A great first volume. I look forward to reading more in the series.

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

brother's ruin (Emma Newman)

Title: brother's ruin

Author: Emma Newman

Publisher: Macmillian-Tor/Forge

Publication Date: TODAY!!!! (paperback/e-book)

ISBN: 9780765393951

Source: NetGalley

This novella was quick-paced, a fast read, and fun. The story is set in 1850s Great Britain which was win number one. Win number two was the protagonist, Charlotte Gunn - intelligent, feisty, and loving (me favorite type). Win number three was the magical society set up in this book.

Charlotte is a woman who wants normal things like marrying her fiance and having a family. She also wants slightly more challenging modern things like continuing to earn her own income from her illustrations and keeping her male publishing pseudonym unknown. But most challenging off all is keeping her magic talent a secret. If it is found out, the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts will claim her and her dreams of the future will be forfeit.

Keeping her magic a secret is not so easy. Charlotte has the guilt of not joining the Society to give her parents and brother a better life as well as the challenge of holding her magic in check and not going "Wild." However events soon spiral out of control and Charlotte has to decide whether her dreams or her realities will determine her choices.

This novella is super short at 192 pages and felt more like a set-up or prequel to a longer novel. I loved it and wanted more. Charlotte's family members were loving, struggled, and were realistic in many of their reactions to the occurring events. The magic of the society is introduced but ye don't get all the bells and whistles of how it works or what it can do . . . yet. The plot was predictable at a few points but I didn't care.

The novella had a great ending, left lots of questions to be explored, and had tantalizing hints of what may happen next. Whether the next installment be a novella or (hopefully) a longer novel - sign me up!

Side note: This author sounded familiar because I had just purchased her other novel planetfall, a sci-fi, to read! Stay tuned for that review in the next log post.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

Additional side note: the blurb is rather spoiler-y and misleading. Be forewarned and read at yer own peril!

Netgalley has this to say about the novel:

The year is 1850 and Great Britain is flourishing, thanks to the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts. When a new mage is discovered, Royal Society elites descend like buzzards to snatch up a new apprentice. Talented mages are bought from their families at a tremendous price, while weak mages are snapped up for a pittance. For a lower middle class family like the Gunns, the loss of a son can be disastrous, so when seemingly magical incidents begin cropping up at home, they fear for their Archie's life and their own livelihoods.

But Archie Gunn isn't a talented mage. His sister Charlotte is, and to prevent her brother from being imprisoned for false reporting she combines her powers with his to make him seem a better prospect. However, maintaining the charade will mean masquerading as Archie's assistant, and delaying or destroying her own plans for marriage.

When she discovers a nefarious plot by the sinister Doctor Ledbetter, Charlotte must use all her cunning and guile to protect her family, her secret and her city.

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Emma Newman - Author

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brother's ruin - Book

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Brother's Ruin is a very quick read - more an introduction than anything to events which will follow in forthcoming books.
The story is well-paced and well-structured. The brief snatches of Victorian London that are revealed are well presented - the use of the term 'hansom' cab seems to almost be enough to conjure up the world of Holmes and Watson.
Charlotte Gunn, the main character for all the title is Brother's Ruin, is a likeable character from the word go, although she does have her little secrets, and wants nothing more than to live a normal life as a daughter and future wife of her fiancee. This seems to be impossible as she is a talented Mage, and Mage's must submit themselves to the Royal Society of Esoteric Arts and never marry or know love and so she's desperate to keep her gifts a secret. Not easy when she is capable of doing 'magic' without even thinking about it and is the cause of her brother's 'trial' with the Royal Society to see if he too is a mage. Worried about the consequences if he should fail - (this would result in the family being punished) she decides to help him and at the same time, help her father get out of debt, while at the same time discovering a magical plot which sees the moneylender being none too kind to his debtors. All in all, there's a lot going on for such a small book, and the author sets up her main character well to have influence and prestige in future adventures.
I would recommend this book to people, but I imagine, many will want Book 2 to be available immediately after reading Book 1.

Brother's Ruin is the first book in the Industrial Magic series from Emma Newman. A fun bit of steampunk and adventure.

‘Brother’s Ruin’ tells the tale of a brother-sister pair who both seem to possess a bit of magic. Charlotte Gunn is very protective of her slightly older sibling, Benjamin, who in turn, is an appreciative and doting older brother. The sibling interactions in ‘Brother’s Ruin’ are truly heartwarming.

Every so often, Benjamin gets inexplicably sick and must put his life at the university on hold while he recovers, usually under his sister’s care. He wishes his health would improve so that he can complete his studies, start making money and contribute to his family’s household, and thereby gain approval from his parents. Charlotte’s life is somewhat of the opposite, when we meet her. She is happily in love with her fiancé, and is already earning an income as an illustrator, though it is under a fake name, due to her gender. She understands that foolish societal norms prohibit her from earning equal pay if she were to submit her work as a woman, and also that her parents would be embarrassed if they were to learn of the size of her income, or her contributions to their household’s finances.

When their father gets himself in trouble with vicious debt collectors, he calls upon the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts, mistakenly believing that his son possesses magic. The Royal Society pays family handsomely when they take magic-wielding children into their fold, and so Mr. Gunn believes this will solve all their problems. However, Mr. Gunn has neglected to account for the penalty of false-reporting.

Magi of the Royal Society live to serve the crown. They are not permitted to marry or have children, and are rarely able to visit their own families. As Charlotte is the stronger mage, content to hide her abilities in order to marry her fiancé and have children, her father has unknowingly put her in a precarious situation.

Watching the magic unfold in during Benjamin’s magic testing was delightful, and author Emma Newman concludes this first entry in her ‘Industrial Magic’ series with a surprise twist. I look forward to reading what happens next!

I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

"You were so clearly trying to hide the sun behind a paper fan"

* * *
3 / 5

Brother's Ruin was short, sweet, and over before I could really sink my teeth into it. I love the occasional book set in a quasi-Victorian setting and Brother's Ruin made use of the setting, adding a hint of magic. Newman has crafted a complex world with three different magical systems, but it seems like just as the world building and my connection to the main character, Charlotte, really starts the book is over! At barely 100 pages long Brother's Ruin is tiny; I feel like Newman could have written a much larger book, one that I would have read very eagerly.

At the time of my writing this review (16/02/17), the synopsis for this book was rather misleading and I think outdated. It refers to Charlotte's brother as Archie, even though he is called Ben, and the plot is rather differently described. The Brother's Ruin that I read is the short story of Charlotte Gunn, artist, fiancee, and dutiful daughter and sibling. Her father is running into debt problems, having borrowed more than he can repay in order to finance his ill son's university education. In order to save their family from the debt collectors, Charlotte hatches a bold, dangerous plan involving her brother, the magus, some breaking and entering, and a hilarious bit of swindling.

I like and empathise with Charlotte, a woman in a man's world where even being an illustrator is looked down upon. She loves and cares for her sick brother, is inquisitive and nosy, and an all-round delightful character. The one primary element (other than the book being far too short!) that I disliked was the bizarre instant attraction Charlotte has to a magus, which features quite prominently in the book, despite clearly adoring her fiance. I feel like the author was trying to create an extra element of tension in the story, but only succeeded in creeping me out.

"She watched him leave, unable to stop her eyes drifting down to his calves, so shapely within the tight legs of his trousers"

Bit weird. Particularly for a character who won't even tell her parents that she draws because of her concern for social standing. However, this is my only key gripe.

Overall, Brother's Ruin is a quick light read with a charming main character. I hope Emma Newman writes more and lengthier books in this universe.