waterviolite's review against another edition
4.0
In a version of Britain filled with elementals, Katie escapes her brutish circus strong man husband to become a magician's assistant and dancer. Rather refreshingly, the villain is unredeemable and the heroes are unfailingly kind, good, rational, and logical.
starrymynx's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5.
This book reminded me of a much darker version of Reserved For The Cat (an earlier book in this series). It even used almost the same acts for the stage performances. I know that it was common for different music halls to be doing the same or similar things at the time, but it was disappointing to see when there are so many different acts from back then with crossover between the circus and music halls to choose from.
I did like that this one dealt more with ethics, common people, and women's rights and that it was less about mage battles and monsters. The big bad wasn't some supernatural creature. It was just an abusive man, and this was a big difference between the two and what kept me reading.
Content Warning: Physical Abuse, Manipulation, Alcoholism
This book reminded me of a much darker version of Reserved For The Cat (an earlier book in this series). It even used almost the same acts for the stage performances. I know that it was common for different music halls to be doing the same or similar things at the time, but it was disappointing to see when there are so many different acts from back then with crossover between the circus and music halls to choose from.
I did like that this one dealt more with ethics, common people, and women's rights and that it was less about mage battles and monsters. The big bad wasn't some supernatural creature. It was just an abusive man, and this was a big difference between the two and what kept me reading.
Content Warning: Physical Abuse, Manipulation, Alcoholism
shuofthewind's review against another edition
4.0
Katie is now DEFINITELY my third favorite protagonist in this series (first being Maya, second being Eleanor) and JACK IS A DARLING AND A SWEETHEART AND I LOOOOOVE HIIIIM.
thecaledonianrose's review against another edition
4.0
Note: Contains some spoilers.
From the first 'unofficial' Elemental Masters book that Mercedes Lackey wrote, I've been hooked on this sub-series and have been slowly making my way through the books in order.
This most recent one, Steadfast, resonates with me in a way I hadn't expected. Lackey started this series as a way of revamping old tales into the Victorian/Edwardian era, turning them almost steampunk. There's always been conflict injected into the story, always a necessity for a complete tale, but typically, the conflict stems from the magical side of the story.
Steadfast's conflict does not. In this novel, the conflict addresses the all too real issue of domestic violence and the inherent difficulties for a woman to escape an abusive situation in Victorian/Edwardian times. This is the era in which Women's Suffrage began in earnest, where the struggle for basic rights for men and women alike took shape simply because women had so few rights. As in the feudal era, women were still considered chattel - a man's property, to do with what he liked with minimal fear of consequence, especially among the more disenfranchised. It was all too often the man's word against the woman's, and the man was typically given the upper hand as the husband, the owner of property, and the 'head of household.'
I could go on and on about the unfairness and lack of justice of this time. The point is, I was glad to see that in Steadfast, Lackey didn't rely on a magical source for her conflict, nor did she shy away from the grim situation thrust upon her main character as a woman and a victim of spousal abuse. The victim's reluctance to believe in magic, that she herself possessed magic was portrayed believably, as did her increasing confidence as she came to accept what she held. She did not conduct herself like a pendulum, going to the far extreme in the opposite direction by becoming arrogant or overly confident, fortunately. That would have been a grave disappointment in Lackey as a storyteller; instead, Lackey restricts the character to what is reasonable and plausible, while also addressing how a victim reacts if they are discovered by the abusive spouse.
My sole difficulty with the novel is how swiftly Lackey brought it to an end. It was both too quickly done, and frankly, too convenient for me. I can see how it came about, can even accept that it would have happened that way, but to do it within fewer than 20 pages for both the climax and denouement. Doing so not only suggests the author didn't know how to wrap up her story adequately, that the editor felt the story was in significant danger of extending past a 'reasonable' amount of pages (highly unlikely in my opinion in this day and age of e-Readers and books regularly numbering 450+ pages), and deprives the reader of a satisfactory ending where the loose ends aren't burnt together but tied up in a relatively pretty bow.
Most of the time thus far, the EM novels do convey a sense of 'happily ever after,' and I didn't feel as if Steadfast received that treatment. It felt rushed, like Lackey could have spent at least a few more pages tying up those loose ends but was suddenly sick of writing and just dashed off the ending. Disappointing to me, really, but that is my only complaint. The rest of the book held my attention and I enjoyed it.
From the first 'unofficial' Elemental Masters book that Mercedes Lackey wrote, I've been hooked on this sub-series and have been slowly making my way through the books in order.
This most recent one, Steadfast, resonates with me in a way I hadn't expected. Lackey started this series as a way of revamping old tales into the Victorian/Edwardian era, turning them almost steampunk. There's always been conflict injected into the story, always a necessity for a complete tale, but typically, the conflict stems from the magical side of the story.
Steadfast's conflict does not. In this novel, the conflict addresses the all too real issue of domestic violence and the inherent difficulties for a woman to escape an abusive situation in Victorian/Edwardian times. This is the era in which Women's Suffrage began in earnest, where the struggle for basic rights for men and women alike took shape simply because women had so few rights. As in the feudal era, women were still considered chattel - a man's property, to do with what he liked with minimal fear of consequence, especially among the more disenfranchised. It was all too often the man's word against the woman's, and the man was typically given the upper hand as the husband, the owner of property, and the 'head of household.'
I could go on and on about the unfairness and lack of justice of this time. The point is, I was glad to see that in Steadfast, Lackey didn't rely on a magical source for her conflict, nor did she shy away from the grim situation thrust upon her main character as a woman and a victim of spousal abuse. The victim's reluctance to believe in magic, that she herself possessed magic was portrayed believably, as did her increasing confidence as she came to accept what she held. She did not conduct herself like a pendulum, going to the far extreme in the opposite direction by becoming arrogant or overly confident, fortunately. That would have been a grave disappointment in Lackey as a storyteller; instead, Lackey restricts the character to what is reasonable and plausible, while also addressing how a victim reacts if they are discovered by the abusive spouse.
My sole difficulty with the novel is how swiftly Lackey brought it to an end. It was both too quickly done, and frankly, too convenient for me. I can see how it came about, can even accept that it would have happened that way, but to do it within fewer than 20 pages for both the climax and denouement. Doing so not only suggests the author didn't know how to wrap up her story adequately, that the editor felt the story was in significant danger of extending past a 'reasonable' amount of pages (highly unlikely in my opinion in this day and age of e-Readers and books regularly numbering 450+ pages), and deprives the reader of a satisfactory ending where the loose ends aren't burnt together but tied up in a relatively pretty bow.
Most of the time thus far, the EM novels do convey a sense of 'happily ever after,' and I didn't feel as if Steadfast received that treatment. It felt rushed, like Lackey could have spent at least a few more pages tying up those loose ends but was suddenly sick of writing and just dashed off the ending. Disappointing to me, really, but that is my only complaint. The rest of the book held my attention and I enjoyed it.
silvarai's review against another edition
4.0
It has been quite a while since I read this series. Each book focuses on a different character in the world though so I was able to just jump right back in and start enjoying the world again. The original books in the series focused on Disney princess type characters like Cinderella and Snow White but I am not sure if this one followed that formula because if this story is based on a well-known fairy tale, I certainly can't place it.
For the most part I enjoyed the book. It focused on Katie, a fire magician who hasn't been aware of her powers until she decides to run away from her abusive husband and join Lionel, an air magician, as an assistant in his show. He helps her realize that she has powers and helps train her. Of course, her husband eventually catches up with her and a lot of the plot from this point forward becomes a bit predictable. As a result, it was not a great read, but it was light and enjoyable. I enjoy the series and now that I have returned to it I will probably read the rest of it.
For the most part I enjoyed the book. It focused on Katie, a fire magician who hasn't been aware of her powers until she decides to run away from her abusive husband and join Lionel, an air magician, as an assistant in his show. He helps her realize that she has powers and helps train her. Of course, her husband eventually catches up with her and a lot of the plot from this point forward becomes a bit predictable. As a result, it was not a great read, but it was light and enjoyable. I enjoy the series and now that I have returned to it I will probably read the rest of it.
felinity's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Nice light reading. I can't tell if it's just a problem caused by the length of the series, but these later ones seem to have less depth. That's not to say the plot is boring or unimaginative (this one includes a little about the circus, magic acts, dance halls and some of the reality of domestic violence), but it seems to follow the same pattern.
So a fun read, but not one I'd buy.
Nice light reading. I can't tell if it's just a problem caused by the length of the series, but these later ones seem to have less depth. That's not to say the plot is boring or unimaginative (this one includes a little about the circus, magic acts, dance halls and some of the reality of domestic violence), but it seems to follow the same pattern.
Spoiler
There seemed to be a few unresolved threads too; it's suggested that there was An Ulterior Motive to Katie's marriage, and something suspicious about her parents' death, and neither is actually explained.So a fun read, but not one I'd buy.
sbbarnes's review against another edition
1.0
At this point, I am no longer sure what fairy tale Lackey is even referring to in these books. It honestly doesn't really matter. I am echoing a hundred other reviewers here in saying this, but, uh, this is just literary comfort food, and as such, it did its job. The ending was too abrupt, and there was too much time wasted setting up plans that didn't come to fruition - this time would have been better served providing more depth for the relationships between the characters instead of handwaving that magic makes people love each other at first sight, because that's lame.
However, I gotta say, I am SHOCKED this was published in 2013 because there are some things in here that I was pretty sure could only be misguided 90s ideas. These being:
1. Katie having a whole monologue about how she's Not Like Other Girls because she doesn't gossip.
2. The, uh, utter mishandling of the question of guilt in the Boer wars. Like, sure, Jack isn't singlehandedly responsible. But for every other major character to go "Well it wasn't your fault and you would have only gotten imprisoned if you had spoken out, so you did nothing wrong by ignoring all the genocide" is pretty damn rich given that they move heaven and earth to help one singular solitary woman with her abusive husband and could have probably activated this same network to DO SOMETHING about the genocide.
3. The continuation of this utter mishandling when Jack is having his little vision thingy at the end where a bunch of black guys appear to forgive him for the genocide. No. Just no.
However, I gotta say, I am SHOCKED this was published in 2013 because there are some things in here that I was pretty sure could only be misguided 90s ideas. These being:
1. Katie having a whole monologue about how she's Not Like Other Girls because she doesn't gossip.
2. The, uh, utter mishandling of the question of guilt in the Boer wars. Like, sure, Jack isn't singlehandedly responsible. But for every other major character to go "Well it wasn't your fault and you would have only gotten imprisoned if you had spoken out, so you did nothing wrong by ignoring all the genocide" is pretty damn rich given that they move heaven and earth to help one singular solitary woman with her abusive husband and could have probably activated this same network to DO SOMETHING about the genocide.
3. The continuation of this utter mishandling when Jack is having his little vision thingy at the end where a bunch of black guys appear to forgive him for the genocide. No. Just no.
cassie_reads's review against another edition
4.0
After lackluster titles like Reserved for the Cat and Home From the Sea (in my opinion), I was beginning to wonder if Mercedes Lackey had exhausted the possibilities of this series. I am happy to be proven wrong. I liked having an Elemental Masters book where the characters were just mages, not Masters; set in a city other than London; dealing with an antagonist who was not a Dark mage. A nice, fresh twist.
rachelini's review against another edition
2.0
This was a pretty meh installment in this series. There was just no conflict until the very end, and no larger purpose to the Elementals. Plus everything worked itself out perfectly all the way through the book, which can be satisfying when it's earned and occasional, but boring when it's everything.
wvrambler's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Alcoholism