Glamour in Glass

 Glamour in Glass is the second book in the Glamorist Histories books by Mary Robinette Kowal. 

"In the tumultuous months after Napoleon abdicates his throne, Jane and Vincent go to Belgium for their honeymoon. While there, the deposed emperor escapes his exile in Elba, throwing the continent into turmoil. With no easy way back to England, Jane and Vincent's concerns turn from enjoying their honeymoon...to escaping it. Left with no outward salvation, Jane must persevere over her trying personal circumstances and use her glamour to rescue her husband from prison... and hopefully prevent her newly built marriage from getting stranded on the shoals of another country's war." 

I read this back in May of 2023, a year and a half ago, and boy do I remember being upset by it. 

Plot and Theme: I got half way through it and skimmed the rest to see if it got better. It got worse. Jane's "trying circumstances" were that she was pregnant and while pregnant she isn't supposed to use glamour otherwise she could lose the baby. So her fight over her own independence and freedoms vs the... scariness of soon becoming a mom and not being able to do something she loved doing for nine months. I get it. Putting things down for a time because of children can be hard, but that amount of selfishness and practically intentionally aborting her baby did not set well with me. To have this be the major plot point of the book made me put this down. It wasn't a "she will persevere or think of another way around the problem of her husband being in prison and needing to help him escape." You aren't all Glamour girl! Use your brain and come up with another plan. Don't have the major plot be, kill the baby to save the husband. And the fact that she felt so relieved to be rid of this burden made me sick.

Setting and Writing Style: It has been a minute since I read the book, but from what I recall it's setting and the way it was written was pretty good. I enjoyed the set up of Napoleon breaking out and the French country side being up in arms one way or another. I don't remember being upset by the way Mary Robinette Kowal wrote it, just the themes and plot. 

Spice: The fact that Jane gets pregnant means that there was something going on behind the curtains, but that is where it stayed. Which is perfectly fine with me. When it comes to Jane and Vincent's relationship, I remember there being problems with the fact that he was away all the time. That's not how you spend a honeymoon, dearies. Yes, they've both got to work, but besides one scene where "the curtains fall" that is all the romantic encounters I remember. The rest of the time they seemed extremely mad at each other. Such a happy marriage. 

Characters: From what I recall the characters were actually decently developed. They had differing opinions and backgrounds. Even the side characters had thoughts about Napoleon and how the previous war went with England which was kind of refreshing. I don't recall any Mary-Sue's which is great. Jane was having some major growing pains and she chose extremely poorly in my opinion. She ended up being a character that I couldn't get along with and wasn't someone I cared to read about anymore. 

Overall: Never again. I'm done with Mary Robinette Kowal. Miscarriage is something I've dealt with more often than I would like to and abortion is not something I support. It was her relief at the end that killed it all for me. Apparently she gets pregnant in another book and is all happy hunky dory, but that seemed like it was even more of a reason why I wouldn't want to pick up anything else Kowal wrote. 

Shades of Milk and Honey

I have been wanting to read this book a for a while. Jane Austen with magic! What could a romantic fantasy lover ask for?

Jane Ellsworth can manipulate folds from the ether and can do it as any fine, accomplished woman can do, though she has a bit more talent than most. However, she is older, not as pretty as her younger sister, and slowly accepting her spinsterhood.

The neighborhood is excited for the famous glamorist who is taking up a job at the Viscountess' home to glamor her home. He is amazing at his craft, being able to bring the outside indoors complete with birds, a babbling brook, and nymphs hidden in the woods all in the Viscountess' drawing room. Not only is the new glamorist in town, but the Viscountess' favorite nephew is here as well, stealing the hearts of many of the towns girls; and Mr. Dunkirk's younger sister has come for a visit. So many people have come that it throws everything into a happy chaos full of balls and growing friendships.

There are a lot of similarities to Jane Austen's work. The time period, the romances, and aura. Kowal did a good job mimicking and giving the experience of an Austen novel. The magic was a great twist and well explained as the story went on. It fit well into the setting that she produced. I rather enjoyed it and am excited to read on.

I do have two problems though. It is very much like Jane Austen, probably too much so. I have read all of the novels she produced and there are many, many instances and characters that are unnervingly similar to Austen's work. <<SPOILERS>> Melody reminds me very much of Lydia Bennett, Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth are practically Mr. and Mrs. Bennett with all the cases of nerves and toying with the nerves, Jane reminded me over a mixture of Jane Bennett and Elizabeth Bennett, Beth is a type of Georgiana Darcy with troubled pasts of boys,  and Mr. Vincent is our Mr. Darcy, of course. They had events from Emma and plot of Pride and Prejudice and others. I don't appreciate that as much as some. If I want to read the plot of P&P I'll read P&P.  (Though Mr. Bennett is one of my favorite characters and it was fun to see him in another place.) <<End of SPOILERS>> I wanted this to be different.

Oh, and number two, the ending. There was good and bad about the ending. Much like above, it ended like a JA book would with the main character and her beau getting together and a quick, omniscient conclusion.  It is expected and I'm okay with it. I'm not okay with kisses and embraces. Normally it is expected, but if we were going for historical propriety, kisses and embraces don't happen. The British at this time didn't hug or kiss on the lips, especially in public, because it was an improper display of affection. You didn't do it, even if no one was watching. Or if you did, you'd be ridiculed and seen as a Mr. Wickham/Lydia Bennett. A reputation, especially the girls, would be tainted so fast. So while it is nice in a modern America, it wouldn't have happened. (I blame this response on my JA Professor in college and her making mention/lecture on how although Persuasion did a fantastic job in a portrayal of the novel, the kiss at the end wouldn't have happened, as I explained above.)

Oh, and his words to Jane at the end were rather cheesy. Not a "squee" cheesy, but "oh, that is dripping in cheese there; probably too much."

I go on about dislikes, but I really did enjoy the novel. The conversation and the happening were well done. It was well paced and had good foreshadowing. I could have easily read this in two or three days (except I got super busy  at my house so it took a tad longer). It was fast. It was enjoyable to have a sweet romance with dashes of fantasy in it. You don't get that often in many fantasy novels. Often it is the other way around, where the magics are the focus and the romance is in the background. I plan on reading the next four books.

Enjoy.