I’ve enjoyed Smith’s Conspiracy of Magic series set in the Victorian period. This review previously appeared in the November 2022 issue of Historical Novels Review. (Publisher 47North, 269pp)
If you’d like, you can read my review of the first book in the series, The Raven Spell.
Victorian Magic
The Raven Song is the second book in Smith’s Conspiracy of Magic series. It’s set in a Victorian Great Britain in which beings with magical powers exist, including witches, wizards, hearth elves, and fairies. Edwina Blackwood, the main character, is a witch who can change into a raven. She would be alone after the disappearance of both parents and the death of her twin sister. However, the supernatural detective Ian Cameron, who helped her solve a series of murders in the first book, is at her side. The chemistry between them is on the rise.
Supernatural Beings in The Raven Song
When her store is burnt by spellfire, and it becomes ominously clear she’s being pursued by a dangerous stalker, Ian and Edwina head north to Ian’s hometown and the protection of Sir Elvanfoot, a famous wizard who has taken interest in Edwina’s plight. Ian also has a magical investigation to conduct there. An entertaining variety of supernatural beings either attack Edwina or work to save her as her full potential becomes ever clearer. Edwina herself must find her own role in this world or the Other.
Developing Magic with Style
An example of the delightfully detailed way Smith has developed the magic in her series appears in the first chapter when Edwina finds a disconcerting note tucked in her sister’s coffin, “The lettering was written with the same iridescent green used by most witches. The ink was charmed so it would shimmer on paper for those with arcane sight, but the enhancement was undetectable to the mortal eye . . . printed by tincture of witches who specialized in the grinding of beetle shells in enchanted mortars.”
Readers will enjoy an imaginative, skillfully written dive into Victorian fantasy.
Finding a Copy of The Raven Song
If you’d enjoy reading The Raven Song, here are the buying links:
To buy on Amazon (affiliate link)
To buy on Bookshop.org.
To explore Luanne G. Smith’s website.