This book was interesting. I really enjoyed the story overall but it could have been better. I would definitely read something from this author in the future though.

This book was all the way fun! I am so happy to see that the series has continued and I will be reading it for sure

Wow. This one was so good! The magic system and world creation took me a bit to fully immerse myself into, but once I grasped the concepts, I was totally in! I really love that this one intertwined real history with a complex and well-developed magic system. This one was a great set up for future books, but also stands well on it's own, so a very solid start to a series that I'm really excited about! Thumbs up!

I love meaty historical fiction and I love fantasy, but I have to confess I DNF'd after barely 14 pages...and even that was a drag. I'm not sure why you would take the slave trade and add magic. And then, to add insult to injury, it was boring. I appreciate having the opportunity to read it.

I tried several times to get into this book, but I don't think it's the right time. Setting as DNF/3 stars for now, will update this if I read it later. Thank you Orbit for a copy of this book in exchange for honest thoughts!

If you like historical fantasy books, then this one is for you!

An alternate version of the late 18th century, if magic were real.

While I do like some historical fantasy, this usually isn't the time period for me, and I think that's where this book missed the mark. The writing was beautiful, and the integration of magic into a historical setting felt seamless. Unfortunately it is very slow paced. And while I don't mind many slow paced books, it was a struggle at times for me to finish this title.

I would like to read more by this author, especially if they try their hand at pure fantasy, or earlier historical fantasy.

a stunningly dark story, brimming with an amazing plot. there was non-stop action, paired with a colorful cast of characters. this is going to my "re-read" shelf.

Just like JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL, this is a sweeping fantastical alternate history that deals exclusively with the intersection of magic, government, and ethics. However, this book delves deeply into the horrors of colonialism, specifically slavery, and the consequences of Othering.

An elegantly written fantasy with an alternate 1700s setting. The history wasn't too dense, and the ending left room for a sequel (which I've just found out there will be one!) and the voices of each character were distinct. And the narrative was enthralling!

I love all the elements of this book individually, so when they were brought together in one book? YES PLEASE.

This book was definitely historically and politically heavy. Magic was lowkey for the first portion of the as well but it really set the playing ground for book 2. I definitely am not sure if I would’ve been able to get through it without the voice actors narration and the life they were able to put into the large cast of characters.

I should have probably read the full synopsis and attempted to comprehend it before jumping into this book on vacation but I gathered the brain cells required to finally finish it once I got home. There is a lot of character work, a lot of historical references, and there are multiple countries involved and visited. I was thrown off originally because the synopsis mentioned Haiti, however Fina was in Jamaica for ~50% of the novel. I was worried that some how someone made a giant mistake. But the plot slowly unravelled itself and I saw why and how Haiti came into play.

I’m excited to see how things will progress now that the concords have been officially broken by France and England and what Fina will manage in Haiti and bring back to Jamaica. I also want to know who the man in St Dominique is and how he’s tied to France

A DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAGICIANS explores the ways that magic might have intertwined with slavery, trade, and politics during the political upheaval of the 1790s. Also, there’s dark magic. And vampires. And they storm the Bastille!

But you knew that last one already.

In Parry’s past, “commoner” magicians are prevented from using their magic with heavy silver bracelets, monitored by the Knights Templar. Europe lives under the fear of another Vampire War, like the one that devastated that continent 300 years ago. And the sense that people should have the right to practice their own magic freely is growing.

A DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAGICIANS follows several prominent figures through the events of the last turbulent years of the 18th century. The novel begins as William Wilberforce, who would become a key figure in the drive to abolish slavery, is searching for a cause to dedicate his life to. William Pitt, the future prime minister of Britain, must hide who he really is for fear of reprisal. Maximilien Robespierre, a provincial, French lawyer with a strong sense of right and wrong chafes against the increasingly tyrannical rule of the french monarchy. And in the British colony of Jamaica, an enslaved woman named Fina discovers she is a powerful magician as she fights against the magic used to prevent slaves from revolting.

While the French revolution and the movement to abolish slavery provide a natural flow to the narrative, the driving emotional through line comes from two sets of remarkable friendships: William Wilberforce and William Pitt in England and Maximilien Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins in France. These historical figures were forceful and compelling in their own right, but Parry succeeds in the task of making them vibrant characters in her novel. Indeed, while the 1790s gave us some astonishingly compelling political drama, the parts of the novel that made me say “oh no” out loud (this is a good thing) were all rooted in character relationships.

Although the novel spends less time with Fina, her journey is also interesting and I suspect her narrative will become more central in the second installment of THE SHADOW HISTORIES. In particular, Fina’s trusting yet difficult relationship with Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the uprising in Saint Domingue (modern day Haiti) promises interesting developments.

A DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAGICIANS covers a relatively brief time span, but Parry covers A LOT of history and she does it remarkably well. Even as I found myself becoming slightly weary of keeping track of factions in the French revolution, I was simultaneously impressed that Parry was able to simplify the historical narrative enough to make a fun novel, while still guiding her readers through complicated historical events. The history and politics read easily and smoothly.

Parry has a very specific story of friendship and magic to tell, and it’s one that she tells successfully. But I couldn’t help wondering as I was reading if she couldn’t have pushed her narrative to center different, vital voices. Historical fantasy can be tricky. Where do you deviate from events–only in magical ways, or do you alter history as well? Do you allow magic to change gender dynamics, or to defocus narratives away from the predominantly white male perspectives? If we are changing history so profoundly as to add vampires and magic, why not also add perspectives from women and people of color? I don’t expect Parry to answer all these questions, but they were certainly in my mind as I read through the novel and wished occasionally that the majority of the perspectives were not white men.

There’s no word yet on when the second book in THE SHADOW HISTORIES might be published, but when it does I’ll be marking my calendar for the release.

Phew. This was exhausting. Worth it, but exhausting nonetheless.

I’ll start by noting that this book (and eventual series) is a hugely ambitious undertaking, and I commend Parry for the incredible amount of effort and creativity that went into this.

This is a really interesting alternative history of Revolutionary France in the form of a historical fantasy, though I believe tossing it into that subgenre doesn’t quite do this novel justice.

Parry’s version of events (focused largely on Revolutionary Paris and concurrent activity in London and in the colonized Caribbean) is a truly clever take on real-world happenings of the time. The persecution of commoners practicing magic stokes the fires of the French Revolution, slave revolts, and political unrest in Britain. Most of it has been fitted perfectly in with historical fact.

At first it seemed odd that Parry appeared to be writing Robespierre as a semi-sympathetic figure. That’s a tough sell no matter the fantastical explanation, and I wondered why she didn’t instead go with either a pragmatist like Danton or a gentle idealist like Desmoulins. Both play a prominent role in the story, as one would expect.

As the narrative unfolds, however, it becomes clear why Robespierre was the only man for the job. His path here is logical and comprehensible, if not exactly forgivable.

Robespierre has the ties to the magic that gets the most ink, so it makes sense that his arc is the most interesting. Pitt and Wilberforce see far less action in Britain, but their buddy comedy vibe and eventual heartbreaking rift make their arc one of great interest as well.

I was a little disappointed in the story arc of the slave rebellions. In theory this was the component that probably should have been the most interesting, but it lags badly because we’re not permitted to get to know the principle characters of it very well. Perhaps this will be improved upon later in the series.

Aside from this, my only real gripe is that the book is overlong. The bones of the story do necessitate something that surely won’t be steeped in brevity, as this is—in a way—an epic, but just as with The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, we’ve got another almost five-star book that ends up meriting only four because it’s overindulgently long and feels messy in parts as a result.

The ending is a good one (albeit a bit bleak) kind of like starting a trilogy with the Empire Strikes Back installment of the series. Still, it’s a good close to the first part of this story and does an excellent job of setting up for the follow-up book. Looking forward to the next adventure Parry offers us.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was wonderful. I love anything magic and for me this just felt like a better minstery of magic story!

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

I started out loving this book and still very much like the idea of this book, but I got bored with it. It’s a fantasy version of the Age of Enlightenment in France and England. It feels like steampunk, but instead of gadgets, it’s got magic. The author has done a great job bringing past (and present) injustices and inhumanities to the light in a fictional context. Indeed, parts of it are hard to read. Unfortunately, I ended up becoming bored with it as it just moved too slowly with too much conversation to hold my interest. That and just the sadness that the cruelties that are detailed were just too much for me.

Still, if you like steampunk and/or magic and have an interest in human rights, this may be just the book for you. There are heroes and heroines in this book, but much of the “battle” is in political machinationd.

This was on the slow side but enjoyable in the end. However, the constant debating of different topics really bogged me down. I am unsure if I'll read the next book.

4/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc!

An amazing Chishki like novel with gripling characters

I wanted to love this book. I really, really, did. Based on the description I was expecting it to be very similar to A Discovery of Witches with less romance and more history driven. I can’t resist a book which puts a fantasy twist in historical events. However, I think this book focused too much on dark magic and was more detailed oriented than was necessary. I found myself several times having to re-read entire sections to keep track of all the details. An extremely well written book just not for me.

It's with deep regret that I finally admit that I'm just not that into this book and that I'm going to DNF it for now. It should be reading candy for me, but it's just not. The beginning, which set up multiple different characters in very short sections, just didn't give me enough to latch onto. Maybe I'll try it again when the audiobook comes out in January.

If magical alt-history door-stoppers are your thing, give it a try - maybe it'll speak to you in a way i didn't to me.

I was so excited for this story, but I just found it to be terribly boring, unfortunately. I felt like there was not nearly enough magic for a book titled with the word magicians, and there was just too much talking back and forth.

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Wow, this was a masterful and all-encompassing tale of magic, evocative of and in some ways surpassing the exhaustive tome Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. If you like fiction so well realized it feels like nonfiction, this is your new read.