Wednesday, September 29, 2021

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis

 



Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on October 5, 2021 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.
Scales and Sensibility is the first in a new fantasy regency romance trilogy by author Stephanie Burgis.  The novel was originally serialized as part of Burgis' patreon, but is now coming out in full for purchase to other readers this October.  I've very much enjoyed what I've read of Burgis in the past, most notably her Harwood Spellbook series of fantasy romances (also sort of Regency-esque)* which played with some fun inversions of gender tropes even as it dealt with heroines trying desperately to get both romance and magic in a world that ties to constrict them to one or the other.  

*Those romances are fairly chaste - you may get an implication that sex has occurred off page, but that's about it, with the most you'll get on page being kisses, so if you're looking for steamy pages, you're in the wrong place.*

And Scales and Sensibility is pretty much exactly what I expect, and what I would want, from a Stephanie Burgis novel.  There's a really enjoyable heroine in Elinor, a young woman whose family (her and her two sisters will each be the protagonists of these novels) was ruined and who thus now finds herself forced to live with her spoiled brat cousin and her selfish dominating uncle.  There's a fun dragon who rests on her shoulder, and may possess a bit of magic.  And there's blackmail, scandal, and romance, all leading to a conclusion that is very satisfying.  It may not be something that is super unique, but if you're looking for not too serious enjoyable regency romance with a slight fantasy twist, Scales and Sensibility will give you everything you are asking for.  
---------------------------------------------------Plot Summary------------------------------------------------------
Elinor Tregath was always the shy and proper one of the three Tregarth sisters.  And so when her parents die, and her father unexpectedly leaves her impoverished due to a bad business gamble, she decides she is going to be the perfect adopted relative of the family who takes her in - her Uncle John, her Aunt, and her cousin Penelope.  Except her cousin Penelope is a spoiled brat - beautiful, but spoiled, jealous and cruel - and her uncle John is a dominating bore, who keeps his wife from having any opinions and caters to his daughter's every whim.  Until one day, Elinor cannot take it anymore, and she takes Penelope's pet dragon - who Penelope cannot control or care for - and walks out.  

But Elinor's attempt at walking out is interrupted by a handsome young man, who helps her unnecessarily, and is everything she could dream of.  But that man is desperate for money to save his family, and has thus come courting Penelope, so there's no future there for her either.  Elinor is left only to wish she could be someone else entirely....a wish to which her dragon reacts quite strangely.  

Soon Elinor finds herself looking like someone else, a Lady renowned of high society, and finds herself returning to her Uncle's manor in that guise hoping somehow to find a way forward in all this mess.  But disguised as she is, Elinor will still have to deal with her horrible relatives, a man who she wants but can't quite have, and other unexpected horrors of high society.  

Not even a magical dragon could allow Elinor to cut through this tangle....or could it?  
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Scales and Sensibility begins with a premise that should feel incredibly familiar to fans of Regency Romance.  You have the young woman with supposedly plain features, who is impoverished and forced to rely on the good graces of a beautiful but horrible other woman - who is about to debut in society no less.  You have the love interest who comes for the beautiful woman...and who has reasons to want to Court her even if she is absolutely awful.  And as the book goes on, you have other features straight out of other regency novels - the lady who steals things and then blames servants for her misdeeds, the rival suiter and his sketchy sister who is desperate to obtain secrets....they are all here.  And these features are classic for a reason, and Burgis weaves them together incredibly well.  

What Burgis definitely adds of course is magic, in the form of tiny dragons that rest on ladies' shoulders (it's the fashion, you know), one of which has actual literal magic of a kind that I won't completely spoil.  And so Elinor isn't just pretending to be someone else for much of the book, she literally looks like that other person.  And so she's forced to maintain that illusion by acting braver and rasher than she normally does - which is hard because unlike her sisters, Elinor was always the demurring respectful one.  She's incredibly easy to like especially as she almost always chooses the most selfless option over all the others, even if that results in making things harder....and so when her own actions lead to disaster and bad things for others, even those who don't deserve it, she can't help herself but want to do something to take it all back.  Needless to say this leads to a lot of plot turns, as Elinor finds herself caught between innocent servants, greedy and spoiled ladies and lords, and her own desires.  

The rest of the cast here is all solid, even if they somewhat do correspond to archetypes.  While Elinor's horrid cousin Penelope is such an archetype, her degree of awfulness and the things she'll try to do are particularly awful and well done to make her a truly hatable antagonist - the same is true of Uncle John.  Love interest Benedict is a real charmer - at first I worried he was going to be too good to be true, but that's not Burgis' game here: he's a real good guy who falls for Elinor far before she realizes it, but who is in his own difficult situation from the start that prevents him from ever running away with her.  Benedict's friend, a pompous dragon scholar, is kind of funny and adds flavor, and the two scheming siblings who also have eyes on Penelope make excellent side antagonists.  None of it is unique, but it is all done really well and leads to an enjoyable and magic conclusion.  

So yeah, I'll probably be back for the rest of these novels, particularly for the sister who's a mathematics nerd (cmon that just appeals to me).  Burgis' work never fails to please, and this is no exception.

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