Review: Magic Under Glass (Dolamore)

 Title: Magic Under Glass

Author: Dolamore
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Magic
Pages: 225
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars


Okay, I know that someday I am going to regret the rating that I gave this book. It has received starred reviews everywhere, and was recently named one of the Top 10 first novels of the year. I'm sure there are more awards to follow and I simply missed the boat.


That being said, this was an amazing and well-written book.  My rating is based on my perceived wide-scale audience appeal of the book...I think it will definitely have fans, but nothing along the scale of Harry Potter, for example.  But that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When a wealthy sorcerer (Parry) hires her to sing accompaniment to a piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life and runs away to live with him.


There are many buried secrets in Parry's world however. Rumors of ghosts about in his house, there is a mad woman roaming the halls that may or may not know what happened to Parry's wife, and Parry is mixed up with ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport.


When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy, Prince Erris, is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But they are both in danger when they attempt to save the entire fairy realm.


I truly enjoyed this book, and I definitely think that it deserves all the praise it has received. It is a unique story and an engaging read. There are many fascinating plot elements and I will be the first to admit that this book is not one I would normally pick up and yet it kept me reading. Will she rescue Erris? Won't she? I had to know! There will definitely be a sequel in 2011, Magic Under Stone. I am excited to see where the story goes from here and to read more about Nimira's life.


By the way, the cover images are curious to me. The one on the left is the one that we received from the publisher and now have in our library. I'm not sure what edition the one on the right is, but I'm not sure it appeals to the intended market of the book. What do you think? And if neither cover does it for you, there is a third one that I found on Goodreads: