Half a Soul

Atwater’s sweet, low-stakes first Regency Faerie Tales romantic fantasy opens with Lord Hollowvale, a nobleman of the faerie world, stealing half of human Theodora “Dora” Eloisa Charity Ettings’s soul. Lord Hollowvale whisks the half he’s claimed off to the faerie world, leaving behind a Dora who is no longer capable of feeling the full range of human emotions. Believing Dora is cursed, her cousin Vanessa Ettings takes her to London to seek the help of the magic-wielding Lord Sorcier. While there, the cousins are thrust into high society, entering a glittering world of balls, tea parties, and betrothals. As Dora carves an opportunity for herself to work with the Lord Sorcier, together they discover a mysterious sleeping plague targeting the city’s poor and vulnerable. Their investigation into this illness quickly supersedes the focus on breaking Dora’s curse, and given how successful she is both professionally and romantically without it, readers will wonder why they should root for her soul to be restored at all. Atwater keeps things light and charming, meshing romance tropes with fairy tale elements, while not shying away from the darker side of Regency London. Readers are sure to be swept away.(June)

Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly stated this book was the third entry in a series.