The fire in the glass

4 stars

This was a very good historical fiction fantasy book set in 1914 London about a young girl that has visions of the future but is powerless to do anything to prevent the tragedies she sees. The book immediately captured my attention and I wound up reading it in one sitting.

Lily is the bastard daughter Earl of Torrington. Ever since a young girl, she’s had visions of terrible things happening to people. Despite all her valiant efforts to stop the events from occurring, she is never able to stop them. Lily has kept her secret her entire life and believed she was the only one with mysterious powers, so when she is introduced to a group of people with their own unique talents, she realizes she’s not alone.

When Lily foresees the death of a dear friend in the same manner as a string of brutal murders, she realizes that she needs to step out of her comfort zone to do everything she can to prevent it -even if that means accepting help from others. Lily’s quest to save her friend will take her down a dangerous path, and force her to learn things about her past better left unknown.

I really enjoyed this book. The story grabbed me right from the start and I couldn’t put it down. Lily is a strong, stubborn, independent woman making her own way in the world. I enjoyed watching her grow into a person that allows herself to rely on other people and trust. One of the people that she interacts with most, Lord Strangford, is a man with unusual talents that make his life extremely difficult – and lonely. He, too, has isolated himself from society, but finds himself going out of his way to help Lily save her friend.

The story is filled with unique characters and an intriguing mystery. Although I figured out part of the mystery early on, certain aspects of how it played out took me by surprise and were exciting to read. The book is very well written and flowed smoothly. There is plenty of action and twists and turns to keep the reader interested until the very end. I’ve never read this author before, but will definitely read more of her books in the future. If you like your historical fiction mysteries with a little supernatural flair to them, I highly recommend you read this book.

I received a free copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review.