Series: Edinburgh Nights #3
Release date: July 27 2023
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 336
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
Synopsis
Ropa Moyo is no stranger to magic or mysteries. But she’s still stuck in an irksomely unpaid internship. So she’s thrilled to attend a magical convention at Dunvegan Castle, on the Isle of Skye, where she’ll rub elbows with eminent magicians.
For Ropa, it’s the perfect opportunity to finally prove her worth. Then a librarian is murdered and a precious scroll stolen. Suddenly, every magician is a suspect, and Ropa and her allies investigate. Trapped in a castle, with suspicions mounting, Ropa must contend with corruption, skulduggery and power plays. Time to ask for a raise?
Review
The third installment in T L Huchu’s thrilling Edinburgh Nights series follows ghost talker Ropa Moyo as she’s sent to help out at a magic convention at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye. Hoping she’ll get the chance to rub shoulders with the magical elite, Ropa finds herself in the midst of a dark mystery when a magical scroll is stolen and a librarian murdered. Can she uncover who’s behind it all in time to recover the scroll and help her mentor before its too late?
This is the third installment in this series and I’ve enjoyed each one immensely. I really enjoyed that this one was set on the Isle of Skye and it was interesting to see Ropa in a different environment. Trapped in the castle, this is a fast paced mystery and I definitely did not guess who was behind it all. Huchu’s writing is compelling and the story is clever, complex and entertaining. The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle features much more politics and scheming than the previous novels and it was really fascinating seeing the different magical organisations and schools attempt to out manoeuvre each other.
Ropa as always is a brilliant protagonist and you can’t help but root for her. She’s so full of attitude but she’s also determined to succeed and do what’s right. This installment sees quite a bit of character growth in Ropa as she sticks by Callender and has to deal with her anxieties. One of the things I love about this series is the unique approach to magic and I loved getting to explore that a bit more in this book. I definitely feel like I could read lots more books about Ropa’s adventures and I can’t wait to see where Huchu takes the story next.
C J Cooke is fast becoming my go-to author for fast paced gothic horror novels you can’t put down. The Ghost Woods tells the story of two women who travel to Lichen Hall, a remote estate in the Scottish Borders where unmarried women can go to give birth. When Pearl arrives in 1965, she soon learns all is not as it seems and there are some strange things going on. There she meets a mother and a young boy who live on the grounds of the estate and together they unravel a mystery darker than they ever imagined.
A Haunting in the Arctic is the newest dark and engrossing tale from C J Cooke. The story follows two women in different times – in 1901 Nicky wakes to find herself aboard one of her father’s whaling ships – The Ormen. Attacked in a park and taken aboard while she was unconscious, Nicky has no choice but to join the crew on their perilous journey to Iceland, but at what cost? Meanwhile, in present-day Dominique is an urban explorer, looking to explore and document the last days of the Ormen before it is sunk. The ship has drifted across the sea, empty and full of secrets. Will Dominique be able to uncover what happened on the ship and will she survive the strange things happening aboard?
Black Heat is the start of an all new YA fantasy series from Isles of Storm and Sorrow author Bex Hogan. The story follows three young women – Marzal, the daughter of the Emperor who has spent many years living in a convent and has now returned to take her place at court. Rayn, a blacksmith looking to uncover the truth surrounding the death of her family and take vengeance against those who harmed them, and Elena, a midwife tasked with protecting a secret. Each woman must do all they can to protect those they care about and help their country survive a deadly war.
I really enjoyed Rebecca Kuang’s The Poppy War and have been very intrigued by Babel, but haven’t yet had the chance to pick it up. Her newest release Yellowface is completely different, this story follows June Hayward, a struggling author who witnesses the death of her friend and literary star Athena Liu, June decides to steal the manuscript of her latest novel – a story about Chinese labourers in World War I. June passes the novel off as her own and her publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song and she becomes an instant bestseller. As June begins to think she’s in the clear evidence begins to surface that will bring everything crashing down, but how far will June go to protect her secret and the stardom she feels she was destined for.
The newest release from Greatcoats author Sebastien de Castell, The Malevolent Seven follows war mage Cade Ombra who ends up joining six other wonderists on a suicide mission to against the deadliest mages on the planet. What could possibly go wrong?
I’ve always wanted to try Genevieve Cogman’s Invisible Library series but haven’t gotten around to it, so when I heard this would be the first in an all new trilogy I jumped at the chance to read it. A reimagining of the Scarlet Pimpernel, the story follows Eleanor, a young maid who happens to look a whole lot like Marie Antoinette. Tasked with assisting the League to rescue Marie Antoinette and her children, Eleanor embarks on a daring adventure in revolutionary France. But with the aristocrats and vampires being sent to the guillotine, will Eleanor be able to complete her mission and survive unscathed?
Emily Tesh’s Some Desperate Glory is an epic space adventure that follows Kyr, a young woman living on Gaea Station – one of the last holdouts of humanity after planet Earth was destroyed. Kyr has trained all her life to be the most skilled warrior and she knows she will be assigned a combat job to help get revenge for her planet. When Kyr is unexpectedly assigned to the nursery to bear sons and her brother Mags is sent on a suicide mission, Kyr teams up with her brother’s friend and a captive alien to rescue Mags and take matters into her own hands. However, once Kyr and her team escape the station, they find there might be far more out there than she realised.
One for All is a brilliant, compelling YA historical fiction retelling that follows Tania de Batz, a young girl that wants nothing more than to be a Musketeer like her father. However, women are not allowed to be Musketeers and Tania has a condition that frequently makes her dizzy and faint. Known in her village as the sick girl, her parents worry about her prospects to find a husband. When Tania’s father is mysteriously murdered, Tania is sent to a finishing school in Paris in the hopes of finding a husband, but the L’Académie des Mariées is not quite what it seems – this elite school is for a new generation of Musketeers, young women who can play the part of a noble lady, but also protect King and country. When Tania and her sisters-in-arms uncover a plot to assassinate the King, they use all their wits and skills to determine who’s behind it before it’s too late.
Shield Maiden is a beautifully written fantasy tale that follows Fryda, a young girl with a dream of becoming a shield maiden. After an accident in her childhood leaves her disabled, she believes she will never achieve that dream – no matter how badly she wants it. When her Uncle Beowulf comes to visit the clan and celebrations begin, Fryda uncovers a plot that threatens the safety of the people she loves most. Determined to do what she can to protect her people, Fryda soon feels a strange power growing inside her, but Fryda isn’t the only one who feels the power stirring and a dragon long sleeping might finally awake.
The Bibliophile Chronicles 