Stolen Magic

March 15, 2013
Romance, intrigue and scandalous magic among the mostly highborn in Regency England. Kat's out of sibling projects with Elissa married and Angeline soon to be; even her scapegrace brother, Charles, has reformed. Kat's enemies have delayed her initiation into the Order of the Guardians that expelled her mother for practicing witchcraft, even though--or perhaps because--she unmasked a highborn traitor among them. She's waiting for a portal to reach the Golden Hall, having sacrificed hers to save Charles. Angeline's wedding to Frederick Carlyle at Hepworth, his family's stately home in Devon, soon provides scope for Kat's talents. En route, a suspicious accident overturns their carriage, yet Papa's oddly uncomfortable when the Marquise de Valmont comes to their rescue. Attempts to sabotage the wedding continue at Hepworth. Is Mrs. Carlyle responsible? She'd prefer Frederick marry his cousin, Jane. When the Order's portals are stolen, the unspeakable Lady Fotherington suspects Kat, whose own suspicions center on the angry, mysterious boy who's been following her. Though Kat's longing for the mother she never knew sounds a note of gravitas, the now-too-familiar characters and predictable plotting call for freshening. A final plot twist that moves the series action beyond lives of the rich and titled could do the trick next time around. Kat's fans will want to hang on for Book 4. (Historical fantasy. 10 & up)

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