Ratings53
Average rating3.9
In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own. Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family's interest or to be committed to a witches' asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn't leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after faking his own death and reinventing himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veterans' hospital, Miles can't hide what he truly is. When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles' healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient's murder. To find the truth he'll need to rely on the family he despises, and on the kindness of the most gorgeous man he's ever seen.
Featured Series
3 primary booksThe Kingston Cycle is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2018 with contributions by C. L. Polk, C. L Polk, and C.L. Polk.
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A solid 3.75* read. This book has a number of flaws which I could probably chalk up to it being a debut work, but ultimately, the magic system and the politics of the world is compelling and engaging enough for me to consider continuing with the series.
Miles Singer is a doctor in Aeland, a country like an alternative Edwardian England, who finds himself suddenly administering emergency help to a dying man, Nick Elliot, brought in by a passerby, Tristan Hunter. Before Nick passes, he reveals that he knows exactly who Miles Singer is - both a mage and the son of a powerful Royal Knight. Miles isn't even his real name. Miles dedicates himself to find Nick's murder, at the same time finding himself tumbling back into the family circles that he has sought to escape for so long, and into the irresistible charm of Tristan, himself not just any ordinary human either.
Witchmark has a pretty rough beginning. You are quite literally thrown in to the world and so many foreign terms are bandied about without any proper explanation. It was disorienting to read, and didn't do much to feel engaging. I actually had to start writing down notes to remind me of things. The dialogue, especially at the beginning, felt a bit stilted and overly dramatic, such as when Grace, Mile's sister, swears by her own blood not to Bind him at their first meeting after he ran away from home.
The set-up of the story, the characters, and the central romance felt a little abrupt somehow, and some bits were just downright contradictory. Miles ran away from home precisely because he didn't want to be controlled by his family due to the class of mage that he was born to be. He spends a good deal of time in the first few chapters of the book running away from and rejecting his sister precisely because he refuses to be subservient to anyone. But yet, the moment he finds out Tristan's true identity (which in itself felt like a rather abrupt and hasty scene), it felt like he immediately and very naturally fell into a subservient attitude, refusing to call him by his first name despite Tristan's multiple entreaties and instead going with “Sir” or “Mr. Hunter” for a good while.
After the world is somewhat set up though, the appeal of the book comes in - this is probably after a good 25% into the book though. I enjoyed the magic system and the politics that's set up here. Grace, Miles's sister, is a Storm-Singer, something like a more powerful form of mage that's in control and who are typically bound with a member of a slightly lower order of mages called Secondaries, who mainly exist to provide their Storm-Singers with energy and power to do their jobs. Miles, himself a Secondary, is rebelling against this system, in proving that the Secondaries' “tricks”, their main magical power, shouldn't be seen as a lower order of magic and not as important, and that some Storm-Singers themselves also have the same “tricks” that only Secondaries do. The politics around this entire system is pretty tight, concise, and compelling, which I appreciated.
I particularly liked Grace Hensley as well. She is fiercely loyal to her family and genuinely cares for her brother, but at the same time she has a dogged persistence in doing what she thinks is right, even if that includes sacrificing her brother's happiness, freedom, or even at risk of her own life. I never really knew whether to like her or to be annoyed by her, which is a sweet middle spot that I really enjoy with characters. Miles and Tristan were fine, I didn't feel strongly either way with them. Their chemistry seemed a little too abrupt and quick, and interestingly enough, their romance wasn't the main attraction for me in this novel (normally it would be).
Overall, a very promising debut novel which, while suffering from its flaws, has huge, huge potential for becoming a compelling world. I'll be keeping tabs on this author!
It starts with a murder mystery in this Second World War Britain setting. it has magic, people biking everywhere, queer romance, and the main character just wanting to help people and be independent.??
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