Witchmark

This intriguing fantasy is set in a world powered by magic. Dr. Miles Singer is a psychiatrist who is dealing with the many soldiers who have returned from the war with Laneer with significant mental issues. They are claiming that something in their mind is commanding them to kill. Miles has a magic for healing that he has been successful in hiding. He can see this cloud in the mens's mind but he doesn't know what it is or what can be done about it.

One night, when he is outside for a smoke break, a man - Sir Tristan Hunter - comes up to him carrying a dying man. Nick Elliot is dying and claiming that he has been poisoned. To ease his mind, Miles promises to find his murderer and, in return, Nick gives Miles all of his magic when he show more dies. Tristan sees the secrets that Miles is hiding about his magic and begins by threatening him to expose it if Miles doesn't keep his promise to Nick. Tristan has quite a few secrets of his own and a task to complete in the eight days he has remaining before he must return home.

Investigating exposes Miles to the family he ran away from to become a doctor and dumps him right in the middle of the politics of the most powerful Mages in Aeland including his father and his sister Grace. Storm-Singers are the powerful mages who control the weather that keeps Aeland a perfect place to live. Only Storm-singer magic is valued. Miles with his healing ability was slated to be nothing more than a Secondary and act as a magical battery for his powerful sister.

I loved the world building in this story. I also loved the relationship that grew between Tristan and Miles. The characters were well-rounded and interesting people with all sorts of problems that they had to solve. The book was fast-paced and filled with mystery and intrigue. show less

I honestly did not know what to expect with this except that a ton of people I know swore by it. So sure, I barely looked at the blurb and dove right in, basically clueless.

What I found was a mystery soon after a world war, featuring a hounded mage serving as a doctor in England. Cool. And yet, for me, the charm was in the strong voice, the genuine sympathy, and the wonderful details of the time and place.

Of course, there's a lot of really horrible situations going on here, like being bound magically to a Mage's will, becoming a battery to someone else's magic. The Doctor went to war to escape that fate and became a doctor... but the world pulled him back into the old horrible intrigue.

And then the love story happens. And let me say show more this... I was charmed to death. :) Yes, it's LGBT, but I have to admit it's just charming as hell. :) The meet-cute fit perfectly with love at first sight but in this case, it's hard to tell whether the Fae is charming the magician or vice-versa. :)

The rest of the novel had a freaking awesome plot, too.

I think I'm going to be following this author for everything she does. I am totally trusting her. I did not expect to like this or any of the subject half as much as I actually did.

It just goes to prove: Good is Good. No matter what. :) show less

September means it’s spooky season, and I fall headfirst into the many witchy books languishing unread on my TBR. Ironically, this is not at all the witchy read that I expected, as it’s got a far more post-war societal commentary low magic vibe going on, than one which fits into my seasonal cravings. And yet, I thoroughly enjoyed Polk’s romp through a slightly off kilter world that is suffused with magic and the tale of a hidden witch that leads the way. She throws us headfirst into the setting and characters, as if we’re meant to have met Doctor Miles Singer before (possibly during his wartime escapades) and know the machinations behind the politics that dictate the restrictions on magic that keep our protagonist in hiding from show more his own family - but she does so in such a way that while we are maybe left wondering for a few pages or chapters all is eventually revealed through her careful attention to detail and slightly unexpected style of storytelling. If I had been in a different mood and without an empty afternoon in which to immerse myself in the story, I may not have had the patience to go along with things until I was ensorcelled by the tale, but I am glad that I stuck it out. The complications of Miles’ life are intriguing at the least, and with family drama and a fey romance waiting in the wings alongside the continuing wartime and political mystery that drive the narrative, it’s hard not to get hooked into the story. Is it maybe doing a touch too much? Possibly. But Polk’s attention to detail, intricate storytelling, and unique magic system are well worth delving into. show less

Holy cow, everyone, I’m not even finished yet …I have to stop and gush … been reading straight for four hours, that’s how fascinating this story of magic and enslavement and terrible revenge is! I can’t put it down but I have to go to work! The story is powered by mystery upon mystery, engagingly told. Polk’s version of magic is unique and fascinating, and the way it is entwined with a form of slavery is pure genius. Just buy this book and read it. Good luck getting anything done once you start reading, though!

This is the first book in the Kingston Cycle, in which we’re introduced to Miles Singer, who has a healing power. He comes from a family that uses its magic to control the weather, but he keeps his identity under wraps so that he can heal with more non-magical ways as a doctor. If he stayed with his family, they’d enslave him. But when Miles discovers a mysterious ailment among soldiers returning from the war that can only be identified by magic, and a patient accidentally reveals that Miles has magical gifts, he is anonymous no longer.

When I started this book, I made good progress with it, then put it down for a while. After that, I found it hard to pick up again. The ending (say the last third) was good, and I like that the show more series is a manageable three books, so I have the sense that the author plotted everything in a way that will make it all tie up nicely. So although I lost the momentum I had at the beginning of the book (and thus am not blown away by it), I’ve requested the second book to see what happens next. show less

A highly enjoyable read, and fully deserving of its Nebula finalist status. Witchmark creates a fresh secondary world with an Edwardian flavor, wherein a nobleman abandoned the high life to serve as a soldier and practice his healing magic in a way forbidden by society. When a mysterious man drags a poisoned fellow into the beleaguered hospital where he works, his carefully-constructed yet lonely life begins to fall apart. There's a conspiracy afoot that stretches from the tormented veterans in his care to the most powerful people in the land--his family.

The world-building is deep and perfectly paced. This is a world both familiar and strange, and that freshness made it a source of constant fascination. Plus, the characters are show more fantastic. As someone who loves healer characters, and has included them in numerous of my own books, that angle particularly appealed to me. This book incorporates inclusiveness in a gentle, natural way, and the slowly-building romance between the two male leads feels genuine. No insta-love here. The issue of consent and power in the relationship is especially well-handled.

I'm glad this is the first book in the series. This a world with people I would love to spend more time with. show less

I heart this book so hard.

This is a really cute Edwardian style story about a gay witch who ran away from his family and joined the war to become a medic. He changed his name and now works in an asylum for war veterans, helping them through their PTSD with his healing powers.

There's a mystery when a gorgeous man carries in another man who's dying and has been poisoned. Only this doctor can help him, but when the doc goes to touch the patient there's a bright light and the patient dies.

When the doctor goes to do the post-mortem examination to see what the guy actually died from, he found out that the body was sent to the crematorium! The dead man's home may have been pilfered of particular personal effects, but why? Who was this show more guy?

Witchmark is a story about struggle and understanding, love and connections, family, identity, and power. It's a gentle sort of Sherlock Holmesy Watson, but the're like two super cute, quiet gay men that love pancakes and ride bicycles. show less