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A review by bellatora
Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman
5.0
This book started out slow - it dumps you into a semi-complicated scenario and tosses you between several characters. But it is absolutely, positively worth it to keep going. This is one of the best new fantasy series I have read recently.
The story is set in three interconnected worlds – our world in the 21st century (Mundanus), the fae world (Exilium), and the place in-between (the Nether). The Nether citizens are not fey themselves but are instead "fae-touched." I believe that means that they are humans whose ancestors made some deal with the fae to serve them in exchange for magic and eternal youth in the Nether. The fae in Exilium are trapped in Exilium. It is a beautiful prison and they hate it. While they control the families of the Nether, they are prevented by pacts and such from interfering with Mundanus.
Although it's the 21st century, the people in the Nether remain in a society that is more closely related to Regency England. It is not explained exactly why this is. Maybe they just always stay about 100-200 years behind the times, because their society evolves less slowly than ours (and without the technology and social pressures that force changes)? Maybe during the Mundanus Regency period, everyone in the Nether was still acting like it was the Rennaissance.
Nether society is supremely constricting: women are considered property, family honour is everything, and there are balls and fancy dress. Every family has a Fae patron, who must be listened to, or else dire consequences occur.
There’s also Arbiters, humans who have agreed to have their souls placed in jars so that they are emotionless and incorruptible. Until apparently most of the Chapters in England get corrupted. Why don’t they call in other countries’ units? Unclear.
And there’s Sorcerers who have epic magic to rival the Fae lords (who appear to be the ones who put the Fae lords in Exilium and then created the Arbiters to make sure they couldn’t leak their power into Mundanus. This is not spelled out per se, but it seems like what happened).
That's the basic setting. The plot involves Cathy, a Nether lady who managed to escape to Mundanus, but is dragged back basically kicking and screaming once Lord Poppy (her family’s patron) finds her. her family forces her to get engaged to Will, a member of another powerful family. Cathy and Will have a classic Pride and Prejudice love story and I can't wait to see how it develops. Cathy hates Will, seeing him as a symbol of her captivity. Will is a dutiful son and will do what his family asks, but is frustrated with Cathy's bitterness and plainness. But they are both strong, intelligent, honorable people with a shared love of Mundanus (Will is recently returned from a Grand Tour of the Mundanus world). It's clear that when Cathy and Will finally open themselves up to each other, they will have a love strong enough to take on the rigid Nether society.
Another major player is an Arbiter named Max whose soul gets trapped in a gargoyle. It’s a cute twisted buddy cop thing: Max is the emotionless, stoic one and the gargoyle is all his emotions (and sarcasm!). Max is investigating the corruption of the Manchester chapter of Arbiters, and then the slaughter of his whole order in Bath.
There’s also a Sorcerer who has no social skills whatsoever - he has to be coached by his secretary how to have normal human interactions. And then there's Sam, a mundane who gets caught up in things when he is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is witness to the kidnapping of a Nether noble. He’s kind-hearted but doofy, and his wife is some kind of underling for Lord Iron – someone none of the other magical people have ever heard of.
As I said, it's a lot to follow in the beginning. I was not really engaged until Cathy was forced into the Nether and met Will. Then machinations and plots and connections began coming together and everything got kicked up a hundred notches.
The story is set in three interconnected worlds – our world in the 21st century (Mundanus), the fae world (Exilium), and the place in-between (the Nether). The Nether citizens are not fey themselves but are instead "fae-touched." I believe that means that they are humans whose ancestors made some deal with the fae to serve them in exchange for magic and eternal youth in the Nether. The fae in Exilium are trapped in Exilium. It is a beautiful prison and they hate it. While they control the families of the Nether, they are prevented by pacts and such from interfering with Mundanus.
Although it's the 21st century, the people in the Nether remain in a society that is more closely related to Regency England. It is not explained exactly why this is. Maybe they just always stay about 100-200 years behind the times, because their society evolves less slowly than ours (and without the technology and social pressures that force changes)? Maybe during the Mundanus Regency period, everyone in the Nether was still acting like it was the Rennaissance.
Nether society is supremely constricting: women are considered property, family honour is everything, and there are balls and fancy dress. Every family has a Fae patron, who must be listened to, or else dire consequences occur.
There’s also Arbiters, humans who have agreed to have their souls placed in jars so that they are emotionless and incorruptible. Until apparently most of the Chapters in England get corrupted. Why don’t they call in other countries’ units? Unclear.
And there’s Sorcerers who have epic magic to rival the Fae lords (who appear to be the ones who put the Fae lords in Exilium and then created the Arbiters to make sure they couldn’t leak their power into Mundanus. This is not spelled out per se, but it seems like what happened).
That's the basic setting. The plot involves Cathy, a Nether lady who managed to escape to Mundanus, but is dragged back basically kicking and screaming once Lord Poppy (her family’s patron) finds her. her family forces her to get engaged to Will, a member of another powerful family. Cathy and Will have a classic Pride and Prejudice love story and I can't wait to see how it develops. Cathy hates Will, seeing him as a symbol of her captivity. Will is a dutiful son and will do what his family asks, but is frustrated with Cathy's bitterness and plainness. But they are both strong, intelligent, honorable people with a shared love of Mundanus (Will is recently returned from a Grand Tour of the Mundanus world). It's clear that when Cathy and Will finally open themselves up to each other, they will have a love strong enough to take on the rigid Nether society.
Another major player is an Arbiter named Max whose soul gets trapped in a gargoyle. It’s a cute twisted buddy cop thing: Max is the emotionless, stoic one and the gargoyle is all his emotions (and sarcasm!). Max is investigating the corruption of the Manchester chapter of Arbiters, and then the slaughter of his whole order in Bath.
There’s also a Sorcerer who has no social skills whatsoever - he has to be coached by his secretary how to have normal human interactions. And then there's Sam, a mundane who gets caught up in things when he is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is witness to the kidnapping of a Nether noble. He’s kind-hearted but doofy, and his wife is some kind of underling for Lord Iron – someone none of the other magical people have ever heard of.
As I said, it's a lot to follow in the beginning. I was not really engaged until Cathy was forced into the Nether and met Will. Then machinations and plots and connections began coming together and everything got kicked up a hundred notches.