Booklog 4/2021: Hannah Matthewson: Witherward - Witherward #1

Ilsa is a shapeshifter, getting by in our Victorian London by using her talents to make her the perfect stage magician's assistant. When someone tries to kill her she discovers that for the first 17 years of her life she's been marooned in the wrong London. Her parallel London is a city divided between magical factions and she's the lost member of the Ravenswood Clan, a leading Changeling family..

Having believed herself an orphan all her life, Ilsa discovers she has a brother who is missing. Times are dire. The new London is on the brink of civil war and Ilsa has a part to play.

This book was announced as Six of Crows meets The Prestige, so (loving Six of Crows) I might have gone into this with expectations set too high. Sadly it did not meet them. In fact there were times when I might have put the book down and not picked it up again, but it kept me reading... just. The world building is elaborate (though I confess I sometimes lost track of the different magical clans). The pace is a bit slow and - though there's depth - it isn't always in the right place. The premise sounded interesting, but in the end I didn't care enough about the characters. A pity because i really wanted to like it.

 

 

 

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Booklog 5/2021: Mr Cavendish I Presume - Two Dukes of Wyndham #2

This is the story of The Lost Duke of Wyndham, told from the point of view of the 'sitting' duke. Essentially the current duke of Wyndham is challenged when Jack Audley, another candidate for the title, rocks up and is recognised by their harridan grandmother. The Lost Duke of Wyndham told the tale from the newcomer's point of view and this is from Wyndham's (or is he plain Mr Thomas Cavendish?). I hadn't been intending to read this once I'd read the first one - after all, I knew how the story ended - but sufficient time had elapsed and I'd forgotten a lot of the detail, so it was worth a read. This is Julia Quinn, so yes, there's a romance. Thomas has been engaged to his fiancee since they were both children, pledged by their respective fathers, and he's been putting off committing to marriage, but just as he starts to appreciate Amelia (and she him), it suddenly appears that he might not be the duke, and Amelia has been brought up to be a duchess.

Booklog 6/2021: Charlotte Anne: The Unworthy Duke

Ellen Burney is fleeing from her home, dominated by her cruel brother. Penniless she changes her name to Smith and takes up a paid position as companion to an elderly lady intent on staying with her grandson for the London season. Callum Callaghan, the aforementioned grandson, is now a duke due to the untimely death of his older brother. Scarred inside and out by rumours that he had a hand in his brother's death while they were both serving in the Royal Navy, he's become a recluse. His grandmother intends to shake him out of it and, after gettiung off to a bad start, Ellen is part of that plan. Yes, you can see where this is going, but it gets there in an interesting way. A very decent debut novel.