*I received free copies of these books with thanks to the author, Orbit/Little, Brown and Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers blog tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: It's difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you're a young lady with only half a soul.
Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment - a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season - but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.
If Dora's reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world. . . but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul.
Bridgerton meets Howl's Moving Castle in this enchanting historical fantasy, where the only thing more meddlesome than faeries is a marriage-minded mother.
Pick up HALF A SOUL, and be stolen away into Olivia Atwater's charming, magical version of Regency England!
I love this book so much!
Dora and Elias make such a fantastic couple; I was definitely reminded of one of my all-time favourite couples - Peabody and Emerson. However, Dora's neurodivergent traits (due to a faerie curse) and Elias' social anxiety and PTSD make them both feel even more real and endearing to the reader and, clearly, to each other. I do enjoy a good verbal-sparring, cleverly humorous romance!
Beneath the veneer of mystery plagues and budding romance, the author delivers compelling arguments about social injustice and righteous anger (a theme she returns to in the sequel), and the importance of making small differences where you can, even if awash in a tidal wave of ignorance, indifference and evil.
Along with the characters and plot, the worldbuilding is very clever here, as the fae are presented as being so utterly alien in viewpoint as to be unable to grasp human morality or behaviours beyond the most superficial surface trappings (waistcoats and 'charity') and therefore they are capable of committing acts of great evil, with only virtuous intentions. Very pointed and thoroughly disturbing.
Add to all of this a light, witty writing style that made me feel all warm and smiley, and the result is that I can't wait to read books 2 and 3, and hope there are far more to come!
Blurb: Faerie godfathers are supposed to help young ladies find love. Unfortunately, no one told Lord Blackthorn that.
Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr Benedict Ashbrooke. There's only one problem; Effie is a housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Ashbrooke's heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favourite jacket.
Effie has heard rumours about what happens to those who accept help from faeries, but life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now, she has one hundred days - and ten thousand stitches - to make Mr Ashbrooke fall in love and propose. . . if Lord Blackthorn doesn't wreck things by accident, that is.
From the author of HALF A SOUL comes a whimsical faerie tale set in a magical version of Regency England, with an enchanting Cinderella twist.
I fell in love with Dora and Elias in Half a Soul, but now I am afraid I have transferred my heart to Lord Blackthorn!
The combination of his thoughtful, sweet cluelessness and Effie's burning righteous anger at the world and all (or mostly all) in it is an explosive one and I was completely hooked on this story, just as I was with the first.
The plot is a twisted version of the Cinderella story, but with all of the realistic character detail and worldbuilding that I already expect of Olivia Atwater. And the theme of social injustice and world-changing rage returns, but from a different viewpoint, as we now see the lives of the servants that were present in the world before but as invisible to us as to the people they serve.
This sequel is another delightful, easy-to-read romcom with hidden depths of piercing social commentary and THE most endearing romantic hero I have ever read.
Bring on book 3 (and more, please?)!
Blurb: Proper Regency ladies are not supposed to become magicians - but Miss Abigail Wilder is far from proper.
The marriageable young ladies of London are dying mysteriously, and Abigail Wilder intends to discover why. Abigail's father, the Lord Sorcier of England, believes that a dark lord of faerie is involved - but while Abigail is willing to match her magic against Lord Longshadow, neither her father nor high society believe that she is capable of doing so.
Thankfully, Abigail is not the only one investigating the terrible events in London. Mercy, a street rat and self-taught magician, insists on joining Abigail to unravel the mystery. But while Mercy's own magic is strange and foreboding, she may well pose an even greater danger to Abigail's heart.
From the author of HALF A SOUL comes a queer faerie tale romance full of love and defiant hope. Pick up LONGSHADOW, and return once more to Olivia Atwater's charming, magical version of Regency England.
In book three of this series - although they are all stand-alone stories really - we return to the Wilder household, but only briefly visit with Dora and Elias in their new parental roles before delving into the adventures of their adopted daughter, Abigail (who we also met in book 1).
We find out a lot more about ghosts, death and the afterlife in this world here, as Abigail is investigating a series of suspicious deaths and is aided by one of Lord Longshadow's affiliates, Mercy, who has plenty of darkness about her and strong enough opinions to rival Abigail's own.
This is a lovely slow-burn queer romance with more of a focus on the rights to be able to make our own choices in life (and death) and the pain that can cause to our loved ones, who might wish for different outcomes or hold conflicting beliefs.
There is a neat murder mystery at the heart of the plot and I really enjoyed following Abigail and Mercy's investigation and the theme about not judging people by appearances or by rumours, but instead getting to know them on their own merits.
The realm of Longshadow and the role of the sluaghs provided some of the most fascinating worldbuilding of the series so far and I desperately want to see more of this setting and the associated fae.
I do hope that Olivia Atwater continues this series, but based on what I've read here I will read whatever she comes out with next anyway!
About the author:
Olivia Atwater writes whimsical historical fantasy with a hint of satire. She lives in Montreal, Quebec with her fantastic, prose-inspiring husband and her two cats. When she told her second-grade history teacher that she wanted to work with history someday, she is fairly certain this isn't what either party had in mind. She has been, at various times, a historical re-enactor, a professional witch at a metaphysical supply store, a web developer, and a vending machine repairperson.
Website: https://oliviaatwater.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20153683.Olivia_Atwater
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oliviaatwaterauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OliviaAtwater2
Don't forget to stop by the other blogs on this tour (see the poster below for details) for more great content and reviews!
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