The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic edited by Marie O’Regan &Paul Kane by Marie O’Regan &Paul Kane

Book Review

Pauline Morgan

There is a questionable belief among some parts of society that only women want to read romantic fiction, and that only women can write it. Whether this anthology can dispel those myths remains to be seen. It doesn’t help that all the contributing authors are female.

            The criteria for this anthology are a romantic encounter in a setting where magic is extant. It may be due to the selection of authors, but it is noticeable that while most of the romances are heterosexual and there are a few female-female encounters, there are no male-male liaisons. The magic, though, can take many different forms.

            The majority of these stories are set in other, fantasy worlds, and only a couple have contemporary settings, albeit with magical adjuncts. ‘Until December’ by Kelly Andrew features an ability by some people to ‘drift’. They can move their consciousness into other bodies, seeing the world through the host’s eyes. Georgina Wells did it once, which got her into the Tempus Academy for Gifted Children. Her nemesis is Orson Auclair. She tries her best to avoid him until the day she accidentally kills him. From there, and trying to put things right, comes the magic and romance. Also, with a contemporary setting is ‘Slay the Princess, Save the Dragon’ by A.C. Wise. Ev is poor. Carissa is from a rich family and has a dragon. Ev wants to free the dragon and takes a job tutoring Carissa, despite them both being teenagers. Carissa isn’t what she seems, and when the mask drops, the two girls can explore a relationship.

            These are examples of romance that take time to mature. Others have an instant attraction between potential lovers. ‘The Dubious Ladies of Mirador’ by Melissa Marr is one. Alwyn is part of a sisterhood that sends out members to neutralise threats. Mirador is the woman she is sent to deal with, but instead of killing her target, she discovers that marrying Mirador will be just as effective. ‘Second Class Magic’ by Kamilah Cole is another story where the potential lovers are both female – in an anthology like this it is a given that this is part of the contract. Margot and Jesy are magic users who are competing for an apprenticeship on a magical island.

            Another instant attraction story is ‘Good Deeds and Their Magical Punishments’ by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. Bette is dragged into a magical realm as the subject of a bet. Fenmore, the romantic attraction is subject to a wager with his mother. If she can prove that mortal kindness exists, he will have to spend at least a year in the mortal realm.

            Some of the best stories have surprises in store for their characters. In ‘The King’s Witch’ by Tasha Suri, the king wins the right to rule by conquest. On coronation is expected to marry someone with witch blood. Silver, a scribe, is chosen by the new king and is told it is a marriage of expedience. That suits her, as the woman she loved disappeared ten years before. The king, though is not what she suspects. There is another convenient marriage in ‘Designated Virgin Sacrifice’ by Kelley Armstrong, but this one turns the concept of virgin sacrifice inside out. Marielle is posing as an innocent bride to draw out the real monster. She is already in a relationship with the shape-changer who is acting as the gryphon menacing the realm.

            Some stories, although complete in themselves, would have benefitted from a longer treatment. ‘San’t Marten’s Book of Mild Melancholy’ by A.G. Slatter is one. The book of the title is a trap. Whoever reads it becomes possessed by a demon. Millie Broad knows this, as she once sprung the trap and recognises when someone else has done so. She runs the Bureau where people come to have their fortunes read, and occasionally she will raise the dead. Although the situation at the heart of this story is more or less resolved, there is a lot behind it, in Millie’s background and the political situation, that is itching to be told at a greater length.

            While some writers use fairy or folk tales as their inspiration, others are inspired by books they read in the past. ‘The Larkspur’ by Megan Bannen is a riff on the Scarlet Pimpernel novels of Baroness Orczy, but here Larkspur is the Pimpernel equivalent in a fantasy setting. ‘Rosebud’ by Katherine Arden is a variation on the theme of ‘The Dancing Shoes’, a fairy story collected by the Brothers Grimm. In this case, instead of princesses dancing the night away, two Faerie sisters dance in a haunted ballroom at an event on the eve of Waterloo.

            ‘The Fall Guy’ by Olivie Blake is one of the few stories in this volume where the male is the focal point character. It is the most confusing story in this volume, but ‘Bamboo, Ink, Paper, Clay’ by Eliza Chan is beautifully written, a delicate tale of romance where the magic is in the material their skins shed and which gives them their personality.

            While the stories here are all worth reading, there is scope for a companion volume, where the writers and point of view characters are male.