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booksthatburn's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Ned and Julian went to a boarding school as teenagers, where they were bullied and tormented by the prefects, particularly Victor Nevett. Now adults, they find themselves in the strange position of trying to prove that this thoroughly detestable person didn't kill his own father. Throughout the present day narrative are shorter sections, showing what Ned and Julian went through in school. These sections help to frame their current moral quandary as something more viscerally understandable. They’re trying to find the real murderer, not to help Victor or avenge his father, but because Ned doesn’t want the real murderer to get away with it. There’s an awareness of class issues and the sexism built into their society, the way concerns of propriety get in the way without actually addressing the harms they’re meant to prevent.
Because Ned and Julian already are in a habit of physical intimacy when the book begins, the arc of their romance is more one of realizing that they like each other as people, not just as fuck buddies. They're parsing through whether they’re both willing to entangle their lives in ways that might draw looks towards two confirmed bachelors.
I like Miss Frost, and in this stratified society where the book is set it could’ve been easy to not have any significant female characters. Instead, Miss Frost is competent and thorough, gradually appearing more as things progress. She seems poised to become more relevant in later books, and I'm looking forward to reading more with her.
The magic system is described in enough detail to give a sense of what it looks like for someone to work spells, but it’s not so strict as to invite disbelief when some detail is too specific. I enjoyed the murder mystery, it’s sufficiently twisty and interesting to keep me guessing all the way through, while still having an answer that makes sense and doesn’t require outside information to be able to put things together as the characters do. I also like the way that Ned keeps having to work on other cases for other clients in a way that fit his situation as someone who only recently took over a business. It’s just enough to make it feel like his job exists outside of this one case, while avoiding the generation of plot threats that go nowhere.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and am excited for the sequel.
Because Ned and Julian already are in a habit of physical intimacy when the book begins, the arc of their romance is more one of realizing that they like each other as people, not just as fuck buddies. They're parsing through whether they’re both willing to entangle their lives in ways that might draw looks towards two confirmed bachelors.
I like Miss Frost, and in this stratified society where the book is set it could’ve been easy to not have any significant female characters. Instead, Miss Frost is competent and thorough, gradually appearing more as things progress. She seems poised to become more relevant in later books, and I'm looking forward to reading more with her.
The magic system is described in enough detail to give a sense of what it looks like for someone to work spells, but it’s not so strict as to invite disbelief when some detail is too specific. I enjoyed the murder mystery, it’s sufficiently twisty and interesting to keep me guessing all the way through, while still having an answer that makes sense and doesn’t require outside information to be able to put things together as the characters do. I also like the way that Ned keeps having to work on other cases for other clients in a way that fit his situation as someone who only recently took over a business. It’s just enough to make it feel like his job exists outside of this one case, while avoiding the generation of plot threats that go nowhere.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and am excited for the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Medical content, Sexual content, Classism, Alcohol, Murder, Drug use, Grief, Ableism, and Death
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Sexism, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Racism
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