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Stephanie Burgis

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Snowspelled: Volume I of The Harwood Spellbook Kindle Edition

by Stephanie Burgis (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 760 ratings

Book 1 of 5: The Harwood Spellbook

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In nineteenth-century Angland, magic is reserved for gentlemen while ladies attend to the more practical business of politics. But Cassandra Harwood has never followed the rules...

Four months ago, Cassandra Harwood was the first woman magician in Angland, and she was betrothed to the brilliant, intense love of her life.

Now Cassandra is trapped in a snowbound house party deep in the elven dales, surrounded by bickering gentleman magicians, manipulative lady politicians, her own interfering family members, and, worst of all, her infuriatingly stubborn ex-fiancé, who refuses to understand that she’s given him up for his own good.

But the greatest danger of all lies outside the manor in the falling snow, where a powerful and malevolent elf-lord lurks...and Cassandra lost all of her own magic four months ago.

To save herself, Cassandra will have to discover exactly what inner powers she still possesses – and risk everything to win a new kind of happiness.

A witty and sparkling romantic fantasy novella that opens a brand-new series for adults from the author of Kat, Incorrigible, Masks and Shadows and Congress of Secrets.

"With its unique twist on the Regency Era, SNOWSPELLED is clever, romantic, and filled with magic. Stephanie Burgis is a fresh new voice and I can't wait to see what she does next. Bring on the sequel!"
- Ilona Andrews, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the Kate Daniels series and the Hidden Legacy series

"The writing and world-building are beautiful"
- Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

"An adorable romantic novella"
- All Things Urban Fantasy

"A squee-filled, can't-stop-smiling delight"
- Starship Sofa

The Harwood Spellbook Series

Each story in the Harwood Spellbook series (except for Frostgilded, the epilogue) should be able to be read as a standalone introduction to the series. However, the publication order is:

Snowspelled (starring Cassandra Harwood)

Spellswept (a prequel starring Amy Standish - the future Amy Harwood)

Thornbound (starring Cassandra Harwood and taking place after Snowspelled)

Moontangled (starring Caroline Fennell and Juliana Banks and taking place after Thornbound)

Frostgilded (an epilogue short story, starring Cassandra Harwood but featuring all major couples from the series)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As if Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell had wandered into an Austen novel to find Jasper Fforde in charge of the day-to-day running of the place...The prose is phenomenal...Truly excellent stuff." - The Fantasy Hive

About the Author

Stephanie Burgis is the author of Kat, Incorrigible, Masks and Shadows, and The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart. Snowspelled is a witty and sparkling romantic fantasy for adults that opens a brand-new series, The Harwood Spellbook.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B073QWQF1X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Five Fathoms Press (September 4, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 4, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1604 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 170 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #358,293 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #636 in Magic Romance
- #752 in Magic Romance eBooks
- #1,779 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store)

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4.2 760 ratings

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Stephanie Burgis

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Stephanie Burgis grew up in America but now lives in Wales with her husband (fellow writer Patrick Samphire), their two young sons, and their extremely vocal tabby cat. In between those two points, she spent time playing in orchestras, studying music history in Vienna, and editing the website of an opera company in Leeds.

She writes sparkling romantasy for adults and fun, funny MG fantasy adventures.

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4.2 out of 5

760 global ratings

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Kristen S. Walker

Fantasy romance lives up to the legacy of Jane Austen

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2019

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I admit that I am picky about any books that claim to be inspired by Jane Austen because most of them fall short of being anything like Austen’s level of writing. Simply having a Regency setting with people drinking tea and dancing at fancy parties does not make you Jane Austen, nor does simply having romance with a snarky heroine. Jane Austen’s work was notable for many things, including her skillful dialogue, her social commentary particular about gender politics, and memorable characters. It’s a high bar to clear. So when I find a book like this one that manages to live up to the expectations.

The gender politics are a new twist because of the interesting society of Angland. In the division of labor, women are in charge of the government and politics while men are the only ones allowed to study magic (even when some girls are also born with magical abilities). Cassandra, the main character, broke the norms when she fought her way to be accepted by the only magic school, the Great Library. Now other women want to follow in her footsteps, but her eagerness to prove herself led to her downfall when she overused magic and broke her powers. Now, if she tries to use any magic ever again, it will kill her.

It’s fascinating to see how the gender roles have affected their culture and how Cassandra is working to overcome the limitations placed on all types of people. But the main story is actually about a foolish promise to an elf-lord. Just like in classic fantasy, you have to be very careful about the words you use around magical creatures, or you could find yourself trapped in a dangerous bargain. Cassandra has one week to find out who is causing a magical snowstorm or she’ll become the elf-lord’s slave–and he loves to torture humans.

LGBT representation: Cassandra helps another young woman learn magic in hopes that if she becomes a magician, she can marry her sweetheart, a woman with political aspirations. Their society doesn’t seem to have anything against same-sex relationships, but women with high political positions are expected to marry magicians. This was an interesting twist on the gender roles. The main focus of the story is on Cassandra and her heterosexual partner, but there are a few sweet moments with the lesbian couple, and it looks like they will be around in future books of the series.

This is a novella, so the story moves along quickly. There is just enough time for a sweet romance, a little politics, some teasing with Cassandra’s brother and his wife, and a hint at bigger things in Cassandra’s future. All in all, it was a quick, entertaining read without many surprises but well-executed writing. I would recommend it with a nice cup of tea to keep off the chill of the magical snowstorm. (I’ve been drinking pumpkin spice chai this fall.) And I’m looking forward to the rest of the books in the series.

Fans of Jane Austen, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and A Discovery of Witches will enjoy this story. If you need a lighthearted, shorter read to take a break from all the heavy epic fantasy in the SPFBO competition, you’ll find this novella to be a breath of fresh air.

5 people found this helpful

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Corey Beth

4½ stars I Wish it Were Longer!

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2023

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I really enjoyed this novella by Stephanie Burgis. I'm docking half a star because it was short, but I do feel that the length of the novella was perfectly suited to the story that was told. The story did not feel rushed or stilted by it's shorter length. In fact, I am very impressed with how vividly Burgis was able to bring her characters to life with so few pages in which to do it. Additionally, she crafted an intriguing world in which the women are the political rulers of a nation built upon land that technically belongs to the elves. Men are magicworkers & women politicians, & these societal roles are considered hard & fast. However, Cassandra, our heroine, is the first female mage to break these rules. The story occurs over approximately a week at a house party during a blizzard, during which Cassandra must face the loss of her magic, the ex fiance she broke things off with, & the high society folks who she feels are rubbing everything that has gone wrong in her face. To make matters worse, she is tricked into a deal with an elf lord, & if she breaks it or fails to deliver, the consequences might entail breaking the treaty that has long kept the humans & elves from war. It sounds like a lot to be going on in a story of only about 150 pages, but the author balances all of the threads beautifully. On top of the fully developed characters & in depth worldbuilding, there are strong themes regarding societal gender norms & what happens when someone dares to break them. I also enjoyed that in this alternate Regency-period based world matters of race & sexual preference are taken in stride. Despite all of the rest of the series being novellas or short stories, which I usually don't like to spend money on, I was deeply impressed with this world & so at some point I will likely end up purchasing the remainder of the series. Highly recommended for fans of fantasy/historical romance/mystery who are looking for a well written but quick read.

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holyhailgun

Sounded interesting, but only somewhat successful

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2018

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I was very interested to see how the main character would solve the riddle posed to her by the elf lord, but the focus of the book is really her emotional struggle to deal with her new inability to use magic, and the resulting changes to her place in society and the way she sees herself. Her former fiance is a likeable character, but I found the romantic plot frustrating, as the conflict between them feels forced for the sake of the plot and not believable. All their problems are caused by a misunderstanding that could've been cleared up earlier if they had talked about it before the end of the book. The problem with the elves is solved very suddenly at the end, almost as an afterthought. The MC just realizes the solution to the problem, and it works. I was disappointed that there wasn't more substance to this aspect of the story, as the story of her emotional healing is well done.

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Amazon Customer1

Very enjoyable

Reviewed in Canada on February 3, 2018

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Kept my attention had to finish it. Wished it was a bit longer with more intrigue the story had a good ending . Haven't fond another writer like Anne mc cartharey . Will look forward to your next book.

Christina Baehr

surprising worldbuilding

Reviewed in Australia on December 7, 2023

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I loved the alt history aspect of this novella! With her Boudiccate-ruled gender-flipped Angland, Burgis has given us something much more fresh and interesting than the typical Regency fantasy.

Mina

A wonderful novella playing in a magical alternate Regency „Angland“

Reviewed in Germany on December 9, 2017

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That short novella was a real pleasure to immerse myself in! It’s the story of Cassandra Harwood, a young Lady who did the unthinkable in her society: she studied magic and very successfully so, as the only woman to have ever done so. In this alternate Angland, it’s men who are magicians if they’re able to cast) and women who make up the government (they’re considered the sensible sex here). But not Cassandra. She was wielding magic with the best of them, until an accident happened and made her lose her ability to cast. That triggered a lot of tragic events, one of them being the end of Cassandra’s engagement. So when we meet Cassandra, she is still devastated and hates having to spend time at the estate of some influential political Lady, because here she is confronted with her old colleagues and worst of all the ex-fiancé.

And things get really bad the moment Cassandra encounters an elven Lord (yes, so cool: humans and elves co-exist here) who tricks her into a deal that not only endangers her, but all of her country. So she sets out to solve the task appointed to her and, well, I’ll stop talking right here, since you should read it for yourself. It’s a short story, but it doesn’t feel that way, people and the world are full fleshed out and I could feel the heavy snow that doesn’t stop and the warm fires crackling in the fireplaces. There is no info-dump, it all unfolds very naturally. And Cassandra is a great character to carry a story, especially since she is showing a lot of depth and character growth. A real cool story. When the next installment is going to come out, I’m sure going to read it.

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L Robinson

An impressive start to a new series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2017

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Cards on the table: I'm the wrong age for Stephanie Burgis' MG work, but I've read them all anyway because I like her style. This is her foray into adult romance fiction. I subscribe to her newsletter and was given an E-Arc of this book for free in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. UPDATE: I have also bought a Kindle copy because I liked it so much and because we can't expect authors to keep writing if we don't pay them!

I could save you a lot of time and just write 'It's brilliant - buy it!' but in case you're not feeling very trusting and need a little more convincing, here's the long version:

Snowspelled is set in an alternate version of 18th century England, in which magic exists and is part of everyday life. Burgis plays with gender roles by having them clearly defined but reversed. Women are the politicians and men are the magicians. No exceptions tolerated. Men can be compromised by women, not vice-versa. Women have more potential strength and agency than in our own 18th century society , but a similar lack of choice and personal freedom operates if you don't or can't fit into the accepted norms . One of the reasons I like SB is that her heroines are never satisfied with the status quo and are always pushing past the limits of what society deems acceptable. This heroine, Cassandra, is no exception. She cannot see a 'no' without responding 'why not?' and 'I will'. This has caused her significant problems by the time the book begins because she was born with magic - unusually strong magic - and her brother was not.

A House Party heralds potential disaster if she cannot overcome her distaste for politics and avoid the trap set by a scheming elf lord. It's not made easier by the presence of her ex and the little matter of her usual skills being unavailable. Or by some truly dreadful decision making.

I loved the world SB created, the cast of characters and the way in which she uses the story to make you think about why society operates the way it does, and whether you can be brave enough to accept the consequences of trying to change it. If that makes the book sound heavy, it isn't. It's warm and witty and I only wish it had been longer.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Kunde

A sweet, entertaining read for a cozy Saturday

Reviewed in Germany on February 23, 2019

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Really loved this short novel! The cast of characters is interesting and I enjoyed their strong bonds, as well as Cassandras development and shift in goals.
The world building is solid, despite the length and I can't wait to learn more in the upcoming sequel!

I also want to send a kudos to the author for having a diverse cast and LGBT characters, which I greatly appreciate.

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Snowspelled: Volume I of The Harwood Spellbook Kindle Edition

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Stephanie Burgis

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