The Midnight Queen

May 25, 2015
Magic, intrigue, and romance fuel Hunter's debut fantasy, which is set in an alternate Regency England. Graham "Gray" Marshall has been drained of his magic and blamed for the death of a fellow student at the College of Merlin in Oxford. He can't really refuse when his teacher, Prof. Appius Callender, drags him off to his distant country house for the summer breakâeven though he thinks Callender is part of a conspiracy to murder Lord Halifax, the Master of Merlin College. Gray is befriended by Callender's middle daughter, Sophie, and the two set to work uncovering the truth about the conspiracy. Along the way, they discover that Sophie's father has lied to her about her own magical abilities, and find the hidden truth about Sophie's own family history. Although the novel begins as Gray's story, Sophie quickly takes over the spotlight. Their romance, the twisty intrigue, and Hunter's colorful alt-Regency setting, complete with drawing rooms, balls, and barouches, will charm fans of romantic fantasy.

September 15, 2014

After a late-night adventure takes a deadly turn, student of magic Gray Marshall leaves Oxford for a long vacation to stay with his professor in the Breton countryside, only to find himself a virtual prisoner. His one consolation is the company of Sophie, his mentor's daughter, who wants to study magic herself. But the professor has been keeping secrets, one of which will change the shape of the political world. VERDICT Watching the attachment grow between Gray and Sophie is a big part of the appeal of this fast-paced alternate history. The political landscape Hunter has constructed in this debut novel is very different from the actual early 19th century, and while the world presented here is tantalizing, this fantasy is frustratingly lacking in the descriptive details that could have helped flesh it out. As this is the first book in the series, there is room to grow.

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