Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal

Glamour in Glass (Glamourist Histories)

by Mary Robinette Kowal

Jane and David Vincent, both glamourists of some repute, are enjoying a blissful honeymoon on the continent when their romantic getaway goes horribly awry.

They are in Belgium when they learn that Napoleon Bonaparte, the deposed emperor, has fled from exile throwing Europe into turmoil. Suddenly Jane and David find themselves in great danger, with no easy way back home to England, no possibility of rescue from abroad, and no real way to tell friend from foe.

When David is taken prisoner, Jane determines to put herself at risk, using her most cunning, strongest magic to save her beloved, herself, and their unborn child from harm. . .

Reviewed by wyvernfriend on

4 of 5 stars

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I get where a lot of people are coming from with some of the reviews but my experience with it was one of enjoyment. Jane has invested a lot of her energy and self worth into her skills as Glamorourist, now that she is in partnership with her husband she can see that she has worth, she is invested in this. She's finding herself in a social sphere she didn't expect, dining with the Prince Regent, no less. She finds herself out of place and quite alone in this new world, the only woman who will talk to her is the Prince Regents' mistress who is more interested in her for the novelty of Jane rather than her as a person. She's stuck in a strange place in society, she's rubbing shoulders with upper class women but she's technically a labourer, no better than a shopkeeper, and is therefore not someone that they would deal with, which I would resent too, particularly if my husband is still accepted, but he opted out, which makes him different.

The concept that not only would she have to stop using glamour when she was pregnant but that she could lose the child if she did was interesting, particularly if all her self-worth is caught up with being good with glamour and suddenly she's not able to use it and to add to everything Vincent is hiding something from her.

I enjoyed it, it drew me in, kept me reading past my bedtime and I want more.

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  • Started reading
  • 1 September, 2015: Finished reading
  • 1 September, 2015: Reviewed