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Witherward
by Hannah Mathewson
Ilsa is a stage magician's assistant in 19th century London, a step-up from being a pick-pocket street kid and runaway from an orphanage. She also can do actual magic, changing her shape into nearly any creature or person. When she is saved from bizarre attackers and taken to an alternate London in the Witherward, she discovers she's actually the long-lost daughter of the ruling family of the Changelings, one of six magical factions that live in the alternate world.
The London of the Witherward is a dangerous place though, with most of Ilsa's family targeted for assassination. Her elder brother Gedeon, the leader of the Changeling faction has disappeared and seems to be stirring up trouble that threatens war between the factions, leaving his lieutenants in charge of his House and suspicious of each other. Ilsa's arrival in the House changes everything and stirs up even more trouble.
There's an obvious early comparison to [b:A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400322851l/22055262._SY75_.jpg|40098252] with a scrappy lower class protagonist in a historical London who goes to another world where magic exists and gets involved in the local politics. However, it quickly becomes a mystery novel with relationships within the Zoo (the headquarters of the Changeling faction) at question as well as the larger political situation across the rest of London to deal with. Ilsa thought she was an orphan with unique magical powers, and here she has literally found her family. But which of them should she trust?
The London of the Witherward is a dangerous place though, with most of Ilsa's family targeted for assassination. Her elder brother Gedeon, the leader of the Changeling faction has disappeared and seems to be stirring up trouble that threatens war between the factions, leaving his lieutenants in charge of his House and suspicious of each other. Ilsa's arrival in the House changes everything and stirs up even more trouble.
There's an obvious early comparison to [b:A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400322851l/22055262._SY75_.jpg|40098252] with a scrappy lower class protagonist in a historical London who goes to another world where magic exists and gets involved in the local politics. However, it quickly becomes a mystery novel with relationships within the Zoo (the headquarters of the Changeling faction) at question as well as the larger political situation across the rest of London to deal with. Ilsa thought she was an orphan with unique magical powers, and here she has literally found her family. But which of them should she trust?