I tore through the advanced read copy of SNOWSPELLED by Stephanie Burgis. A quick-reading adventure story set in a Regency-flavored “Angland,” this novella twists some tropes on their heads and sets off merrily in its own direction. Seriously, I laughed out loud a couple of times when the “expected” was NOT what happened. Very refreshing.

The political and magic systems are engaging, and there’s an intriguing romantic interest … again, trope-twisting.

There’s also non-romantic relationship development; this was delightful (and hearkens back to the Austen tradition, which I really appreciated). I was looking forward to doing a review in time for the book’s release back in September.

Then I was in a car accident, and muddled my brain. And basically forgot the book. So I had to re-read it, but my brain refused to focus on more than a paragraph at a time for several weeks.

Then I was in a hurricane.

So my reader response is posting REALLY LATE!

But I have to say, there are worse things to re-read in 98 degree Fahrenheit South Florida humidity than a book in which a group of people are snowed in at a house party. Magicians, politicians, and lots and lots of chill, both in atmosphere and human relations.. This is a quick-reading book, and I’m recommending it for fans of historically-influenced romantic fantasy as a great escape. Just the sort of thing to have on your reading list for those times when you need to mentally Do Something Else. SNOWSPELLED’s world is engaging and well-written. And while the reader may suss out the source of the conflict long before the characters, the process of their realization is engaging enough to keep the pages turning.

SNOWSPELLED was created as the first in a series, and while it is a stand-alone, it does read very much as though it’s establishing this world, these characters, for a longer adventure. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series; I want to see what protagonist Cassandra Harwood and her peers are up to next!