Longshadow by Olivia Atwater

Name of Book: Longshadow

Author: Olivia Atwater 

ISBN: 978-0-316-46312-6

Publisher: Orbit 

Part of a Series: Regency Faerie Tales (HALF A SOUL and TEN THOUSAND STITCHES are prequels) 

Type of book: Fantasy, faerie, Regency England, comfort, fantasy, lessons, treatment, clothes, diction, gifts, death, romance, mystery 

Year it was published: 2022

Summary:

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 post 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.

Characters:

Main characters include Abigail Wilder and Mercy. Abigail appeared towards the end of the first book, a brave young girl who has helped Dora a lot. Now she is adopted into the Wilder clan, along with Hugh, a boy who has died in faerie land. Abigail has talent for magic and is very determined to be seen as capable of helping her father, Lord Sorcier with his tasks, but often due to her gender as well as familial relationship, she often feels as if she isn't being taken seriously. Due to her background and memories, she feels as if she can't fit with the wealthy men and women and attempts at matchmaking have fallen flat. Mercy is a laundress who works for Lord Longshadow and who also happens to desire to know what is going on. She is highly intelligent, sensitive and often loves living in fantasy and tries to encourage Abigail to just let go and live in fantasy world as well. The secondary characters also were bigger than life and quite a few of them will make one cry, especially towards the end. (Mine favorite was Hugh Wilder the ghost brother. My heart was just broken for him...) 

Theme:

Respect everyone regardless of how they present themselves

Plot:

Just like the first two novels, this is in third person narrative completely from Abigail's point of view, and yes in my opinion its necessary to read the first two novels: HALF A SOUL as well as TEN THOUSAND STITCHES, in particular HALF A SOUL because a lot of background events that were hinted at happened in HALF A SOUL, and its truly a delight to see Dora and Elias from the first book. Characters from second book also make an appearance, but in my opinion first book is far more important than the second one, at least in terms of connecting to LONGSHADOW. There is also a lot of action in it, and definitely slow-burn romance. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

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 The Latch Key.

Opinion:

Just like the previous two novels, LONGSHADOW makes deft touches on society's expectations of women as well as the treatment of upper class towards lower class. (Can I also say that I sincerely hope that in the future these novels will become highly recommended or the go to novels for Regency? Out of the ones I read, Olivia Atwater definitely captures and modernizes the spirit of Jane Austen's novels the most.) I think out of the three, this was perhaps the most heartbreaking, especially in relation to Hugh Wilder, Abigail's brother. Just like the first two, this is a beautiful and whimsical story of love, exploration and magic as well as society roles. Also, unlike the first two, LONGSHADOW focuses a lot more on faerie world than the previous two did and we get an intriguing new addition to the faerie world; that of Lord Longshadow who controls death and life. Also, the romance does focus on LGBT+ characters. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)