Stevie‘s review of Rag and Bone (Rag and Bone, Book 1) by KJ Charles
Gay Paranormal Historical Romance published by Samhain Publishing 01 Mar 16
I’ve been wanting to read KJ Charles’ Charm of Magpies series for quite some time, but never managed to squeeze enough hours into the day. Fortunately this spin-off series seems to cover enough ground by itself for my lack of prior knowledge not to cause me problems. However, I suspect that once I have read the other books, I’ll spot all kinds of little details that suddenly slot into place. I love books in which characters of colour take up their rightful places in British history, and I have a sneaking fondness for Cornish heroes too. So this book, with one of each, looked set to be a big hit.
It helped that I’d read the prequel immediately before. I’m not going to insist that’s essential for anyone else to love this book as much as I do, but it’s short, and it’s free – so what more reason does anyone need to grab both of them and find out the background to how Ned and Crispin meet and where Crispin’s original powers come from? Onwards to what I thought of this book in particular…
I love the first line: It was a terrible day even before Crispin blew up the study. That just sets the scene for the story and the characters in those few words. Crispin is attempting to retrain as a legitimate magic user, having been tutored illegally as a warlock by his first mentor. Unfortunately, none of the new tutors brought in to instruct him seem able to lead him in the correct direction, and Crispin is becoming increasingly frustrated, as is his lover, Ned. While Crispin is a white Cornishman from a respectable monied family, Ned is a black working class Londoner, who earns an honest living buying and selling waste paper – yesterday’s love-letters becoming tomorrow’s food-wrappings and so on – who is rather ambivalent towards magic, no matter how deeply he cares for Crispin and wants to see him happy.
However, Ned and Crispin can’t escape from the problems of other people’s magic for long. Ned’s neighbour is mysteriously killed, and the men discover that others in the rag and bottle trade he pursued have also died under strange circumstances. The pair investigate, and it becomes apparent that not only is Crispin’s latest tutor mixed up in things somehow, the villain of the piece is more than willing to kill Ned and Crispin to achieve his goals.
As with the prequel story, I love seeing a side of London that doesn’t appear nearly often enough in historical romance. Ned is part of a racially diverse lower class, possibly seen less often by the well-to-do Londoners who appear frequently in novels, but still with a real sense of community and background. Crispin, meanwhile, has tons of background of his own, and ambitions that seem likely to take him away from Ned and from London. However, he also has a firm set of priorities as to what he really wants from life in addition to succeeding at controlling and then properly using his magic, and it is good to watch a solution develop that suited everyone. I hope to see a lot more of these two and their adventures, but I also want to go back and read all the earlier books set in this rich and complex world that’s only a little twisted from the real Victorian London.
Grade: A
Summary:
It’s amazing what people throw away…
Crispin Tredarloe never meant to become a warlock. Freed from his treacherous master, he’s learning how to use his magical powers the right way. But it’s brutally hard work. Not everyone believes he’s a reformed character, and the strain is putting unbearable pressure on his secret relationship with waste-man Ned Hall.
Ned’s sick of magic. Sick of the trouble it brings, sick of its dangerous grip on Crispin and the miserable look it puts in his eyes, and sick of being afraid that a gentleman magician won’t want a street paper-seller forever—or even for much longer.
But something is stirring among London’s forgotten discards. An ancient evil is waking up and seeking its freedom. And when wild magic hits the rag-and-bottle shop where Ned lives, a panicked Crispin falls back onto bad habits. The embattled lovers must find a way to work together—or London could go up in flames.
This story is set in the world of the Charm of Magpies series.
Warning: Contains a warlock who needs to go straight (but isn’t), a waste-man running out of patience, blood magic, bad-tempered justiciars, and a pen with a mind of its own.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
