My Experience with Glamour In Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal

After reading the first book in the Glamourist Histories series and knowing that its conclusion felt quite final, I was curious to see how Mary Robinette Kowal continued the story. I'm pleased to report that this story is actually more to my taste than the first book.

Glamour in Glass picks up where Shades of Milk and Honey left off. Jane and Vincent are happily married and work together on their pursuits in the art of Glamour—the magic system of this Regency era, alternate history fantasy. When they take their honeymoon abroad to Belgium, the relationship becomes strained after Jane's unexpected confinement.

With a choice that I appreciate, MRK intersects Jane and Vincent's story with the Napoleonic wars. This decision allowed the story to receive a small injection of action that I tend to want in many of my stories. And, as I'd hoped, Kowal digs a bit deeper into the magic system she's created and expands the scope of the story's world to include the whole of Europe rather than the isolated country-side of England.

I also appreciate how the story explores the social constructs of the time period and how they differed between countries within Europe. As a reader who looks for "wonder" in his fiction, this was the layer outside of the magic that kept me engaged.

While my preferences in fiction typically require a bit more action/adventure, my interest in Jane and Vincent's functional and cute relationship has endeared me to this series. So I will read on.

If you enjoyed the first novel, I highly recommend reading this one.