RogerBW's Blog

Thornbound, Stephanie Burgis 13 September 2024

2019 fantasy. Cassandra Harwood has got her magical school for young ladies, but many people would like it to fail.

And my goodness this can get quite harrowing (a repeated theme in Burgis's writing and she does it very well). There are inspectors who want the project closed down; but one of them is also an old enemy with a personal grudge against Cassandra, and another is a friend who's suddenly become an enemy for no obvious reason. Her husband was sent away on government business on their wedding day, and they are keeping him away, while working to get him thrown out of his position simply because he's associated with her. And her supportive sister is also being snubbed. All it would take is a leaking roof or a sudden outbreak of mice… but in fact it's a sudden outbreak of elves, as someone in the school has made a dark bargain, and it's not even clear who that might be…

It's hard work, emotionally. I wouldn't want to read this when I was feeling fragile, even though I trust Burgis to bring everything to a happy ending. But my goodness it's done well; Cassandra is the heroine, yes, but she is not perfect, and having spent much of her life forging her own path in spite of all naysayers she finds it difficult to see other solutions.

Burgis could doubtless find an audience by being light and fluffy, but there's real tension here; it doesn't always sit comfortably with the cosy Regency-ish setting, but when they work together (which is most of the time) they're superb.

[Buy this at Amazon] and help support the blog. ["As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases."]

Previous in series: Snowspelled | Series: The Harwood Spellbook

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