Beatrice is entering her first season on the marriage market, though the last thing she wants is to get married. Marriage means giving up her innate magical abilities, something she loves and feels would be much more useful to her family than a loveless, magic-less marriage, especially if she's able to make the great bargain: summoning and harnessing a greater spirit to do her bidding. Unfortunately, society's rules (and Beatrice's father) are dead set against this happening, and Beatrice's only hope is a grimoire that has fallen into the hands of Ysbeta Lavan, who also seeks to make the great bargain.
In the acknowledgements, the author describes the book as "Pokémon, but make it Jane Austen," and that's a funny and fairly good description. Except that it leaves out the currents of feminism, rebellion, and oppressive patriarchy that makes the book so compelling. I have some quibbles with the plot, which wrapped up WAY too neatly, but otherwise it was an enjoyable read. I'm curious to see what the Orcs & Aliens book group thinks of it next week.
No comments:
Post a Comment