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A review by lucyp21
Caroline's Heart by Austin Chant
4.0
I've read Coffee Boy , also by Austin Chant and really enjoyed it. I bought this book a while ago and finally got around to it, enjoying it just as much as I did Coffee Boy.
Caroline's Heart is about Cecily, a witch who is trying to bring her dead lover back to life, working on ranches in the USA during the late 1800s. Roy is a cowboy on one of the ranches and is completely fascinated by Cecily. When he gets fatally injured, Cecily has to sacrifice her one chance at bringing her lover back to life.
I really liked this book. The characters, Cecily and Roy, were as developed as they could be for a novella, the plot kept me guessing right up until the end and I absolutely adored the setting. This is set in an alternate United States where magic and clockwork are known, if not commonplace, and it is integrated within the story beautifully. I never felt lost about what was what in this world and I loved the descriptions of the magic, it's powers and limitations. The writing style also perfectly matched up with this magical setting because the lyrical, slightly whimsical style suited the plot and the setting really nicely.
A mention goes to the two main characters who are both trans and in Roy's case, it is also Own Voices. I felt like this was handled really well (something you generally expect with Own Voices) and written nicely in the setting. Though the word trans is never mentioned, it is more than obvious about what the gender identity of the two main characters are.
This is definitely a novella I would recommend. 4.5 stars!
Caroline's Heart is about Cecily, a witch who is trying to bring her dead lover back to life, working on ranches in the USA during the late 1800s. Roy is a cowboy on one of the ranches and is completely fascinated by Cecily. When he gets fatally injured, Cecily has to sacrifice her one chance at bringing her lover back to life.
I really liked this book. The characters, Cecily and Roy, were as developed as they could be for a novella, the plot kept me guessing right up until the end and I absolutely adored the setting. This is set in an alternate United States where magic and clockwork are known, if not commonplace, and it is integrated within the story beautifully. I never felt lost about what was what in this world and I loved the descriptions of the magic, it's powers and limitations. The writing style also perfectly matched up with this magical setting because the lyrical, slightly whimsical style suited the plot and the setting really nicely.
A mention goes to the two main characters who are both trans and in Roy's case, it is also Own Voices. I felt like this was handled really well (something you generally expect with Own Voices) and written nicely in the setting. Though the word trans is never mentioned, it is more than obvious about what the gender identity of the two main characters are.
This is definitely a novella I would recommend. 4.5 stars!