Scarlet

 

Scarlet (Scarlet Revolution 1)- Genevieve Cogman

Ace

Release Date: May 9, 2023

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: It is 1793 and the French Revolution is in full swing. Vampires—usually rich and aristocratic—have slaked the guillotine’s thirst in large numbers. The mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel, a disguised British noble, and his League are heroically rescuing dozens of aristocrats from execution, both human and vampire. And soon they will have an ace up their sleeve: Eleanor Dalton.

Eleanor is working as a housemaid on the estate of a vampire Baroness. Her highest aspiration is to one day become a modiste. But when the Baroness hosts a mysterious noble and his wife, they tell Eleanor she is the spitting image of a French aristocrat, and they convince her to journey to France to aid them in a daring scheme. Soon, Eleanor finds herself in Paris, swept up in magic and intrigue—and chaos—beyond her wildest dreams. But there’s more to fear than ardent Revolutionaries. For Eleanor stumbles across a centuries-old war between vampires and their fiercest enemy. And they’re out for blood. . . . 

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I'm a huge fan of Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series, so as soon as I heard she had another book coming out, I was signing up for it. Basic description: French Revolution, with vampires? I'm in! But remember, this is Genevieve Cogman, so be prepared for so much more!

Eleanor is a maid working on the estate of the Baroness Sophie, a vampire, safe in England where they read about the atrocities of the French Revolution but know it isn't something that would ever touch them. She dreams of becoming a lady's maid, and maybe one day a modiste, never imagining a wider world than that. But the Baroness knows Eleanor is the mirror image of Marie Antionette, and happens to know the English aristocrats working to save French aristocrats from the Terror, led by the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel. She loans Eleanor to them, they convince Eleanor to help them try and rescue the French Queen and her children. How hard could it be? 

The world building (as you would expect from Cogman) is excellent. Especially once we get to France, the reader really feels immersed in Eleanor's experiences. Not just the dust and dirt of the journey, but the fear in Paris itself was a palpable thing. The baying of a mob, the terror of seeing soldiers, just walking down a street to market became dangerous- not just an action but an emotional and physical feeling. I've read histories on the French Revolution and tried to imagine what the average person might have felt, Genevieve Cogman captures what I believe those daily emotions must have been. 

Watching Eleanor have her horizons expanded over the course of the book is an absolute joy. She grows in confidence, she realizes she's capable of thoughts and actions she couldn't have imagined before, and that she can question those above her. Eleanor's station means we get a unique, and frequently ironic, view of both the English aristocrats trying to help (specific) French and of the causes and goals of the Revolution itself. Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité might be a great rallying cry, but as a servant, Eleanor questions what aristocrats might accept. It's a brilliant call on Cogman's part.

Another good decision Cogman made is to give us tantalizing clues about the magic that used to live in the world, about the hidden history of vampires and their great enemies, and to have Eleanor experience enough to begin questioning what she has always known about vampires being "just like everyone else", but not to give us too much. It leaves us with lots of questions but we already know there are more books in this series coming. The book doesn't end on a cliffhanger, but certainly leaves us wanting to know more!

You don't need to have read the original Scarlet Pimpernel or seen the movies to enjoy this book (I haven't) but I'm curious about any crossover so I'm planning to read it while waiting for Book 2!  

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and AceBooks in exchange for an honest review

From Unseen Fire

From Unseen Fire- Cass Morris
DAW? Penguin Group
Release Date: April 17, 2018

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: The Dictator is dead; long live the Republic.

But whose Republic will it be? Senators, generals, and elemental mages vie for the power to shape the future of the city of Aven. Latona of the Vitelliae, a mage of Spirit and Fire, has suppressed her phenomenal talents for fear they would draw unwanted attention from unscrupulous men. Now that the Dictator who threatened her family is gone, she may have an opportunity to seize a greater destiny as a protector of the people—if only she can find the courage to try.

Her siblings—a widow who conceals a canny political mind in the guise of a frivolous socialite, a young prophetess learning to navigate a treacherous world, and a military tribune leading a dangerous expedition in the province of Iberia—will be her allies as she builds a place for herself in this new world, against the objections of their father, her husband, and the strictures of Aventan society.

Latona’s path intersects with that of Sempronius Tarren, an ambitious senator harboring a dangerous secret. Sacred law dictates that no mage may hold high office, but Sempronius, a Shadow mage who has kept his abilities a life-long secret, intends to do just that. As rebellion brews in the provinces, Sempronius must outwit the ruthless leader of the opposing Senate faction to claim the political and military power he needs to secure a glorious future for Aven and his own place in history.

As politics draw them together and romance blossoms between them, Latona and Sempronius will use wit, charm, and magic to shape Aven’s fate. But when their foes resort to brutal violence and foul sorcery, will their efforts be enough to save the Republic they love?

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I can't lie, it was the cover that first caught my attention for this book.  It made me want to read the synopsis, which made me want to read the book- which led to one of the best fantasy books I've read in quite some time.  A book that lives up to its potential, From Unseen Fire takes place in an alternate, fantasy, version of ancient Rome.  The cruel dictator who governed the empire and terrorized its people is dead and now it is time to pick up the pieces- socially, politically, personally, and militarily.  

Latona of the Vitelliae is one of those who suffered under the dictator in order to protect her family.  Now freed from his shadow, she finds she cannot fit easily back into the life she led before.  No longer can she hide herself or her talents, or her wish to do more to rebuild the Republic and help its people.  All her life Latona has been held back by other people: her parents, who worried that unscrupulous men would use her and her magic; her husband who wants only a quiet life in the country focusing on his business; and Aventan society itself, which says that a woman who is not a priestess should focus her life and her magic only on her family.  Then she meets Sempronius Tarren, an ambitious man who hates to see talent wasted, and sees in Latona huge potential- if only she can find the courage to reach for it.  Sempronius is the first person to see Latona as she is, not as he wants her to be, so it can be no surprise that their friendship grows into a magnetically compelling attraction.

Sempronius is among those who want to rebuild Aven, and he joins the political clash on what the Republic should look like.  He hopes to break down barriers and allow people to thrive as their talents allow, without being trapped by class or citizenship restrictions.  Others want to return to the glory days of the old Aven, and the ways of the city's founders hundreds of years ago.  Some want to focus only on home while others worry about growing disturbances in the provinces.  Iberia becomes a hotbed of chaos with Aven's allies threatened by a new war-chief determined to protect his land and his people.  

At first glance, these seem like too many different story lines to work, but Morris weaves them together into a brilliant, seamless novel.  From Unseen Fire kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, wondering what would happen next, if favorite characters would succeed in their personal quests. I was constantly worried that the book would end on a cliffhanger and I'd be left waiting desperately to find out what happened next.  True, the book doesn't wrap everything up in a neat bow- this is the start of a series.  But neither does Morris leave her readers yelling "How could you end it there!?" when they reach the last page.  I was struck throughout the entire book by how each of the characters believes completely that their actions are for the good of their land and their people.  Looking at it like that, none of them can be really considered 'villains', although some are more willing to take questionable paths to reach their idea of the greater good.

Although a debut novel, From Unseen Fire reads like it was written by a veteran author.  I greatly look forward to Cass Morris' next Aven book, both to keep following these characters and this world, and to see if Morris can keep to the high bar she set for herself here. 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Smoke- Dan Vyleta

Smoke- Dan Vyleta
DoubleDay Books
Release Date: May 24, 2016

Synopsis: An England where people who are wicked in thought or deed are marked by the Smoke that pours forth from their bodies, a sign of their fallen state. The aristocracy do not smoke, proof of their virtue and right to rule, while the lower classes are drenched in sin and soot. An England utterly strange and utterly real.
An elite boarding school where the sons of the wealthy are groomed to take power as their birthright. Teachers with mysterious ties to warring political factions at the highest levels of government.  Three young people who learn everything they’ve been taught is a lie—knowledge that could cost them their lives. A grand estate where secrets lurk in attic rooms and hidden laboratories. A love triangle. A desperate chase. Revolutionaries and secret police. Religious fanatics and coldhearted scientists. Murder. A London filled with danger and wonder. A tortured relationship between a mother and a daughter, and a mother and a son. Unexpected villains and unexpected heroes. Cool reason versus passion. Rich versus poor. Right versus wrong, though which is which isn’t clear.

Smoke takes place in an alternative Victorian England, where thoughts and emotions are marked by the Smoke that comes out of your body.  Smoke is considered a sign of sin and the goal of the aristocrats is to Smoke as little as possible, to prove their purity and right to rule England.  The main characters of the book, Thomas and Charlie, are students at an aristocratic boarding school.  Unlikely friends, Charlie is gentle and kind to everyone while Thomas is generally avoided because of his dark family past.  Thomas believes he is diseased, destined to be a murderer like his father, and wants to discover if there is any chance for him to be 'cured' from this darkness.  The two boys end up on a quest, searching for the true meaning of Smoke beneath the secrets and lies of the government, the aristocracy, and revolutionaries trying to change England forever.

The idea behind Smoke is a fascinating one- a dystopian England where your emotions are visible and judged, where dirt and Smoke is equated with sin and the class struggle is considered a forgone conclusion because the rich are "pure"and will go to heaven while the poor are covered in sin and have no chance at heaven.  Some of the characters become obsessed with becoming as holy and sinless as possible, others are trying to struggle against what their own darkness.  Some give in to the darkness and madness.  Others search for the true meaning of Smoke, where it came from, and how it can be manipulated by the aristocracy into serving their needs.  Our main characters struggle to discover the truth amid the lies and to learn to think for themselves to judge not only the truth but also what that "truth" can mean to humanity.

However, the book falls short of what it could have been.  The story is slow; the characters largely one dimensional, and generally unsympathetic.  The writing alternates between the first person views of various characters we never connect with and a third person present tense that seems to hold the reader at arms length from the story.  When we learn "the truth" of Smoke it is anticlimactic and while it could be world changing to the characters we never really seem to see their thoughts or reactions. What should be the most tense, revolutionary parts of the book fall flat and leave the reader unsatisfied.  The potential for world change seems to be more important than actual change itself.

By the end, the book is like the plot itself: full of potential but never reaching the emotions that could have made it great.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.