced