Loved this book – it’s a great mash up of fairy tale (The Goose Girl) and Regency novels. (Per the author – I’d give a gothic horror edge as well, so a bit of Northanger Abbey.)
Cordelia’s mother Evangelina is a sorceress, and has used her power in the past to have men take care of her. She’s not above using Cordelia in her schemes – taking her over and forcing her into stillness, or sometimes to speak against her will.
Hester is the spinster sister of Evangelina’s latest target, and has her number from the very beginning – in her pov scenes, Evangelina is labeled as Doom. To her credit, she immediately realizes that Cordelia is in it as deep as she is.
What’s great about this story is Evangelina is very much a social climber, and will actually use those skills first, so doesn’t have to be a very magic forward book – it’s very much about Hester, Cordelia and their friends solving this problem together. It’s such a satisfying story.