Victorian London: For five years, Charlotte (Charlie) Holloway has lived as a boy in the slums. But when one theft too many gets her arrested, her only means of escape lies with a dead man. Charlie hasn't raised a spirit since she first discovered she could do so five years ago. That time, her father banished her. This time, she brings even more trouble upon herself.
People are now hunting Charlie all over London, but only one man succeeds in capturing her.
Lincoln Fitzroy is the mysterious head of a secret organization on the trail of a madman who needs a necromancer to control his newly "made" creatures. There was only one known necromancer in the world - Charlotte - but now there appears to be two. Lincoln captures the willful Charlie in the hopes the boy will lead him to Charlotte. But what happens when he discovers the boy is in fact the young woman he's been searching for all along? And will she agree to work for the man who held her against her will, and for an organization she doesn't trust?
Because Lincoln and his ministry might be just as dangerous as the madman they're hunting.
People are now hunting Charlie all over London, but only one man succeeds in capturing her.
Lincoln Fitzroy is the mysterious head of a secret organization on the trail of a madman who needs a necromancer to control his newly "made" creatures. There was only one known necromancer in the world - Charlotte - but now there appears to be two. Lincoln captures the willful Charlie in the hopes the boy will lead him to Charlotte. But what happens when he discovers the boy is in fact the young woman he's been searching for all along? And will she agree to work for the man who held her against her will, and for an organization she doesn't trust?
Because Lincoln and his ministry might be just as dangerous as the madman they're hunting.
My Review:
C.J. Archer has become one of my most favorite authors. I first found her when I stumbled upon The Medium (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Book 1). Couldn't get enough of her after that. This book was just as wonderful. It starts off with an immediate conflict for the heroine to overcome which serves to draw you in, easily convincing the reader that this is going to be a book worth delving into.
Something I've noticed about this author's work is her ability to stretch out the tension between the heroine and the love interest. This is especially true in The Last Necromancer. Charlotte, aka, Charlie, is so wonderfully unconventional due to her five years living on the streets. Lincoln is aloof, troubled, and difficult to emotionally access. These personalities really play nicely off of one another. Her unconventional behavior serves to disarm Lincoln rather than push him away. As Lincoln's character develops, we discover that he has never truly learned to love or care for others. That wasn't part of his tutoring or training for his eventual role as the leader of The Ministry of Curiosities. Though its obvious that he feels something for her, it takes Charlie's bold, guileless manner to really pull a reaction from him.
This is another aspect of C.J.'s writing that I find so compelling. She really knows how to describe facial expressions and physical movements to portray emotion, and with a character like Lincoln you have to be oh-so-subtle to show those emotions for Charlie to play off of. It's a really nice give and take between the two, and I keep turning those pages due to the romance alone, and that's only part of the story. Charlie is able to bring back the dead, and some nefarious doctor is intent upon using her gift for his own dark purposes. Just another compelling aspect of this wonderful book.
The plot and subplots are woven together in a wonderful blend of romance, intrigue, danger and suspense. There are always clear goals, external conflicts and inner conflicts, drawing that delicious tension out and furthering the story while giving the characters depth and dimension. All the while Charlie proves to be brave, honest, caring, kind and wonderfully flawed with a relentless curiosity, determined to find out all she can about Lincoln Fitzroy even when it isn't appropriate.
The secondary characters are simply fabulous. Gus, Seth, and Cook make up this unlikely family, but it is heartwarming to watch this unlikely group band together and care for one another. It is such an addictive series that I already bought the second book and read it in a single evening. My husband thinks I'm ignoring him. I told him it wasn't my fault that Archer's books are so damn good.
Bottom line, you need to read this book. Jump on the C.J. Archer bandwagon and start inhaling all of these yummy, paranormal, historical romances. You'll thank me later though your hubby's will want to shoot me for suggesting it.
I gave it five cherry blossoms!
C.J. Archer has become one of my most favorite authors. I first found her when I stumbled upon The Medium (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Book 1). Couldn't get enough of her after that. This book was just as wonderful. It starts off with an immediate conflict for the heroine to overcome which serves to draw you in, easily convincing the reader that this is going to be a book worth delving into.
Something I've noticed about this author's work is her ability to stretch out the tension between the heroine and the love interest. This is especially true in The Last Necromancer. Charlotte, aka, Charlie, is so wonderfully unconventional due to her five years living on the streets. Lincoln is aloof, troubled, and difficult to emotionally access. These personalities really play nicely off of one another. Her unconventional behavior serves to disarm Lincoln rather than push him away. As Lincoln's character develops, we discover that he has never truly learned to love or care for others. That wasn't part of his tutoring or training for his eventual role as the leader of The Ministry of Curiosities. Though its obvious that he feels something for her, it takes Charlie's bold, guileless manner to really pull a reaction from him.
This is another aspect of C.J.'s writing that I find so compelling. She really knows how to describe facial expressions and physical movements to portray emotion, and with a character like Lincoln you have to be oh-so-subtle to show those emotions for Charlie to play off of. It's a really nice give and take between the two, and I keep turning those pages due to the romance alone, and that's only part of the story. Charlie is able to bring back the dead, and some nefarious doctor is intent upon using her gift for his own dark purposes. Just another compelling aspect of this wonderful book.
The plot and subplots are woven together in a wonderful blend of romance, intrigue, danger and suspense. There are always clear goals, external conflicts and inner conflicts, drawing that delicious tension out and furthering the story while giving the characters depth and dimension. All the while Charlie proves to be brave, honest, caring, kind and wonderfully flawed with a relentless curiosity, determined to find out all she can about Lincoln Fitzroy even when it isn't appropriate.
The secondary characters are simply fabulous. Gus, Seth, and Cook make up this unlikely family, but it is heartwarming to watch this unlikely group band together and care for one another. It is such an addictive series that I already bought the second book and read it in a single evening. My husband thinks I'm ignoring him. I told him it wasn't my fault that Archer's books are so damn good.
Bottom line, you need to read this book. Jump on the C.J. Archer bandwagon and start inhaling all of these yummy, paranormal, historical romances. You'll thank me later though your hubby's will want to shoot me for suggesting it.
I gave it five cherry blossoms!
About this author
C.J. Archer has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two with her historical romances. Under her other name of Carolyn Scott, she has published contemporary short stories in women's magazines on two continents including Take A Break, Woman's Day and That's Life.
She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She has won and placed in romance writing contests including winning RWAustralia's Emerald Award in 2008 for the manuscript which she went on to self-publish under the title Honor Bound.
C.J. spent her early childhood in the dramatic beauty of outback Queensland, Australia, but now lives in suburban Melbourne with her husband and two children.
website
http://www.cjarcher.com
twitter username
CJ_Archer
C.J. Archer has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two with her historical romances. Under her other name of Carolyn Scott, she has published contemporary short stories in women's magazines on two continents including Take A Break, Woman's Day and That's Life.
She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She has won and placed in romance writing contests including winning RWAustralia's Emerald Award in 2008 for the manuscript which she went on to self-publish under the title Honor Bound.
C.J. spent her early childhood in the dramatic beauty of outback Queensland, Australia, but now lives in suburban Melbourne with her husband and two children.
website
http://www.cjarcher.com
twitter username
CJ_Archer
RSS Feed
;
