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thestoryowl's review against another edition
3.0
I liked learning more about the magic in this world and I loved seeing Sophie and Grey in a new location.
sarahdelucchi's review against another edition
4.0
Out of the whole trilogy this is my least favorite but still amazing. A little slow in the beginning but it might’ve been because it had been a couple months since I read the first one which was one of the best books I burned through it! That said by the end of this book they were moments where my heart was pounding and I had to slow down from reading ahead. Also it leads into what might be my favorite book in the whole series the third one!
kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
A lot more magicking and dramatic tension in a Scottish Highlands setting... I adore the world that Ms. Hunter has created. She continues to develop both the world and the characters in this second book of the series. I think I will need to own these...
darquedreamer's review against another edition
3.0
Lady of Magick started off really slow for me! I felt like it didn't pick up pace until about half way through. I had really enjoyed the first one, and was looking forward to this one. Once it picked up, I had found myself caught in a web of mystery, betrayal, and a coup against a kingdom, but it took way too long to get there. I felt like this one could have been better. The world and characters were familiar, but needed more depth and development. The plot twists in the second half of the book were intriguing and entertaining, but I wish the first half of the book had had more. I will most likely read the next book, but may not be so quick to pick it up.
felinity's review against another edition
5.0
Somehow I forgot to post the review when I'd finished, even though I must have written this at least four times in my head! (And naturally they were all far superior to this...)
I hadn't realized [b:Lady of Magick|24612072|Lady of Magick (Noctis Magicae, #2)|Sylvia Izzo Hunter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1422215805s/24612072.jpg|44223153] was a second book when I requested it, but enjoyed it so much I didn't care (other than immediately putting book 1 on my to-read list).
Set in an alternate version of Britain, here Roman influence is still strong, Practical Magick is a popular subject for mages while legal magickal ethics creates many discussions, Scotland (Alba) has remained separate from the rest of Britain and we're up to Henry Tudor the Twelfth, making it just that little bit different from regular history but close enough to be familiar, just as Din Edin's streets may be familiar to readers... but this was only a tiny part of the charm.
Gray and Sophie's relationship, while relatively easy, still required work on both sides. Learning a new language had its own difficulties as well as rewards, friendships were built through scrapes as well as proximity, politics is messy, and rushing to the rescue requires both planning and patience as well as support. The combination of magic, history and realism made it a winner.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I hadn't realized [b:Lady of Magick|24612072|Lady of Magick (Noctis Magicae, #2)|Sylvia Izzo Hunter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1422215805s/24612072.jpg|44223153] was a second book when I requested it, but enjoyed it so much I didn't care (other than immediately putting book 1 on my to-read list).
Set in an alternate version of Britain, here Roman influence is still strong, Practical Magick is a popular subject for mages while legal magickal ethics creates many discussions, Scotland (Alba) has remained separate from the rest of Britain and we're up to Henry Tudor the Twelfth, making it just that little bit different from regular history but close enough to be familiar, just as Din Edin's streets may be familiar to readers... but this was only a tiny part of the charm.
Gray and Sophie's relationship, while relatively easy, still required work on both sides. Learning a new language had its own difficulties as well as rewards, friendships were built through scrapes as well as proximity, politics is messy, and rushing to the rescue requires both planning and patience as well as support. The combination of magic, history and realism made it a winner.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
chrispy's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
frootjoos's review against another edition
5.0
Fans of fantasy and romance need look no further than Sylvia Izzo Hunter's Lady of Magick for an entertaining read full of royal intrigue, daringly disobedient young ladies, and regional politics. When her husband Gray is invited to a foreign university as a guest lecturer, twenty-year-old Sophie Marshall (the recently reinstated "Lost" Princess Royal of England, Edith Augusta) rejoices, having heard that unlike Merlin, her current Oxford college, the Alban magic schools treat women no differently than men in terms of what they are allowed and expected to do. Tensions between Alba and England are at a low boil, but eventually she and Gray are granted leave to go abroad. At least she can rely on her wits and magick (and a pair of her father's undercover agents) to keep her royal identity relatively under wraps.
When an alliance is announced between their heir and an English prince, the news kicks off protests and unrest in Alba. Determined to stick it out to the end of the school year at least, Sophie relies on new friends to help her and Gray stay safe while continuing their teaching and studies. Meanwhile in London, Joanna, as an aide to Gray's brother-in-law Lord Kergabet, tries to juggle discretion in her work with the desire to keep her sister safely informed of problems looming on the horizon. Things take a turn for the worse when Gray is kidnapped, and a conspiracy starts to emerge signaling that mounting political pressures are about to erupt.
I adore the relationship between Sophie and Gray, as for all their newly-weddedness, they're rarely precious. They have interests and friends besides each other, but manage to balance those priorities with more pressing matters, like, say, the fate of several kingdoms. Those looking for clean-ish reads will appreciate Hunter's fade-to-black approach to love scenes. (And may I remind you that they're husband and wife?) That said, the novel isn't solely focused on heterosexual relationships, but introduces platonic and homosexual ones as well, however some of the latter may as yet be unexplored. I suspect we'll find out more about it in the next book (I sure hope there's a next book!)
Some readers may find the wordiness tedious, but those who find the rather rambling and inverted syntax of Austenian dialogue charming will find it likewise in Lady of Magick. Those hoping for greater mystery or suspense element will likely be disappointed to figure out the plot early on, while Sophie struggles with decisions over whom to trust, the answers may already be fairly transparent to the reader. I myself may have to re-read the second-to-last 30 pages or so as I sped through them, trying to see if I was correct in my deductions (I was).
Hunter manages to take a fairly frivolous first impression (young marrieds study magic abroad) and turn it into a thoughtful, brilliant tapestry, adding depth and a layer of seriousness to what could have been a purely escapist yarn. The author also does a credible job of weaving the intricate threads of world-building and characterization to produce a substantial, yet still thoroughly diverting tale of drawing rooms, state lines, family ties, and ancient power.
When an alliance is announced between their heir and an English prince, the news kicks off protests and unrest in Alba. Determined to stick it out to the end of the school year at least, Sophie relies on new friends to help her and Gray stay safe while continuing their teaching and studies. Meanwhile in London, Joanna, as an aide to Gray's brother-in-law Lord Kergabet, tries to juggle discretion in her work with the desire to keep her sister safely informed of problems looming on the horizon. Things take a turn for the worse when Gray is kidnapped, and a conspiracy starts to emerge signaling that mounting political pressures are about to erupt.
I adore the relationship between Sophie and Gray, as for all their newly-weddedness, they're rarely precious. They have interests and friends besides each other, but manage to balance those priorities with more pressing matters, like, say, the fate of several kingdoms. Those looking for clean-ish reads will appreciate Hunter's fade-to-black approach to love scenes. (And may I remind you that they're husband and wife?) That said, the novel isn't solely focused on heterosexual relationships, but introduces platonic and homosexual ones as well, however some of the latter may as yet be unexplored. I suspect we'll find out more about it in the next book (I sure hope there's a next book!)
Some readers may find the wordiness tedious, but those who find the rather rambling and inverted syntax of Austenian dialogue charming will find it likewise in Lady of Magick. Those hoping for greater mystery or suspense element will likely be disappointed to figure out the plot early on, while Sophie struggles with decisions over whom to trust, the answers may already be fairly transparent to the reader. I myself may have to re-read the second-to-last 30 pages or so as I sped through them, trying to see if I was correct in my deductions (I was).
Hunter manages to take a fairly frivolous first impression (young marrieds study magic abroad) and turn it into a thoughtful, brilliant tapestry, adding depth and a layer of seriousness to what could have been a purely escapist yarn. The author also does a credible job of weaving the intricate threads of world-building and characterization to produce a substantial, yet still thoroughly diverting tale of drawing rooms, state lines, family ties, and ancient power.
readaroundtherosie's review against another edition
3.0
Really enjoying being in this world! The magic is so interesting and well-detailed.
claire_michelle18's review against another edition
4.0
I really love the world building in this series and the fact that Sophie has really come into her own as the heroine. Genuinely gripping mystery and I found the setting of an unconquered, independent Scotland fascinating.
misskrislm's review against another edition
3.0
Hunter has done a wonderful job of following her last novel with this sequel. Unlike many series writers, she has lost nothing in characterizing her world and people in transferring them from the original tale to the follow-up, and into a different setting.
In this book, Hunter picks up shortly after where she left us in THE MIDNIGHT QUEEN. Gray ans Sophie are more or less happily living their lives at Oxford before being given the chance to travel to a neighboring country for a lecturing opportunity. It is in this new location, once again isolated from all they knew and loved, that allows them to grow as individuals and a couple, along with their dear old friends, and some new ones.
Well done, Hunter. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't less satisfied with the sequel than with the original.
In this book, Hunter picks up shortly after where she left us in THE MIDNIGHT QUEEN. Gray ans Sophie are more or less happily living their lives at Oxford before being given the chance to travel to a neighboring country for a lecturing opportunity. It is in this new location, once again isolated from all they knew and loved, that allows them to grow as individuals and a couple, along with their dear old friends, and some new ones.
Well done, Hunter. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't less satisfied with the sequel than with the original.