ENTWINED by H. M. Long (BOOK REVIEW)
Ottilie Rushforth hides from the mighty Sorcerer’s Guild as secretary to a has-been detective. She is Entwined – threads of magic run beneath her skin, and the Guild would trap her in service.
But Ottilie has a plan to escape the Guild forever with her estranged fiancé, the enigmatic poet, soldier and smuggler Lewis Illing. All she must do is track down a mysterious artefact, claim the bounty, and leave the city forever. But Ottilie’s sisters – Pretoria, a quick-witted sorceress and thief recently emerged from exile, and Madge, a guild mage to the core, appear to make equally unwelcome offers. A new life at the cost of everything she has ever wanted, or prestige and safety in a gilded cage.
With her life on the line, Ottilie must track down the artifact in a city torn apart by prejudice and violence, and choose between the two sides of herself – the fugitive and the Entwined.
At a time when fantasy is producing many stories of magical academia, Chosen Ones and daring quests (not that I’m complaining, mind you!), it’s refreshing to encounter a book that’s so very different to all of its peers.