Shades of Milk and Honey

Add to Mr Darcy's lady criteria a talent for illusion magic, called glamour, and you've got the setting of Shades of Milk and Honey. I couldn't stop my mind from making connections between Austen's works and this as I went along. “He's the Darcy! He's probably the Wickham!” The story isn't an echo of an Austen plot but it's close enough that the distraction is unavoidable. Manners and propriety are still a big deal but Jane is more assertive than an Austen protagonist, which is a welcome difference.

The next book seems to be a direct sequel, rather than some other eligible lady's quest for a rich husband. I'm curious to see how that plays out.

This was not bad, but I found the JA like characters just as annoying (if not more so) than in JA books. I just found nothing I wanted to identify with in any of the characters. The way the author mimicked JA also meant I was able to figure out who ended up with who and why.
The magic was interesting, but not enough to save the book for me.

Jane Austen with magic. Except a little heavy on the Austen: all characters seem to be lifted straight from Austen's works, except in only two dimensions. The mother with the poor nerves, the sister who doesn't care about her impropriety, the heartless cad who leads the sister into impropriety. The depth Austen gives these stereotypes is missing here.

Having said that, it was an enjoyable light read. I've read a bit of Austen lately so this fit right in, and I love the idea of glamour being a ‘feminine art' alongside drawing and music as a way for a young lady to display her accomplishments in order to secure a husband. And Austen never had such a good chase scene.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, loving the mixture fantasy and regency. It was something unique, which was the reason why I picked up the book in the first place. As I started to listen to the book (audiobook narrated by the author), I liked learning about Jane and the relationships with her family, the Dunkirks and the rest of the people of their neighborhood. However, some of the characters annoyed me as the book continued. Jane, while praised for her wit and glamour abilities (which I associated with intelligence and logic), proved to be somewhat dense about the happenings around her, especially in the flirtations of Mr. Dunkirk and the identity of Melody's secret beau. Melody was a spoiled brat who used her beauty constantly to one-up her plain sister because she was jealous of her talents, which didn't make sense to me. Everyone paid all the attention in the world to Melody and very little to Jane, but Melody wished for the attention of every eligible bachelor it seemed. She even at one point had her sights on another, but still grew upset at Jane for supposedly having two suitors. It was completely immature of her. Their mother made my physically roll my eyes at some of her words and I practically hated her by the end of the book. I did like the supporting characters such as their father, Mr. Dunkirk, and Mr. Vincent.

The end of the book seemed rushed as it attempted to tie up loose ends. It was a messy recounting of the events of the week after the duel. I also don't remember if Beth, Jane's best friend throughout the book, received an update in the rushed summary of events. I find that odd since Beth was such a prominent character after her introduction. The last chapter was more like an epilogue than an actual chapter, which caused the book to end on a ‘meh' note.

One thing that would make the book a bit more interesting is a more detailed explanation of glamour. The construction and formation of it was hinted at throughout the book but never explained in the amount of detail I wished. I was just told constantly that both Jane and Mr. Vincent were very accomplished in their control of it. I love seeing the science between the magic, so to speak, detailed in books and I think that having an explanation of how glamour is created would have added more to the fantasy setting.

I'm generally not a fan of historical fiction, especially of this particular period. But throw magic or science fiction into anything and I'm always happy to give it a go. I love the concept of glamour and the weaving of illusions created by it's proficiency. With the exception of Jane, though come to think of is she's also guilty, the characters all seem to be caricatures of their era. The befuddled by females, but doting father. The ailing from a form of hysteria mother. The overly dramatic always put upon sister. And the gallant, but overbearing array of male characters playing foil to the simpering females. If it weren't for the glamour, I would have abandoned the story early on. But the glamour rises the story above itself. And the dynamic between Vincent and Jane is curious to watch...two trains set on track on a collision course. You see the inevitable result LONG before the two characters are even aware of it. Even as Kowal tries to place a little misdirection in your path. It's a quick read and a nice break between, for me, the more complex scifi options I usually choose.

Pros: quick pace, seamlessly adds magic to historically accurate pre-Victorian setting

Cons: entirely character driven, ending felt rushed

Two British Regency era sisters, one beautiful the other accomplished, vie for the attentions of men.

Despite her mastery of the womanly arts of painting, piano and glamour, ‘plain' Jane Ellsworth despairs of finding a husband and is jealous of her younger sister's good looks and easy manner.

The novel's a quick read, with short chapters and lots of dialogue. Though not in first person, we see the world through Jane's eyes, as she tries to deaden her feelings for Mr. Dunkirk for fear that he's interested in her sister. Meanwhile she learns more about magic by examining the techniques of a visiting glamourist, much to his annoyance.

Like the Jane Austen novels it was based on, Shades of Milk and Honey is entirely character driven and has no plot beyond whether Jane will end up married and to whom. Those who enjoy Victorian literature will appreciate the attention to detail Kowal puts into her work. The addition of magic - the only non-historical attribute - adds an interesting element to the story and is seamlessly integrated into the Victorian culture.

Jane could be a Mary Sue character were it not for her rivalry with her sister. Always proper, Jane suppresses her emotions to the point that her art is lifeless, despite her talent.

While the climax was dramatic, the ending felt a bit rushed. Everything was too neatly tied up in too few pages.

If you enjoy Regency literature, this is a great read, whether you're into fantasy or not.

I'm glad I waited to write this review as it gave me all day to remember all the bits of the book that I really enjoyed. Not to be too cliche about it but it really did combine some of my favorite genres in a way that really worked. It was a little bit Jane Austen ( though on one occasion, it was much too reminiscent) and a little bit magical. It took a little while for the crux of the story to finally unfold and then there was some confusion in reading the climatic scene but overall, there was something refreshingly novel about this story. I am very much inclined to read the next book in the series.