Format: Print 

I loved this. It has so many elements that I enjoy: historical references (England, Ireland and the potato famine spring to mind!), romance, sewing/tailoring, strong characters (main and side), some misunderstandings, and a non-complicated magic system that doesn’t require a whole book to explain. I’ve clearly found my go to in fantasy romance – a historical romance with some fantastical elements. 

The book read quickly and I was very intrigued to keep reading – I flew through this in about two days. I will say though that I think the quick pacing is a bit deceiving in the book. The book is intended to cover a season, which in regency times would have been about six months. While I was aware of this and there were some references to when things were happening, I don’t think it’s obvious that an actually quite long period of time passes during the book, although admittedly, I also didn’t feel like the romance moved too quickly. (On the subject of seasons: a lot of people have compared this to Bridgerton. I haven’t watched Bridgerton but from my understanding of the series, I can totally see where those comparisons come in so I do think it would be enjoyable for fans of the series looking for a magical story.) 

I thought the characters were fantastic. Niamh was great, although very frustrating at times! And I thought Kit’s character development was fantastic. Subtle hints were given throughout about his growth is probably one of my favourite elements of the book. 

The side characters were also great. I wish we had seen more of Sophia, but Rosa, Miriam and Sinclair were fantastic additions to the book – I’d have happily spent more time with them too. 

I liked the magic system and I particularly liked that it didn’t require a lot of set up. We didn’t need to go into convoluted explanations for how the world worked and I really appreciated that in what I believe is a standalone. 

Yes, at times things were a bit convenient but I truly enjoyed reading this. I can see where the problems might be but I genuinely didn’t mind them and I’d very happily re-read this.