Review by Booklist Review
Fay debuts with an enchanting tale of Paul Gallagher, a mage who has the capability to sew magic into cloth. While Paul is good at creating magical clothing, he has his sights set higher. He wishes to be the court magician, the only person legally able to perform innate magic. Paul has a special gift of initiating friendship, and the book presents a cast of colorful characters in his 1950s London, with lush descriptions of period clothing and London high society. Some friends have an agenda in their back pocket, though. Charming Paul gets himself into a few tussles and finds himself dragged into situations that are dangerous beyond his imagination. Readers will find themselves turning the pages in hopes that Paul can get himself out of these messes before it's too late. This first book in the Marrowbone Spells series leaves the ending open for what's sure to be an adventurous series; Fay is an author to watch.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Fay's stirring debut and Marrowbone Spells series launch takes readers to 1950s London, where a reckless mage's lofty ambitions land him in dire straits. Charismatic Paul Gallagher is a struggling cloth mage with a knack for imbuing garments with magic, but his humble sewing skills will only get him so far. Instead, its his curiously magnetic personality and charming pomposity that win him his connection to war hero Capt. Hector Hollister, to whom he boasts of his goal to become the next Court Magician. In all of Great Britain, only the Court Magician is allowed to wield innate magic, a dangerous skill that allows one to create other mages. The obsessive Hollister entertains Paul's friendship, and Paul naively believes that the dashing captain could be the key to raising his station. Too late, he realizes Hollister's true, malevolent motivations. Meanwhile, Paul harbours a deadly secret of his own. Now he must find a way out of a perilous mess of his making before it's too late. Fay expertly crafts a delightfully adventurous tale, animated by Paul's chance encounters and audacious antics. This promising series starter announces Fay as a writer to watch. Agent: Rebecca Strauss, DeFiore and Co. (Nov.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
DEBUT Fay writes an absorbing debut fantasy novel in this first entry in the "Marrowbone Spells" series. It's set in 1950s London, where cloth mage Paul Gallagher struggles to get ahead. Paul is endowed with an innate but illegal magic that gives him his ability to enchant fabric, from which he sews charmed clothes. The magic also makes him incredibly charming to any person when he meets them for the first time. Paul's arrogance gets him into trouble, however, when he meets a new romantic interest, Captain Hector Hollister, to whom Paul brags that he's about to become the next Court Magician. Hollister threatens Paul's family and friends to compel him to use his powers for nefarious reasons. As Paul tries to extricate himself from this predicament, he is somehow entangled in uncovering a possible government conspiracy that might also have ties to Hollister. Fay weaves these two subplots together quite well, and the writing's pace keeps the novel in motion without sacrificing excellent character development. VERDICT This great first fantasy outing from Fay will be well received by adults and young adults who like V. E. Schwab and Leigh Bardugo.--Lucy Roehrig, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A newly minted cloth mage is pulled into a terrifying government conspiracy in this lively historical fantasy debut set in 1950s Britain. Paul Gallagher is a lovable, if perhaps slightly smug, recent graduate of the University College London program for cloth mages. Cloth magic involves using fabric and spells to craft clothing with magical properties ranging from allowing the wearer to walk on water to granting them anonymity to simply showing off at parties. Paul, his friend Thomas, and a few other working-class students are among the first common people to be allowed to become professional cloth mages. Paul, whose natural charm has been boosted with a little illegal magic that was practiced on him as a child, is so confident of himself and his talent as a mage that he aspires to be the very first cloth mage to serve as the King's Court Magician. But in his quest to achieve this goal, Paul is soon tangled up with creepy government official Capt. Hector Hollister, who has sinister reasons for befriending him. Plus there's the American gossip columnist Verity Turnbolt, who wants Paul's help uncovering some awful deeds committed by the father of one of his wealthy classmates. When those threads start to come together, Paul might begin to wonder whether a lofty government position is worth having. Fay does her due diligence in building her alternate history, with plenty of detail around how magic functions and how various world governments use and abuse it. The first quarter of the novel is a bit overwritten, especially when it comes to expository dialogue, but when Fay gets some momentum going, her personable characters and twisting plot start to shine. The last few chapters do exceptionally well at both providing a propulsive ending to this first book in the series and setting up suspense for following installments. Great fun on its own and a series to watch for. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
