A review by songwind
The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner

adventurous emotional funny reflective relaxing sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What a wonderfully fun book.

Set in a faux-Victorian secondary world, this book has a lot going on for such a face paced story. The POV character, Delly Wells, starts the story just scrambling to stay housed, and completely hopeless. Her life has become a mosaic of drunkenness, scams, and one night stands trying to keep her head above water and make life halfway tolerable while she does so.

One run in with the police and a bit of quick thinking later, and Delly's managed to con herself into a bodyguard job on the strength of her skills as a fire witch. Things quickly escalate and complicate from there. There is a murder plot, bounty hunting, a love con, undead mice, and more. By the end of book, a great many things (and people!) have changed, and more than a few did not go the way Delly Wells thought they would.

Highly recommended.
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