REVIEW: FLIGHT OF MAGPIES by K.J. Charles

Title: Flight of Magpies
Author:  K. J. Charles
Series: A Charm of Magpies #3
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, LGBT
Publisher: KJC Books
Release: March 28th, 2017
Source: eBook
Pages: 239

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BLURB: Danger in the air. Lovers on the brink.

With the justiciary understaffed, a series of horrifying occult murders to be investigated, and a young student flying off the rails, magical law enforcer Stephen Day is under increasing stress. And the strain is starting to show in his relationship with his aristocratic lover, Lord Crane.

Crane chafes at the restrictions of England’s laws, and there’s a worrying development in the blood-and-sex bond he shares with Stephen. A development that makes a sensible man question if they should be together at all.

Then a devastating loss brings the people he most loves into bitter conflict. Old enemies, new enemies, and unexpected enemies are painting Stephen and Crane into a corner, and the pressure threatens to tear them apart...

NOSFERATU'S REVIEW

EXPECTATIONS: I hoped, and I hoped, and I hoped that this book will solve everything. That they will finally pack up and go, that no one's going to die, and that I'll have a great time with practitioners blasting magic left and right. I did not expect it to all be so very scary tho!

THE WORLD: Same old homophobic, with enforced laws against it, England that is chafing at Lord Crane's neck by now. Sure, the place has some charm. There's talents hidden here too, some criminal, that Vaudrey is very capable of finding and employing, some magical, that justiciary is underemployed to deal with. And that's precisely the next big trouble that makes them all hate the setting they are in. 

CHARACTERS: Lucien is doing his best to be as patient as he can. But  the magic in his blood, magic only Stephen can wield for many a reason, not the smallest of them being Lucien's own safety, is taking a heavy toll. To add to that, his manservant and best friend, Mister Merrick, has done a grave mistake so very unusual to him either. He crossed Lucien's lover, Stephen Day, by starting to date his young protege. Lucien, of course, understands love, and how it can be found in most unlikely places, but due to them keeping it a secret from Stephen, and Miss Saint being almost half the Merrick's age - they both see how the English practitioner might skin them both for what he might perceive as wrongdoing. To add to that, miss Saint is in a lot of trouble. She's a windwalker, someone with very rare talent to walk on air, and someone has been robbing rich people, and escaping through unlikely heights. So, the four of them are in a net so tight and tangled, it's only fair they don't notice the threat hanging over their heads in time.

ROMANCE: Stephen is extremely stubborn, and while Lucien loves this trait of his too, he is still mighty happy to see he's finally making progress in convincing Stephen that there's really nothing more important than their happiness and love. This sweet kettle is sweetened by the love his manservant found with miss Saint, making them all a family of four, which, to my happy surprise, makes Lucien very pleased. It's seriously beautiful, thought out, and not annoying. This is what romance should be like, with partners respecting each other, providing constructive thoughts and criticism where needed, helping each other, and so on.

GOOD: This was a scary story. It was very gory and intense, and I loved how unlikely everything seemed. I loved the romance part, and I loved the friendship part a lot. And most importantly, I loved the thoughts and ideas this story provided, for our Lucien is not just a pretty decorative six-foot-three lordling. He does his share to be a good person, and he does his best to make the relationship with Stephen work. 

BAD: Don't read this at night. Just don't. Read it on a sunny day.

OVERALL: This trilogy is among my all time favorites. It's full of dark magic, different cultures, different upbringing, and examples of how people don't have to be just like those around them. We're all our own people, and the greatest thing that we can do in this world is try to live and let others live too. I'm grateful to those who recommended these books to me, you're awesome!

 



LAURA'S REVIEW

EXPECTATIONS: After 2 good books, the final one can't be any less right?

THE WORLD: Same world as in the other books.

CHARACTERS: Also the same characters as in the last book (Lucien, Stephen, Merrick, Mr. Gold, Esther) but with the addition of a new practitioner in training called Saint and someone we have already met in this journey but sshhh it's a secret. Saint is a windwalker, meaning she can walk through air, plus she also has a troubled past so... things get complicated with her.

ROMANCE: Pretty much the same with an addition of cradle-robbing (which I don't like but I can't say it was uncommon in Victorian England).

GOOD: As per usual, the story flows quite well and the book is very entertaining. The characters keep gaining depth with each book. We got a better understanding of our two main characters, Lucien and Stephen, and their struggles in their relationship (curse Victorian England).

BAD: That one romance. The hetero one. You know the one. Ugh... there's this one relationship where the man is three times older than the woman and well the woman is barely legal and technically her choice and all but it's just so weird, makes me uncomfortable. It was normal for the time the book is set on though. Musty old men with young naive girls *big UGH*

OVERALL: 4.5 stars. Apart from being as uncomfortable as Stephen with the het relationship in this book, the rest was very nice and interesting and we got a lot of action scenes. You never get bored. Overall, I recommend this whole trilogy a lot! The m/m relationship is treated with normality, not stereotyped (as far as my knowledge goes), and of course there is MAGIC!

What do you think about FLIGHT OF MAGPIES?