The Lord of Stariel is dead. Long live the Lord of Stariel. Whoever that is. Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they?Will it be the lord’s eldest son, who he despised? His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense? His scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion?Hetta knows it won’t be her, and she’s glad of it. … illusion?
Hetta knows it won’t be her, and she’s glad of it. Returning home for her father’s funeral, all Hetta has to do is survive the family drama and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive local men until the Choosing. Then she can leave.
But whoever Stariel chooses will have bigger problems than eccentric relatives to deal with.
Winged, beautifully deadly problems.
For the first time in centuries, the fae are returning to the Mortal Realm, and only the Lord of Stariel can keep the estate safe.
In theory.
The Lord of Stariel is the first book in the Stariel quartet.
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Gaslamp fantasy is a new genre to me – not the books! Some of them I’ve seen under Steampunk. But the genre name. It’s a good one. I would have described “The Lord of Stariel” by AJ Lancaster as an Edwardian fantasy. Either way, the novel is a lovely reimagining of a British landed gentry family around 1910 but with magic and in a fictional land where the borders flirt (all unknowingly) with Fae lands (and I’m not saying anything more for fear of spoilers). There’s an intriguing mystery as well as a romance threaded through, as well as a determined and independent heroine. Altogether charming.
I deeply enjoyed The Lord of Stariel the first time I read it, and it holds up wonderfully on a second read-through! I only realised after finishing the book for the second time that I had never finished a review for it, and I thought that was a terrible shame, because I DO heartily recommend it. It’s a book with all of my favourite elements: an enjoyable female main character, a bit of magical intrigue, a solid romantic interest, and—most importantly—faeries.
The premise is already fantastic from the opening: actress and illusionist Henrietta Valstar’s father has died, and she is obliged to return home to his lands to be part of a ritual which will choose the next Lord of Stariel. No one really expects that Hetta will be chosen as the next lord, and she herself isn’t terribly interested in the position. But something goes strange with the ritual, and Hetta does get chosen. Meanwhile, the fae that secretly live on the other side of Stariel are ready to take advantage of its new, inexperienced lord.
I enjoyed Hetta as a main character quite a bit. She’s clever and no-nonsense, and she doesn’t put on airs. She openly enjoys flirting and doesn’t agonise over propriety, though she hasn’t made a crusade out of the idea. Wyn, the butler who’s been serving at Stariel since he was very young, was another character who stood out prominently. He struck me as particularly squishy and adorable, and I have a terrible weakness for that character type.
I think there may be something slightly off with the pacing near the end of the book, but it was perfectly dismissible, given that I kept eagerly reading anyway. Lord of Stariel was a hugely entertaining read, and I’m excited to finally open up the second in the series.
Wonderful fantasy novel about a sprawling family and their magical house. Hetta is a warm and delightful protagonist, and her story is a comfort-read I will return to again and again — once I get to the end of the series!
The author caught me right at the beginning of the book. It smacks of steampunk. This is a nice, complicated, family story and I couldn’t get enough of it. Hetta returns to her home of Stariel via train and finds herself left on the platform when the train is gone, mostly because she forgot to let anyone know when she would be arriving. Her neighbor arrives in something that should be a car to pick up his freight and offers to give her a ride the rest of the way home. As mundane as these scenes are, they become weighty later. We find out that Hetta’s father has died, hence her visit home, and it seems that the heirship of the estate is in doubt. The Stariel kin have a unique way of choosing a heir. They have a Starstone, and the stone chooses the heir. Once that happens, the land sense that all family members are born with becomes enhanced. I really, really loved this book!
This was a great start to a wonderful fantasy series, filled with great characters, and I absolutely loved the premise, that the land, Stariel, is a living entity and chooses its lord from the various members of a particular family. When Hetta, the daughter of the previous lord is unexpectedly chosen, she’s astounded, and slightly dismayed, as she’d created a satisfying life for herself in the big city, far away from the reactionary gender prejudices of her homeland. However, she quickly embraces her new role, falls in love with Stariel, and is determined to do her best as its new lord. Hetta is a wonderful heroine, practical, down-to-earth, plain speaking, mature, and not in the mood to put up with any nonsense. I’m looking forward to the rest and very happy to have found a new fantasy series that is so good.
I do like a magical house/estate. I need to write one. And a black sheep returning home. This was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to book two!
This was a delightful read and one I’d highly recommend to those looking for a fantasy romance with magic and fae added to the mix. I read this in the winter and it was the perfect time to have picked this up since it takes places going into their holiday of Wintersol. I’m a big fan of the butler Wyn and can’t wait to see where this series goes.
Excellent fantasy, well written. The world is interesting and the characters likable. Pace slowed a bit in the third quarter, or I’d give it five stars.
A great take on a “very like, but not quite, our world” world. Deeply immersive, fun characters that I’d like to spend time with outside the novel. (Hetta is that friend who can get the introverts to go to the party, and make sure they don’t end up miserable).
PS-Have now torn through the first three books in this series, only to discover the fourth isn’t out until August!