Author: Mary Robinette Kowal
Series: Glamourist Histories (Book 2)
Publication: Tor Books; Reprint edition (January 15, 2013)
Description: Mary Robinette Kowal stunned readers with her charming first novel Shades of Milk and Honey, a loving tribute to the works of Jane Austen in a world where magic is an everyday occurrence. This magic comes in the form of glamour, which allows talented users to form practically any illusion they can imagine. Shades debuted to great acclaim and left readers eagerly awaiting its sequel. Glamour in Glass follows the lives of beloved main characters Jane and Vincent, with a much deeper vein of drama and intrigue.
In the tumultuous months after Napoleon abdicates his throne, Jane and Vincent go to Belgium for their honeymoon. While there, the deposed emperor escapes his exile in Elba, throwing the continent into turmoil. With no easy way back to England, Jane and Vincent's concerns turn from enjoying their honeymoon…to escaping it.
Left with no outward salvation, Jane must persevere over her trying personal circumstances and use her glamour to rescue her husband from prison…and hopefully prevent her newly built marriage from getting stranded on the shoals of another country's war.
Left with no outward salvation, Jane must persevere over her trying personal circumstances and use her glamour to rescue her husband from prison…and hopefully prevent her newly built marriage from getting stranded on the shoals of another country's war.
My Thoughts: GLAMOUR IN GLASS was a worthy sequel to SHADES OF MILK AND HONEY. This volume finds Jane and Vincent married and on a honeymoon to France since Napoleon has been defeated and imprisoned on Elba. Vincent is eager to visit with a colleague. Jane is somewhat at sea because her spoken French is lacking but her maid is a Parisian who speaks excellent English because her mother was English.
Jane and Vincent have some issues because he seems to be keeping secrets from her. Along with Jane's discomfort at being in a strange place, this new habit of Vincent's makes her even uneasier and more uncertain of her value to him. When she learns that she is expecting a child, things get even more difficult because women who are pregnant can't do any glamour at all because of danger to the baby.
Jane is also uncertain because she doesn't know if Vincent wants children. He is having enough trouble adjusting to the idea of a family that cares about its members which is so different from his own family. Jane is also worried because of the way Vincent was raised. Her father punished him brutally if he didn't measure up to his father's standards.
Jane discovers a way to make glamours movable which was thought to be impossible. I liked the passages when she and Vincent were working with the glassblower as they refined Jane's theory. However, her discovery makes Vincent very desirable to the French. They kidnap him so that he can share his glamour which makes people invisible to assist with Napoleon's new revolution.
It is up to Jane to rescue her husband from the French which she does despite the heavy cost she has to pay. I love the Regency setting and manners combined with magic. I can't wait to read more books in this series to learn more about Jane and Vincent's further adventures.
Favorite Quote:
Her doubts in her own merits, the utter disbelief that any man could find her of interest, came back with full force.I bought this book. You can buy your copy here.
And what if Vincent did not want a child?
Regency and magic? that sounds fascinating.
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