Wrede, Patricia C., and Caroline Stevermer - The Mislaid Magician

The short review: I liked it better than The Grand Tour and still not quite as much as Sorcery and Cecelia.

Kate and Cecy manage to stumble across another magical mystery that threatens the nation, only this time, it's been ten years since the last book. Both of them have children and are settled nicely into their respective lives.

But something's going on with the new railways and leylines in the country, and while Cecy and James are up there investigating, more mysterious things are happening around Thomas' estate.

I really liked that Wrede and Stevermer returned to the letter format of the first book; the switch to diary and police record was one of my main problems with the second book. And Thomas and James are corresponding with each other as well! It was great getting a look into their relationship; one sometimes forgets that they were friends before meeting up with Cecy and Kate.

Also, Thomas and James are much more sardonic than Cecy and Kate. And it was a neat way to look at the two marriages and how they worked over the years.

I still rather miss the breezy, gossipy tone of the first book; there's less talk about balls and clothes and Seasons in this book, largely because Kate and Cecy are older and have different interests. There's much more talk of the children and running households, which is interesting in its own way. It's strange seeing characters growing older like this. I miss their younger selves, but I also appreciate who they've grown into and how they've matured.

Part of me is rather irritated that Cecy gets to run around and have adventures while Kate's stuck with the children, and I think it isn't because I think the traditionally feminine roles are useless. It's largely a plot split; a lot more action happens up where Cecy and James are, while much of what happens with Kate and Thomas ends up with Kate and Thomas being more reactive than proactive.

Still, I'd rec this to anyone who liked the first book. I miss these people and the world, and it was nice being able to go back.

Hearn, Julie - The Minister's Daughter

The lives of Patience and Grace Madden, daughters of the local minister, and that of Nell, granddaughter to the local midwife and cunning woman, intersect in a messy, witch-filled way in 1645.

When I read the description, I sort of rolled my eyes about yet another witch-hunting book. Usually a beautiful yet unconventional girl is accused of being a witch because her society hates her beautiful yet unconventional ways, even though she is a great healer/wonderful person/helps the poor/is a twentieth-century feminist back in the 1600s. This means the society is stupidly religious/misogynist/hate people who are different/just plain dumb.

Thankfully, this book nicely sidestepped my expectations. Nell is unconventional, but she's not beautiful. And better yet, she's unconventional in a way that generally doesn't make the villagers hate her. They all strongly believe in fairies and piskies and in Nell and her grandmother's cures, despite the new minister scoffing at all those things. And, in fact, that's a rather rational belief, given that piskies and fairies actually do exist in the world of the book.

The other neat thing was that while Grace is obviously lying through her teeth about witchery and doing it for all the normal petty reasons, Patience actually does believe in witchcraft and deals with the devil. I found this rather refreshing, given that many books with witchcraft elements in them tend to use a huge brush to paint associated witchhunters as un-PC vengeful people and don't examine how faith and religion plays a role in it as well.

The book is split between omniscient narration of the events of 1645 and Patience Madden's confession fifty years down the line. I have to admit, I thought it was more a gimmicky narrative device than anything else, but Hearn actually does use it to good effect in the end.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book, particularly by the ending, which gave me a little chill.