Another great addition to the industrial magic series, Ive even argue that is better than the first! With the worldbuilding foundations laid in the first book, Newman had ability to focus on the story and boy did she deliver!

Weaver's Lament picks up where Brother's Ruin left off, and is pretty similar to the first book in terms of length, characters, and the feeling of the book. Charlotte's brother is managing a mill under the guidance of a mage; when he sends her a secretive letter, she can't help but go to him. Charlotte is astonished by what Ben asks of her: someone is causing wanton destruction at the mill and he wants her to go undercover as a mill worker to figure out if this is the work of a rogue mage, socialists, or someone with a serious grudge.

There are several key threads to the plot of the book. One is Charlotte's infatuation with Mage Hopkins, despite her engagement to her quite, scholarly fiance George. There's a lot of lusting going on and it really wasn't my kind of thing! Then there's Charlotte's struggles with her hidden mage powers - this was interesting, but doesn't take up much of the book. Instead, Weaver's Lament is dominated by the mystery of the mills and the class clash between well brought up young Charlotte colliding with the world of the working class. The mill is a great setting and definitely not really something that I've encountered before, but Charlotte and Ben are frustrating in their naiveté.

I remain unimpressed by the love triangle and was hoping to see more development of Charlotte, particularly with respect to her magic going wild, but I enjoyed the plot of this short novella.

Having enjoyed Book 1 of this series, I was keen to read Book 2.

The story elements brought forward from Book 1 are more glimpsed than blatantly discussed, and although the story is just about interesting enough, it really did need to focus more on continuing the story begun in Book 1 than just rushing into something completely different. It was just too short to feel satisfying. A shame.

Weaver’s Lament picks right up where Brother’s Ruin left off; our main protagonist, Charlotte, is still reeling from the events that took place, while also trying to uncover secrets that many higherups are trying to keep hidden. Charlotte also lives in Great Britain in the 1850s, where people are still ignorant and believe that a woman’s place is in the house and only in the house. Charlotte is trying to appease her family and fiancé that feel this way, but Charlotte is a very talented illustrator, who sells her work under a man's pen name. Obviously, this book has a lot of social commentary about women’s rights and equality, but the main plot of each book is truly about Charlotte uncovering a mystery.

And this mystery is brought to Charlotte’s attention by her brother that she helps in Brother’s Ruin. I’ll be honest, I actually really hate her brother and I wish Charlotte wasn’t such a good sister to him. Charlotte’s brother, Ben, has finished his studies with the Royal Society and is now an apprentice that is overlooking the operation of a textile mill. Yet, someone or something is sabotaging the machines and the mill, so he asks Charlotte to go undercover to try to see who or what is causing the problem.

The Royal Society is for people with magical powers and it helps them learn to harness their powers in a way that won’t make them turn wild. Turning wild happens to magic users who don’t turn themselves in to the Royal Society for training. Oh, and Charlotte is a super powerful magic user who has yet to turn herself in.

Charlotte, while working with Magus Thomas Hopkins, quickly discovers what is happening behind the scenes of the mill. But more importantly, she discovers the unfair and inhumane treatment of the workers who have nowhere else to go and are stuck in a cycle of oppression working at the mill and eventually dying at the mill with no opportunity for advancement. This book beautifully talks about social constructs and the oppression cycles we put groups of people in, without a chance to better their lives, but while always belittling them for not “breaking the cycle.” Charlotte becomes very aware of her privilege, and I hope in book three we get to see her act on this information.

But this was a quick read that I really did enjoy. Also, the angst is just killing me between Charlotte and Hopkins at this point. I also feel like there are 100 different threads going in 1000 different directions, and I need to know all the secrets of the Royal Society and this world. I cannot wait to pick up the next installment in this series and I’m so thankful I was able to read this one before the end of 2017!

Emma Newman's novella, Weaver's Lament, continue Charlotte's adventures as a latent magus in an alternate England's nineteenth century. Her brother an apprentice magus has asked for help at the mill he is working in; people are dying and the looms are self destructing. Charlotte goes undercover and immediately suffers attacks from the foreman. A dark industrial fantasy.

This story is definitely a niche one, but none the less compelling for it! It’s by Emma Newman, the queen of short stories and generally excellent writing, following on from the first book in her Industrial Magic series, Brother’s Ruin.
The era is the 1800’s, a Victorian England with magic and magi who hold the country in almost a death grip. Charlotte Gunn, our heroine from the first story, heads to Manchester to meet up with her brother Ben, an apprentice Mage who has been put to work overseeing one of the mills. But something odd is going on: the looms are being destroyed by what looks like a dangerous Latent mage, and Charlotte, herself a Latent, agrees to go undercover and investigate for Ben. But before long it looks like she might be caught instead…
I loved the detail that Newman managed to cram into this very short book, which picks up very neatly from where the last one left off. The Victorian era is really brought to life, from the journeys by steam train to the mills- not something I’ve really seen addressed much beyond Elizabeth Gaskell- and is integrated very neatly with the magical elements to the story: the Royal Society, and the ways in which rich and essentially corrupt Mages hold sway in London and in Parliament. It feels like a living, breathing world… which is why it’s so frustrating that Newman doesn’t worldbuild a little more and explore the consequences of Charlotte’s actions in evading the Royal Society, the details of her training and perhaps a more fearsome nemesis than some grouchy factory hands and only the vaguest mention of the Big Bad from the first book.
As it is, the vast bulk of the story is about life in a cotton gin, which is fine. Newman packs the book full of plot: she really knows how to craft an interesting, well-written story, and it had me gripped for the whole time it took me to read it. Though quickly sketched, the characters like Mags well-drawn and instantly likeable, and Ben’s slow but steady slide towards some pretty murky morality that comes with being a Mage was also well done. Charlotte does come across as rather naïve sometimes- and the love triangle with her mentor is also a tad heavy-handed- though I suppose that’s unavoidable when you have so few pages to work with.
All in all, Weaver’s Lament is a self-contained, fun little read that drops some intriguing hints about where the story’s going to go next whilst offering a satisfying read in itself. More please!

The full review with all the GIFs can be found on my website:
http://avalinahsbooks.space/weavers-lament-emma-newman/
I have several questions for you:

Do you like petticoats, Victorians and magic?
What about a female heroine, who, while a little bit lost and flustered, is kickass despite not knowing it herself?
And would you care for a would-be love triangle that is forbidden in more ways than I care to list?
If you said YES, YES and YES, then I don't understand why you are STILL not reading this series. Especially seeing as how it's called Industrial Magic??? Even if I didn't know what it was about, the name of the series alone would hook me!

It's really hard for me to review this book because I'm evidently a fangirl. I reviewed the first part of this series when I was still but a wee blogger lass, and I do feel like maybe my review didn't really do it justice or reach a big enough audience. But that still doesn't explain why this book isn't more widely known??

So since this is the second book in the series, I'm not going to tell you much about the story. For that you'd have to read the first book. Plus, I don't want to take away the pleasure! Instead, I'm going to try and tell you why I love this series as much as I do.

Reason #1. The Magic System

[GIF of a clockwork mechanism]

Now I'm not your biggest specialist on magic systems in books, as I don't tend to read a whole lot of fantasy. But correct me if I'm wrong – I'm not sure magic is used as a means of production, powering engines and clocks and basically running the economy in any other fictional world? Or at least, maybe not in this way? Magic in this book is not a tool to assert status, to get your own end. Magic is almost an affliction, cause it means your only place in society is a... rich prisoner. The Magi are not allowed to marry (for reasons I will not spoil), nor are they allowed to even stay with their families. They are rich and strong (but not really powerful), they are the victims of their own power which they have not chosen to wield, and they can not run from it. But they can try. And this is largely what the second book in the series is about – trying to outwit your fate.

Reason #2. The Heroine

[GIF of determined Merida getting up]

It might just be me, but I feel like Charlotte, our main character, is just the right amount of wit, smarts, capability, and yet childish egoism, naivete and klutziness. She's a wonderful heroine! She makes an equal amount of mistakes and blunders as feats. Which she tends to discount as belonging to her own abilities. She does not know her own feelings. Charlotte is as lost in her own wishes, her state and her romantic inclinations as any traditional Victorian novel heroine. I absolutely love that about her. Perhaps I feel like she's a little bit like me.

Reason #3. This Series Could Go On And On

And I hope it will! It's one of those series like The Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch – urban fantasies that have their own spectacular world that you want to get lost in again and again, and you're safe in the knowledge that it's not one of those books which has three parts and then ends. Oh no, this series will hopefully go on and on till I get tired of reading it, which, in turn, I hope to never do! So bring on the drama.

[GIF of grabbing popcorn]

Dear Emma Newman, please keep writing this series. If only just for meeee! (I know, I am so selfish...) I know I will keep waiting for the third book just as much as I've waited for the second one.

I thank Tor Books and Emma Newman for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange to my honest review.

Link will go live October 27, 2017.

The second novella in Newman's "Industrial Magic" series see Charlotte still learning to control her powers in the hopes of avoiding life in the restrictive, but privileged, Royal Society. Her brother, however, has been recently admitted to the Society, and is beginning to run into problems of his own. There is something going on at the textile mill that he has been tasked to oversee. He recruits Charlotte to work undercover and discover what is going on. But what she finds is more than he expected, or either of them wanted to know. "Weaver's Lament" raises all the stakes, and I found myself enjoying it even more than I did the first!

Charlotte, as ever, is an excellent protagonist. She's capable, curious, and still a bit naive about the Royal Society and, especially, the role her brother is now playing by being involved within it. I had a fairly good understanding of her motivations and character from the first book, and this one simply built upon what we already knew. More and more, we understand why she resists joining a society that in many ways would elevate her to a life of riches and success. But her characterization wasn't one of the stumbling blocks I found in the first story.

After reading the first book, most of my confusion and qualms came from not understanding who I was supposed to be rooting for among the cast of secondary characters. Charlotte's own confusion here didn't help. But as this story moves along, I was relieved to see that, while Charlotte may still have the wool pulled over her eyes, we, as readers at least, are beginning to understand the roles these other characters play in her life. Specifically, we begin to see the true colors of her brother Ben and Mage Hopkins, the member of the Royal Society who has been training Charlie over the last several months. At the same time, as we begin to understand the motivations, priorities, and loyalties of these two men, we are still seeing them through Charlotte's eyes and her perspective is very much colored by her experiences and wishes. She wants her brother to be the same man he was when he left, and even her evaluation of the man he was then is forever seen through the lens of her love for him as a sibling. Mage Hopkins, too, is both the man who is training her as well as her greatest liability for being turned in to the Royal Society should he ever suspect that her training is not enough to keep her from going "wild."

The primary mystery was also very compelling. Not only did it expose more tidbits of knowledge of how the magic system in this world works, but we saw how the Royal Society uses its magic in industrial work like the textile mill. But the other half of the story is the more human one: Charlie's shock and horror at the conditions of the mill workers and, at best, the complacency of those in power to the situation. At worst, she finds active participation and collusion.

We also learn more about what it means for an untrained mage to "go wild," as Charlie struggles to hold herself and her power in check. But even as she discovers the price that comes with remaining free, she, and the reader, begins to question the truth behind any of it. There were a couple surprises wrapped up in this aspect of the story that added new layers to the fantasy aspects of this world. I'm excited to see where Newman is going with all of this.

There's a lot going on in a very short book, but I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it. My only criticisms would come down to a writing style that at times felt stunted, perhaps due to the constraints of the shorter page count. But this by no means hindered my reading experience, and I would highly recommend both this book, and the previous novella, to any fans of historical fantasy fiction or steampunk fantasy.

Netgalley ARC.

Full disclosure, I didn't read the first book in this series. This did not keep me from enjoying Weaver's Lament, Newman does a good job of catching up new readers. Charlotte, an illegal latent Mage, is sent undercover in a cotton mill by her brother. While she is there to find those responsible for sabotaging the mill, she is struck by the terrible living and working conditions of her fellow mill workers. She works with her secret instructor, Magus Hopkins to find a solution that will help both her brother and the mill workers.

This is a great book, especially because it's so compact. At 178 pages, it's really more of a novella. This allows the author to create a short and exciting story without a lot of needless exposition and detail. There's no drawn out conflict, Charlotte is able to understand the sabotage early on and the central conflicts are not over explained. I also liked that the solution was not cut and dry. Charlotte has to make some very hard choices about what she thinks is right. I hope Charlotte's interest in the working conditions in the mills is not dropped in later books in this series.

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings. If ye haven’t read the first book in this series, brother's ruin, then ye might want to skip this post and go read the first book. Worth the read. If ye keep reading this log then ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . . . . .

weaver's lament (Emma Newman)

Title: weaver's lament

Author: Emma Newman

Publisher: Macmillian-Tor/Forge

Publication Date: October 17, 2017 (paperback/e-book)

ISBN: 978-0765394118

Source: NetGalley

It was excellent fun to get back to this next installment of Charlotte Gunn's story, and it was another quick read. Charlotte is asked by her brother, Ben, to visit in Manchester where he is currently studying and working in a mill. But it's not just a friendly family visit. Someone is sabotaging the mill and Ben needs Charlotte's help. Of course, Charlotte agrees because she is awesome and goes undercover to solve the case.

The mill was an interesting setting and I loved some of the new characters that were introduced. I enjoyed the mechanics of how the Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts's magic helps run and use the mill. I love Charlotte and Hopkins. Charlotte continues to struggle with her magic and the potential for going "Wild."

I personally would have preferred more character development and less naivete from Charlotte. I don't really like the developing love-triangle even though there was no question that it was going to happen from the very beginning. I would have loved more details and explanations of how the magic worked. That said, I was satisfied with how the novella ended and am interested in the tantalizing hints of what may happen next.

I certainly will be reading all the other books in this series and now consider Emma Newman an auto-buy author. Both her sci-fi and fantasy are great. So if ye haven't read any of her books, hoist those sails and get moving!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

Netgalley has this to say about the novel:

Charlotte's magical adventures continue in Weaver's Lament, the sequel to Emma Newman's Brother's Ruin.

Charlotte is learning to control her emerging magical prowess under the secret tutelage of Magus Hopkins. Her first covert mission takes her to a textile mill where the disgruntled workers are apparently in revolt.

But it isn’t the workers causing the trouble. The real culprits are far more extranormal in nature.

And they have a grudge to settle.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Emma Newman - Author

To buy the novel please visit:

weaver's lament - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

brother’s ruin (On the Horizon – Fantasy eArc)

planetfall - book one (Sailing to the Stars)

after atlas - book two (Captain's Log - Sci-Fi)

Weaver's Lament by Emma Newman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This second novella in the Industrial Magic series picks up nicely where the previous leaves off... with one exception: we're left with a fairly interesting historical footnote but not much of that does our MC Charlotte much good in terms of character development or interesting plot other than something like a one-off.

I personally would have been ecstatic with a firmer grounding in the magic and the training if she's going to be bucking the Royal Society like this. Even an untraditional schooling is better than this, and just slapping the previous baddie onto this tale might work when we finally get down to it, but I thought there was enough possible growth in the world to make this tangent both unique and poignant without falling back on an already familiar plot point.

That being said, however, both the writing and story were interesting enough to negate a huge portion of my gripe and getting a heavy and oppressive feel of the Cotton Gin, even under the auspices of being a spy, was quite clever and cool.

I figure, as long as a consistent stream of new situations and chances to flex those magical UF muscles keeps coming along, I'm not going to have much of an issue.

I had fun, regardless!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2040028541

I have a bad habit of not reading very far outside the comfortable lines of my preferred genres. Usually when anything "steampunk"ish or that takes place in a Dickensian London comes around, I give it a pass. In the case of Emma Newman's "Industrial Magic" series, however, I'm glad that I took the chance. Both the first story and Weaver's Lament, the second in the series, have been just lovely to read.

Charlie, Ben, and Mage Hopkins return to the story, with Charlie continuing her secret mage training and again helping Ben out of a tight spot while trying to correct another social injustice. I find Charlie (and her oh-so-Victorian flirting with Mage Hopkins) to be quite charming. While I could easily see myself reading full-length novels in this setting, I do appreciate the fact that there is no unnecessary padding here. I suspect doing smaller vignettes such as this gives the author a lot more flexibility for where to take the story in the future. I'm quite satisfied with Weaver's Lament and look forward to the next one. I definitely recommend this series.

<i>(Note: I received this ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)</i>