Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I binged each when they come out.

The author has carefully paved the way for Islington is to be a brother of sorts to Emma, who sees her as a replacement for the sister and other girl he lost (it's true his feelings are a little confused, but I think it's tending in the brotherly direction); and for her to become more and more romantically entangled with Pierce, who is a drunkard with baggage and not, in my view, a nice suitor for her (the classic bad boy that naive girls pine for). The ever-so-remote and perfect Hawkes is in love with that silvery lady who was just introduced into society.

A good ending would be for Emma to come into independent wealth and decide she's not going to marry anyone just yet. I doubt it will happen.

SPOILER? Well, speculation at least...

I actually think Lady Silver is Hawkes' sister (the family is described as "having a son as well" or something and mysteriously no one knows where he is...). And Emma is Hawkes' end game (though I am second PP, so perhaps this is just my bias!)

PP you replied to. It did cross my mind that the elegant lady was Hawke’s sister but that can’t be right because they danced together at that masked ball and one of the rules of the era is to never dance with your brother.

What dance/ball was this? (Or which book?) I don't remember Hawkes exactly being a "ball" type of guy.

Not my comment, but that poster was assuming that Hawkes is ‘Oberon’ and is referring to the Twelfth Night masquerade Emma attends (vol. 6 I think.) Most people assume Hawkes is Oberon (I do too,) with a minority arguing that it’s Islington behind the mask. Otherwise we don’t see Hawkes attend any balls.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve read the first one. It was cute. But not so good I am likely to read more. It’s possible that it suffered in comparison because I am reading or rereading several Austen books at the moment. So some of it the story doesn’t match what I think seems likely for the time period. There are supposed to be about 20 of the books which would be about 2,000 pages. More than I would invest in. It looks like the author created her own press to publish. But, I had to find a copy used. So, I am very curious how everyone is suddenly reading these.

The first two is definitely the weakest. I didn’t start getting obsessed until she becomes good friends with the three make main characters - Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes. So maybe book 3 or 4 on? The romantic storyline doesn’t start until book 6&7.

They’re getting rave reviews by a lot of popular bookstagrammers.

Agree—at least that the first book was by far the weakest. If you enjoy the general genre tho, I’d read the second before making any final decisions. And the third was better yet.

But also: of course it isn’t Jane Austin! It is does not occupy a well-established part of the Western canon. It is just a fun read for someone who likes regency lit.

It’s also got a touch of magical realism to it, which helps make the time period transgressions more believable! This isn’t really intended as historical fiction, it’s a bit of an alternate world here. I don’t think the series is for everyone, but it definitely took me until book 2 to understand the charm, and probably book 3 or so to be properly obsessed. They only get better as the series goes on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I binged each when they come out.

The author has carefully paved the way for Islington is to be a brother of sorts to Emma, who sees her as a replacement for the sister and other girl he lost (it's true his feelings are a little confused, but I think it's tending in the brotherly direction); and for her to become more and more romantically entangled with Pierce, who is a drunkard with baggage and not, in my view, a nice suitor for her (the classic bad boy that naive girls pine for). The ever-so-remote and perfect Hawkes is in love with that silvery lady who was just introduced into society.

A good ending would be for Emma to come into independent wealth and decide she's not going to marry anyone just yet. I doubt it will happen.

SPOILER? Well, speculation at least...

I actually think Lady Silver is Hawkes' sister (the family is described as "having a son as well" or something and mysteriously no one knows where he is...). And Emma is Hawkes' end game (though I am second PP, so perhaps this is just my bias!)

I realize this thread is old, but wanted to jump in anyways because I can’t stop obsessing over these books. I also think Hawkes is end game - but I actually think the Boy is most likely to be Lady Eloise’s missing brother! It’s worth reading the Gazette stories Beth Brower puts out on substack, if you haven’t already. IF Hawkes is Oberon (which I find most likely,) than the exchange between Emma and The Boy during Oberon/Lady Silver’s Twelfth Night dance reads oddly. Emma asks if they’ll marry, and the Boy says that he doesn’t believe they ever will, as well as stating that Lady Silver is ‘not his Titania’ because she isn’t strong enough to break Oberon’s curse. He also says he believes Oberon knows himself that he and Lady Silver will not end up together. Would be a bit of an off-kilter exchange if we’re talking about siblings here, no?

I love the design of the hardcovers Beth Brower published herself, but I hope she creates some omnibus editions because a 200 page hardcover doesn’t feel right.

I like the original covers too!

I prefer the original covers, so I hope books 9+ don't change.

Did you all see that the books are being traditionally published in the UK? All paperbacks, but each with a different cover.

Only 1 and 2 have covers revealed so far (the cat!)...