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sydneyscho's review against another edition
3.0
I was so apprehensive going into this book. Jane Austen plus magic is a total mash-up of two things I love in my books, but I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised in the end. It was clearly inspired by Jane Austen stories and as such I was able to predict how it was going to end right off the bat. It obviously doesn't compare to Austen's complex characters and plots, but it was a nice little read. I thought the glamour was going to be cheesy, but Kowal wove it well into the Regency Period. The book was exciting and the touch of adventure was interesting. All in all I enjoyed it and I'll definitely read the next book in the series.
sarah_elsewhere's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this one. I think I cornered three people after I finished and insisted they pick it up, so I'm not sure why I forgot to add it on here.
katallen405's review against another edition
5.0
Better than Austen
I just finished re-reading this in preparation for reading the sequel, and I couldn’t love it more. It captures an Austen-esque drama of manners and propriety perfectly, while also providing *reasons* for why both the silly women are constantly fainting (or affecting to do so) and why the practical, no-nonsense protagonist occasionally faints as well.
Fabulous read with some lovely plot twists!
I just finished re-reading this in preparation for reading the sequel, and I couldn’t love it more. It captures an Austen-esque drama of manners and propriety perfectly, while also providing *reasons* for why both the silly women are constantly fainting (or affecting to do so) and why the practical, no-nonsense protagonist occasionally faints as well.
Fabulous read with some lovely plot twists!
traingeek's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not a reader of books like this, but I saw that John Scalzi had recommended it highly, so I borrowed it from the library. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It's light and a quick read, but it's fun and engaging. Now I think I'm going to have to read some Jane Austen.
laurpar's review against another edition
2.0
I saw this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I didn’t win it, but I was so taken by the short synopsis that I immediately requested it from my library.
Many people describe this book as very Jane Austen-esque with a hint of magic. Reading it myself, I could definitely see Pride and Prejudice, but I also detected some Jane Eyre, and I likened the magic involved to that in The Night Circus. Even with all these qualities in its favor, however, I found myself a bit apprehensive about the combination of them all: how would magic and illusion work in a regency novel?
The synopsis, and, hell, even the book, fail to describe ‘glamour’ as being ‘magic’. At first, I thought it was applying makeup or fashion or something (what else would you think of when you hear ‘glamour’?), until I flipped the book over in confusion and the back cover revealed it to be magical illusions.
While still a bit ambivalent about the concept, I was instantly drawn in by the characters. Jane Ellsworth is a 28 year old self-described ‘spinster,’ living with her aging parents and much younger sister, Melody. The talents in the family seem to be evenly distributed: her sister possesses all the beauty and charm, and Jane possesses all the talent. Chief among her talents is her ability to practice glamour, a sort of magic existent in her world that allows her to create illusions. Both Melody and Jane are ‘out’ in society (though Jane repeatedly mentions that she’s more in a position to be a chaperone than to need one), and their competition over men is wrought with jealousy, lies, and, yes, glamour. Will beauty beat brains? Or will Jane win her Mr. Darcy in the end?
God, I hated Melody. Read the book: you’ll hate her, too. The biggest frustrations in this book come from her selfishness and Jane’s attempts to placate her when she’s going into her jealous rages. She’s like Pride and Prejudice’s Lydia on steroids or something; definitely not pleasant to hear from. It’s very empowering to see Jane begin to stand up to her, though, and to see Jane become more self-assured as the book continues.
The romance in it is… alright. It mainly consisted of the kind of “Was he staring at me? What did his last comment mean? Are his guarded words meant for me or my sister?” obsessions that are commonplace in society at the time. It was alright, but certainly not on the same par as Austen.
Altogether, it was a pretty good read, although I’m still not quite taken with the glamour idea. The book does contain an action scene where it’s extensively used, but it didn’t seem like it added very much to the story elsewhere in the book. I mean, yes, they used the magic a lot, but if you replaced ‘glamour’ with ‘painting’ or ‘music,’ you’d probably get the same effect. Glamour is more like art in this book, something to fawn over and praise, rather than something to legitimately help or hurt someone in times of need.
Anyway, it was okay. I liked about 75 - 80% of the book, but the ending was rather poor. I understand why things worked out the way they did, but I didn’t enjoy it. The book is the first in a series (or, at least, I know it has a sequel), which surprised me because the ending of this seemed quite… open and shut. Usually, when you end a story by describing what happens to the characters in the future and finally ending with a quotation when your protagonist is old and gray, you don’t end up writing another book to follow it, taking place when the characters are still young and healthy. It struck me as odd. I’ll probably scope out other reviews before deciding whether to read it or not.
Many people describe this book as very Jane Austen-esque with a hint of magic. Reading it myself, I could definitely see Pride and Prejudice, but I also detected some Jane Eyre, and I likened the magic involved to that in The Night Circus. Even with all these qualities in its favor, however, I found myself a bit apprehensive about the combination of them all: how would magic and illusion work in a regency novel?
The synopsis, and, hell, even the book, fail to describe ‘glamour’ as being ‘magic’. At first, I thought it was applying makeup or fashion or something (what else would you think of when you hear ‘glamour’?), until I flipped the book over in confusion and the back cover revealed it to be magical illusions.
While still a bit ambivalent about the concept, I was instantly drawn in by the characters. Jane Ellsworth is a 28 year old self-described ‘spinster,’ living with her aging parents and much younger sister, Melody. The talents in the family seem to be evenly distributed: her sister possesses all the beauty and charm, and Jane possesses all the talent. Chief among her talents is her ability to practice glamour, a sort of magic existent in her world that allows her to create illusions. Both Melody and Jane are ‘out’ in society (though Jane repeatedly mentions that she’s more in a position to be a chaperone than to need one), and their competition over men is wrought with jealousy, lies, and, yes, glamour. Will beauty beat brains? Or will Jane win her Mr. Darcy in the end?
God, I hated Melody. Read the book: you’ll hate her, too. The biggest frustrations in this book come from her selfishness and Jane’s attempts to placate her when she’s going into her jealous rages. She’s like Pride and Prejudice’s Lydia on steroids or something; definitely not pleasant to hear from. It’s very empowering to see Jane begin to stand up to her, though, and to see Jane become more self-assured as the book continues.
The romance in it is… alright. It mainly consisted of the kind of “Was he staring at me? What did his last comment mean? Are his guarded words meant for me or my sister?” obsessions that are commonplace in society at the time. It was alright, but certainly not on the same par as Austen.
Altogether, it was a pretty good read, although I’m still not quite taken with the glamour idea. The book does contain an action scene where it’s extensively used, but it didn’t seem like it added very much to the story elsewhere in the book. I mean, yes, they used the magic a lot, but if you replaced ‘glamour’ with ‘painting’ or ‘music,’ you’d probably get the same effect. Glamour is more like art in this book, something to fawn over and praise, rather than something to legitimately help or hurt someone in times of need.
Anyway, it was okay. I liked about 75 - 80% of the book, but the ending was rather poor. I understand why things worked out the way they did, but I didn’t enjoy it. The book is the first in a series (or, at least, I know it has a sequel), which surprised me because the ending of this seemed quite… open and shut. Usually, when you end a story by describing what happens to the characters in the future and finally ending with a quotation when your protagonist is old and gray, you don’t end up writing another book to follow it, taking place when the characters are still young and healthy. It struck me as odd. I’ll probably scope out other reviews before deciding whether to read it or not.
its_literature's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
3.0
i love love love the worldbuilding and the magic system and i found jane and the rest of her coterie—VH aside—completely tiresome. boo.
kymali's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
patricia_nascimento's review against another edition
2.0
Mini-review: Shades of Milk and Honey RATING: 2 stars.
I was expecting more, to be honest. The romance was not plausible and the glamour wasn't well explained or used properly as a plot device. Too much of the story and characters was pulled from Jane Austen's novels.
I was expecting more, to be honest. The romance was not plausible and the glamour wasn't well explained or used properly as a plot device. Too much of the story and characters was pulled from Jane Austen's novels.
alassel's review against another edition
4.0
I don't usually put my light reading up on Goodreads, but this is one of the few exceptions. For starters, it's definitely G-rated and so is appropriate to share, and additionally it has a fascinating addition of magic into a lovely little Regency-style story. Our main character is a plain Jane with a beautiful sister, who is sure to become an old maid despite her considerable skill weaving glamour, which is used to enhance comfort and beauty amongst the nobility. All of the typical Regency romance elements are present, including sisterly affection and fights, mysterious men who might not be quite suitable for a young lady to know, dashing yet poorly behaved noblemen, a mystery that threatens the reputation of some young ladies, and outings and events with all of the characters. It was a fun, light read and I will likely pick up the second book in the series.
The system of magic, namely glamour, was beautifully described and felt very natural. There is a lot of discussion on how to use it, and how to put things together, including into permanent art installations known as glamurals. I was delighted with everything having to do with the magic, from Jane's own uses to make the drawing room appear pretty to the detailed theory of how a professional glamourist does his work. If you like interesting magic systems, that part alone will likely make this book worth a read.
The system of magic, namely glamour, was beautifully described and felt very natural. There is a lot of discussion on how to use it, and how to put things together, including into permanent art installations known as glamurals. I was delighted with everything having to do with the magic, from Jane's own uses to make the drawing room appear pretty to the detailed theory of how a professional glamourist does his work. If you like interesting magic systems, that part alone will likely make this book worth a read.
gaiainc's review against another edition
4.0
More 3.5 because the ending? The last few pages? No. Just no. Just really really really no.
However I liked Jane and Melody. It all very much reminded me of Pride and Prejudice which is fine. I did enjoy it. I’m not sure I’m going to keep reading the series , but this one was fine.
However the end? No. That last little bit? No no no no no.
However I liked Jane and Melody. It all very much reminded me of Pride and Prejudice which is fine. I did enjoy it. I’m not sure I’m going to keep reading the series , but this one was fine.
However the end? No. That last little bit? No no no no no.