A Tangle Of Magicks - Stephanie Burgis

Summary from Amazon:

After her antics in A Most Improper Magick, Kat Stephenson is back to cause more chaos! Stepmama drags the family to Bath to find Kat's sister a new suitor. But, unknown to most of its gossipy visitors, Bath is full of wild magic. When Kat uncovers a plot to harness this magic in the Roman Baths, she finds her brother Charles is unwittingly involved. Kat must risk her newfound magical powers as she defies the Order of the Guardians to foil the plot and clear her brother's name.

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A Tangle of Magicks is the second book in the Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson. I might say a few spoilers about the first book in this so be warned! You can read my review of the first book in the series, A Most Improper Magick *here* as well as my interview with Stephanie Burgis as part of A Tangle Of Magicks blog tour *here*.

After the events taking place in the first book, Kat's family has entirely changed. Well, not exactly, her father still doesn't say much, her brother still sleeps all the time and her step-mother is as ruthless as ever. But Kat is now a Guardian, after inheriting her mother's power, Angeline is a witch and getting better at it and Elissa is getting married to the love of her life Mr Collingwood! The wedding is ready and all the guests are here when something gasp-worthy happens! Even if the marriage continues, Kat's family (minus Elissa who goes to live with Mr Collingwood) flees to Bath to one of Kat's step-mother "acquaintances". In Bath, Kat obviously can't prevent herself to stay out of trouble!

I absolutely adored A Most Improper Magick and loved this book even more! I think this is one of the most original, interesting and entertaining series out there. Kat is quite simply unique - her voice in the book is so clear that it is an absolute pleasure to read and the most extraordinary things happen to her so you're definitely in for a ride!

Angeline is full of dark thoughts and acts very recklessly in the book and I found it really touching how Kat doesn't let her do this even if Angeline is older and should know better. We get to see more of Kat's brother Charles (and a glimpse of his past) and I am starting to like him more and more. Kat's father also shows a bit more of himself and I will repeat what I said about the first book about how much I love how family-oriented this series is. Kat would do anything for her family and has even been known to help her step-mother *gasp*!

We get to see a few more characters in this and particularly Lucy. She is roughly Kat's age and is very nice (compared to her obnoxious mother and sister). Lucy is obsessed with witchcraft (she thinks it's the ultimate cool) and is ready to get in all sorts of trouble with Kat. their interactions made me laugh out loud several times!

This book is a bit more darker than the first one. When A Most Improper Magick looked at the widespread phenomenon of highwaymen in Regency England, the plot of A Tangle Of Magicks goes into 19th century Bath and explores the theme of old magic. I always have that feeling, when entering a very old place, that there are millenia of history present between those walls, and Stephanie Burgis brilliantly captured that feeling about the Roman baths in Bath. Through Kat's eyes, there is an old powerful magic lurking in the corners of the baths, and she feels that it might not be a magic for the best of the people. The book also shows how scary those times were for young girls and how they were preyed upon by rich men. The setting is fantastic in this book and I can't wait to read the next book in the series to see where Kat will take us!

I really loved this book and this is a fabulous series for people who like their historical fiction with a funny twist. I really cannot recommend these books enough so run like the wind and go buy them in your local bookshop!

Thanks to Templar for sending me the book and for giving me the opportunity to interview Stephanie!

A Tangle Of Magicks by Stephanie Burgis | Templar | 2011 | ARC from the publisher.