This is, what, like, the tenth book this year I have not wanted to review because I liked it too much? I hate that. Plus also I read it almost two months ago so the details of what I wanted to say about it have escaped me. Mostly, I really, really liked it!
This book takes place in a world where there is a magical secret society hidden in plain sight, and one of our main characters, Robin Blyth, is accidentally assigned to a magical department in the government, even though he is not magical and didn’t even know magic existed until five minutes after he walked in the door. Now he’s the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, and his predecessor is mysteriously missing (soon to be presumed dead), and a break-in at the office makes it clear something nefarious is going on. Robin ends up investigating with his co-worker, Edwin Courcey, who is from a longstanding magical family, but is self-conscious of not being as powerful as the rest of his family.
The relationship between Robin and Edwin is so very nice. I just loved it. They have great chemistry, and they make great partners (when they manage to sort out their differences) in investigation. The romance part of this book was excellent, and the fantasy part was excellent as well, which is good because it’s just as important as the romance in terms of the story. This is going to be a trilogy, and we’re introduced here to a plot that will connect all three books together, despite being about (presumably) three different romances.
The vibes here were also impeccable. The tone of the story, and the setting, was just so fun to sink into. I’m definitely giving it a re-read before I hop into book two after its published.
[4.5 stars]
