Review: Highfell Grimoires

A Book by a Female Author: Highfell Grimoires by Langley Hyde

Born to privilege, gifted in languages and spells, Neil Franklin has planned his brilliant future—from academic accolades to a proper marriage—and is intent upon upholding his family name and honor. The sudden death of his parents shatters all of that, leaving Neil and his younger sister beggared and orphaned.
When Neil’s estranged uncle offers him a bargain that will save him and his sister from debtor’s prison or exile, Neil eagerly agrees. Handing over the family grimoire as collateral for their debt, Neil devotes himself to working as a teacher for wayward youths at a charity school high in the clouds.
But Highfell Hall is not the charity Neil imagines it to be and the young men there aren’t training for the dull lives of city clerks. Amidst the roaring engines and within the icy stone halls, machinations and curious devices are at work. And one man, the rough and enigmatic Leofa, holds the key to the desire that Neil has fled from all his life and a magic as dangerous as treason.

Very classic steam punk. Impossible words, Victorian phrase and tone, aether, and a proper gentlemanly protagonist. Beautiful. A fair amount of the beginning was explaining how the world worked. But it was done in an interesting way, so wasn't an issue. It was a very slow build to the conflict and well done. I liked that there were plenary of small problems for the characters, adding some realism.

Also the same sex attraction between the two main characters was very secondary. It was a steam punk story with a gay romance, not a gay steam punk story. I enjoyed that was how the focus was written. Biggest disappointment is that this seems to be her only book.


Rating: A

2014 Reading Bingo

A book with more than 500 Pages Storm of Swords	A Forgotten Classic	A Book that Became a Movie The Maze Runner	A Book Published this Year Battle of Will	A Book with a Number in the Title
A Book Written by Someone Under Thirty	A Book with Non-Human Characters Shards of Time	A Funny Book Let's Pretend This Never Happened	A Book by a Female Author Highfell Grimoires	A Book with a Mystery Carnal Sacraments
A Book with a One-Word Title Coraline	A Book of Short Stories	Free Square The Wise Man's Fear	A Book Set on a Different Continent Shattered	A Book of Non Fiction The Definitive Guide to Order Fulfillment and Customer Service
The First Book by a Favorite Author If We Shadows	A book you Heard About Online Meeting on Mars	A Best-Selling Book A Feast for Crows	A Book Based on a True Story	A Book at the Bottom of your To Be Read Pile A Light In The Dark
A Book Your Friend Loves The Graveyard Book	A Book that Scares You	A Book that is More Than 10 Years Old Ender's Game	The Second Book in a Series Ghost Train to New Orleans	A Book with a Blue Cover The Name of the Wind

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