Shades of Milk and Honey
Mary Robinette Kowal
3/5
Advertising this as Jane Austen but with a fantasy twist boosted my expectations way too high for this one. Jane is a talented glamourist, but she fails in comparison to her beautiful sister. She prides herself as being able to see through constructions and to the true character of both people and glamours.
There wasn't a lot of interaction between the love interests. To be honest I was having a difficult time even gauging where this was going regarding the romance just because the male protagonist was so weak. To compare him to Darcy or compare their misunderstandings to Pride and Prejudice doesn't really do this book justice. They're set on a completely different stage and have a completely different vibe to them.
That being said, it's a very interesting magical universe. I was a little confused as to the extent of the glamour powers but it's a cool concept. I think if I read further into the series I might understand it all a little better. It was kind of strange though that there wasn't really an epilogue but there were definitive statements at the end that echoed the lives of the characters. I wish there had been a bit more separation there.
I would recommend it if you like historical fiction with a fantasy twist, but I really think it's too different from Pride and Prejudice to be advertised that way. It generally echoes Jane Austen but not to the extent that I would call that the book's redeeming quality.
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