I’m absolutely delighted to be on the blog tour for this charming and comforting book series set in the Regency period with the hunt for a suitable match very much the order of the day – but with added faeries. Please do skim read the later synopses to avoid slight spoilers for the earlier books.

About the Books

Book 0.5 – The Lord Sorcier

(Novella – included in the back of Half a Soul)

How the Lord Sorcier came to get that title. Focuses on his relationship with his best friend in the midst of battle with the French.

Book 1 – Half a Soul

It’s difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you’re a young lady with only half a soul.

Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment – a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season – but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.

If Dora’s reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world. . . but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul.

Bridgerton meets Howl’s Moving Castle in this enchanting historical fantasy, where the only thing more meddlesome than faeries is a marriage-minded mother.

Book 1.5 – The Latch Key

The Lord Sorcier ponders fatherhood whilst remembering his own childhood with a faerie father.

Book 2 – Ten Thousand Stitches

(Novella – download after newsletter signup)

Faerie godfathers are supposed to help young ladies find love. Unfortunately, no one told Lord Blackthorn that.

Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr Benedict Ashbrooke. There’s only one problem; Effie is a housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Ashbrooke’s heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favourite jacket.

Effie has heard rumours about what happens to those who accept help from faeries, but life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now, she has one hundred days – and ten thousand stitches – to make Mr Ashbrooke fall in love and propose. . . if Lord Blackthorn doesn’t wreck things by accident, that is.

From the author of HALF A SOUL comes a whimsical faerie tale set in a magical version of Regency England, with an enchanting Cinderella twist.

Book 3 – Longshadow

Proper Regency ladies are not supposed to become magicians – but Miss Abigail Wilder is far from proper.

The marriageable young ladies of London are dying mysteriously, and Abigail Wilder intends to discover why. Abigail’s father, the Lord Sorcier of England, believes that a dark lord of faerie is involved – but while Abigail is willing to match her magic against Lord Longshadow, neither her father nor high society believe that she is capable of doing so.

Thankfully, Abigail is not the only one investigating the terrible events in London. Mercy, a street rat and self-taught magician, insists on joining Abigail to unravel the mystery. But while Mercy’s own magic is strange and foreboding, she may well pose an even greater danger to Abigail’s heart.

From the author of HALF A SOUL comes a queer faerie tale romance full of love and defiant hope. Pick up LONGSHADOW, and return once more to Olivia Atwater’s charming, magical version of Regency England.

About the Author

Olivia Atwater writes whimsical historical fantasy with a hint of satire. She lives in Montreal, Quebec with her fantastic, prose-inspiring husband and her two cats. When she told her second-grade history teacher that she wanted to work with history someday, she is fairly certain this isn’t what either party had in mind. She has been, at various times, a historical re-enactor, a professional witch at a metaphysical supply store, a web developer, and a vending machine repairperson.

Searching for more Regency faerie tales? Sign up for the Atwater Scandal Sheets at oliviaatwater.com and get ongoing updates, along with the exclusive novella.

What I Thought

Sharing my thoughts in the order I read and the order I also recommend you read them. I have tried to keep these spoiler free although later book reviews may spoil the earlier ones.

In summary I loved how quick these were to read and how well they fitted into the mixed genres. I also really enjoyed the mix of subtle social commentary alongside the romance. I can definitely see me returning to these time and again.

Half a Soul

This was an excellent first book and I loved everything about it. It definitely gave me Pride and Prejudice vibes. The relationships / both romantic and of friendship were engaging and dynamic.

Dora is autistic coded and although there seems to be a quest for a cure to her ‘Half a Soul’ I felt that this was subverted in a positive way.

The mystery of the sleeping sickness amongst the children in the workhouses also added an extra element of suspense and was satisfyingly resolved.

The Lord Sorcier

Definitely read this one after Half a Soul, mainly because it has quite a different feel being a war story and focusing purely on friendship rather than romance. Loved to see more of the history that we got snippets of in Half a Soul.

The Latch Key

Parenting is hard and are we doomed to make the same mistakes our own parents made, or can we learn from them? That’s the theme of this short tale that follows on from Half a Soul.

Ten Thousand Stitches

Initially I was a little unsure about this one but with very appropriate reason as it turns out. I can’t really say why without spoilers but I did ending up loving this too.

This does focus on different characters so could be read as a stand-alone.

I enjoyed the focus on the serving class too and Downton Abbey vibes were strong here.

Lord Blackthorn made a very engaging faerie godfather and it was fun to learn societal etiquette along with him.

This had a great female friendship in it and the focus on righteous anger concluded in a positive way.

Longshadow

It was great to return to some of the characters from book one, and particularly to see Abigail older. We also have a return to the mystery element of book one as well as a queer romance and magic galore.

Proving oneself to your parents and finding your place in the world also come through as strong themes so I do feel that this one read as the most Young Adult of the three.

Again this can be read as a stand-alone but I think you will get more from it having read Half a Soul first especially as Lord LongShadow first appears as an ominous presence there.

All three female protagonists have agency and inner strength and the romances are swoon worthy but also not about changing the fundamental part of who these women are. Being accepted for your authentic self is a theme that runs through these stories.

If you like the sound of this series here are some more historical fantasy books to check out.

Recommended by Me

Recommended titles in the books

A huge thank you to Tracey at Compulsive Readers and publishers Orbit for the gifted copies for the purposes of an honest review. Do check out the rest of the tour and see what everyone else thought.