I can't believe I've missed this book all these years, along with its predecessor [Mairelon the Magician], which I used to see in bookstores and somehow never picked up. I have Wrede's Alkyra novels and have greatly enjoyed them as light, fluffy young adult derivative fantasy that does a good job portraying the discomforts of both travel and growing up. I stumbled across [Sorcery and Cecilia] only last year, which I greatly enjoyed. I have not yet found the rest of that trilogy, which is set in the same time period as this book.

The novel is set in Regency London, which is about the only genre of romance novels that I read (though not much anymore, since the modern works are not to my taste). The author does a good job portraying the language, manners, attitudes, and general ambiance of the time, but with magic too. In this case, our heroine Kim has been elevated from street urchin to rich man's ward and apprentice. The class distinctions of the day are nicely sidestepped by the author's convention that magicians (at least those trained and effectively certified by the Royal College of Magicians) are always socially acceptable, whatever their background may have been. As far as I can tell, this story effectively takes up where [Mairelon the Magician] left off. In that case, Mairelon was traveling incognito and using his skills to uncover some sort of plot during the Napoleonic War. Kim got entangled in the shenanigans and doubtless helped save the day and is rewarded for her efforts. In this novel, she struggles to become acceptable and study magic, learning to read and speak properly and so on, while once again working with Mairelon to foil a mysterious plot after she interrupts a burglar in the library.

This is another classic Wrede send-up, a sweet, simple, straightforward story of a young girl struggling to find her place in a society where she doesn't quite fit. ( )

This is the sequel to Mairelon the Magician. A couple of years after Mairelon (known in society as Richard Merrill) discovers Kim and takes her on as his apprentice, they're living in London with his prim and proper aunt.

When Kim discovers someone breaking into Mairelon's house, attempting to steal a particular book, it leads them into a mystery involving the disappearance of people with minor magical talent, hidden treasure, and ultimately the theft of Mairelon's power, leaving novice Kim to handle the magical part of their investigations.

In the meanwhile, Mairelon's mother and his disapproving aunt are busy introducing a reluctant Kim to Society. When she begins to be courted by young men, she realizes it's Mairelon she's really in love with.

One of the Amazon reviewers called this "J. K. Rowling meets Georgette Heyer," and that's a very apt description. The Magician's Ward is just as much a Regency romance as it is a Regency-set fantasy-mystery. ( )

This is a sequel to Mairelon the Magician, and it is just as good. In this pair of books Ms. Wrede has mixed two of my favorite genres: fantasy and regency romance. ( )