"you challenged me as if you were a nightmare on a new moon, and i knew then that you were the one i wanted beside me."
This is a dark, captivating, mysterious and magical tale
- and of course you can expect the gorgeous and lyrical prose that I fell in
love with in the previous books I’ve read by this author: ‘Divine Rivals’ and ‘Ruthless
Vows’.
Clementine Madigan is her father's apprentice, and he is
magician in Hereswith, a small town within the realm of Azenor. A curse has
plagued the realm for many years, wherein the magic flows from the nearby
mountain and brings nightmares to life. Only magicians, serving as territory
wardens, stand between their people and the mountain’s curse. Clem and her father
go from house to house when someone has had a nightmare; they record it in the
Book of Nightmares which the warden of each territory holds. Each new moon, one
of these nightmares come to life and since they’ve recorded them all during the
month, they are able to be prepared to fight whatever monsters, demons or evil
creatures that manifest.
But then one new moon, two magicians, Phelan and Lennox, show up to challenge
her father for the position, she finds herself feeling bereft of home and
purpose when they win. Her father and her, along with beloved Imonie, have to
move, and they go to a big city where her mother lives, ad she takes them in. Determined
to get revenge, Clem disguises herself with a magical glamor and sets out to
work alongside Phelan who, in her opinion, stole her home, hell bent on
destroying him and his family, and taking back what is rightfully hers.
Unlike Lennox, Phelan Vesper is quiet, intelligent and bookish. Her is kind to
his housekeeper and her grandson, and seems like a really good person – which cannot
be true, right? Watching his character unravel and become more than what
we saw at the beginning made for a great story. He has his own motivations, and
though he also has familial loyalty, in the end he makes his decisions for
himself. He doesn’t want to be under the thumb of either his mother or the Duke
anymore. We discover that where familial bonds are Clem's strength, they are
Phelan's chains. He can be pompous and impolite and selfish, but at the
core he is a good person, which annoys Clem.
The longer these two work together the more secrets are revealed about the mountains curse... if she hopes to succeed to break this curse she will have to unite and work with her rival. Their story is so well told, it is a slow, slow burn but it’s constantly simmering in the background and the tension can be felt through the pages. Clem and Phelan naturally became closer working together and it was such a gradual shift, you barely felt it until it was right in your face. And though Clem has assumed the false identity of Anna, there is still a deep understanding between them, as she could not have possible hidden away all of herself.
Another layer here is the broken family – the Madigans’ secrets start pouring out and the source of the curse is revealed. It was shocking but so, so well done – I absolutely loved the pacing of this book and the way the information is revealed piece by piece until it all clicks into place. The segment on the castle on the mountain was filled with such tension, but it also showed just how much Phelan loved Clem and the information revealed made complete sense, when looking back at characters' actions.
What I love was that even though this starts as a book about revenge, it is a story that shows us that first impressions and anger can always be misplaced. I also really enjoyed that there was a mystery aspect to this book which will have you turning pages. The only complaint I have - I'd really love if there were more stories set in this richly drawn world to read.
