In this 1848 London, magic is another way to determine
rank. The more magic you have to create spells, the more
important you must be. Lady Jasmina has a fair degree of
magical ability and she uses it to keep her family's
reputation above reproach. Jasmina's mother
enjoys "borrowing" trinkets from friends and fellow
aristocrats, forcing Jasmina to perfect strategies for
returning what her mother has taken. As she sneaks out of
the house under the illusion of being a cat, Jasmina leaves
behind an image of herself sleeping in case so no one
suspects her absence. The item she's returning is a brooch
belonging to the Duchess of Hagersham. Casting the spell to
duplicate herself felt different this time, but Jasmina
doesn't give it much thought until the next day when Aunt
Henrietta gives her some bad news. It seems her shadow self
went to the Queen's Ball and behaved scandalously. Jaz, as
the copy is calling herself, actually left the ball
unchaperoned with a lowly shape-shifting baronet.
Sir Sterling Thorin, the baronet in question, and Jaz are
enchanted with each other they're married the night of the
ball. When Sterling wakes up to find his bride gone, he
goes to the Hall of Mages for help. It's hard to know who's
more surprised when he greets his lost wife with a kiss and
she slaps him for taking liberties with a stranger. But
this couple is not the only pair victims of mischief.
Missing shape-shifters, the unexpected odor of relic magic
on Jaz, and the fact Jasmina was able to re-create herself
combine to make a dire picture. Sterling and Jasmina must
work together if they want to discover what happened to
Jaz, the brooch, and Sterling's shape-shifting sister
Angel. While they search for what's missing, they also need
to pay attention to what they've found. Sterling already
knows Jasmina is the one for him. Can Jasmina put aside her
concern for society's opinion and be honest enough to say
she's found her perfect match?
The author does a good job of blending true Victorian
conventions into a world that could exist only through pure
imagination. The characters are complex and their
relationships are intriguing. This is the second book in
the Relics of Merlin series, starting with Enchanting the
Lady and will followed in 2009 by Enchanting the
Beast. You
don't need to read the first book to enjoy the second one,
but if you find you enjoy this story you'll want to pick up
a copy of Enchanting the Lady too.
Lady Jasmina was in a world of trouble. A simple spell had
gone disastrously haywire and now there was a woman running
around London who looked exactly like her - a woman with no
sense of propriety whatsoever. All Society was whispering,
and a baronet she'd never met was suddenly acting like he
knew her...in a most intimate way. To find her double and
set things right, they'd have to work together - braving
the fog-shrouded streets, a mysterious group called the
Brotherhood, and a passion stronger than any magic.
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