Goodreads Description
New York, 1925
Arthur Kenzie is on a mission: to destroy the powerful supernatural relic that threatens Manhattan—and all the nonmagical minds in the world. So far his search has been fruitless. All it has done is keep him from the man he loves. But he’ll do anything to keep Rory safe and free, even if that means leaving him behind.
Psychometric Rory Brodigan knows his uncontrolled magic is a liability, but he’s determined to gain power over it. He can take care of himself—and maybe even Arthur, too, if Arthur will let him. An auction at the Paris world’s fair offers the perfect opportunity to destroy the relic, if a group of power-hungry supernaturals don’t destroy Rory and Arthur first.
As the magical world converges on Paris, Arthur and Rory have to decide who they can trust. Guessing wrong could spell destruction for their bond—and for the world as they know it.
I really loved the first novel in this series, Spellbound. Yes, it was a romance – and I’m not a romance reader – but it was also a very good fantasy story, and I was able to enjoy the fantasy story without being too bothered with the romance.
I was hoping for this to be more of it.
It wasn’t.
This is definitely a romance, and I wonder whether the issues I had with it are merely a consequence of the fact that I don’t care for romances.
It is perfectly possible that a lot was happening on a romance level. In fact, I’m pretty sure it did. A lot of space and words went into building Rory and Arthur’s relationship, and a lot of the conflict came from that. On a romance level, it could be that this is a very good story.
But I was hoping for the fantasy side of it, and I’m sorry to say, there is very little about it here. Not to mention that what there is, it’s very disappointing and clearly more of an excuse for the romance than a story in itself. On that side, there were so many loose ends and threads that went nowhere.
But as I said, it is probably me rather than the story.
As for the rest, it is a good one. The writing flows smoothly, the characters are well-crafted, and it’s easy to get attached to them. The historical setting is maybe a little less interesting than the first book, but it was still enjoyable.
If you enjoy romances, you’ll probably enjoy this far more than I did.
Wonderstruck
Excerpt
The church was at the end of a street of row houses, built in ivy-covered gray stone with arches over the doors and a huge stained-glass window. Arthur brought the car to the curb in front of the church and then reached into the back seat. “Would you like to borrow this?”
He held out a gray fedora that went so perfectly with Rory’s suit that Arthur had to have brought it on purpose. Rory raised an eyebrow. “That yours?”
“It is,” said Arthur, “but it should fit you. Well. More or less.”
Rory hesitated. Maybe it was a strange thing to make his heart beat faster, but there was something about sitting in Arthur’s car, borrowing his hat for the morning like it was no big deal – it was a simple thing, but somehow having even the casual parts of their lives entwined like a real couple felt like a fairy tale.
“Thanks,” he said quietly, taking the hat.
Arthur brushed the thanks away. “I love that you think I did this out of the goodness of my heart and not out of a selfish desire to treat my eyes.”
Rory put the fedora on. It was a little big, but not ridiculously so, and that would keep it from messing up his curls too much. “How’s it look?”
Arthurs gaze was locked on him. “Perfect,” he said simply.
In post is part of the Thursday Quotables meme. If you want to discover more about this meme and maybe take part in it, head over to Bookshelf Fantasies
2 Comments
Yamini MacLean
Hari OM
Nah. I don’t do romance either. If there is a connection as a result of action in a tale, all good and well – but if it is the focus of the story… nope. (I was once told that I don’t have a romantic bone in my body. That’s probably true!) YAM xx
jazzfeathers
I agree with you. I’m not opposed to romance, but I don’t really care about stories which are solenly about the romance. This one was really on the border for me.