The Midnight Witch

January 6, 2014
Bestseller Brackston follows The Witch’s Daughter and The Winter Witch with another sturdy historical paranormal. In 1913 London, on the eve of WWI, Lady Lilith Montgomery takes the title of Head Witch of the Lazarus Coven after her father’s death. Lilith and her fiancé, fellow witch Louis Harcourt, must defend the secret of the elixir of life from rival sorcerers, but both are distracted when impoverished artist Bram Cardale wins Lilith’s heart. War and the schemes of her enemies leave Lilith isolated, but loosening social conventions allow her to find love with Bram and success in her pursuits. Brackston lightly layers in unusual historical locales, like war-torn Uganda, but otherwise provides the expected charms of Edwardian balls, decadent slumming in opium dens, and repentant work in wartime soup kitchens. Her characters also fit convention (unsure prodigy, flighty socialite, spurned yet noble suitor) but their sincerity and humor make them worth following to the end.

January 15, 2014
Downton Abbey meets the dark arts in Brackston's (The Winter Witch, 2013, etc.) latest, which sees an aristocratic young English witch leading a fight against an evil magic order while world war looms. Twenty-one-year-old Lady Lilith Montgomery has her hands full. Her father, the sixth Duke of Radnor, has just died, handing on his title to Lilith's opium-addicted brother, Freddie, and his other title, Head Witch of the Lazarus Coven, to Lilith herself. While shielding her fragile brother and grieving mother, and placating her fiance, Viscount Louis Harcourt, also a witch, she must now prepare for her inauguration as Morningstar, leader of the coven sworn to protect the Great Secret and the Elixir from the clutches of malign necromancers like the Sentinels, who could use these materials for terrible ends. And then Lilith goes and falls in love with a nonwitch, handsome artist Bram Cardale, leaving both herself and Bram vulnerable when wicked forces attack. This third combination of romance and sorcery from Brackston is longer, slower and more slackly plotted than her previous books, neither chilling in its horrors nor compelling in its drama. Skipping forward from 1913 to a conclusion six years later, it runs a repetitive and illogical course, no more infernal in its necromancy, finally, than Ghostbusters. Previously a sprightly tale-spinner, Brackston has mislaid her magic touch this time round.

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March 15, 2014

On the eve of World War I, Lady Lilith Montgomery goes through two major life events: the loss of her beloved father, the Duke of Radnor, and taking his place as the head of the Lazarus Coven. Lilith struggles with her new responsibilities and expectations (both as a witch and as an aristocrat), defying both when she falls in love with aspiring artist Bram Cardale, who belongs to neither her coven nor her class. The coven is responsible for safeguarding an elixir that can grant life itself, but there are rival necromancers who want it for their own. VERDICT Depicting a time of great social change allows Brackston (The Witch's Daughter) to create a pleasing character arc for Lilith, who seems of her time but still willing to defy convention to achieve happiness. There are balls and gowns as well as slums and opium dens, all painting a picture of a lost age, with just enough magic to keep things exciting for fantasy fans. [See Prepub Alert, 9/30/13.]

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013

Brackston debuted with The Witch's Daughter, the story of a young witch's pursuit over centuries by the man who saved her life, which has sold 130,000-plus copies over all formats. She returns with another strong-minded young witch, whose lily-livered brother inherits the title Duke of Radnor even as she becomes Head Witch of the Lazarus Coven. The two romantic interests in Lilith's life signify the split between beautiful aristocrat and powerful sorceress.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.