3.5 ( )

A straight-up fantasy, it can be summarised as Arya Stark visits Gormenghast.

The book starts very Game of Thrones in tone - Briony Tenebrae lives with her elder sister and parents; she's a tomboy, and her sister is far more lady-like. Her father is on the King's Council. When the King dies, apparently murdered by his heir (who is a mage), the heir is exiled to another dimension called Asperfell (which is a one-way trip). His younger brother takes the throne and after their mother dies becomes cruel and paranoid, exiling mages to Asperfell if they won't serve him. Briony's father is aghast at the turn of events, and along with others helps mages escape to neighbouring countries. When his network is discovered, Briony is arrested and is discovered to be a mage herself - and is sentenced to death. However, the remaining members of the network sacrifice themselves to send her through the gate to Asperfell instead - where she is supposed to find the heir and try and find a way back to the kingdom to replace the king.

Recommended.

Conspiracy, vivid characters, and clever uses for magic. Not sure of the Austen comparison, but Asperfell reminds me of Sharon Shinn's Summers at Castle Auburn.

When the king is murdered and the crown prince banished to the magical prison of Asperfell, Briony Tenebrae follows her family to the capital, where her father is chief advisor to the new King Keric. The young girl is curious and intrepid, and more interested in eavesdropping on political meetings or chatting with the master mage than learning etiquette. As King Keric grows in age and cruelty, his edicts spread paranoia of mages across the kingdom, and Briony is sent with her sister to a distant family house. Sequestered with an aging aunt, Briony relies on annual visits from her father's servant to receive news of her family, the capital, and the tragic fate befalling those with magic. However, no distance is truly safe, and in a whirlwind of events, Briony finds herself dragged from isolation, scrutinized by the king, then charged by her closest friend to do the one thing that can stop King Keric - find the crown prince in Asperfell.

I loved Asperfell. It is both dark and chilling yet charmingly provincial. Unreformable prisoners dwell in the caverns underground, guarded by stalwart Battlemages. Necromancers tend the graveyard, careful to (try to) not raise the dead. Others tend the garden, mend clothes, and mind the kitchens - all with the aid of magic.

I'd encourage those who struggle with the opening chapters to at least read as far as Briony's arrival in Asperfell. For me, this is where the book really came to life, and the focus shifts from mostly politics to individual character stories.

Briony feels very down to earth. While disinclined to following rules, she works diligently to help others and learn new skills, and she is brazenly unafraid of the opinions of others. She is an honest narrator, quick to recognize both fear and courage.

While uncovering mysteries about her home and Asperfell, Briony collects stories of her fellow prisoners, and I'm looking forward to seeing her band of friends work together in the next book.

**Received eARC from Netgalley** ( )

This is a story about a fantasy kingdom descending into anti-magic totalitarianism, from the perspective of a girl, later woman, who discovers a family secret and takes on a family tradition and a quest to try to right the wrongs of her world. It's the first of a planned trilogy, since I'm cursed to unintentionally begin trilogies long before final book publication is in sight.

It took me a moment to get past the initial sentences, which weren't in natural language at all, and were a bit awkward even for the intention of evoking a medieval fantasy setting, but I did read on and I did enjoy the story. Even though clues about and resolutions to various mysteries were highly telegraphed from chapters away, and—just in case you weren't already taking notes—the author was always sure to include a reminder of any relevant long-ago references a few pages before each resolution, I did enjoy the mysteries. It helped that each mystery and its resolution involved a lot of dense, world-building lore (catnip to my kind of fantasy fan). ( )