Book Details:
Author: Jacquelyn Benson
Series: The Charismatics
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction(Historical Fantasy)
Page Count: 492 pages
Publisher: Vaughan Woods Publishing
Published: April 30th 2020
Blurb:
London, 1914. Lily’s visions could stop a killer… if she’ll trust a reclusive aristocrat with her darkest secret.
A monster stalks the gaslit streets of Edwardian London, draining the blood of the city’s mediums. Lily Albright knows who’s next.
Lily is plagued by visions of the future she can never change. When a mysterious fiend threatens someone she loves, she’s determined this time will be different.
But she can’t do it alone. To save a life, Lily must reveal her darkest secrets to someone she has little reason to trust—the reclusive Lord Strangford, a man haunted by his own unusual powers.
From the glittering galleries of Bond Street to the rookeries of Southwark, Lily and Strangford plunge into a dark conspiracy that lies at the heart of England’s rising eugenics movement. To thwart it, Lily must face a past rife with betrayal—and embrace the power she has spent her entire life trying to escape.
Review:
Anyone who knows me even a bit well enough knows how much I love the k-drama: While you were sleeping. It was one of the main reasons I decided to give this book a try. This drama was recently on my mind and as soon as I read the blurb of this book, I got reminded of the drama again.
The other main reason being Olivia Atwater’s review; I had absolutely adored the first book in her Regency Faerie Tales series and her overwhelmingly positive review of this book gave me the final push to start reading this book.
Now, enough about other things. Let’s talk about the book. Note: - My review is gonna be a tiny bit spoilery I guess but I am not gonna include anything that I consider as a ‘major spoiler’.
So, what does this book offer us?
· Characters with superpowers? Check.
· A good use of tropes? Check.
· Slow burn romance that doesn’t hog all the limelight? Check.
· Compelling main and side characters? Check.
· Good world building? Check.
· Incorporation of somewhat rarely used backdrops? Check.
· Excellent writing? Uncheck.
· Consistent pacing? Uncheck.
LILITH ALBRIGHT RATTLED ACROSS the heath on the back of her motorcycle, pushing for speed as though it were possible to outrun the inevitable.
With an opening like this, how can one expect me to not continue reading? A pre-WW1 heroine who wears trousers and rides an early motorcycle called Triumph? Heck ya, bring out the popcorns!
The book is set in 1914 with a backdrop of medical advances in blood typing and blood transfusion along with the emergence of eugenics. Even without the fantasy power users, it would already have been a very compelling read based on that backdrop alone. I have rarely seen such backdrops being used in historical fiction/fantasy and witnessing how well the author employs this backdrop to advance the plot delighted me.
Yes, the plot elements dissected art are not anything earth shatteringly unique except a few fresh additions but combined together, the elements in the plot really come to life leading to a really enjoyable story with enjoyable characters.
Then we have Lily- our main character. She is such a compelling main character; girl crush vibes. She isn’t exceptionally smart or sarcastic (a rarity in bookland where badass heroine usually equals extremely witty and sarcastic heroine). She doubts herself at every opportunity and she makes foolish decisions but acknowledges them too. She is headstrong, stubborn and has a bit of a short fuse and keeps others at yard’s length even though they might be trying to act in her interest. Yes, she was frustrating at times but this only made her all the more real. She realizes that she doesn't have to face adversities alone. Watching her develop and grow over her insecurities so much throughout the novel was so satisfying. I also liked how her power wasn’t just about visions of future.
I’m mad at the blurb for making me think that Strangford was going to be one of those typical, reclusive, cold, disinterested male lead. He’s made up of tropes too, okie but his character was so refreshing to read about. Most of the side characters were developed enough to not exist solely as one-dimensional caricatures. I also appreciated the fact that the Wu family was depicted in extremely racist light(like you know how Asian characters in historical fic are usually treated). I would love to read and discover more about the other Charismatics, especially Evangeline and Sam(their backstory, their powers…intriguing).
The relationships between the characters were written so realistically. I love the concept of ‘found family’ and although, it’s an overused trope in fantasy books, I liked The Refuge. The combination of ‘Misfits and Aristocracy’ isn’t really a particularly new thing in fantasy but but I was satisfied with the way the association was portrayed. The portrayal of Lily’s relationship with her father was so endearing to witness and the way her father said- I am arguing with myself- while arguing with her…
The romance is slow burn yet instantaneous- progression was slow burn even though the feelings were pretty quick. I loved reading their parts even though they were pretty minor in the whole scheme of the plot. The motives behind the slow burn were understandable. Even the quickness of the development of said feelings doesn’t feel unrealistic after one reads the book and analyses characters and the situations. I ship it wholeheartedly!
A major problem I have with the book is the writing. The writing, although not terrible, was on the verge of too much telling. The author added too many unnecessary, meandering details which made the pacing highly inconsistent at times. The amount of inner monologues could have been reduced too. Removing those ‘filler sections’ would have resulted in a much more compact and better book. Another choice would have been to possibly replace those fillers with text that placed out the main/side characters more. It had the potential to be absolutely excellent but is just ended up in the upper tier of good.
Again, this is just me nitpicking: I saw that this book’s being shelved on Goodreads under ‘Mystery’ category but frankly speaking, I won’t categorize it as such(me and my nitpickings sometimes, duh) The reason being: although there were elements of ‘whydunnit’ mystery, I never felt like it was a full fledged mystery or anything like that. We know the whodunit from early in the first half of the book and I had uncovered the whydunnit several pages before the main character did, so, the reveal didn’t feel anything like a typical mystery unraveling.
The last arc ended predictably but satisfactorily. With so few pages remaining, I was worried that the author might not be able to tie up all the loose ends properly. Not everything was explained, some things were clearly left for the sequels. Overall, a satisfactory ending.
Final Thoughts?
All in all, looking forward to the next book in this series. I dearly wish that the next book is just as good as this one if not better.
