The Magpie Lord by Kj Charles

The Magpie Lord (Charm of Magpies, #1)

by Kj Charles

A lord in danger. A magician in turmoil. A snowball in hell.

Exiled to China for twenty years, Lucien Vaudrey never planned to return to England. But with the mysterious deaths of his father and brother, it seems the new Lord Crane has inherited an earldom. He’s also inherited his family’s enemies. He needs magical assistance, fast. He doesn't expect it to turn up angry.

Magician Stephen Day has good reason to hate Crane’s family. Unfortunately, it’s his job to deal with supernatural threats. Besides, the earl is unlike any aristocrat he’s ever met, with the tattoos, the attitude... and the way Crane seems determined to get him into bed. That’s definitely unusual.

Soon Stephen is falling hard for the worst possible man, at the worst possible time. But Crane’s dangerous appeal isn't the only thing rendering Stephen powerless. Evil pervades the house, a web of plots is closing round Crane, and if Stephen can’t find a way through it—they’re both going to die.

Reviewed by bookperson on

5 of 5 stars

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Wow, what a book! 5/5, loved it with all my heart.

TW: homophobia, suicide

Firstly, I'm not a big fan of historical fiction. But when magic is involved... sign me up baby!
Secondly, that book was amazing. It reminded me of Widdershins (Whyborne and Griffin series) by J.L. Hawk, but different. Widdershins was good, but too historical for my taste, all these anachronisms and language, I couldn't get into easily. Also Whyborne and Griffin were both anxious and couldn't express their feelings (understandable), but in The ML both main characters are open-minded and open-hearted good guys, and I loved them both (even though I didn't like Stephen at first, he grew on me and is the best). The Magpie Lord is more casual, closer to our language and with better magic imo. Also Britain setting with the character that grew up in China. And tattoos! And did I said magic? Yes, gimme all of it.

It was action packed, but also filled with humor and tension between main characters (as I said in one of my comments - 0 to 60 in 3 seconds!) and the best part - idk how but author escapes all possible tropes of mm romance, so every time something happened between characters I wasn't prepared and my heart just exploded.

Also, didn't you like where one character is tall and other small? But both strong, sharp, smart and with attitude. Whew, I need to stop. Or do I? On to the next book!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 9 November, 2018: Finished reading
  • 9 November, 2018: Reviewed