Very nice. Cute story, nice characters, camaraderie, strange magic. Romance worked for me, no misogyny even of the romantic sort, with mutual saving and respect. ( )

An interesting tale set in an alternative 19th century where magic exists but is dying out as it is gradually diluted through marriage with non-magical people. Only aristocratic families and royalty who plan arranged marriages have managed to keep it in any strength.

The first character encountered, Silas, is a son of one such aristocratic family but has an abusive father. In a drunken rage, his father uses his powers to try to kill Silas who strikes back, discovering he has the ability to absorb them. But when he kills his father, the borrowed powers are lost. He sets out, in one thread throughout the book, to steal other people's magic, as well as magic residing in certain houses, by gruesome means.

In the main timeline, about twenty years later, it is 1846, and a writer in his thirties, Merritt Fernsby, inherits a house with inbuilt magic. He has trouble with it from the start, and an organisation called the Boston Institute for the Keeping of Enchanted Rooms (BIKER) sends one of their top operatives, Hulda Larkin, a buttoned-up woman also in her thirties, to bring it into line. But the seeming perils posed by the house are the least of their problems.....

I liked the magical system set out in the list at the start of the book. There are various abilities which people can have, to measured percentages, but the use of each ability involves temporary losses, such as forgetfulness, confusion, stiffness of joints or other drawbacks depending on the power used. Some people have more than one ability. Houses can use powers without these drawbacks - and that includes spirits of deceased wizards who possess houses. Only living beings experience the penalties.

A thread running throughout the story is the gradual blossoming of an attraction between the two main characters, Merritt and Hulda, but in a very understated and cautious way. Both have a chequered past as far as romance goes and both have built shells around their hearts to shield their vulnerability. Those shells are in danger of softening as each experiences a growing love for the other. But as with all true romances, misunderstandings and obstacles block the path.

The subsidiary characters of the two servants, Beth and Baptiste, are nicely sketched, as was the indication that someone thought to be wholly without magic might actually have some - though I didn't guess at the explanation. The villain, Silas, had a motivation for what he was doing - he wanted to be all powerful so that no one could have control over him - but his actions become more and more extreme, wholly unjustified to anyone but himself. I thought that more could have been made of the peril he posed - for example, he was having to keep away due to Beth's clairvoyance, so when she was leaving for a dance and would be away overnight, I expected Silas to make a move. Such opportunities to rack up tension were not exploited. For that reason, I would rate this at 4 stars overall, but it was an enjoyable read. ( )

Well researches and written, will keep you enthralled and entertained ( )

As a YA read, or

As a Romance I suppose it passes. Not what I was looking for, which is just the paranormal fantasy part. A fair number of plot errors as well, but if they fix the ones I submitted it would be worth the 3star. ( )

Interesting story set in 19 century. Although I qualify the book as slow burn and the two story lines (one in England and one in the U.S.) finally converged later in the book, the story is capitivating. ( )