This is a book that I spent a lot of time savoring after a very quick first read. The very first thing that got me about Round Table Magician was the fact that it combined two of my favorite genres: regency and the supernatural (So yes people you can judge this book by its cover that brands it a paranormal regency). Set in a regency era with many an Arthurian jaunt into a secret parallel world, this merry caper is about the search for vitally important papers that could affect power balance at a time when Napoleon was terrorizing the Continent.  

The scene of the hunt is the house party at the Manor of Ashes, the home of the Jacksons. On this quest are the book’s lead pair, seventeen-year-old Martha Ann Dunsmore and a magical marquee, Lord Brinston, who fall in love even as they figure out the clues. While Brin is on the job by magical and royal decree, the just-out-of-school "Ramsgate" miss decides to find the papers to impress Brin and help her best friend, Vera’s family. What follows is the always funny and sometimes dangerous quest for the papers while on the trail of a traitor. All this occurs amidst the elder daughter-of-the-house’s London set. The plot comes together with a little shrewd hocus-pocus, a masterful ploy to sort out heart wringing misunderstandings, and some really amusing repartee between Martha and Brin.  

I loved the Arthurian theme skillfully blended in with the regency and loved spotting the various magical references throughout. The subplots are rather entertaining but sometimes become a hurdle to the flow of the main plot. Overall, though, this is a book to savor … definitely an ace. I really hope Ann Tracy Marr is writing the stories of Vera, Hurst, and of course Brin’s lively family—for these characters are so seem to leap out the pages and are crying out for books of their own.

October 24, 2007