I love this gentle romance, which explores how two people, through sheer politeness, respect, and upper-class British reticence, end up in a conventionally distant arranged marriage instead of the affectionate, loving union they both desire… and how they eventually find their way to the real marriage they long for (with a little outside help from an unexpected quarter.)
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Without a Summer, by Mary Robinette Kowal
Mary Robinette Kowal makes good use of the historical “year without a summer” in the third book of her Glamourist Histories. As Britain remains locked in winter’s grip, Jane and her husband Vincent are in London to work on a glamour commission for Lord Stratton, an Irish peer. Hearing that her sister Melody is melancholic and realizing there are few marriageable men near home, the Vincents invite Melody to stay with them. Melody’s growing affection for Stratton’s son, Mr. O’Brien, is complicated by Jane’s suspicions of the young man, and by the public’s growing belief that coldmongers are responsible for the unseasonable weather. Meanwhile, Jane and Vincent must contend with his father’s relentless cruelty and ambition, as well as a shadowy plot that threatens O’Brien, the young coldmongers, Jane and Vincent’s very lives, and even the British government itself.
From the Vault: Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal Series: Glamourist Histories #1 Published by Tor on August 3, 2010 Genres: Historical Fantasy, Fantasy Romance Pages: 304 Format: Kindle or ebook Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Chirp Add to Goodreads Also in this series:… March 21, 2023 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews, From the Vault 3 ★★★★½
Scales and Sensibility, by Stephanie Burgis (Release Day review)
Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis Series: Regency Dragons #1 Published by Five Fathoms Press on October 4, 2021 Genres: Historical Fantasy Format: Kindle or ebook Source: the author Purchase: Amazon | Audible Add to Goodreads Also by this author: Kat, Incorrigible, Masks and Shadows, The Dragon with a Chocolate… October 4, 2021 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 7 ★★★★★
The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Narrator: Jim Dale on September 13, 2011 Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy Format: Audiobook Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Audible Add to Goodreads The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not…. November 5, 2020 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 7 ★★★★★
Winterwood (Jacey Bedford)
Winterwood by Jacey Bedford Series: Rowankind #1 Published by DAW Books on February 2, 2016 Genres: Alt-History, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy Pages: 424 Format: Paperback Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop | Barnes & Noble Add to Goodreads It’s 1800. Mad King George is on the British throne, and Bonaparte is hammering at… May 18, 2020 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 6 ★★★★★
Snowspelled (The Harwood Spellbook #1) by Stephanie Burgis
Snowspelled Series: The Harwood Spellbook #1 on September 4, 2017 Pages: 166 Purchase: Amazon | Bookshop Add to Goodreads In nineteenth-century Angland, magic is reserved for gentlemen while ladies attend to the more practical business of politics. But Cassandra Harwood has never followed the rules… Four months ago, Cassandra Harwood… September 14, 2017 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 10 ★★★★½
7th Blogoversary Giveaway #4: The Sweetest Dark
Series: Sweetest Dark #1 Add to Goodreads Also in this series: The Sweetest Dark, The Deepest Night For fans of Lauren Kate and Libba Bray, The Sweetest Dark is filled with thrilling romance, exciting adventure, and ancient magic. Shana Abé brilliantly captures the drama of post-Victorian England, while unfolding a… Read more »
A Study in Sable (Elemental Masters) by Mercedes Lackey
A Study in Sable Series: Elemental Masters #12 on June 7, 2016 Pages: 320 Add to Goodreads Also in this series: The Serpent’s Shadow, The Gates of Sleep, Phoenix and Ashes, Home from the Sea, Steadfast, Elemental Magic:, Blood Red, From a High Tower Psychic Nan Killian and Medium Sarah… June 3, 2016 Lark_Bookwyrm Book Reviews 0 ★★★★
Masks and Shadows (Stephanie Burgis)
Masks and Shadows on April 12th, 2016 Pages: 300 Add to Goodreads The year is 1779, and Carlo Morelli, the most renowned castrato singer in Europe, has been invited as an honored guest to Eszterháza Palace. With Carlo in Prince Nikolaus Esterházy’s carriage, ride a Prussian spy and one of… Read more »