A TREASON OF THORNS

A young woman must decide between her duties and her desires in this atmospheric fantasy.

Violet Sterling knows she has one singular purpose. The daughter of the Caretaker of one of the five Great Houses, sentient buildings “whose vast magic governs the well-being of England,” she will take over as Caretaker of the West Country’s Burleigh House when her father retires. But nothing works out as she imagined: Nine years after her father commits treason and she is exiled from Burleigh, she returns to find her father dead, the house disintegrating into disrepair, the health of the countryside failing, and her only friend, Wyn, much changed. If Violet does not return Burleigh to its former health and glory by the end of the summer, the King, who holds deeds to all the Houses, will burn it to the ground. Violet knows “A good Caretaker puts her house first….Before king. Before country. Before her own life. Before her heart.” Now she must decide how to save Burleigh and see whether, in the process, she can liberate herself. Weymouth’s (The Light Between Worlds, 2018) prose is lush and evocative, filled with palpable descriptions and compelling mystery. The Sterling family’s steward and housekeeper, a married couple, are Jewish, and mentions of their practice are authentically incorporated. Characters default to white, and there are a few characters of color.

Spellbinding.