Author: Leanna Renee Hieber
Publication Date: November 1, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Series: Magic Most Foul # 2
For
Natalie Stewart, a normal life has never seemed so far away. Her only solace,
Lord Jonathan Denbury, is wanted for murder. To clear his name, Denbury must
return to England and assume the role of his demon doppelganger. But Natalie
begins to doubt his true motives, especially as a new gentleman begins
whispering in her ear. Natalie and Denbury may be able to visit each other in
their dreams, but they can't escape the darkening shadows. Amid spontaneous
explosions, friends turned enemies and dangerous secrets revealed, there's
still a demon that has Natalie's scent, and someone is trying to resurrect the
ultimate evil.
“I’m traveling a frightful corridor in my dressing gown. I
see a door marked with a word to chill any sane soul: MORGUE. I really needed to stop reading Edgar Allen
Poe before bed.” – Finished Copy pg. 57
“But everything happened the day I watched a ship sail in
with Civil War wounded and dead. I saw the ghost of my beloved cousin, fainted
right in the river, and nearly died. In that space between life and death I
understood that I had a purpose: to use my gifts for love and peace while so
much hateful darkness seized the world. I understood then that there will always
be a war over souls, and I chose in that moment to live and to fight for the
light.” – Finished Copy pg. 97
“A glistening spiderweb had been spun between two tree
branches at the end of my block. At the center of the impressive web sat the
weaver, a spider no larger than my thumbnail. I felt in that moment that if
there was any explanation to be had, then the spider’s web was it. A web had
been cast around Jonathan, and somehow we’d been caught up in it. Rachel too,
though I didn’t see the connection.” – Finished Copy pg. 129
I love the world that is created in this series. It is truly
a gothic story and one that often reminded me of works written by Edgar Allen
Poe, probably because he was often alluded to. This book does take place in the
past, but even while reading I could sense the darkness that surrounded all of
our main characters. It almost felt a bit steampunk at times, even though it is
not. Chills continued to run down my spine as I read certain sections and
learned secrets belonging to some of our most important characters!
Natalie and Jonathan’s relationship has not changed a bit, if
you have read the first book in this series. Their relationship is sweet and I loved
the moments in which they are interacting. Natalie’s love for Jonathan is the
only light in her rather dark world. It was nice to see them in action now that
Natalie can actually speak! It was just wonderful to have her interacting with
everyone in this book, and it was a nice change from the first book.
A few new characters were introduced in this book, and I
found that to be my favorite part. I loved Mrs. Northe, Rachel, and Maggie. I
was glad that we got to become very involved in the lives of these characters as
well. Leanna can write some very powerful characters that have tendencies to
both freak you out and entice you at the same time. Nathaniel Veil was an interesting
character as well and I imagined him to be like mixture of Nathaniel Hawthorne and
Edgar Allen Poe, very creepy yet highly intelligent. Each of these characters
added great strengths to the overall plot of this story.
I will admit that I did not enjoy this book as much as I did
the first in the series, but it is still worth giving it a try if you are interested
in anything gothic or Poe related! The gothic elements are top notch and so is
the character development.
***Thank you to the publishers at Sourcebooks Fire for
providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review***
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