The Librarian of Crooked Lane

I think that Gabe has some sort of time magic, but he lies in his ability to slow time in times of crisis, like during the war as he was at every major battle as well as when he was saving the boy that the article was written about as well as Sylvia at the end of the book. This seems like an obvious conclusion and was probably why he was so upset about not being able to save the father in the boat incident. I do still wonder about Sylvia's family, which I'm sure will be explored in the next books, but also how her brother specifically knew to contact India Glass about information about their family being silver magic users. Also, Alex seems like the prime target for a love interest for Daisy, as an enemy to lovers B plot, especially with the only other candidate being Horatio, who is now out of the picture.

I generally liked the mystery and found it engaging enough to read all in one day. The magic system was interesting in that it blended very well with the real world. It wasn't a true fantasy novel where it had a whole new world that was fully fleshed out and the characters lives revolved around magic. At the beginning of the book, Sylvia was wholly unconcerned with magic, as she was a librarian whose job was to fix books in disrepair, and nobody in her family, as far as she knew was a magician, so it didn't really matter. It wasn't until she saw India Glass's name that she was reminded of her brother who though that they might be silver magicians, despite the fact that many other characters in the book seeming to be convinced that these magicians are extinct. Also, I don't get Willie's hate for Sylvia. Like, I understand that she is protective of Gabe and wants him to go back to how he was before the war, but what does that have to do with Sylvia. And it isn't just that she is sacred of Sylvia getting in the way of Gabe and Ivey's relationship, because none of the three relevant parties seem concerned with this.

I thought the backdrop of WW1 just ending and the soldier's coming home was interesting backdrop for the novel, because it provided motivation for some of the actions of the characters, specifically Tommy Allen. I liked his character, and the fact that some of it is still up for interpretation. His relationship with women, influenced by his ex-fiancé, and his trauma after the war is interesting as a character trait. He also seemed to know more then was revealed, but he died, so I hope it comes up more in the later books. I'm excited to read the next book, which comes out in early March. I think that even though the immediate mystery was solved, there are still several bigger questions, the most important and interesting to me being that of Gabe and his magical ability, as well as India Glass and her connection to Sylvia's brother and their family. I like the structure of a bigger mystery across the series and mini mysteries throughout the individual books that reveals information to the larger mystery as well.

Fun historical romance. Great setting with rather modern characters to be honest. Escapist, check-out stuff sure but it is well written and this audio book is well performed.

If anyone looks for a fantasy novel – this is not it. It's basically a window-dressing for a romance/mystery set in ~1920.