4
magical stars!
‘Brother’s
Ruin’ tells the tale of a brother-sister pair who both seem to possess a bit of
magic. Charlotte Gunn is very protective
of her slightly older sibling, Benjamin, who in turn, is an appreciative and
doting older brother. The sibling
interactions in ‘Brother’s Ruin’ are truly heartwarming.
Every
so often, Benjamin gets inexplicably sick and must put his life at the
university on hold while he recovers, usually under his sister’s care. He wishes his health would improve so that he
can complete his studies, start making money and contribute to his family’s
household, and thereby gain approval from his parents. Charlotte’s life is somewhat of the opposite,
when we meet her. She is happily in love
with her fiancé, and is already earning an income as an illustrator, though it
is under a fake name, due to her gender.
She understands that foolish societal norms prohibit her from earning
equal pay if she were to submit her work as a woman, and also that her parents
would be embarrassed if they were to learn of the size of her income, or her
contributions to their household’s finances.
When
their father gets himself in trouble with vicious debt collectors, he calls
upon the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts, mistakenly believing that his son
possesses impressive magic. The Royal
Society pays family handsomely when they take magic-wielding children into
their fold, and so Mr. Gunn believes this will solve all their problems. However, Mr. Gunn has neglected to account
for the penalty of false-reporting.
Magi
of the Royal Society live to serve the crown.
They are not permitted to marry or have children, and are rarely able to
visit their own families. As Charlotte
is the stronger mage, content to hide her abilities in order to marry her
fiancé and have children, her father has unknowingly put her in a precarious
situation.
Watching
the magic unfold in during Benjamin’s magic testing was delightful, and author
Emma Newman concludes this first entry in her ‘Industrial Magic’ series with a surprise
twist. I look forward to reading what
happens next!
I
voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no
one else’s.
‘Brother’s
Ruin’ will be available on March 14, 2017!
No comments:
Post a Comment