In a Regency England where magic and faeries are real… He is the last man in the world she would choose to help her on a difficult and dangerous task.
But when a magical war looms between the land of Faerie and their world, a Lord of Faerie demands that Darcy and Elizabeth serve together as his emissaries to make peace with the other mortals. That mission throws them into the middle of a chaotic power struggle between magicians whose power dwarfs their own, and everything Elizabeth has ever believed about her family, her friends, and her enemies will be called into question.
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My Rating: 5+*
Beguiling…Bewitching…Bespelling! Enchanting…Enticing…Enthralling!
Oh I could go on and on with the adjectives, but I think you get how I feel about this provocative and magical novel that I could not stop reading! I did very little yesterday, just so I could sit and read this book! Thank goodness the weather cooperated…rain, snow, sleet. I wonder who couldn’t control their elemental magic?
“How was it that the air around Elizabeth seemed brighter than anywhere else?” (quote from the book)
Yes, magic is the key to this saga. How could it not be with the Fae and all which encompasses that world. Weave in Pride & Prejudice with mages and sorcery, and you have a captivating tale that is completely mesmerizing! See, I can’t stop with the adjectives!
“To think Darcy had once been proud of his prowess as one of the most powerful mages in England. Compared to the Sidhe, he was no more than a child playing with toys.” (quote from the book)
I found the use of England’s Inclosure (Consolidation) Act of 1801 cleverly done. And the lore of fairies brought back memories of my Granny in N. Ireland warning me as a child to stay away from the river behind the farmhouse…”the fairies may take you.” I always felt my Granny could talk to them!
Ms. Reynolds you have certainly opened up a whole new world for us that I hope you continue. I am quite enchanted myself with all that you, yourself, have created as well as what you have incorporated into this saga from lore. Who cannot but love Pepper, Snowy, Bluebird, Aelfric, and so many others. I would love to go back again!
I also must say that the book cover, both front and back, are just as magical as the tale within.
When offered the opportunity to read a book that pairs Austen’s Pride & Prejudice with magic and faeries, there really was only one answer. Of course, I snatched it up and was oblivious to the outside world for hours at a time- fey magic?
First of all, this book can be read by all comers. No prior history with Austen’s P&P or Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream are needed. If you like tales of the fey or historical fantasy romances, you’ll do fine- better than fine, actually.
What a fascinating story! The author cleverly melded not just characters and settings in this story, but story themes and character traits: a proud Darcy, a prejudiced Elizabeth, a silly Mrs. Bennet, a revolting Mr. Collins, an enchanting King Oberon and Queen Titania, a vile Wickham, and so on.
The story is long, but reads swiftly. It does drop the reader right into a situation that obviously feels like an opening act has already taken place, but once the first chapter is finished, that feeling is gone because the reader is caught up in the characters and plot. Essentially, Regency England has magic and non-magic users, a knowledge that faery exists and the lesser fey live on the human side of the divide and are only visible to children. But, only men are allowed to have magic and be trained as mages. Gasp, yes! Does that mean women don’t have magic? No, it means if they demonstrate it then their magic is bound and it has a poor effect on their mind. Our heroine is clever and incensed at this inequality. She loathes anyone associated with the Collegium of Mages who enforce this and perpetuate the falsities that women can’t handle magic. And guess what group our hero is a member of? The sparks fly when Darcy learns swiftly just what Lizzy thinks of him and the Mages when he made the mistake of proposing. Not only does she hate him, but she is terrified that he will expose her for a magic user. Instead of slinking away to lick his wounds, this is when Darcy’s character truly shines and he steps up as the hero- which, incidentally, was exactly what the wary Lizzy needed to see.
After part one that introduces the world, the characters, and the plot, there is a twist when the world of the fey and the war with the fey is introduced. Kudos for a good balance of description and plot during the visits in faery. It did slow down the story, but not ponderously so. The reader gets enough description and education in fey ways to see the whimsical differences, but the story keeps moving forward. This is when the author inserted some original worldbuilding about the fey, but also the human-magic using world. Nice twists how secrets came out in both Darcy’s and Lizzy’s families.
By the time the half-way point is reached, the story really takes off and through much of the last part, I was completely riveted and couldn’t stop turning pages. At the high point, I was teary-eyed at a big sacrifice, at another point I was chuckling over the antics of a mischievous phouka, and oh yes, the romances (there are more than one just as there are several main players other than the main couple, but I don’t want to do spoilers) were indeed swoonworthy.
All in all, this was as enchanting as the title states. What a spectacular story that left me satisfied and with the knowledge that this will be a re-read at some point. Those who enjoy historical and fantasy brought together with romance and thrilling magical action should not hesitate to reach for this book.
Rating: although clean, there are hints at mature adult themes and violence that may be squeamish to some, while the clash of religions may be unsettling to others. There is a paranormal aspect to this story that deals with the Kingdom coming to grips with magic, magicians, sorcerers, wise-women, mages and the rules that govern them. This review hopefully doesn’t contain spoilers.
“When someone from Faerie ever tells you something, you can see it—you can feel it—you believe it. For the true value of enchantment and its glamour, is in the imparting of a truth—by truth’s own persuasion it makes itself real.” –Gabriel Brunsdon, Azlander: Second Nature
This story was beautifully written. There can be no arguments with that. The world building took a bit of time but Reynolds made the reader want to visit these amazing places and talk to people and creatures that we have only heard of in fairy tales and mythology. On the surface it was beautiful, dreamy and otherworldly. But under the surface, there existed a riptide of evil that wanted to destroy and devour. It was amazing how the author spun this web of evil that spread farther than was first revealed. My goodness. I didn’t see the far-reaching grip this web encompassed. There were many, many secrets and atrocities were generations old and needed to be revealed and settled. The treaty between the worlds was in jeopardy and the lives of many depended on our characters acting quickly.
“Whatever deceives man seems to produce a magical enchantment.” –Plato
Villains: OMG! Who wasn’t a villain? I’ve never seen such a web of villainy before in a JAFF story. Man, this was amazing. I can’t even mention anything without giving away a spoiler.
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” –Robert A. Heinlein
Religious aspect: A protestant England, with the threat of Catholicism just below the surface, had to acknowledge the nature-worshiping characters of mythology and superstitions of old. For centuries their stories of groves, fairy rings/circles, and fertility rites were whispered around campfires, before hearths, to children at bedtime and were passed from generation to generation. Suddenly, the natural order of society was put into question, propriety was ignored and a new set of rules applied to what Regency could tolerate or would accept. On the surface, this was just a fun story. Underneath, however, there were hints of behavior that might be considered unsettling.
“I was always interested in enchantment and magicians and still am.” –Christopher Lee
In Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream,’ Titania, Queen of the Fairies and her Consort, Oberon king of the Fairies quarreled over the changeling boy. His mother had been a votaress of her order and died after giving birth to him. A votary was a monk or nun who made a vow of dedication to religious service. In this story, their quarrel was over another child entirely, whose identity wasn’t revealed right away. There was a lot implied on the births of several of our characters and their relations. Some of these implications were… disconcerting.
This was a fun read and that is how you should approach it. Otherwise, if you dig too deeply, you will bog down with the weight of trying to reconcile the religious and social aspects of this work. That is not what the author intended. Just simply enjoy the story.