Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Camberion Press
Description
"The Lord of Stariel is dead. Long live the Lord of Stariel. Whoever that is. Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they? Will it be the lord's eldest son, who he despised? His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense? His scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion? Hetta knows it won't be her, and she's glad of it. Returning home for her father's funeral, all Hetta has to do is survive the family drama and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive local men until the Choosing. Then she can leave. But whoever Stariel chooses will have bigger problems than eccentric relatives to deal with. Winged, beautifully deadly problems. For the first time in centuries, the fae are returning to the Mortal Realm, and only the Lord of Stariel can keep the estate safe. In theory"--Back cover.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member MHThaung
Illusionist and thespian Hetta returns to the family estate for her father's funeral. What starts off as a tiresome duty becomes complicated when it becomes evident someone is interfering in family politics and more.
The story introduces a host of suspicious characters who have interestingly
The prose was clean, and I didn't notice any typos (though I did spot a pesky missing full stop somewhere...)
The pacing is leisurely with relatively little dramatic action. I think it was slowed down further by over-repetition. For my tastes, we spend too much time inside Hetta's head, with all her thoughts about what the other characters are thinking and feeling. Added to that, I get a distinct impression of the narrator frequently tapping me on the shoulder and pointing out what's in a character's head, just in case I hadn't noticed already. I wonder if the intended readership is quite young.
Overall, a pleasant read with a gentle pace.
The story introduces a host of suspicious characters who have interestingly
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different agendas. I particularly enjoyed the family dynamics. The author plants clues and drops hints at a decent rate as Hetta's understanding of the situation(s) that face her unfolds.The prose was clean, and I didn't notice any typos (though I did spot a pesky missing full stop somewhere...)
The pacing is leisurely with relatively little dramatic action. I think it was slowed down further by over-repetition. For my tastes, we spend too much time inside Hetta's head, with all her thoughts about what the other characters are thinking and feeling. Added to that, I get a distinct impression of the narrator frequently tapping me on the shoulder and pointing out what's in a character's head, just in case I hadn't noticed already. I wonder if the intended readership is quite young.
Overall, a pleasant read with a gentle pace.
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LibraryThing member Tikimoof
I got this because I liked the cover from the SPFBO contest.
This has exactly the kind of romance that I like, where it's super slow-burning, but the characters already knew each other so it still doesn't feel like a poor life choice. And it's in another one of those I wasn't too mad with it taking the whole book to resolve.
I really enjoyed the humanity of every character. Everybody obviously had their own goals and motivations, and obviously worked towards them. But most people also had a basic, fundamental empathy, so I didn't have to worry about Hetta having a Fitz-like sobfest through the middle portion.
For my own personal bugbear, it had a reasonable response to women's roles in the universe. Not incredibly well-justified, but it was fleshed out enough for me to not angrily demand why the world was a certain way.
I guess my only complaint is that it ended up having really small stakes. I kept thinking it would ramp up, and it didn't. But it was also consistent with the way the story was set up, so eh. Just my general dislike of small scale books speaking, I guess.
I'd like to pick up the next one after I make it through all of these library books!
This has exactly the kind of romance that I like, where it's super slow-burning, but the characters already knew each other so it still doesn't feel like a poor life choice. And it's in another one of those
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pseudo-regency/early-1900's-but-with-magic! settings, which are always a love-it-or-hate-it affair with me. The will-they-won't-they also had enough justification that I really enjoyed the humanity of every character. Everybody obviously had their own goals and motivations, and obviously worked towards them. But most people also had a basic, fundamental empathy, so I didn't have to worry about Hetta having a Fitz-like sobfest through the middle portion.
For my own personal bugbear, it had a reasonable response to women's roles in the universe. Not incredibly well-justified, but it was fleshed out enough for me to not angrily demand why the world was a certain way.
I guess my only complaint is that it ended up having really small stakes. I kept thinking it would ramp up, and it didn't. But it was also consistent with the way the story was set up, so eh. Just my general dislike of small scale books speaking, I guess.
I'd like to pick up the next one after I make it through all of these library books!
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LibraryThing member N.W.Moors
Upon the death of her father, Hetta returns home to Stariel for the funeral and the choosing of the new Lord. Her entire family is there as well as the staff of the great estate including long-time butler Wyn, Hetta's friend. And there's the good-looking neighbor, Hetta's childhood crush.
This is
This is
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an interesting take on magic and the Fae and an enjoyable read. It's a bit slow in places; the love triangle was unnecessary in my opinion without a lot of chemistry on anyone's part, and the family dynamics felt a little too Downton Abbey-ish. But the magic in Stariel and the attempted invasion by the Fae bumped this up to 3 1/2 stars rounded up. Show Less
LibraryThing member Lunarsong
Fun read. Like-able, yet imperfect characters. The good ending and evolution of the relationships between the characters’ gives a book that could have been mediocre and shallow just enough depth to be satisfying, thought-provoking, and real. The ending rings true. The booked looked at first like
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it might be one of those books where a woman with awesome magical powers still spends most of the book being saved by men (or worse princes). Fortunately, this book didn’t do that. This heroine is the one saving herself (and some others too). Show Less
Awards
Sir Julius Vogel Awards (Nominee — Novel — 2019)
Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (Semi-Finalist — 2019)
Original publication date
2018-10-27
ISBN
9780473451257
Local notes
Stariel, 1
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF Lancaster |