Review: The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles

The Magpie Lord by K.J. Charles
(A Charm of Magpies #1)
Historical, Fantasy, Romance
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Synopsis
A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell. Exiled to China for twenty years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He’s also inherited his family’s enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn’t expect it to turn up angry. Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane’s family. Unfortunately, it’s his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he’s ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude… and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That’s definitely unusual. Soon Stephen is falling hard for the worst possible man, at the worst possible time. But Crane’s dangerous appeal isn’t the only thing rendering Stephen powerless. Evil pervades the house, a web of plots is closing round Crane, and if Stephen can’t find a way through it-they’re both going to die.

What I thought
The Magpie Lord is the first book of a six-book series.  This book is a Victorian gothic fantasy that really appealed to me and I wanted so much to love it.  After a few days, I realized that for me it turned out to be just an okay read. I really enjoyed the setting and the mystery in the book, and this still holds true even after a few days of reflection. However, if I am being completely honest I did not like Lucien our MC.  I found him to be an arrogant arse with very little redeeming qualities. The only thing that I really liked about Lucien was the description of his tattoo, I would love to see a rendering of it.

The opening scene really caught me off guard. I had to go back and read that first page again to see if I was really reading what I thought I was.  This book opens with a suicide attempt. So be forewarned if this might trigger you.

I have requested the second book from my library and I guess that will be my determining factor if I continue on with this series.

My Rating: /5

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