The Revels: The must-read spellbinding historical debut of 2023

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A beguiling tale, rich in atmosphere and beautifully told. Fans of The Binding will love this stand out debut' This lyrical introduction offers plenty of food for thought. The Revels, in fact, has a fresh writing style that continues throughout the story. It is filled with beautiful prose, original comparisons, rich historical references, unique and sometime treacherous characters. There are eloquent numerous lines and moving passages such as seen in the letter from Francis (when he is dying) to Nicholas. It is obvious Francis loves his brother and does not want to see him under the control of their father. Francis also regrets not knowing his brother better. Especially, Nicholas the witch— who the dead sing to. As he states: ‘Fear of the consequences made us shy of each other.’ This was a time of great accusations and hiding such truth was necessary for survival. The above-mentioned reference to Stacey Halls, Laura Purcell and Bridget Collins is bang on. I have read each of those authors and they are queens within this genre. The comparison is a worthy one. Highly recommended. I had the foresight to realise it was becoming a relic of the past. King Charles saw us as no more than a reminder of his father, a bored monarch whose obsession with the supernatural soon turned to deer hunting. I saw the writing on the wall then, just as I see myself clearly today. Kin James set me to hunt witches and his son put me on the Star Chamber to root out dissenters. I am not a witch-hunter. I am a persecutor of men, and I am well-bred for the work.” Arcady doesn't like merchants or the government, and pointedly doesn't use the honorific pronoun They for them. They do use it for university people, who they respect. Their parents venerated education, so that's part of the reason, but it's a little naive. The university is very expensive (they have scholarships Arcady can't apply for lest their identity is exposed) and has a library inaccessible to the public. I struggle to see how this elitism is better than that of the merchant class who, by all accounts, are just merchants.

Many are still damned and many enjoy the spectacle of death. The year is 1645 and a macabre witch-hunt takes the stage in this beguiling post-Jacobean novel by Stacey Thomas✨ Thief Arcady scrapes a living on the streets of Vatra. Desperate, Arcady steals a powerful artifact from the bones of the Plaguebringer, the most hated person in Lumet history. Only Arcady knows the artifact's magic holds the key to a new life among the nobles at court and a chance for revenge. Everen and Arcady are bonded. It's not clear how or why that happened, or what it means practically or culturally. The spell connects to Everen, the last male dragon foretold to save his kind, dragging him through the Veil. Disguised as a human, Everen soon learns that to regain his true power and form and fulfil his destiny, he only needs to convince one little thief to trust him enough to bond completely--body, mind, and soul--and then kill them.

Summary

Same with "handspan of years." Handspan is a measure of distance, not time. Is it meant to be five years? This quote had me sighing at the irony that reflects the contemporary life of women. How many times are women scapegoats for the acts of their male counterparts. For example, the MeToo movement and a woman coming out to speak against a more powerful male. In 1645, would the victim be accused of witchcraft? Let that sink in.

The setting of this book – Pendle Hill and in an England on the brink of civil war was just perfectly evoked. Superstition, war, rumours and mistrust were rife anway and then came the charges of witchcraft.The topiary had been carved into the shapes of mythical animals…" - What kind? Does this world have the same mythical creatures as ours? There is a lot of this sort of fill-in-the-blank description. This line occurs while the characters are at a ball. The only thing described in any detail is the food. Sometimes I feel like I'll never read a good book again. Sometimes I have to settle for an "it was ok" one.

Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for an advance reader copy of Dragonfall. This review expresses my honest opinions. Things you may want to know: This is the first book of a trilogy, but it does have a satisfying ending while leaving the door open for more. Witch-hunts are no more than a revel. The price of admission your complacent disregard for the innocents you push into their paths.’Arcady, a human, and Everen, a dragon, have become bonded through a magical accident where Arcady pulled Everen from his world and trapped him in his human form, power diminished. They have to work together to complete the bond, complicated by their romantic tension and opposing goals. The Library's buildings remain fully open but some services are limited, including access to collection items. We're It was different from most of the writing styles I’ve seen through the years. It was fascinating but it was dragging A LOT sometimes that I found myself skimming more than I’d like to admit. There is a thin line between poetic and “get to the point ffs” and this book played jump rope with it. In Rawton, Nicholas meets Althamia’s cousin Grace, who he suspects has hidden powers of her own. The tensions between his true nature and the job he has to do become greater as he and Percival are made complicit in witch-hunter Rush’s investigations, heading inexorably towards the trial and death of more innocent people.