Elemental Truth

2 weeks ago
E

Six months ago, Thessaly thought she knew what her life would hold: a good marriage, commitment to her new family, and supporting the land magic. Now, two deaths have changed that. She has a freedom she never thought she’d have, but that doesn’t mean that society’s pressures have gone away. Still pressured to marry well, Thessaly needs to navigate her family’s demands and everyone’s assumptions about what she ought to do.

Vitus has finally officially been recognised as a talisman maker, able to set up his own establishment and begin finding his own clients. He doesn’t dare unsettle things further, even though recent events have left him with many questions.

As Vitus and Thessaly continue to talk, it becomes clear that much more is going on than either of them are aware of. Someone is experimenting with dangerous magic - that’s likely already caused multiple deaths. It would be easy to ignore it, to get on with their own lives, but neither of them can ignore what’s right in front of them. Nor can they ignore their own desires for each other and a life together.

This final book in the Mysterious Fields trilogy brings Thessaly and Vitus’s romance to a happily ever after ending. Together, they figure out what matters, delight in their shared arts of magic and colour, and work together to solve a terrifying mystery that could change Albion’s history entirely. Set in 1889 and 1890, this book about the magical community of Victorian Britain should be read in order, after the first two books in the trilogy.

Content
Contains family and magical politics including multiple murders and additional deaths (nothing graphic on the page). Secrets, bad life decisions, and damage to secondary characters from people they thought they could trust.

This book contains three additional deaths (also puzzling and confusing), nasty gossip, a duel. Also hope and a long-term resolution to go with the happily-ever-after ending.

Available on:
Genres:
historical fantasy romance

Tags:
Class and class differences, Council, Cover - yellow, Crafters, Education and research, First relationship, Fortier and Landry families, Land magic, Magical disabilities, Mentorship, People who make things, Siblings, Solving a mystery, Victorian

Begins: 1889-10

Explore other books about members of the Fortier and Landry families:

Silent Circuit

2 weeks ago
S

On the summer solstice, Thessaly’s world was changed forever, with an unexpected death. Now, she’s frantically trying to figure out what’s going on and what happened. The Fortiers - the family she will be marrying into - won’t tell her anything. Her fiancé, Childeric, has turned nasty. And he’s challenging to fill the Council seat left open by Thessaly’s beloved aunt. Thessaly has to step carefully but she’s already the centre of unwanted gossip.

Vitus wants nothing more than to support her, but he’s wise enough to know that his presence can’t possibly help anything. Weeks ago, he dared to kiss Thessaly - at her request. The gossip since then has put him in a difficult position, and she doesn’t dare see him, even in the most proper circumstances. He’s thrown himself into building his business as best he can and into his studies about new forms of magic.

Something has to change, but neither of them can figure out what they can do. Individually - and eventually together - they need to find the power to move forward and make their own choices. A gift from Thessaly’s aunt and an utterly unexpected outcome of Childeric’s challenge open a door to new possibilities.

The second book in the Mysterious Fields trilogy follows Thessaly and Vitus’s story and romance - but their happily ever after won’t come until book three. Join them as they learn more from books and each other, share their desires, and name the many challenges they want to overcome together. Set in 1889, this book about the magical community of Victorian Britain should be read after Enchanted Net, book one in the trilogy.

Content
Contains family and magical politics including multiple murders (nothing graphic on the page) and grief afterwards. Secrets, bad life decisions, and damage to secondary characters from people they thought they could trust.

At the beginning of book 1, Thessaly becomes betrothed in an arranged match and in book 2 it becomes increasingly clear there's a problem. This includes threats to both her and those she cares about and one brief moment of physical anger. The book involves another death and a difficult aftermath and funeral as well as a puzzling death near the end of the book.

Available on:
Genres:
historical fantasy romance

Tags:
Class and class differences, Council, Cover - green, Crafters, Education and research, First relationship, Fortier and Landry families, Land magic, Magical disabilities, Mentorship, People who make things, Siblings, Solving a mystery, Victorian

Begins: 1889-07

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Enchanted Net

2 weeks ago
E

Thessaly’s life is laid out before her, a sparkling path toward the goals any young woman of Albion should aspire to. Her own magic is strong, she’s a gifted duellist mastering the enchantments of illusion work. Now she’s betrothed to the shining son of one of the greatest families in the country. All she has to do is tread the steps of the proper dance.

Vitus has just returned from a grand tour, learning all he can about stones and mines to cap off his apprenticeship as a talisman maker. Now it’s time to establish himself, build his business, and craft his own future.

When Thessaly and Vitus meet at a costume ball, there’s an immediate spark between them. Thessaly’s marriage agreements specifically permit that, so long as she’s discreet. Certainly, there’s no barrier to a friendship or magical collaboration. Vitus, for his part, is charmed by her intelligence, creativity, and eye for crafting magic.

They’ve barely begun to get to know each other - or figure out how to handle their growing mutual interest properly - when Thessaly’s world collapses. The sudden change in her life throws everything she’d expected into chaos. Vitus has no idea how to help, not without risking his future as well.

The first book in the Mysterious Fields trilogy begins Thessaly and Vitus’s story and romance - but their happily ever after won’t come until book three. Join them for a toast in honour of recognising each other as kindred spirits, navigating the politics of Albion’s Great Families, and figuring out how to live their own lives. Set in 1889, this book about the magical community of Victorian Britain is a wonderful entry point to Celia Lake’s Albion books.

Content
Contains family and magical politics including multiple murders (nothing graphic on the page) and grief afterwards. At the beginning of book 1, Thessaly becomes betrothed in an arranged match and it becomes increasingly clear there's a problem. Secrets, bad life decisions, and damage to secondary characters from people they thought they could trust.

The book begins with Thessaly's betrothal to Childeric Fortier. Her marriage agreements explicitly permit other relationships within set terms, this is an arranged match. This book includes two deaths, and guilt-laced grief related to one of them

Available on:
Genres:
historical fantasy romance

Tags:
Class and class differences, Council, Cover - purple, Crafters, Education and research, First relationship, Fortier and Landry families, Great place to start, Land magic, Magical disabilities, Mentorship, People who make things, Siblings, Solving a mystery, Start of a series, Victorian

Begins: 1889-03

Explore other books about members of the Fortier and Landry families:

Facets of the Bench

2 months ago
F

Coming August 2nd, 2024

The War changed everything.

Annice grew up wanting to carve jet. Born and raised in Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast, she learned from her father and grandfather, drawing beauty out of ancient stones. But now she’s on her own, there are customs against women carving jet, and the stone’s fallen out of fashion. It’s 1927. People want to forget their grief, not wear it for all to see. For all those reasons and more, Annice is at a crossroads in her life.

Griffin has lived in Trellech, Albion’s magical city, all his life except for his service during the Great War. He’s loved the city nearly as long, years before he made a place for himself tending the magic of the courts as a solicitor and specialist. After the War, he came home willing to use whatever tools he needed - wheelchair, crutches, canes - to keep doing what he loved. But other people don’t think he’s still capable. Griffin’s been stuck in a professional limbo that hasn’t budged for years.

When the magic and the jet of one of the courtrooms starts failing, Griffin is the one who has to figure out how to fix it. On a trip to Whitby, it becomes obvious that he needs Annice’s help to keep the inheritance court working as it should. If he can convince her to be confident in her skills - and give Trellech a try - there’s a chance for the two of them to do much more together than they could on their own.

Facets of the Bench is about loving a place and sharing it with others, competence, and making the most of an opportunity. It features an ambulatory wheelchair user, a woman whose skills just need a little encouragement to blossom, and a city full of magic. Set in 1927, it’s a romance with a happily ever after ending.

Content
Griffin is an ambulatory wheelchair user, dealing with bias and misunderstanding from others. Some of the plot focuses on how he answers those concerns. Annice has lost a number of family members in the last decade. Local customs limit some of her options for making a living. 

Want to learn more? Check out blog posts about Facets of the Bench.

Available on:
Genres:
cosy historical fantasy romance

Tags:
1920s, Chronic health, Class and class differences, Cover - blue, Crafters, Land magic, Magical disabilities, People who make things, Physical disabilities, Religion and the numinous

Begins: 1927-03

The Magic of Four

6 months ago
T

In 1946, four second year students at Schola, the most elite of the magical schools of Albion, have challenges to face. Leo, Ros, Avigail, and Jasper need to make some key decisions about their lives.

First, they have to figure out what they want to do and be when they grow up. It's a hard choice to make at fourteen. Next, second year is when Schola’s secret societies pick new members, a decision that can change the course of a life. Third, there are all the ordinary challenges and joys of a school, ranging from dealing with other students to sports matches. And it's 1946, with all the lingering effects of the Second World War, dealing with the changes it's brought and the changes to come.

These four friends come from different backgrounds, sharing some skills but not others. None of them want what society assumes they do. It's a new world and they have some ideas of their own.

The Magic of Four is full of friendship, surprises, commitments, and a great deal of magic. It takes place in the magical community of Great Britain in the wake of the Second World War, from the perspective of young adults who have a good idea what their parents did during the war years and what that cost.

The last book in the Land Mysteries series, it includes a number of characters who have appeared in other Celia Lake books, but can be read in any order. Unlike most Celia Lake books, The Magic of Four is not a romance - they’re all fourteen.

Content
Contains four teenagers who are more sensible than the average but don't always make the best choices. Includes examples of bullying, social challenges, class issues, and other complications of living and learning with other teenagers. The adults are dealing with the Second World War and the impact on their lives in various ways, including grieving. One of the characters (Avigail) is half Bengali, the others are white.

Want to learn more? Check out blog posts about The Magic of Four.

Published:
Genres:
historical fantasy

Tags:
1940s, Carillon family, Character focused, Class and class differences, Close friends, Cover - blue, Diverse backgrounds, Edgarton family, Education and research, Fortier and Landry families, Parents and children, Post-War, Secret societies, Solving a mystery

Begins: 1946-09

Perfect Accord

8 months ago
P

Nothing too horrible can happen in a fortnight.

Charlotte is worried. Her friend Victor - the man everyone expects she’ll marry - has fallen in with a new circle. Growing up in the family she has, Charlotte knows there’s something odd going on. The new friends are older, united in a passion for ancient legends, and there’s something just a bit too intense about all of them. When Charlotte and Victor are invited for a fortnight at a remote country house with the rest of the group, she goes along to keep him out of trouble.

It’s hard to get by as a working alchemist. Lewis hopes his arrangement with Morgen will let Lewis keep his brother in a much-needed potion and begin to build up his own business as an alchemical perfumer. He doesn’t mind being stuck in an isolated cottage on a rural estate while he does it.

But when Charlotte appears in his kitchen - an impossible idea - they have to figure out what’s going on at the main house and how to stop it without causing more problems. All they have to work with are the skills they already have and whatever is stocked in the alchemy lab.

Perfect Accord takes place in the magical community of Great Britain in 1923, as Charlotte is preparing for her older brother Gabe’s wedding. Third in the Mysterious Arts series, it can be read in any order. Join Charlotte and Lewis for a short tour through mangled Arthuriana, a long stint of forced proximity, and a sensual romance full of perfume, cooking, and time in bed.

Content
While the heroine goes into a difficult situation aware of the risks, the background plot deals with manipulation and possible emotional coercion of people in a group (no details of the coercion are directly depicted.) Hero is dealing with significant pressure from different directions. 

Want to learn more? Check out blog posts about Perfect Accord.

Published:
Genres:
cosy historical fantasy romance

Tags:
1920s, Class and class differences, Cover - green, Crafters, Edgarton family, Only one bed, People who make things, Solving a mystery

Begins: 1923-03

Three Graces

10 months ago
T

In May of 1945, as the war in Europe is coming to an end, three women can turn their attention to an old and lingering problem. Lizzie never met her brother-in-law, Temple. He died in 1922, in what she and her husband now know was a desperate attempt to stop further damage to the land magic.

No one has been able to figure out what damaged Temple’s magic or why he’d insisted on such self-destructive choices. Lizzie hasn’t, her husband Geoffrey hasn’t, and neither have their friends who are experts in a dozen relevant fields.

Now, as the demands of the war begin to ease, Lizzie asks Alysoun and Thesan - their friends and allies - to help her solve the mystery. She hopes that Alysoun’s clear-sighted experience and Thesan’s ability to see hidden patterns will be enough of a help. Perhaps together they can finally find and make sense of long-hidden information and do their best to make sure this sort of tragedy never happens again.

Three Graces is a novella tackling the long-standing question of what happened to Temple Carillon and brought him to his death in 1922. It is full of intelligent friends supporting each other, the changes that come with the end of the war, and navigating a new world. It is best read in series sequence, as it draws on a number of situations during the Second World War and its impact on Albion and Albion's land magic.

Content
Three Graces deals with some difficult topics around the death (at the hands of the Council) of Temple Carillon and his wife Delphina. The three protagonists are digging into decades-old secrets, and have to navigate carefully to avoid tipping their hands. At the same time, the end of the war in Europe means that a number of patterns and usual supports aren't available, and the three women have to navigate some new situations. However, there's no violence on the page, and discussions of the eventual outcome focus on character's feelings rather than descriptions of the details. Of note for representation: Alysoun lives with what we'd call fibromyalgia and routinely uses a cane, and Thesan is autistic. 

Want to learn more? Check out blog posts about Three Graces.

Published:
Genres:
historical fantasy

Tags:
1940s, Carillon family, Character focused, Chronic health, Close friends, Edgarton family, Education and research, Land magic, Neurodiversity, Second World War, Solving a mystery

Begins: 1945-05

Illusion of a Boar

11 months ago
I

A World War 2 fantasy romance

In March of 1944, four magical specialists are brought together at a secret camp for an even more mysterious mission.

Hypatia and Cammie adopted each other as sisters twenty years ago, during their school years, after Cammie's mother married Hypatia's older brother. Cammie has been neck deep in signals work since the start of the Second World War, while Hypatia has used her gift for sympathetic magic and materia to support the war effort. All while keeping up the proper standards for ATS girls, of course.

Pulled from similar work in Scotland, Claudio knows the most about what's needed and about what resources might actually be available. That's a big problem, but he's far more worried about his chosen brother, Orion.

Orion's war had been comparatively simple until six months ago. After an injury invalided him out of active service using his magic to support the front lines in the Mediterranean, he came home to find betrayal. Now he's figuring out where to begin rebuilding any sense of himself and his place in the world.

None of them have enough information or access to resources for what they're being asked to do. And they're doing it in a camp that has no idea what to make of them and that has its own deep secrets.When the challenges keep coming, they have to figure out whether and how they can trust each other and whether their objective is even possible.

Illusion of a Boar takes on the run-up to D-Day inside the magical community of Albion, figuring out what magic could help turn the tides in their favour. It's about trust, choosing new paths, and just maybe taking a chance on love and romance. The fifth book in the Land Mysteries series, it can be read in any order.

Content
At least 2 of the 4 point of view characters are neurodiverse. They're dealing with unusual situations, secrets in a time of war, and family and social assumptions. One character is dealing with a recent significant injury to his hand, as well as emotional betrayal about 5 months before the book begins). No actual descriptions of combat, but there are references to deaths in combat and the impact they have on various characters.

Want to learn more? Check out blog posts about Illusion of a Boar.

Published:
Genres:
historical fantasy romance

Tags:
1940s, Class and class differences, Close friends, Cover - yellow, Diverse backgrounds, Education and research, Land magic, Neurodiversity, Physical disabilities, Second World War, Shapeshifting, Siblings

Begins: 1944-03

Check out more books with neurodiverse characters (depending how you count, 2 or 3 of the 4 POV characters here are neurodiverse).

Four Walls and a Heart

July 6, 2023
F

In 1884, Gil wakes in the Temple of Healing with a life changing injury. Nothing in his life is ever going to be the same. He now has to figure out where he'll live and what he'll do. All his choices are all miserable in their own way.

Magni becomes curious when his old friend’s name comes up several times. After discovering Gil’s return to Albion and his injuries, Magni is more than willing to visit, remembering how Gil was the spark of wit in gatherings while they were both apprentices. But of course, Gil would never be interested in him as anything other than a friend in a time of need.

When Magni has to leave town for a few weeks due to a complex case, he rents a house at the Brighton seashore. He even welcomes Gil's company, as Gil regains strength before another needed surgery.

Neither of them expected the minor mystery of the house across the street and a fortnight in close quarters to change both their lives.

Four Walls and a Heart is a m/m novella of 40,000 words exploring Gil and Magni's romance in the summer of 1884. Set in the magical community of Great Britain, it is full of books, architecture, seaside amusements, and navigating living with a new disability.

Content
M/M friends to lovers romance, while one of the protagonists is dealing with amputation of his lower leg. Contains some homophobia from minor characters (unpleasant disapproval, not violence, from a family member). Also contains some references to the uneven path of healing. Other protagonist is a member of Albion's Guard, responsible for public safety and law enforcement considerations (his duties are referenced, but not the focus of the plot).

Want to know more? Check out the blog posts about Four Walls and a Heart.

Published:
Genres:
cosy historical fantasy romance

Tags:
Cover - red, Friends to lovers, Guard and Penelopes, LGBTQIA+, Physical disabilities, Victorian

Begins: 1884-04

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(Gil and Magni are significant secondary characters in Pastiche.)

Shoemaker’s Wife

June 19, 2023
S

1920 should have been a wonderful summer.

The Great War is over, and Clara's husband Owen has finally come home. All he wants is to set up as a shoemaker and enjoy a peaceful marriage.

Nothing about Owen's return is easy.

There's not enough money for Owen to start up his own business. Worse, he's having trouble finding work, like many other returning soldiers, and everything's getting more expensive. Clara's worried about running her aunt's apothecary shop while her aunt is away. Things at home are awkward and uncomfortable. Neither of them knows how to turn a wartime romance into a proper marriage.

When a lucky break gets him a new job backstage in a magical theatre, Owen is hopeful that his life - and Clara's - are beginning to turn around. Unfortunately, the new job brings new worries, and one of Clara's customers is taking a more personal interest in her than she's comfortable with. There might be a way to solve all their troubles, if they can just remember why they fell in love in the first place, and learn to trust each other.

Shoemaker's Wife is a romance about falling in love for a second time and learning how to have a happy marriage. Join Clara and Owen for shoemaking, a winter pantomime, the challenges of rebuilding a life after war, and all the ways kindness makes a difference. The second novel in the Mysterious Arts series about the magical community of Great Britain, it can be read in any order.

Content
Heroine is the focus of unwanted attention from a secondary character (though it does not progress beyond conversation). Hero dealing with the aftermath of the war and returning to 'ordinary' life. Learning to talk about active consent as opposed to assumed or passive consent.

Want to learn more? Check out blog posts about Shoemaker's Wife.

Published:
Genres:
cosy historical fantasy romance

Tags:
1920s, Cover - blue, Crafters, First relationship, Gentle, Music and the arts, People who make things

Begins: 1920-06

Explore books focusing on crafters and crafting: 

By Celia June 19, 2023

New and exciting!

The cover of Upon A Summer's Day shows a man in a suit silhouetted over a map of northern Wales in a muted green. He is gesturing, holding his cane in one hand, a cap on his head. Behind him is an astrological chart, with Jupiter and Saturn highlighted in the sign of Taurus.

Upon A Summer's Day

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