Wednesday 3 August 2011

A Tangle of Magicks by Stephanie Burgis

Pages - 285
Published by Templar on the 1st August 2011
Book kindly sent by publisher.

1803
My brother Charles was a hopelss gamester, a ridiculous over-sleeper, and the one sibling too lazy to take part in any family arguments, no matter how exasperating our sisters might have been (and usually were). 
But he had one shining virtue as an older brother: he was infinitely persuadable. 


Goodreads Summary
After her antics in A Most Improper Magick, Kat Stephenson is back to cause more chaos! Stepmama drags the family to Bath to find Kat's sister a new suitor. But, unknown to most of its gossipy visitors, Bath is full of wild magic. When Kat uncovers a plot to harness this magic in the Roman Baths, she finds her brother Charles is unwittingly involved. Kat must risk her new found magical powers as she defies the Order of the Guardians to foil the plot and clear her brother's name.
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A Tangle of Magicks is the second book in The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson. As mentioned in my review yesterday, I do like to see whether or not a book which is part of a series can be read as stand alone and this one definitely can. This is a whole new adventure for Kat and I didn't find myself searching for information from the previous book in order to aid my reading experience. 

However, on saying that, it did take me a couple of chapters to work out who was magical and who wasn't in the story.  Once I had worked that out, I found the first few chapters are bursting with action and I find myself quickly immersed in the story.  

The book is set during the Regency period and is told in first person by Kat. She is a brilliant character, so mischievous and always in the middle of any trouble occurring. She is sassy and sarcastic, which often left me chuckling. Kat came across as a cross between Nancy Drew and Harry Potter. I did struggle a little with her age and I couldn't help feeling that she often came across as being older than twelve. Her mannerisms and actions seemed  quite bold for a young girl during that era, however as I wasn't around during the 1800's I really couldn't comment on the characteristics of a 12 year old from a well to do family.

Lucy was my favourite character within the book. She transforms from such an innocent girl to an intelligent young lady with a glint of magic in her eye. She became an ideal sidekick for Kat, as she helped her to solve the mystery that occurred, whilst finding herself in immense danger. She really was a kindred spirit for Kat and I do hope she will return in future adventures with Kat.

I love the shock and horror that occurs on the residents of Bath, as they witness magic with their own eyes. The shame brought on the families by public shows of magic, believing many people to view it as an illness. 

The story is set in Bath and the author manages to weave in true facts about the area into the fiction. I am a sucker for a  story based on weird and wonderful facts, so this really appealed to me and made me curious to visit Bath. 

The book has a very climatic ending where a rather sinister event reminded me of one of the Ghostbusters films. I am not going to say anymore as it would give away the plot.  There are a few rather devious villains within the plot, yet my super sensitive crime solving nose worked out the culprit early on. 

A quick nerdy moment here. This is a rather unusual thing to really like, but I have to say. I loved the font style and size the book was written in. OK, nerdy moment over. 

An enjoyable read that had me giggling quite a lot.  A tale where magic and a sassy lead character manage to save the day. I look forward to reading more adventures with Kat and hopefully Lucy too. 

Other reviews of this book.


10 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fun read. I haven't read the first book so it's good to know that this one can stand alone.

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  2. Now I remember book 1 and it sounded so cute. Which this one also does :D

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  3. I've always (secretly) wished my name were Kat. I enjoy books that entice me to see other places. Thanks for sharing your nerdy moment (I have plenty of those).

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  4. This sounds like a lovely read. Bath makes me instantly think of Jane Austen, is that weird? :)

    By the way I don't think it's nerdy at all to comment on the font and the size of the book. I recently picked up a book from my shelf that must have been written for little ants so tiny was the font used..

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  5. I love the sound of this, sounds a lot of fun. Great review x

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  6. This really sounds good Viv! So many books that sound terrific. Now if there was just the time to read them all.

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  7. I don't remember seeing this book before (or the first book), but it looks very cute!

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  8. I am a major nerd for font and style in books too! I studied that kinda thing for my degree so I love it when I pick up a book that has cool font! :D
    I cant wait to read this one! :D :D

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  9. Very whole some book. A must read story, Nice blog by the way.

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