Creatures of Will and Temper (Diabolist's Library)

by Molly Tanzer

Victorian London is a place of fluid social roles, vibrant arts culture, fin-de-siecle wonders ... and dangerous underground diabolic cults. Fencer Evadne Gray cares for none of the former and knows nothing of the latter when she's sent to London to chaperone her younger sister, aspiring art critic Dorina. Unfortunately for Evadne, she soon learns too much about all of it when Dorina meets their uncle's friend, Lady Henrietta "Henry" Wotton. A semi-respectable aristocrat in public, in private she is secretly in the thrall of a demon obsessed with beauty and pleasure. When Lady Henry and Dorina immediately hit it off, Evadne abandons her chaperone duties and enrolls in a fencing school. There, she meets the fencing master she's always dreamed of. But soon, George reveals he is more than just a teacher. He has dedicated himself to eradicating demons and their servants, and he needs Evadne's help. As Evadne gets pulled further into this hidden world, she begins to suspect that Lady Henry might actually be a diabolist. Even worse, she believes Dorina may have joined her. Combining swordplay, demons, and high society, Creatures of Will and Temper shows a timeless world and adventure readers won't soon forget.

• ISBN13: 9781328710260
• Publish Date: 22 November 2017 (first published 14 November 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: William Morrow Paperbacks
• Format: Paperback
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Creatures of Will & Temper is a fleshed out story covering the bare bones of Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray. The author, Molly Tanzer, freely adds to and twists the Wilde icon into something that is different and original and wholly itself.

This book ticked a lot of boxes for me; among other things it's modern Victoriana, with demons, an impressively built and well thought out magic system, dastardly antagonists, some mystery subplots and fencing! *swoon*.

It takes a lot of chutzpah to stand up and rewrite, however well intentioned, Wilde. Wilde. Ms. Tanzer is very competent, the writing is very well done (and not overdone). The plotting is tight and for an almost 400 page book, the story arc moves along at a brisk pace. I didn't find the story dragging at all. There were a few moments of internal eye rolling from me for the anachronistic dialogue and sarcastic sibling squabbling (say that five times fast :). It's much more a function of it being a YA modern light romance urban fantasy and that I'm a grumpy old fart than sloppy writing however. This is a surprisingly deftly written book.

Must read for fans of YA urban fantasy, especially Victoriana. It's not extremely graphic except for one particular brutal passage, which does set up a plot element but felt out of proportion compared to the rest of the book.

Four stars, deftly written prose, fencing demonists, strong(ish) female protagonists.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.