2020 fantasy novella, side story in the Harwood Spellbook series.
Juliana Banks is one of the first female students of magic; Caroline
Fennell was a rising politician, but has become tainted by the fall of
her patroness. They had a secret understanding, but…
Well, I think Juliana and Caroline could have justified their own
novel. This is fine, but at the length (just barely edging out of
novelette and into novella by Hugo rules) there's never time to give
the principals the space they need to flourish as characters; instead,
Caroline in particular comes over as rather fat-headed, having made
assumptions about Juliana without having taken a moment to talk with
her about their future, and at greater length we might see more of the
hints of why she's been thinking that way—but is nonetheless
redeemable.
Instead, the real heroine of this story is the fey guardian of the
woods near Thornfell, who has a very specific purpose in mind and will
not be distracted from her efforts to achieve it.
In spite of the feeling of haste, this is enjoyable, and has
particularly lush descriptions of the haunted woods. Not a place to
start the series—stick with the novels Snowspelled and Thornbound
for that—but a rewarding side story.
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