It's the Gilded Age, and there are three types of people in the world: the Sylverstri, who are closely in-tune with nature and look down upon the other two classes; the Traders, who have a human and an animal form and who also are the wealthy in the world; and the Solitaires, who are ordinary, normal people with neither powers nor wealth. Thalia is such a Solitaire, and has taken over her father's act as a magician. But, when an act goes horribly wrong, she makes an unexpected discovery about herself and her family. And when another magician's act goes even more horribly awry, she not only finds herself a suspect, but also a target of manticores.

I'm not a big fan of historical type novels. I'd rather imagine the future than rework the past. But I'm intrigued by the Gilded Age, so I couldn't resist this book when I saw it on NetGalley. I'm also a huge fan of magic and magicians so, once I read Thalia is a magician, I knew had to read this book. The shapeshifting and mention of monsters are just cherries on top. As much as I loved the idea, though, the execution was a bit lacking.

The Characters: Fun, but Not Stand Outs

The book revolves around Thalia, a headstrong, intelligent young woman who is also a traveling magician. She may be young, but I think that played well in her favor as her character came off as a bit brash at times, which is usually quite usual for young people. And it somehow feels a bit more endearing. I did adore her character. She was fun and so smart, and played her roles to perfection. I loved how upfront she was and how solid her beliefs were. At the same time, she also managed to slot perfectly into society and society's expectations for her.

I also really enjoyed the Ryker family. A Trader family, they reside in a large mansion near the Hudson River, but, while wealthy, they never really threw their wealth around. The two major characters in that household are Mr. Ryker, usually referred to as Ryker, and his younger sister Nell, who is fascinated by stage magic. They were fun with good humor as they suddenly became Thalia's hosts for an indefinite amount of time. I loved Nell's enthusiasm as well as her less than ladylike moments. She felt like someone I would have enjoyed being friends with in high school. Ryker was a bit bland, but I really enjoyed how upright he was, especially when it came to duty. He was reliable and dependable and many other boring adjectives, but not really boring.

Most of the characters were quite interesting. They had distinct personalities and roles that matched. The only thing that bothered me about the characterizations was the mention of white Solitaire, black Solitaire, white Trader, etc. It was almost as though each person's skin color had some significance, but I found little evidence of it. It didn't really matter if someone was black or white, so I can't really fathom why it was mentioned. It just felt like an irrelevant detail that should have been edited out.

The Setting: New York City During the Gilded Age, With Magic Thrown In

Most of the book takes place in New York City during the Gilded Age. As much as that time period interests me, I don't actually have a firm background on life during that time. I can say that some of it felt authentic while other pieces made me wonder a bit. Still, it carried a nice atmosphere and was fun to read about. Of course, it is also fantasy and fantasy tends to take liberties.

Still, it was fun to pretend to walk the streets of New York City during the early years of the twentieth century. It wasn't quite as well-described as I might have liked, but enough was provided to get a good sense of place. I also appreciated that it did take place during the first few years of the twentieth century because the treatment of women was different back then and it fit in well with how Thalia was treated. The society of that time period worked well with the story.

The actual setting wasn't too well-described, but I liked that the society was. It was well ordered and had a semblance of hierarchy that had a direct effect on the story. It made sense and didn't feel out of place. I really enjoyed how the setting and society worked with the characters and the way it contributed to the story.

The Plot: A Tale of Two Stories

The only part that really disappointed me was the actual story. It felt like two stories merged into one. There was the story of Thalia learning how to shapeshift and avoid being destroyed by a monster. And then there was the mystery of who killed a magician, of which Thalia and her manager, Nutall, were suspects.

I really enjoyed the story about Thalia learning how to control her shapeshifting. There was a lot of action and uncertainty around it and I liked that it also impacted the other characters. I found myself quite invested in her efforts, and ended up being a little disappointed by how it ended. It was fun to struggle with her, but it all came together to perfectly and neatly, though I could also see it just going on and on forever, so I also have to appreciate that Stevermer chose to end it when she did.

The mystery was probably the most disappointing part. There's a line or two that completely gives it away, so the end felt anti-climatic. The reveal was fun and I loved that Thalia was in her element, but it was too easy and made the police look completely inefficient.

The other part that really disappointed me was that it felt like the book switched between the two stories. They did not blend well, or, really, much at all. It felt like the book went from one to the other and then back again, which is why I felt like I was reading two separate stories merged into one. It was exciting to see when they did blend, but it wasn't often and was not lengthy.

The end bothered me because it wrapped up too neatly and then introduced more threads and mysteries. I've yet to see any indication of a second book, so it was a little frustrating to see one story wrapped up and another introduced.

Overall: A Fun, Quick Read

Overall, I liked the characters and the setting was fun. The plot left a lot to be desired, but it was still a fun book, as long as I don't think of it as a cohesive whole. It didn't really feel cohesive, but the characters tied the two stories together not perfectly, but adequately. This book left a lot to be desired, but it was a relatively quick and fun read, as long as you don't think too hard about it.


Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian-Tor/Forge for a free e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Link to post: https://thelilycafe.com/book-review-the-glass-magician

2.5 stars.

For a book of almost 300 pages, I feel like barely anything happened beyond the murder and her figuring out how to use her powers. What I disliked the most was how the magic system was barely explained and messy when there was an explanation despite the world building depending on it. Though everything was predictable and cliché, but I didn’t mind it much.

The characters were likable but some are superficial. Everyone willingly gives/does what Thalia wants regardless of the situation except for the police so things were conveniently solved. Moreover, even though some characters were on the scene, sometimes they wouldn’t talk and you’d easily forget that they exist.

Overall, I enjoyed the writing style and the vibe enough that it was easy to read through the book. There’s not much information as to how the magic system came to be and I wish it was more focused on it because it was very interesting instead of focusing a lot on Thalia’s thoughts which filled half the book.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy for an honest review.

Included as my pick in SBTB's April New Releases roundup, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2020/04/aprils-new-releases-part-one/

I sincerely wanted to like this book. I loved the imaginative universe of several races, the social hierarchy, and how their race affects their perceptions of society, employment, and each other. There was so much potential to this book, and it fell disappointingly flat.

Yes, there was some action, love interests, and a strong female lead. Beyond that, the characters fell flat and fell within the superficial slots of their races (thinking in particular about Nat and his distaste for Thalia when he thought she was a Solitaire versus when he thought she was a Trader). I felt that certain potential plots were dropped for convenience. For example, did Nell’s magical education continue besides the “videos”? Why were Nutall and Thalia complacent with following the professor’s advice about Thalia’s potential to be a Trader? Why not investigate further when they arrived in NY?

By the midpoint of the book, reading about Thalia’s adventures into Trading became a repetitive chore, and the only reason I felt compelled to finish is to write this review.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

DNF-ed at 66%. This was a book I was really looking forward to, so I gave it my best shot, but in the end, it was just such a chore to read. The pacing feels rushed and the writing style is very bare-bones and blunt; the worldbuilding is disappointingly simplistic given the premise, and all the characters were either annoying, stupid, or kind of awful. The love interest's rapid about-turn when he discovers the mc isn't, in fact, a magicless Solitaire was just painful and didn't endear him to me at all; although the mc tries to call him on it, it wasn't really dealt with in the text (at least, not in the 2/3s I managed to read).

Ultimately, despite everything that was happening in the story, the book manages to be surprisingly boring and I had absolutely no interest in finding out how things ended for any of the characters.

First of all, I’d like to say something about the cover. It’s such a beautiful cover, I love all the details. it’s perfect for the story!

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It has a lot going for it including great world building and four vibrant characters just starting to recognize their own strengths. I enjoyed the writer's imagination and in places the story is beautiful. However, the source of the magic was sometimes difficult to follow with the background fragmented and repetitive such that the pacing was too slow for most of the book. I felt like there was no clear goal with the plot and that I was just a passenger on some wayward vehicle with no set direction.

Overall, it wasn't bad. There were parts I really liked, the overall intent behind the story, the setting, the twist at the end. This book was absolutely written with love. I will always come back to Stevermer's writing.

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

DNF @ 22%

I tried to read this book, I really did. 7% of the way in, I was already forcing myself to go ahead. And at 22%, I realized it just wasn't worth it. Still, I almost never DNF books (as in this is the first I've discarded since last year at least). Normally this is hard for me to do, but it wasn't this time.

The underlying narrative seems simple enough, Thalia is a stage magician but also a real shapeshifter, whose powers attract dangerous creatures called manticores that would drain her magic. This is a world of people with abilities- Traders (shapeshifters), Solitaires (normals), and the so-far unexplained Sylvestri (perhaps nature powers?). Thus, Thalia should know how the magic system works, but she and her mentor have to go to a professor of 'Trader Literature' for help, which ends up being a chapter I like to call "information dump." Also revealed there, by the mentor, is that Thalia's parents perhaps could be Traders, which makes the whole point of them going to the professor for information about why she shapeshifted a little bit pointless!

And folks, it just doesn't better (at least in the first 22%). I liked the behind the scene glance into stage magic, but it also seemed to take away from what I feel is the more important plot- the whole shapeshifting thing.

Oh, and the characters have nothing that draws me to them. Not compelling at all, despite Thalia claiming it is one of her best skills.

For the parts I read- 2 stars.

A fairly slow-paced historical fantasy mystery with a hint of light romance. I liked it a lot, it had a bit of everything and decent characters I cared about. It lacked a little action maybe, and magic and world building details were not made particularly obvious so I can see why some may have felt a bit lost at times, although it didn't bother me all that much and I felt I had just enough information most of the time to follow what was happening. Definitely a more 'comfort read' type for me, I'd read another set in this world.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

I received a digital advance review copy of The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer from Netgalley, in exchange for a review.

I want to preface this review by saying that I read this book in several chunks with days between them and was very stressed out the entire time, so my overall reading experience was disjointed and I wasn’t able to fully get into the narrative. Your experience of this book may be very different from mine. With that disclaimer out of the way, I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The description on Netgalley was intriguing and from it I assumed that this book would involve a stage magician discovering the ability to shapeshift and using it to trick and con her way into high society. I was so excited for that story, which is very much not what happens in this book. Instead, in a moment of terror and life-threatening danger, stage magician Thalia Cutler discovers that she may have the abilities of a Trader, people who have a second, animal form they can transform into. This separates them from Solitaires, which seem to be normal people, and Sylvestri, a third group whose characteristics aren’t as clearly explained. From there, the plot follows two main storylines: in the first, Thalia tries to determine if she merely hallucinated that moment of transformation and must learn more about her abilities and her family history before the monsters who stalk and kill young Traders can hunt her down. The second focuses on Thalia’s professional struggles after another magician with a non-compete clause in his contract puts her out of work and then dies under mysterious circumstances that implicate Thalia and her manager. While these plots do connect, the book teeters between a murder mystery and a magical coming-of-age fantasy and occasionally feels like it could have worked as two separate novellas. There is also a romantic subplot that really did not work for me. The main reason I struggled with this book is because the world building is very gradual and at many points I found myself utterly confused by terms thrown around by characters and aspects of the world that wouldn’t get explained until much later in the narrative. By the end of the novel most things have been explained, but it would have been so helpful to have even a paragraph or two of exposition at the beginning to clarify the basic premise of this version of the United States. On a more positive note, the writing is amazing and the stage magic parts of the story are fantastic. Stevermer manages to write about the magic in a way that lets readers know what’s going on and picture the act without getting bogged down in trying to translate a highly visual experience into the written word. I also loved Thalia as a character. She’s funny, introspective, and the perfect character to follow around in this version of Gilded Age New York. The parts of the book that focused on Thalia in her element as a stage magician were far and away my favorite and I would love to see a prequel following Thalia’s life as a travelling vaudeville performer. I’m hoping more of that backstory will appear in the sequel that book’s end is clearly anticipating.

First, I would like to thank Netgalley & Tor Books for approving me for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book focuses on a female stage magician in a world that contains magic, transformations, and monsters. I fell in love with the world and the potential of the plot, but this book stumbled in its attempts to get me to fall in love with the characters. I'm not sure if it's the unfinished aspect of the ARC, but I found the characters and the plot logic to be a bit disjointed and choppy.

However, I did fall in love with the world. I wish I could return to it on different terms. I'm torn on if I would want to pick up a second book in this series but since this is far from Caroline Stevermer's first book, I'm not sure the second would have an improvement.

Quite honestly, I was hoping I would love this book, and it fell short for me. We started off strong with an incredibly intriguing premise, and very interesting delineation of the different classes/castes (Solitaire, Traders, and Sylvestri). However, I felt a bit lost being dropped right into a situation that felt as though I had missed valuable information in, and the book overall felt a bit... lacking.
I was disconnected from the characters and overall just kind of disinterested, which really disappointed me. I am also disappointed in the fact that the magic system, though really cool, was not well developed/explained.
Thanks for the arc anyways, Netgalley!

This book ticked a lot of boxes for me. I loved the world building. I loved the magic. I loved the murder plot. But it didn’t quite come together for me. It lacked emotion. Throughout all the different scenes, I never felt any tension or fear or even shock from Thalia being a trader. I wanted more feelings. I would have settling ANY feelings.

I read The Glass Magician in a little over 24 hours, I definitely really enjoyed reading it. I ended up giving it a four out of five stars, I really like the main characters. I'm hoping this is a series because I have some theories but I also want to read more from these characters. With the ending though it could be a stand alone but I have some unanswered questions and so does the main character. The ending did feel a bit anti-climatic but I still really enjoyed it.

Transformations are at the heart of all magic — the stage magician kind, the fantasy-novel kind, and the kind that happens when a human being goes through a fundamental change in their character. The Glass Magician contains all three!

Cover, The Glass Magician
Book Cover for The Glass Magician
Stevermer has done a skillful job here of creating a fantasy alternate-world New York City with a turn-of-the-19th-century feel. The magical and non-magical denizens of this world mix to a certain extent; but the wealthy, powerful Traders, who can shift back and forth between an animal and a human form, are clearly the elite of this Industrial Revolution society.

When Thalia Cutler, stage magician, discovers a magical skill she had no idea she could access, she and her stage partner and mentor, David Nutall, try to track down information about whether or not non-magical Solitaires such as herself could possibly have Trader capabilities. Coming upon what seems to be a dead end, they find themselves facing another problem — a stage trick of theirs has been stolen and to add insult to injury, they’ve been locked out of performing their act anywhere in New York City.

The events that follow are one part mystery and stage magic, one part adventure and spy story, and one part musical theater (think Hello, Dolly, with a sprinkling of My Fair Lady on top.) Thalia discovers secrets about her family and her dear friend and mentor Nutall, fights off a raging manticore, attempts to navigate her place in Trader society, and develops a stunning new stage performance, all the while unraveling the mystery that she has found herself in.

The Glass Magician has a richly-drawn, theatrical world and enjoyable, complex characters. While the plot is predictable at moments, and the protagonist’s final success is never really in doubt, Stevemer writes deftly, and the story is engaging and enjoyable. I particularly appreciated reading an alternate-history New York City that acknowledges how multicultural that city has always been.

Recommended for readers of historical mystery in particular.

Stevermer's short novel places readers behind the curtain with a young stage magician whose career is upended by another magician's malice. In this world there is real magic, although it is not described as such. There are three human races, Solitaires, Traders, and Sylvestri, and the last two have special powers. Solitaires are just ordinary folks. All of them seem capable of interbreeding. Our heroine is a Solitaire...or so she thinks.

A veteran writer of historical pieces in collaboration, Stevermer is very careful about avoiding anachronistic speech and technology, which I appreciated, but there were a few things about this novel which left me unsatisfied beyond the ability of quality historical research to ameliorate. For one thing, it was jarring to me to have nearly every character's skin color stated. It is clearly an effort to make it clear that skin color has less meaning in this world, where people are more accurately divided according to whether they can shapeshift (Trade), have an affinity for the elements, or are regular human beings. At least that's how I interpret it. But it still took me out of the narrative every time, like Stevermer didn't feel like spending further time describing the character.

It wasn't that the books' characters lacked depth and development. None of the principle characters felt two dimensional. They just weren't all that interesting. The world itself would have been very interesting to read about, but the reader is not let in on the information, so we're left to wonder how shapeshifting and an artistic temperament translate into wealth, as almost all Traders seem to be astonishingly wealthy. I find it hard to imagine where being able to turn into a seal at will is all that lucrative, even in a shipping family. Almost nothing is explained about the Sylvestri, as if Stevermer is waiting to see how the book is received and then present a sequel which will involve our heroine going off among them on her mentor's account.

For the first part of the story the pacing is good, things move along quickly enough to keep a reader interested, but not so so much so that things blur. And then everything wraps up abruptly. For a book of less than 300 pages, there was definitely time for a less hurried conclusion, although by the time it was reached there wasn't a whole lot more to describe, I suppose. Having everything sorted out in a Holmesian magic show reveal didn't really work in that respect. Not to mention it was an implausible plan for persuading the police to begin with.

If a person is craving very slightly post-Gilded Age magic and theatre, this is a quick read, but it doesn't really feel particularly worth the time even so, which is disappointing given Stevermer's collaborations with Patricia C. Wrede were pretty entertaining throughout. (Finally, why are so many books set in this era about female stage magicians? Why is that a thing?)

Set in the early 1900s, this fantasy of manners reminded me of The Prestige with its storyline about stage magicians and their rivalries.

Thalia, is a young woman who inherited both her father’s act and his manager, Nutall. Her livelihood is threatened when a rival gets her fired. She discovers that the rival stole his big illusion from her father. Determined to set things straight, Thalia and Nutall attend the rival’s performance, only to see him murdered on stage. Nutall’s arrested and it’s up to Thalia to clear his name.

Things get complicated when she discovers that she’s not a simple Solitaire, a non-magical human but a Trader, a two-natured person with an animal shape. She needs to figure out her new powers before her magic is devoured by a Manticore.

Lots of world building and historical research on display. And the author gives a fascinating look behind the curtain at the life of a Vaudeville magician.

Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for an ARC.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. First of all I wanted to thank Macmillan-Tor/Forge- Tor books for the chance to read this book

In the New York of 1905, Thalia Cutler doesn't have important family connection, but she's talented in stage magic and able to capture the audience's attention with her gift. Until one day when one trick goes wrong she discovers her ability in shapeshifting. Now she has the chance to be part of the rich society, if only she would be able to control her new found gift and avoid the dangers.

I really liked this book! The writing style is evocative and intense, the characters well built and well written, complex and interesting. Thalia was captivating and I was really involved into her story. I liked reading about the classes in the New York of 1905, the Traders, the Solitaires, the Sylvestri and the magic system, the worldbuilding, everything was engaging and captivating, I loved being in this world. It's a book about magic, friendship, love, discovery, learning what and who you are and the place in the world.

I really enjoyed Stevermer's writing a lot. She is a talented writer, and a gifted storyteller. The premise was right up my alley, and the writing was mature and thoughtful. However, I felt The Glass Magician left somethings to be desired. I really wanted more world building, and a more in-depth explanation of the magic system. It was hard to get really invested in the story because of this, but I liked the premise a lot and I am looking forward to the next books in the series and an expansion of the world!

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for the ARC. Goodreads review to follow.

I enjoyed the build-up behind this book! I loved learning about the Solitaires, Traders, and Manticors. These things seemed really interesting and imaginative! I enjoyed the writing style and thought it flowed well from climax to climax. While the story took a little time to get going for me, I had a hard time putting it down at about 50%. I had to know the conclusion! I really enjoyed the intertwining of mystery and magic!

I was thoroughly expecting The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer to become a new favorite. Unfortunately, it didn't end up being for me in the end. Of course, there were a few elements I enjoyed, but I ended up preferring the description and concept to the final product. Thanks anyway, NetGalley.