Uncommon Charm

My general advice to anyone writing a fantasy is to iron out their magic system before beginning. Which is why I find it hilarious that the characters in Uncommon Charm, a gothic comedy co-written by Emily Bergslien and Kat Weaver, are attempting to do just that. And they go about it in a manner so delightfully hilarious that the poignant part of the novella practically snuck up on me, leaving me completely unguarded and entirely open to its emotional impact.

The story is told from the viewpoint of Julia, a happily magic-less sixteen-year-old, that has been expelled from school for nebulous reasons that appear to include a tiff with her girlfriend. Her Jewish half cousin Simon has recently been acknowledged by the family thanks to the manifestation of his magic and he has come to study with Julia’s mother, England’s foremost magician.

The banter is fast and furious as Julia leads Simon through roaring 20’s posh society, including his father’s white Russian family. Simon, as quiet as Julia is gregarious, can see ghosts and is quickly enlisted by Julia to help unravel some family mysteries. What they find is so well foreshadowed that it will not come as a shock to readers, but the aftermath still managed to hit me like a sucker punch in the best of ways. This is not a book with easy answers, but it also not a book that unnecessarily tortures its queers.

By the end of the book I was still as confused about the laws of magic as I was at the beginning, but I was no longer worried about its purpose. Julia’s mother has spent a lifetime honing her magic, despite a family and government that will never thank her for it, and when her reasoning is revealed it heals the relationship between mother and child. Simon, who was seriously considering a Rabbinical career before all this magic nonsense interfered, is set up to inherit her legacy. There is no doubt he will uphold it with integrity.

Did half the oh-so-smart conversational fodder go right over my head? Maybe. Were my favorite characters the moms? Of course they were. Did I whip out my roaring twenties inspired headband for the photo on bottom of this review? Indubitably. Bergslien and Weaver must posses some kind of magic their own because this novella, which I read in half a day, broke my reading slump. I look forward to their next offering!

Note: I received an e-arc from one of the authors because she suspected I would enjoy it. I did.

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E Broderick is a writer and speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.