Emmazel is known locally as "the witch of the tower." She has lived for decades in a magical tower that keeps her safe. There, she tends her garden, makes love "potions" and herbal remedies, and delights in finding noble husbands for her assistants. But she has more power than she realizes and is more important than she knows, and when a man called Sir E arrives and gradually reveals who and what Emmazel really is, everything changes. For the better, eventually, but things are untidy and difficult for quite some time. Throw in a flirty prince, a sarcastic cat, and a father who can turn himself into the wind, and you've got a very magical story here indeed.
My favorite aspect of this book is that Mr. Knightley here is a talking cat named Night. Somehow, that is just absolutely perfect, and... I don't want to spoil this book too much, but pretty much all my favorite parts involved Night. And, yes, there's still some romance, even though Night is a cat and Emmazel is not. Trust me, it works, and it's not weird. You'll just have to read it.
I also loved that Emmazel is in her forties. No teenage princess here, which was really interesting and refreshing!
Particularly Good Bits:
"Everything will be all right. It's okay to be scared when your world grows. And yours has been so small for so long" (p. 73).
"One should never swear off men until at least six weeks have passed since your disappointment" (p. 86).
"I've always thought that orphans found on doorsteps have the best opinions of all," said Christian. "For if they are well-treated and happy with their lot, then things really are at peace, yes?" (p. 159).
"There's more to life than exotic fish" (p. 165).
"Live in a tower with a snarky, talking cat for over twenty years, and soon you run out of polite conversation and move on to friendly jabs" (p. 174).
If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for some discussions of love potions, children who were abandoned, and discussions of parents dying.
This has been my 58th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.
I might read this. You made it sound like a lot of fun. Emma is also my least favorite Austen book so if you like this, perhaps I'll too.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
Lissa, you never know! You might really get a kick out of this. I will say that this series builds on itself, so reading the first two books before this one would make a few things make more sense, or make sense earlier on... but I think this one would stand pretty well on its own too.
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