Heart of Light

Magic carpetships, Royal Were-Hunters and an amazingly sexy dragon who may or may not be spying for Queen Victoria. Original
doesn't even begin to describe HEART OF LIGHT. It's set in the Victorian
Age in an alternate British Empire - in this one, magic is a sort of
commodity and the British ruling class controls more than its fair
share. A young man named Nigel is sent to Africa to find an ancient
ruby that could help Queen Victoria consolidate her power. He drags
along his new bride Emily, hoping to use some of her powers to aid
him in his quest. But along the way, Emily develops a mind of her own
and decides that marrying Nigel might have been a huge mistake.
Particularly since Nigel's best friend is so much more handsome and
braver show more and kinder. Emily and Nigel both learn some startling things about themselves and about the supposedly "inferior" native peoples of Africa. Lush settings, vivid magical details and a wonderful romantic subplot all combine to create a fantastically involving read. show less

This was not as good as I had hoped. It had great potential -- good story idea, neat magical things, an exotic locale, a variety of interesting African cultures ... but ultimately the characters were too flat for me. The main female protagonist, particularly, was so spineless (even for a Victorian era) that I just wanted to smack some sense into her. I'm hoping the second book, "Soul of Fire" might improve things, but as it stands, this is only an "eh" read.

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