Shadow of Night

 

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, 2012 Viking Adult

     As an alchemical historian, Elizabethan England is a dream destination for Diana Bishop. When the present is too dangerous for a witch with no control over her power and who has fallen in love with a vampire Diana and her husband, Matthew de Clairmont escape into his past. Fitting into history when Matthew and his family are powerful forces both politically and martially is difficult for modern woman Diana. 

     Matthew is Matthew Roydon in 1590. Advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, spy, and member of the Creatures' Congregation, he is responsible for ensuring the creatures of Europe refrain from meddling in human affairs. Diana discovers her husband is a powerful man in his own right, but the weight behind his family name is an additional level of protection over their forbidden relationship. Their travel in time displaces the original Matthew Roydon and requires that the pair scramble to reassure his family when Philippe de Clairmont receives word of his missing son. Matthew is hesitant to meet his relatively recently deceased father and concerned the vampire lord will take issue with his choice of wife and Diana's witchy magic. 

     Philippe knows something is changed in his son, and the pair are forced to reveal some of the future to the vampire. Matthew's family accepts Diana and, with Philippe's support, the two have a second, public wedding. More characters come into play as Diana meets more of the de Clairmont clan, including Matthew's sister Louisa, son Benjamin, and nephews. Not every member of the ancient and powerful clan is happy with the new witchy member, but Matthew and Philippe stand behind Diana to set events in motion which will ripple down the timeline. 

     While her personal life revolves around how the vampires of the de Clairmont clan handle Matthew's marriage, her magic and the focus of their journey depends on Diana making strong relationships with a nearby coven. With their help she discovers the key to her unmanageable magic is to try not to manage it - Diana is a spell-weaver and writes her own laws of magic. 

      Circumstances require that Diana and Matthew cut short their journey into 1590. Their travel home is just as fraught with concern as the trip backwards in time. They return home months after leaving and to surprises they couldn't have imagined. 

     The second All Souls installment sees a new, more transparent side of the categorically secretive Matthew de Clairmont. Diana learns how to use her power and the power of community. Readers who enjoyed Nora Roberts' Chronicles of the One will find similar themes in Harkness's story. 

The Merchant's Daughter

The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson, 2011 Zondervan

     The youngest daughter of a rich merchant is expected to make an advantageous match or enter a convent in medieval England. Annabel Chapman is no exception--dreaming of entering a convent where she can avoid the lurking Bailiff Tom atte Water and study the Bible--until her father's ships sink and her father is killed by a nation-wide pestilence. Poor and fatherless, Annabel is not a preferred candidate for the convent. 
     Three years after her father's death the lord of the manse, the elder Lord leWyse dies and her family's fortunes shift again. Her mother and older brothers refused to do their fair share of the work or pay the censum - a fee in place of their work. The local jury rules that the Chapmans will immediately do their share and pay the three years' censum owed. When their penury cannot allow them to pay, the jury's alternate punishment is for a member of the family to serve their new lord for three years. 
     Lord Ranulf leWyse is considered a beast: he is cruel-tempered, scarred, and his changes are abrupt. Though his goal is to make life better for his villeins, change is difficult. Though ensuring the baker doesn't steal grain or the butcher doesn't overcharge for meat creates animosity with those who take advantage of their power, it ultimately is for the betterment of the community as a whole. Annabel's older brothers and mother cannot pay the past-due censum and refuse to be indentured to the new lord, so she takes matters into her own hands and goes to the manor. 
     Despite his reputation as a difficult master, life under the roof of Lord leWyse seems to be a better deal than the life her brothers have planned for Annabel. They plan to marry her off to Tom atte Water in exchange for the censum payment - what they don't realize is that Tom has worded the agreement to his benefit. At the manse, Annabel learns how to work for her new lord and develops a fragile friendship with him. Her dream to join a convent and study the Bible looks like it could become more than just a dream. Ranulf provides a copy of the holy writ when their local priest refuses to teach the girl--insisting women are temptation and evil. The lord disagrees and doesn't stop at allowing Annabel to read the book, but also discusses theology with her leading to a deeper relationship. 
     Ranulf leWyse is intrigued by the young woman who is afraid of something she cannot, or will not, reveal. He is an honorable man and believes - insists that the people of his domain are treated fairly and with respect. His insistence leads to dissatisfied members of the community who challenge his rule. 
     Annabel and Ranulf are attracted to each other, however, their beliefs about their individual roles in the community, and society in general, prevent any relationship between them. It takes courage for the pair to put to rest the discord in the community and to maintain their separation from each other. 
     Ranulf and Annabel are unrelated to the characters of the first Hagenheim story, becoming interwoven with their story as the series continues. Set in the era of the Holy Roman Empire the characters' Christian faith is a key theme especially how it directs their actions. The Merchant's Daughter is a retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale with elements of the Cinderella story thrown in. Teen and young adult readers who enjoyed The Healer's Apprentice will enjoy the second tale set in Dickerson's Hagenheim. 

Shadow & Flame

Shadow & Flame by Mindee Arentt - 2019 Balzer & Bray

     Kate lost her brother and love during a failed rescue attempt in Rime's neighboring country, Seva. She fears her hesitation in using her Sway was what caused her losses, but she had to return to Rime and the fight to survive the inquisition of Wilders. 

     A year after her return to Rime, Kate and her wilder supporters have carved out a place on the edges of their homeland. Edwin has declared himself king in Corwin's absence and the shaky armistice protects them in the wilder city. Kate is swamped in self-doubt but holds up for her followers. 

     In the prison mines of Seva a young man called Clash has a secret even he doesn't remember. High Prince Corwin has retreated into his own mind to survive the brutal reality of the mine. A personal rebellion on behalf of his only friend leads to a traitor from Rime who shares Kate's power of Sway discovering his identity. 

     Lord Gavril introduces Corwin to Seva's Godking and his children. Using the man's power the Godking forces Corwin's marriage to his only daughter. The ploy is a bid for Rime and the riches--the magic--it harbors. Corwin refuses to allow a relationship to grow with his farcical wife, Eravis. And she schemes with the captive prince to hide from her father and his lackey. 

     The announcement of Corwin's marriage stuns Kate--not only is he alive but married to their greatest enemy's only daughter. This doesn't sound like the Corwin Kate has known for most of her life. 

     Lord Gavril has kept Corwin under his thumb through a mixture of his power and a drug made from magical deposits found in Seva's mines. The prince is unable to prevent himself from becoming complicit in the Godking's plans to destroy Rime. 

     Captured wilders and Sevan forces attack a war-torn Rime. Still reeling from a civil war between wilder and mages the invading army has little difficulty subduing the country. Their attempts to escape leads Corwin and the captured wilders to Kate and the wilder leaders captured by Edwin. 

     The invasion reveals more to the story than Kate or Corwin imagined when their old enemy Rendborne appears on the scene. Kate questions everything she believed of the Rimish conflict and magic in Rime. Corwin questions his own ability to lead and his right to the throne amid problems his people face. 

     Kate and Corwin repeatedly face tragic losses as the war for Rime rages between various forces. They hope to find each other in the end, but it appears the Goddess Noralah has her own requirements of the two aim to lead her chosen country. 

     Shadow & Flame is intended for older teen and young adult readers with graphic violence and complex manipulation. The classic struggle of good versus evil is mirrored in the question of control against free will. Kate is a flawed character who readers can identify with while Corwin is a respectable character fighting for something larger than himself. 

A Discovery of Witches

 A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, 2011 Viking Penguin

     Hiding from her family history by becoming a leading scholar of Elizabethan science has served Diana Bishop well. She is on track to become one of the youngest scholars to obtain tenure at a top United States University. She is working on a research project in Oxford's Bodleian library when she meets Matthew de Clairmont. 

     The suave Monsieur de Clairmont is a vampire, older than the institution Diana has tied her future to. He immediately recognizes her as a witch - one who rarely uses her magic - and it is by her rarely used magic that she draws the attention of Witches, Vampires, and Daemons. The Ashmole Manuscript she calls for her research has been missing for decades when Diana recalls it from the stacks. 

     Rumor has it the missing manuscript tells the origin of Creatures. Diana's interest is only in the alchemical message of the text. But the fact that she can find Ashmole draws even more attention and ire when she refuses to hand over the document despite pressure from every creature of significant political power. 

     Matthew's interest starts with the manuscript but he finds Diana more and more compelling. When her own kind turns against Diana for refusing to provide the much-coveted Ashmole Manuscript, Matthew de Clairmont is her rescuer. The two remove from Oxford for her safety despite the Covenant of Creatures. 

     As they become more enraptured with one another Matthew and Diana seek to understand why the manuscript comes to Diana despite stronger magic's failure to call it forth. At the de Clairmont fortress in France Diana also discovers more about her magic and her personal history. 

     When the Congregation kidnaps Diana from the property - violating the de Clairmont sovereignty in their own lands - Matthew realizes how his life and that of the witch mirror her observations of the missing manuscript. He will violate his own laws to find and protect her and their growing relationship. 

     The more she learns about the Creatures' world the more Diana wishes she could return to the safety of her American ignorance. Her aunts--powerful witches in their magic-- do not have the political strength to protect her and her parents' magic - both rare and powerful - has been absent most of Diana's life. 

     Diana and Matthew risk more than just censure from the Congregation for an interspecies relationship. Something in the Ashmole manuscript has drawn the attention of the most powerful elements of their world and their ire. At heart, this is a romance with elements of The DaVinci Code and Charlaine Harris' Snookie Stackhouse series meant for mature readers with vivid violence. 

The Invisible Library

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, 2015 Roc

     As a Librarian sworn to the Library, Irene deals with everything from magic to science-fiction-become-reality. Her latest assignment has her taking an apprentice on a journey into a chaos-infested world much like nineteenth-century London. 

     Kai has his own history, but it's been five years in the library studying and preparing for his practical, and Kai is ready to take the next step. Irene has been told their mission is a simple retrieval, but elements of the story don't match up with what she's experienced. 

     Irene and Kai enter the alternate world in search of a unique copy of a dangerous book, but it's already been stolen. To top it off the world seems to have too much chaos for the level of the alternate. Irene questions the information the Library has provided as the danger escalates. 

     Chaos-infested worlds risk the appearance of Dragons who have the ability to restore order to chaos-ridden alternates. Irene doesn't necessarily want to meet the dragons and the job of the Library is to keep the balance. An unexpected, and relatively drastic, warning from the Library itself seems to indicate there's more to the chaos than Irene was briefed. 

     Kai has his own secrets, but the trust and partnership between the two help Irene and Kai move forward together to solve the mystery of their assignment. As they chase the unique book they were sent for, Irene and Kai make connections in this alternate world. 

     Irene is offered the chance to join a movement that counters the solid and rigid Library in a way that still allows her the joy of discovery and exploration. The temptation is strong, but the offer comes from a man feared and vilified for his counter-societal ideas. 

     The first of her Invisible Library series, this tale weaves together a new universe of worlds where the amount of chaos energy determines how closely it aligns with the world of the reader. Older teens and adults will be better able to unravel the new laws of time and space as Irene and Kai develop their partnership and decide their individual paths forward.