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A review by just_hebah
Brother's Ruin by Emma Newman
4.0
Nothing gets my readerly attention faster than a Victorian or steampunk-looking bit of art on a book cover, and this one drew me like a magnet. When I got close enough to see a blurb by favorite author Gail Carriger, I was absolutely sold.
Brother's Ruin did not disappoint. Charlotte Gunn is an engaging protagonist, a Victorian woman constrained by expectations of society and--this part made the set-up worthwhile and refreshingly original--utterly used to be underestimated and using that to her advantage. She's a marvelously complex character, talented and moderately ambitious, yet still not really wanting to draw attention to herself because to do so would mean being shunted away to the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts and away from her loving fiance George, whom she would not be able to marry were she conscripted.
Add to this plenty of engaging suspense, both from the threat of the discovery of her magic and the threat to her father's well-being in the guise of a malicious debtor, and it's a page-turning romp. I devoured this in one sitting, enjoying both the resolution of the deftly-handled plot threads and the tantalizing promise of more to come in its sequel. I do worry that a love triangle is being set up between heroine Charlotte, her gentle fiance who has no idea of the talents of his beloved, and a character who sees Charlotte for exactly who she is and relishes her competence; that said, the character dynamics would make this a fascinating dilemma, so I'm willing to keep going and see how it plays out.
Newman's complex heroine and world of magic in a Dickensian London are exactly my catnip, and I can't wait to read more.
Brother's Ruin did not disappoint. Charlotte Gunn is an engaging protagonist, a Victorian woman constrained by expectations of society and--this part made the set-up worthwhile and refreshingly original--utterly used to be underestimated and using that to her advantage. She's a marvelously complex character, talented and moderately ambitious, yet still not really wanting to draw attention to herself because to do so would mean being shunted away to the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts and away from her loving fiance George, whom she would not be able to marry were she conscripted.
Add to this plenty of engaging suspense, both from the threat of the discovery of her magic and the threat to her father's well-being in the guise of a malicious debtor, and it's a page-turning romp. I devoured this in one sitting, enjoying both the resolution of the deftly-handled plot threads and the tantalizing promise of more to come in its sequel. I do worry that a love triangle is being set up between heroine Charlotte, her gentle fiance who has no idea of the talents of his beloved, and a character who sees Charlotte for exactly who she is and relishes her competence; that said, the character dynamics would make this a fascinating dilemma, so I'm willing to keep going and see how it plays out.
Newman's complex heroine and world of magic in a Dickensian London are exactly my catnip, and I can't wait to read more.