Lady Victoria Mansfield, youngest daughter of the earl and countess of Fairmount, is destined for a charmed life. Soon she will be presented during the London season, where she can choose a mate worthy of her status.
Yet Tory has a shameful secret—a secret so powerful that, if exposed, it could strip her of her position and disgrace her family forever. Tory’s blood is tainted . . . by magic.
When a shocking accident forces Tory to demonstrate her despised skill, the secret she’s fought so hard to hide is revealed for all to see. She is immediately exiled to Lackland Abbey, a reform school for young men and women in her position. There she will learn to suppress her deplorable talents and maybe, if she’s one of the lucky ones, be able to return to society.
But Tory’s life is about to change forever. All that she’s ever known or considered important will be challenged. What lies ahead is only the beginning of a strange and wonderful journey into a world where destiny and magic come together, where true love and friendship find her, and where courage and strength of character are the only things that determine a young girl’s worth.
I had high expectations for this book. It didn't fall all that flat, but then, it didn't live up to my expectations either.
The beginning of the book was pretty good. Tory wakes up to discover that she's floating above the bed. Her mother, someone with magic running through her veins, orders Tory to hide her abilities, otherwise she'll be sent away. But she rescues her nephew as he falls off of a cliff, showing her magic to everyone. She saves him, but at the price of being sent away to a Gothic-like school.
The time travel aspect of this book was something I hadn't been expecting, but it was a nice addition. I also liked the fact that they were traveling forward in time, rather than back in time, with the same goals that they had in their own time period. I would have liked to know a bit more about the mirrors and how they came to be, but that will probably be explained in the sequel.
The idea that magic was outlawed by the aristocrats yet embraced by the common was an interesting idea that added a lot to the story. It added a lot of struggle to the beginning of the story that helped to push the plot until Tory discovered the mirror and tumbled through.
The characters were okay. They didn't stand out at all, but neither did I instantly hate them. Jack was probably my favorite. He, Elspeth, and Cynthia. They might have been slight cliches, but they, to me, were the most fleshed-out and real characters. Tory was all right. The only character I really and truly hated was Allarde. He was just so...flat. There wasn't anything real about him, and when he revealed his 'shocking secret' to Tory, I wasn't surprised. Plus, his first name didn't fit the time period at all. It made me think of one of today's pop stars, not some Regency lord. Plus, the author tried to pull off something with him at the end that didn't work AT ALL.
Other than the romantic interest, this book was great. The plot was original, the characters weren't cardboard, and the setting was wonderful. I can't wait until the third, Dark Destiny, comes out.
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