C Gockel Writes

Book Review: The Witchwood Knot (Victorian Faerie Tales Book 1) by Olivia Atwater

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Book Review: The Witchwood Knot (Victorian Faerie Tales Book 1) by Olivia Atwater

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If you like lovely, atmospheric fantasy with twisty fae, and a touch of romance, you can’t go wrong with Olivia Atwater. I’m so glad she returned to this world.

Olivia Atwater returns to the world of Half a Soul with a “sharp and beautiful gothic romance” (Alix E. Harrow). Dive into The Witchwood Knot, and enjoy a dark faerie tale set in a magical version of Victorian England.

The faeries of Witchwood Manor have stolen its young lord. His governess intends to steal him back.

Victorian governess Winifred Hall knows a con when she sees one. When her bratty young charge transforms overnight into a perfectly behaved block of wood, she soon realises that the real boy has been abducted by the Fair Folk. Unfortunately, the lord of Witchwood Manor is the only man in England who doesn’t believe in faeries—which leaves Winnie in the unenviable position of rescuing the young lord-to-be all by herself.

Witchwood Manor is bigger than its inhabitants realise, however, and full of otherworldly dangers. As Winnie delves deeper into the other side of the house, she enlists the aid of its dark and dubious faerie butler, Mr Quincy, who hides several awful secrets behind his charming smile. Winnie hopes to make her way to the centre of the Witchwood Knot through wit and cleverness… but when all of her usual tricks fail, who will she dare to trust?

Book Review 10,000 Stitches by Olivia Atwater

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Ten Thousand Stitches (Regency Faerie Tales Book 2) Kindle Edition by Olivia Atwater (Author)

Are you looking for an escape from the real world that you can believe in? 10,000 Stitches is the second in Olivia Atwater’s Regency Fairie Tales. This one twists the conventions of the Regency genre even more, and delightfully so.

The heroine isn’t precisely plucky, she is contained, trying to get by in horrible circumstances. She is that rarely visited of Regency Romances characters: the maid. And not the lady’s maid. A floor scrubbing maid who speech brands her as being part of the lower class. She does have one thing going for her: a talent for embroidery that is magical. It is on that talent that she makes a wager with a fairy Lord–she has 10,000 stitches to win the love of a gentleman, not just any gentleman of course: a handsome gentleman.

Hijinks ensue. Like the last book, this “fantasy” is in many ways a more realistic portrayal of the Regency era than the non-magical variety of regency romance. Highly recomended.

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Book Review: Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

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Half a Soul (Regency Faerie Tales Book 1) Kindle Edition by Olivia Atwater (Author)

Well this was delightful. Half a Soul is a Regency Romance with magic. Dora, our heroine, is cursed by a faerie and loses the half of her soul that can give a damn. She is left being able to care, but only if she tries very, very hard, or if a person has done something extraordinarily wonderful or terrible.

She cares for her cousin Vanessa, and so hares off to London with Vanessa to “help Vanessa find a husband,” but Vanessa has other plans–mainly finding someone who can cure her dearest Dora, most likely in the form of the Lord High Sorcier.

Hijinks ensue. There is loads of witty banter in this one, and a touching story. But what I really liked was that although this is a fantasy, it did much better at showing how cruddy the regency world was if you weren’t rich.

Highly recommended. Available at Amazon US, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia

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