Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories Book 1)

I gave this book a four star rating because I loved most of it. I only really became confused near the end. Through most of the book, the main character loved one person. Then all of the sudden, she changed her mind in the span of a day or two, and it didn’t make sense. The ending was wrapped up incredibly fast, and it felt unsatisfactory. I wish I could’ve seen more of the relationship develop. It just didn’t feel believable.With that being said, I will definitely read the book again someday. I loved how seamlessly the author wove magic into the time period.

This book reminded me very strongly of the classic literature I enjoy reading so much, specifically the novels written by Jane Austen. So whether you will appreciate this novel or not definitely depends on what you are looking for. I found a book filled with characters and situations either vaguely or strongly reminiscent of the works of Jane Austen. I've read many variations of the Austen books, but was immediately intrigued by the concept of the strict social structure of the times juxtaposed with glamour, or call it magic or illusion. In the works of Austen a high premium is put on young ladies having talents, be they in painting, embroidery, dancing or playing a musical instrument. In this instance being able to manipulate glamour was an attribute which ladies could learn along with the other social graces. It seems to have been intended for, and most often used in, an artistic manner: to bring enhancement to a painting by making the subject matter appear lifelike, to cover some physical flaw for a woman, or to decorate a home. I found this concept to be really fascinating.As with so many of the Austen stories this one is told through a great deal of exposition with dialogue held almost to a minimum. The purpose of that seems to have been to allow the story to progress much faster and smoother without having to have a character comment on every single thing that happened. I personally enjoyed that because I find it restful. If you are a reader who enjoys having more action take place, you will probably not be quite as satisfied with this style. Ms. Kowal seems to have struck exactly the right balance of times of quiet pleasantness in the daily lives of her characters and times of high excitement as the story was reaching it's conclusion. Once again, it added to my enjoyment of the novel to have Jane Ellsworth's thoughts related to me without her verbalizing everything she was thinking.I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. There are very evident situations which parallel the books by Jane Austen with characters and circumstances changed just enough to allow the glamour aspect to feel natural in this story. I am now eagerly awaiting the publication in a few days of the second novel in the series,  Glamour in Glass . With all the realism I read in modern fiction today it was a pleasure to sink back into a different world of courtly manners and social rules so very unlike our modern world. Pure escapism without any apology necessary.I read this book on my Kindle and some of it on my Kindle Fire. The formatting for the Kindle was very good. When I switched over to try to read from the Kindle Fire I often found the last line of the previous page repeated or omitted when I "turned" the page. I have no idea why this was happening, but I finally gave up on reading from the Fire and concentrated on the Kindle alone. This is the first time I've had this problem when switching between devices.

Mary Robinette Kowal's debut novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, is described as "Jane Austen with magic" -- while I wouldn't go quite that far, Kowal's premise sets Shades apart from typical Austen-esque tributes and retellings. In an age when women were taught all manner of drawing room accomplishments in the hope of securing a good marriage, the most desirable skill of all is the use and manipulation of glamour. Glamour folds are pulled from the atmosphere and woven into murals, used to enhance art or redecorate a room, create skits, or even change an individual's appearance. At the age of twenty-eight and plain of face, Jane Ellsworth is used to being overlooked in favor of her fairer sister Melody's fine form. But plain Jane possesses a skill her more beautiful sister cannot hope to surpass -- she is gifted and skilled glamourist. When Jane's impressive skill unwittingly draws the attention of not one but two gentlemen, arousing Melody's ire, driving a wedge between the formerly inseperable sisters. Jane finds herself navigating the murky waters of previously unimaginable romantic possibility while using all her skill and wits to save her rasher sister from making a tragic error in judgment.What's most refreshing about Kowal's debut is how she peppers her story with Austen-inspired references without resorting to a straight retelling of a classic storyline. And the subtle use of glamour is an inspired touch -- going into the novel I expected an out-and-out fantasy, and was instead pleasantly surprised at the way Kowal develops glamour as a craft, a skill to be learned and practiced rather than an arbitrary or convenient plot device. Kowal possesses a decent grasp of the style and tone of the time period; however, she has an unfortunate habit of utilizing antiquated spellings of common words such as "shew" instead of "show" that weigh down her otherwise mostly serviceable prose. Her plotting and characterization could also use refining and tightening. The novel opens strong but lags in the second act, while the third and final section possesses such a tone of suspense and almost high adventure that while enjoyable is something of a surprise given the strict drawing room parameters of the storyline's setup.Anyone familiar with Austen's novels or the films upon which they are based will recognize certain characters or story beats within Kowal's world. There is the henpecked, harried father whose estate is entailed away from his daughters and the flighty mother suffering from unspecified "nervous ailments" (Mr. and Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice), the flighty sister obsessed with transient beauty (suggestive of Marianne in Sense and Sensibility), and engagements kept secret from fear of scandal (think Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill in Emma). But my favorite nod to all things Austen is the character of Jane Ellsworth herself, an amalgamation of Elinor Dashwood's sense, Elizabeth Bennet's intelligence, and Anne Elliot's quiet fortitude. While I could wish for a less repetitive self-doubt/examination, Kowal sketches all of Jane's strengths and weaknesses in a highly relatable and period-appropriate fashion. I would've preferred more time devoted to the development of Jane's relationship with her chosen beau, but those issues aside as a light, diverting twist designed to feed the public's hunger for all things Austen related and inspired, Shades of Milk and Honey delivers a unique offering. With the promise of Jane's increasing confidence and aptitude as a glamourist, I look forward to the sequel!

if you're looking for something quick and easy to read, this book is for you. I started reading it during an hour-long train journey and by the time I'd reached my destination I'd read a quarter of the book. The beginning moves so quickly without feeling at all rushed, and it's so much fun to read. While reading this book it was so easy to tell that Mary Robinette Kowal had lovingly crafted it from her adoration of Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility in particular felt like real influences here, yet the book didn't feel like a rip-off and it easily could have.The most interesting part of the book for me was the 'glamour'. The manipulation of glamour is seen as yet another skill that an accomplished young lady should master to help her be even more eligible, but they have to get the balance right - as with most things for women in history, too little or too much of anything is something they can be criticised for. For example, some women might use glamour to give themselves straighter teeth or a less crooked nose, but too much glamour will make them look unnatural and will make it obvious that they are using glamour.Our heroine, Jane, is exceptionally talented at the manipulation of glamour but, not traditionally beautiful like her younger sister Melody, has failed to attract a husband. Now in her late twenties, Jane has resolved herself to spinsterhood and instead tries to help her sister find a husband. There was something very Elinor and Marianne about their relationship, and I liked that Kowal didn't do what I was expecting in regards to Melody; while Jane envies Melody her beauty, we also discover that Melody also admires Jane for her skills with glamour. Melody is pretty, but she's genuinely afraid that she might only attract a husband with her pretty face and have nothing else to offer him, or that she might attract the wrong kind of husband when she believes she has only her appearance to offer.Having said that, I did grow a little tired of the amount of times Jane and Melody seemed to bicker about the same thing. I didn't expect them to resolve their issues instantly, but I would have liked to have seen them supporting each other a little more throughout the story, particularly as Melody seemed to become a little silly as the story wore on and I thought it was a shame she was reduced to that kind of stereotype.What I liked most about the novel was how Kowal fit glamour into the Regency era. Magic is a power that comes from within and, such as in Harry Potter (for the most part), it can act as an equalizer between men and women. Women who are exceptionally talented at glamour shouldn't have to prescribe to the gender politics of Regency England, I wouldn't want to mess with someone who can literally alter the folds of the environment around me, but society has made women believe that they use these skills to attract a husband and thus take that agency away from them. Similarly, men who can use glamour well, such as Jane's Darcy-esque love interest Vincent, are praised as geniuses while women are dutiful and desirable.Speaking of Vincent, while I did like him and Jane together I was hoping for something more. For me they seemed to fall in love very quickly, and I would have enjoyed something more drawn out. There were hints of some sizzling chemistry there but there wasn't quite enough there to make the romance anything but nice.In fact I felt like the entire end of the book was rushed and a little too sickly sweet, but, ultimately, this book is a fun, harmless read. Is it outstanding? No. Do I want to carry on with the series? Yes, I think it's the glamour that really shines in this book rather than the characters and the plot, but as there are four more books in this series I have a feeling they'll both continue to develop. In fact I'm hoping that Kowal will also include more people in this series that Austen excluded from her own work, such as the working class, the LGBT+ community and ethnic minorities - especially as the Slavery Abolition Act wasn't passed in the UK until 1833.Whether you're an Austen fan, a historical fiction fan or a fan of magic in books, I think this is a story that's worth checking out.

A sparkling Regency romance with magic, and I loved this one! Full of wonderful characters, well-realised situations, romantic drama... the perfect cosy sofa read. I really loved the way glamour was described and explained as well; it lent some nice depth to Jane learning more about her 'hobby', and made the relationship between her and Mr Vincent more complex than just that of a suitor realising the spinster sister was actually interesting. A well-written and fun read.

This is one of the growing family of books inspired by Jane Austen. The plot is an amalgam of “Pride and Prejudice” and “Emma”, with a little “Persuasion” thrown in. However the story becomes far more elaborate as it progresses, so that I was kept guessing until the end whether the heroine was going to end up with Mr Darcy or Mr Knightley (since it was clear from the outset that Captain Wentworth wasn’t in the running).What saves this book from being just another Jane Austen imitation is the addition of “glamour”. This is an art form based, apparently, on plucking folds out of the ether and then working them to create sensory illusions. In the course of the book we gradually discover more about glamour, which is used not only to produce visual works of art, but also sounds and scents. It is a suitable occupation for young ladies along with drawing and music, and can be used to enhance both. It is clear that the author has developed the concept of glamour in great detail, even giving it a history, as there is a reference to a system of notation which already existed in Ptolemy’s day. However, there is no single explanation of glamour in the course of the novel, but rather hints and suggestions are dropped throughout the book, in the same way that in the fictional world it describes, glamour may add an additional touch to a painting or a piece of music.The language and social mores are well done on the whole, although I noticed the occasional turn of phrase which, while it did not contain any words which might not have been used by the original Miss Austen, would probably not have appeared in that particular combination. I also doubt whether a lady of that era would have been called Melody or Joy.

Shades of Milk and Honey is absolutely lovely. I picked this book up sometime in 2013, and only started reading it this December, which I declared ARC-free.This is a tranquil, delicate and very beautiful read which I named one of my best reads of 2014. It's quietly charming, unhurried, and if you are a fan of Jane Austin, you are guaranteed to love it.Jane is a 28-year-old spinster, plain, good-natured, ever so patient, and her only distinction is that she is extremely gifted self-taught glamourist with an exceptional taste. On the other hand, her younger sister, Melody, is a beautiful, vivacious, self-centered empty head, who keeps casting her designs on everyone who shows her even the slightest attention.Enter Mr. Dunkirk (Mr.Darcy slash Mr. Bingley). He has a younger sister of shy, nervous disposition and with a scandalous past, whom Jane takes under her wing. Mr. Dunkirk secretly admires Jane who likes him in return but thinks that Melody is the subject of his attention because her sister fancies him very much.If that is not confusing yet, enter Mr. Vincent (definitely Mr. Darcy material!). An exceptional glamourist, famous and well-sought, he is hired by a local socialite for a score of festivities.Jane is absolutely enamoured with his art, but each encounter with sourly artist only rises their hackles, and both totally misunderstand each other until a whirlwind of dramatic events which leads to happily ever after for now.This is an exquisite, gorgeous historical fantasy, and I can't wait to read anything else Miss Kowal has to offer! Highly recommended, utterly charming.

A Regency romance in the style of Jane Austen, borrowing heavily from Pride and Prejudice, with a bit of Sense and Sensibility thrown in, but with a twist; the addition of magic. Magic in the form of glamour illusion, which is an accomplishment every young lady should have along with the ability to play the piano and paint water colours. Here we have the plain but accomplished elder sister, the pretty but spoilt younger sister, the handsome neighbour and possible hero with a young sister, the handsome but taciturn possible hero, and of course the handsome charming cad who turns all the young ladies heads, the slightly dippy mother, as per Austen. It's a nice enough read, but in my opinion the author spends too much time on explaining and describing the glamour illusions throughout the book and less on developing the actual plot. The other thing I found odd, was that the final chapter reads more like an epilogue where she ties everything up and explains what happens to the characters in the future. However, this is book one in a series, so why did she bother to do that?