Teodora's Rating: ★★★
Review:
Set in the Regency era, Newt's Emerald follows the story of Lady Truthful as she solves the mystery of a priceless and powerful heirloom's (the Newington Emerald) disappearance and possible theft. Knowing that a young woman shouldn't be searching the streets of Europe in search of the Emerald, she disguises herself as a man. In her disguise, she meets Major Harnett, a man who is almost as mysterious as the stolen Emerald. Major Harnett agrees to help the disguised Lady Truthful search for the heirloom. However, they may be searching for something much more powerful that could already be in the wrong hands.
I'll admit it: A Regency era romance with magic seems like a hard premise for a story. Did Nix nail it? Sort of. I felt as if the magic elements (which include glamour magic, talking to animals, and weather control) were poorly executed. The story would have read the same without them. The pacing was also uneven. The first two thirds of the book moved smoothly, albeit rather slowly. However, the last third was moving so fast; making the climax and conclusion hugely rushed. The characters were nothing special and experienced little to no character development, however I don't think that was necessarily such a bad thing. The romance aspect was fine and plain. The best part about this book was the writing. The language easily captivated me. Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of the Regency era or fans of Garth Nix's works.
What did you think of the book?
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