Fantasy Regency Romance; Exploring a New Series

It’s been many years since Theodora Ettings lost half of her soul in an unfortunate meeting with a faerie in the woods as a child. Ever since that moment, she has lost any sense of fear or embarrassment, which, in regency era England, spells scandal. Entering the upcoming London Season, Dora attempts to remain on the sidelines, but when she draws the attention of the mysterious and irritable Lord Sorcier, she inevitably becomes entangled with the world of the fae she has tried her whole life to ignore. As Dora and Elias continue to work together to uncover the mystery of her past, the two are at risk of falling in love, regardless of the circumstance of her soul.

The first thing that came to mind when I started this series was how much it reminded me of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. There’s nothing I love more than a snarky love interest and a heroine determined to make a way for herself. Dora and Elias were truly serving grumpy sunshine trope and my romance-obsessed heart was along for the whole ride. Between the search for the clues to her past and figuring out the cause of the mysterious plague inflicting children across the city, these two form a connection that is truly genuine. When the final act of the book hit, there was nothing left for me to do but become completely enamored with our main couple and immediately embark on a read of the rest of the series. Along with an epilogue that made my heart yearn, Half a Soul is a historical romance debut I’m unlikely to forget for quite some time.

Trigger warnings: violence, war, death, kidnapping, emotional abuse

Euphemia Reeves has encountered quite the inconvenient problem in that she has fallen in love with the son of a gentleman. As a housemaid for the gentleman in question, Effie is out of luck on how to proceed, but when she finds herself drawn into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, she finds an unexpected solution. Lord Blackthorn is a benefactor, more than willing to help Effie in her venture, for a trade of one thousand stitches sewn into his favorite jacket. With just one hundred days to convince Benedict Ashbrooke to propose, Effie is on the clock. Her mind made up, nothing will stop her in her quest for love, not even Lord Blackthorns’ insistent meddling.

Ten Thousand Stitches is a Cinderella retelling with a twist of regency romance in the best way possible. With an underlying air of kindness and charm grounding the entire story, Atwater infuses such heart into the second installment of her regency faerie tales. Unlike its predecessor, Ten Thousand Stitches focuses more heavily on class structure and the lives of servants working behind the scenes for the great families of England. Effie is one of my favorite historical romance heroines thus far, seriously stubborn and determined to find love no matter the cost. Jubilee/Lord Blackthorn made this romance all the more amusing, and his constant need to meddle eventually worked its way into my heart. Ten Thousand Stitches is a romance that carries as much depth in the commentary, as it excels at being incredibly heartwarming, and it made me fall in love with retellings all over again.

Trigger warnings: domestic abuse

All over London, the available young ladies of the season are turning up dead, and no one knows why. Thrown headfirst into the mystery is Abigail Wilder, daughter of the illustrious Lord Sorcier of England, desperate to uncover the truth. Her father Elias believes that a dark lord of faerie is behind the deaths, and though her family doubts her capability, Abigail is willing to use her magic against the threat no matter the personal cost. Joining the investigation into the deaths is Mercy, a loner magician, the last person Abigail wants derailing her mission. Though the two are no more than unlikely allies, Mercy may be the very person that Abigail cannot live without.

Longshadow is a conclusion that centers around a sapphic romance and the daughter of Elias and Theodora. These two components made me all the more excited for this one, but unfortunately, this is probably my least favorite out of the three. I liked that there was an emphasis on the Sorcier family and Abigail and Hugh, as adopted siblings, but I think the main relationship kind of got lost in the weeds. Longshadow certainly has the charm textbook to Atwater, and I adored the dynamic between Abigail and Mercy. I think just knowing that this was the conclusive book of the series, I wanted more substance on the romance side of things. Besides that, the mystery plot took up a lot more content than I expected, and personally, I wasn’t as engaged with it as I’d have liked. The little moments between the family were everything though, and Abigail and Mercy had a really wonderful connection that I would have liked to see more of.

Trigger warnings: death