Emily Croy Barker

SO CONFLICTED ABOUT THIS BOOK.

I shy from reading fantasy novels marketed as women's fiction because I assume, rightly or wrongly, that their fantasy elements will be derivative. But after a slow opening and some deliciously dark rising action, I was absolutely charmed by the cozy, engrossing middle of this book.

Part domestic fantasy, part mannerpunk, we follow Nora, a hapless grad student who's fallen into a fantasy world, and her benefactor/teacher/crush, the sardonic wizard Aruendiel. The show more narrative is slow-paced and a bit episodic, but guaranteed to appeal to fans of Victorian literature and its bastard child, the cozy historical romance. Nora learns to run a medieval household, explores life in the village and at court, learns magic, and has a lot of really interesting conversations.

Barker's worldbuilding is top-notch and explores small details from language to fashion without ever indulging in an unnecessary infodump. And at the book's heart is the growing emotional closeness between the insecure Nora and reserved Aruendiel, which is understated and very human.

Yet I found the last act of the novel pretty unsatisfying. Barker seems to have a sequel in mind (RIGHT??) and doesn't try to address most the novel's major conflicts in her climax. The last several chapters seem to come out of left field rather than arise organically from the story. There are several last minute plot twists that feel forced and don't have the proper emotional weight. And the final resolution feels shallow compared to everything that's come before. I feel strongly that even books in series have to stand alone as good novels, but this novel feels like it lacks a complete plot arc.

This novel was marred by another element that I really didn't care for. It's time for Miss Becky to have a Frank and Serious Discussion about partner violence in fiction! Spoilers ahead.


Early on in this book, Aruendiel is rumored to have murdered his unfaithful wife. I thought I recognized that favorite trope of romance writers, the misunderstanding that keeps our lovers apart. I was okay with reading about an unlikable antihero but nevertheless assumed that Aruendiel's past conduct would be explained away somehow.

I actually still suspect that there's going to be an explanation in future volumes, but as it stands, Aruendiel really did kill his wife because he was feeling shocked and betrayed. Yet by the end of the novel, Nora has somehow forgotten that she finds this part of his history super creepy and has decided to return to him, possibly so that they can be in a relationship.

There are two problems here. First, Nora's character is simply not consistent. Nora has a deep emotional attachment to Aruendiel, but in she's extremely critical of his bad behavior and previously has held him to contemporary standards of behavior. By the end, she's totally alienated me by her change in behavior, but I don't get the sense that I'm supposed to be alienated.

Second, the Aruendiel in this novel is similarly a romantic fantasy, not a realistic character. He's been through a lot since that whole wife-murdering episode, but a tendency toward partner violence does not generally mellow into a slight case of curmudgeonry.

I enjoy fiction that's dark, but Nora and Aruendiel's relationship is not portrayed as dark. Instead it's depicted as enticingly forbidden. Reading it we don't feel the ambivalence we might feel toward a Brontëan antihero*—instead, we're invited to fall in love with Aruendiel ourselves, with explicit comparisons to Mr. Darcy.

It doesn't matter if in the second book we find out that flying unicorns killed Aruendiel's wife—we're still being asked to romanticize an alleged perpetrator of domestic violence. And that's NEVER okay. In doing so we conjure the same fairy tale explanations of human behavior that domestic abusers use to perpetuate their abuses and victims use to justify staying in those relationships.

Which is really unfortunate in what was shaping up to be a nuanced and emotionally honest romance.

*If you think Heathcliff or Mr. Rochester are uncomplicatedly romantic and sexy, you are misreading those novels.
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3.5 stars. I've often seen books compared to roller coaster rides. This one was more like a long road trip. There was plenty that I liked about it—the Pride and Prejudice parallels, some cool magic, poetry-eating demons and a couple of funny Harry Potter references. I liked that the author thought of the problem of learning a different language in another world, and that Nora the book-lover taught herself to read because she couldn't stand being illiterate. Nora's gradual path to becoming show more a student of magic is a nice change of pace for this kind of story too.

But I don't think the book needed to be this long. It especially didn't need to be this long and have such an unsatisfying ending What's with Ilissa and Raclin capturing her for an important ritual and then leaving her in the care of a magician who they have no respect for? We never see Ilissa after this, so maybe she's in a battle somewhere, but why would she have needed to start a war if she was just trying to escape into Nora's world? If she was leaving the world anyway, why not just grab Nora, do the ritual and then move the Faitoren out at her leisure? And as far as Nora and Aruendiel's relationship goes, the slow build of affection between them was done well; certainly no one could use the ever-popular "insta-love" accusation here. But, sheesh—you're not giving us ANY payoff? After all those pages? I feel the need here to point out that I'm not OK with his killing his first wife. I'm not. But I can still see how Nora, after all the rescues, lessons in magic and just not having many people she can count on in that world, would fall for him. And may the world forgive me, but I wanted smoochies.

It was well-imagined, maybe too well-imagined. The attention to detail in describing Nora's life in this other world periodically made the story drag. It's an interesting world, and there are several fantastic scenes. There was simply too much filler in between them.

I don't know if there are more books to come—a quick internet search didn't give me an answer. If so, I will read what comes next because I care enough about the characters to see what happens. There are so many questions left unanswered that I don't know how this can be the end of the story. show less

I am about to reveal a secret that is really not that secret, if you know me. I love fantasy stories, elves, fairies, heroes, dragons, and wizards. A few of my favorite books and movies include The Princess Bride, The Last Unicorn, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. My husband introduced me to the Dragon Lance books, and I read those too. I go to the Renaissance Festival every year, and I every time I contemplate wearing elf ears. I even have my own "One" ring. Then I found this book. The show more title alone spoke to me - I mean, I am a thinking woman, and I would love a guide to magic.

This book is of course not a "guide" to magic, but a wonderful magical story. We meet Nora Fischer at a pretty low point in her life. She is a grad student who is just scraping by, and her boyfriend has recently left her. After he let her cat out to be run over by a car, of course. If it were me, I wouldn't even want him after that, but Nora does. She is invited to a wedding of a friend, where she runs into the dreaded ex, and as a result, feels pretty sorry for herself. She gets up the morning of the wedding, and takes a walk - and ends up into another world. One filled with magic and spells and wizards and fairy princes. But not all that glitters is gold, as the adage says, and the glamorous new world that Nora is living a fabulous life in, becomes a dark and twisted nightmare.

Enter Arundiel. A grumpy but powerful wizard, Arundiel takes Nora in, pretty begrudgingly. The truth of her situation begins to dawn on Nora, and she realizes she must take control of her life in some way. Her former academic life has not prepared her for life in a rural medieval village, and Nora must make her own place in this world. Nora's curiosity and thirst for knowledge of all sorts though is not quenched by her new position as a servant, and begs Arundiel to teach her magic. I don't blame her, I would want to learn too! Although he is a bit of a grouch and curmudgeon, Nora develops a wee crush on him. (Again, I probably would too)

And then the book ended, and made me yell nooooo right out loud. This couldn't be the end, right? There must be more to the story, even after reading 563 pages, and reading those pages within a span of two days. Feeling desperate, I googled the author to see if there was a sequel in the works, and breathed a sigh of relief to know that it is coming. In like a year, I am sure, but it is still going to exist. Thank God, because I was not happy with the ending. I see the need for it, but I am not willing to accept it for all time.

I think if you are a fantasy nerd like me, you will love this book. If you like the All Souls series by Harkness, or even the Outlander books (well, like Outlander if you twist reality just a little bit more..) then you will definitely like this one. I encourage you to read it, unless you are strictly into realistic fiction. Then you may hate this book. But if you don't mind a little magic in your books, than read this book, fall in love and come back and tell me how much you loved it. You will be enchanted, I promise. show less

I am always skeptical about books that send modern day women into MagicLand.

(I am maybe the only soul on Earth not smitten with the Outlander series. The TV show is fascinating, but the books? No. And don't even get me started on "A Discovery of Witches." I found it overblown and the characters rather wooden. It was generally tedious and tiresome to the point that I groaned in despair that it would not mercifully end, but leave us dangling for the sequel. Which I have heard are not any show more better. Pass.)

So Witchy romance novels are sketchy for me at best. But I decided to check this out from the library, and I am glad I did. It is almost never clichéd, with interesting twists and turns of the plot that are not telegraphed miles away, the relationships are less obvious than other romantic fare, and I genuinely liked all the characters.

It's a fun story, well-told, and not predictable. It has plenty of detail to take you into a very believable Otherworld, yet, unlike "Discovery," they don't take over the narrative.

Even though it was well over 550 pages, I was surprised to find myself in that rare and delectable place of not wanting it to end.

Thankfully, THIS sequel is one I can hardly wait for! show less