Jacey Bedford's Journal

Sylvia Ashe, ex journalist and now a librarian in the years following the Great War, knows little of her own background, her late mother having refused to discuss either her absent father or family of any kind. Her brother (killed in the war) has left a diary which indicates they might be descended from magicians – specifically silver magicians - and directs her to seek out a prominent magician. Instead, she ends up meeting the magician’s son, Gabriel Glass, a consultant for Scotland Yard and currently working on the theft of a magical painting. Gabe is a bit of a celebrity, since he served throughout the Great War without so much as a splinter in his finger. Having been instrumental in Sylvia losing her job, he gets her another one in the Glass Library of Magical Books, and she becomes involved in his case – and, unwisely, with Gabe himself. Is there a slow-burn romance developing? Magic is talked about but not really seen in action… unless it is, but concealed. This is a good start to what looks to be a series. It’s well-paced, with engaging characters and intriguing plot twists. I haven’t read the Glass & Steel books (I believe this is a spin-off) but I didn’t feel as though I was missing out on any information.