Lady Avely's Guide to Truth and Magic is a delightfully engaging historical fantasy mystery series starter by Rosalie Oaks. Released 16th Feb 2024, it's 370 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
It's always a joy to find a fresh, engaging, clear voice in a favorite genre. This indie author was not previously on my radar (and should've been). It's set in the late Regency period with a fantasy/paranormal world element. Lady Avely is gifted with a "lie detector" ability which makes her quite useful at unraveling mysteries. There are a number of restrictions and social and legal mores bound up in the use of magical abilities, and she's still coming to grips with a recently recognized change in social status. She's been a widow for more than a decade, with two adult children (not featured in this book), as well as entanglements from her long ago past history.
There -is- a strong romance element, but it delightfully doesn't overpower either the mystery or magical elements in the very well told story. The sequel is due out in 4th quarter 2024. Definitely one to pick up. It's an indie pub and likely not on most library acquisition lists. It's available independently from retailers as well as the author and would be a great addition for public library acquisition, home use, or a buddy read.
Four and a half stars. A true delight.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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