Book Review

Guest Review: Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones

NB: This guest review is from Reader Tara Scott. If you want to read her previous guest reviews (and we highly recommend that you do), you can see them all here.

Tara reads a lot of lesbian romances. You can catch her regularly reviewing at The Lesbian ReviewLambda Literary, and Curve Magazine and hear her talk about lesbian fiction (including romance) on her podcast Les Do Books. You can also hit her up for recommendations on Twitter (@taramdscott).

One of my favourite things is to see other people get excited about books they love—especially when it leads me to my next favourite read. When Shira Glassman fangirled on my podcast about Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones, I just had to pick it up. And, whooo, am I ever glad I did! Historical fantasy isn’t usually my thing, but this particular book is so good that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it a few weeks ago. It’s the first in a series that currently has three books, and each story follows a different pair of characters while featuring previous leads as side characters.

Margerit Sovitre wants one thing out of life—to move to the city of Rotenek and study philosophy at the university. Of course, as an underage woman in the (not real) European country Alpennia in the early 1800s, this isn’t exactly something she can just decide to do. Instead, she has to submit to the uncle and aunts who are doing exactly what her parents would have if they were alive: focusing on helping Margerit make the most advantageous marriage possible.

When Margerit’s godfather, the Baron Saveze, dies and leaves her the majority of his fortune and holdings, she is gobsmacked. It’s a giant “fuck you” to his nephew Estefen, heir to the title and its associated lands (and an all around terrible person), and comes with one huge caveat for Margerit. As part of her inheritance, Margerit also has to take Barbara, the late Baron’s bodyguard, and keep her at least until she becomes a legal adult. If Margerit doesn’t keep Barbara until after both of them are of age, she has to forfeit the majority of the fortune.

LeFevre raised his hand for silence and continued, “—with one stipulation that will be detailed below. Regarding the woman known as Barbara who has served me well and faithfully as my duelist. It had always been my intent to see her established in her chosen course of life and it is to my sorrow that I could not live long enough to accomplish that goal. I would not see her cast out alone and friendless into the world, without protection or support. Therefore the woman Barbara is to be included in that portion of my possessions that I leave to my goddaughter Margerit and—”

Barbara thought at first that she hadn’t heard correctly—and no wonder, given the roaring in her ears that drowned out the burst of startled exclamations among the crowd. They meant nothing. The world had narrowed to her and LeFevre and the treacherous papers in his hands. She approached the desk slowly, her voice husky with disbelief. “He promised I would be free! You were there—you heard him!”

This is a huge blow to Barbara. And yet, she’s so loyal and has such strength of character that she immediately steps in and takes her role seriously, keeping Margerit safe from everyone, including the people Margerit should be able to trust (emphasis on should). Barbara’s journey in the story is interesting, because she has her own thorough character arc that involves much more than simply protecting Margerit and eventually falling in love with her. She knows how the Baron came to acquire her as a baby, but Barbara doesn’t know who her parents were or why he never shared her full identity. Getting to the bottom of that secret makes up just one of the mysteries in the story; the other involves a potentially deadly scheme that’s related to the succession of Alpennia’s ruler.

Margerit has her own character arc that’s equally satisfying, while completely different from Barbara’s. Because she’s underage, she doesn’t really have any rights and mostly has to submit to what her guardians want. On top of that, once she receives her inheritance, she has to contend with the expectations and pressures of being young woman of means in the early 1800s. Getting the money and properties certainly helps because she can now afford much more, but she still has to find clever ways to get what she wants, like attending university so she can finally fulfill her craving for learning and knowledge. It’s there in Rotenek that she explores her ability with “Mysteries,” which is basically a religious kind of magic that involves praying specific incantations to saints and, for some people like Margerit, being able to see their response with your eyes.

They rose then to give the responses as they moved into the body of the ceremony and Margerit felt her heart swell as the spirit moved through her and swirled around the columns like vine tendrils in the sun. She recalled what Barbara had said in Mintun in the spring. Did others see the mysteries in drifts of transparent color and soundless music? The vision rose up like bright smoke above the altar and dissipated in the darkness of the arches above.

Margerit gets really good at a lot of things—creating new Mysteries, standing up for herself and her wants, and even being honest about her romantic feelings for Barbara. Speaking of, I want to make sure to say that while Daughter of Mystery isn’t a romance, the romantic element is strong and very well done. The chemistry between Barbara and Margerit builds ever so slowly until it’s finally crackling in the later stages of the book. Sex never happens on the page, but it’s entirely appropriate for the tone of the book. The author makes it feels like we’re reading something that could have been written in the 19th century but, you know, with magic, kind of like Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

Heather Rose Jones’s worldbuilding is superb. It’s clear that she’s done extensive research into European history during the time of the English Regency in order to create Alpennia as a setting that’s both relatable and unique all at the same time. Her PhD in linguistics is also evident in the character names, titles, and other words and phrases, giving it all a uniquely Alpennian flair that’s easy to pick up. (And if you ever want to get an idea of exactly how much research she’s done, I’d urge you to check out her Lesbian Historic Motif Project website and podcast, both of which have a wealth of information intended to help anyone who wants to write lesbian or bisexual women in historic fiction.)

One thing that some readers may not love is that a lot of time is spent with Margerit figuring out how to make Mysteries. If you’re interested in religion, particularly Catholicism, and the idea of making magic with prayer, you’ll love it. If that’s not really your jam, you may find yourself skimming those pages. Personally, I enjoyed the depth of detail because it made the framework for Mysteries so much more believable, but I wanted to bring it up because it’s one of those “your mileage may vary” kind of things.

I don’t think this is a negative thing either, but I had to pay really close attention as I was reading the first several chapters, so I couldn’t read it with my kids around. Once I got past the 20% mark, though, I would have swatted anyone who tried to take my Kindle from me.

When I finished Daughter of Mystery, I was an absolute mess. I couldn’t read anything for a couple of days because I was still in Alpennia. The writing is gorgeous, Margerit and Barbara’s arcs consumed me, and the mysteries kept me guessing (the plot ones, not the incantations). There’s such a richness to all of these elements that I just want Netflix or the BBC to make a miniseries so I can watch it for hours. I cannot recommend this book enough, and I’m excited to dive into the next book in the series!

This book is available from:
  • Available at Amazon
  • Order this book from apple books

  • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
  • Order this book from Kobo
  • Order this book from Google Play

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones

View Book Info Page

Add Your Comment →

  1. Ms. M says:

    Heather Rose Jones and her Alpennia books had been on my radar, but I’d been dragging my feet for a while. Didn’t know about her linguistic flair, though– that might have just bumped them up the TBR.

  2. E.L. says:

    YES! Alpennia series is SO UNDERRATED! MOAR people need to read it! I think the series is in this weird space where it’s sort of being marketed at the #ownvoices lesbian romance market, but as Tara notes, it’s not a Romance per se. It’s actually a historical fantasy wherein romance is just one storyline among many. So readers picking up the books expecting a Romance are probably going to be disappointed. I feel like the series would be much more popular if it was marketed towards the YA fantasy demographic, which is where it actually belongs. But I don’t think that’s what happened? I don’t know.

    I think the second book is even better than the first. The protagonists are older and more fun. As KJ Charles notes, Jeanne is a shallow, bored, and manipulative socialite. And Antunient is a cold, proud, and obssessed woman!scientist. And the two are pretty great together.

  3. Beth says:

    I remember reading this book in a gulp, then settling down to re-read and savor it all over again. And I was lucky that I could order the second book right away. The whole series is so very good, so very satisfying. Women as scholars, women as duelists, women as scientists, women as friends.

  4. Vasha says:

    These aren’t YA fantasy (though I’m sure most teens would enjoy them a lot). Especially in the 2nd and 3rd books, the characters and their dilemmas are adult.

  5. E.L. says:

    @Vasha: True. But as you say, I think this series has crossover potential, especially since there isn’t really any gratuitous sex or gore on the page. If George R.R. Martin’s aSoIaF series can find readers among older young adult fantasy fans, then I don’t see why Alpennia can’t do the same. And my point was more along the lines that this might be another case of the Romance stigma at work again … when Alpennia isn’t even a Romance. Yes, yes, I know. Hypocrisy, cognitive dissonance, and f*ckery all around, etc etc. We’ve hashed these arguments out ad nauseam. But in this particular instance, a clear-cut divorce from the Romance genre would probably be better for marketing the series to a larger and more receptive audience.

Add Your Comment

Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

↑ Back to Top