Entwined by H M Long

I would like to thank Titan for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Titan

Published – Out Now

Price – £9.99 paperback £7.99 ebook

Ottilie Rushforth hides from the mighty Sorcerer’s Guild as secretary to a has-been detective. She is Entwined – threads of magic run beneath her skin, and the Guild would trap her in service.

But Ottilie has a plan to escape the Guild forever with her estranged fiancé, the enigmatic poet, soldier and smuggler Lewis Illing. All she must do is track down a mysterious artefact, claim the bounty, and leave the city forever. But Ottilie's sisters – Pretoria, a quick-witted sorceress and thief recently emerged from exile, and Madge, a guild mage to the core, appear to make equally unwelcome offers. A new life at the cost of everything she has ever wanted, or prestige and safety in a gilded cage.

With her life on the line, Ottilie must track down the artifact in a city torn apart by prejudice and violence, and choose between the two sides of herself – the fugitive and the Entwined.

There are often questions on when a novel crosses lines in genre into another, into the mysterious world of ‘literary’ but sometimes its worth nothing when a story works in a genre. It avoids becoming generic and instead comes to life. I had a great experience with H M Long’s new fantasy novel Entwined the first half a of a new duology that for me really brings the world to life reminding us that making characters actually feel human can make all the difference.

Ottilie Rushforth is in hiding. One of the three infamous Rushforth sisters she has decided to avoid the paths of her siblings and instead go Rogue and works as a secretary for a low-end private detective. A simple plan to make enough money to afford the travel to escape her country and then live with her fiancé in peace. Ottilie is Entwined – she has magical abilities as demonstrated by the mysterious threads that appear on her skin in twilight. She could have entered the Guild and lived the traditional wife role like her sister Madge and be a mother and prized wife for breeding Entwined children. She could have joined her sister Pretoria who is a thief and keen to bring down the non-magical powers that rule the country, but Ottilie doesn’t want any part of those lives. Unfortunately, her employer’s latest case involves the retrieval of a mysterious box and soon events spiral bringing Ottilie into danger, once more into contact with her sisters and again having to decide what kind of life does she want.

Now stories of a fantasy world where the magical and non-magical are in a kind of conflict are quite regular in the publishing calendar and I was worried that this could join that group where I tend to know the story and often feel the author is going through the motions. Perhaps a little more fixated on the way this world is so different to any other’s stories (you know I hate a complicated rule based magic system) however H M long is a fantasy author I highly rate so I stuck with this to see what was different, and Gentle Reader this was a delight to read.

The world is quite interesting we have the feel of a turn of the 19th century but still very much a secondary world with its own history and world. Technology starting to make an impact in the form of trains and ships but also layers of society from the rich to the working class. What jumps out though is that Ottilie’s world is very much not at ease with itself. Our first glimpse into how dangerous this world is Ottilie witnessing an Entwined being hung by a street mob with the police standing to one side. There is as the story grows a sense of looming civil war and a fascinating complicated set of groups in opposition or working with one another. For this novel its in the first half something we just become aware passing along, but as the plot develops as see Ottilie having to navigate these groups or face at the very least danger and in most cases a grisly death. The world is fleshed out often with the more official stance as to how the world works and how dangerous the Entwined are via snippets from a book gloriously named ‘The Vigilant Lady Traveller: A Gentlewoman’s Guide To The World’ and while this helps explain the magic and the Entwined it very much paints them all as dangerous monsters. Ottilie’s chapters use that information but also explore the prejudices that feed into this paranoia

For me though the key element that makes this book stand out is Long’s development of the characters. Its very easy to just have archetypes that we all recognise appear in a book almost as central casting with just their names changes – plucky heroine, rogue, villain etc. Here though we get depth. Ottilie as our main character and narrator is on one level the adventuress you could find in a number of faux Victoria and Edwardian adventures. What makes her stand out though is her range. She is very much at the start not interested in an adventure – she is just very capable, smart, witty and knows how to defend herself but also Ottilie shares her fears, her anxieties and hopes. So, while she may have deliciously witty put down to a villain we also feel she is scared and trying to work out what to do next. That duality we feel really helps makes her a likeable character and Long carries on this complexity across the novel’s cast.

Ottilie’s two sisters Madge and Pretoria are both capable of being multiple things at once. Madge appears a mother and welds herself loyally to the Guild system but shows that she has hidden fears and impulses. Pretoria is very much the wilder of the three in so many ways but is also capable of kindness. The three’s bickering feels incredibly sisterly and complicated by years of knowing one another (again something I don’t always feel stories get). Even one of the most dangerous villains we meet while dangerous, creepy and a force to be recognised with, is also shown to have complicated backstory which explains their ow motivations.

All of which aids making this world feel real and important the stakes feel high. In some ways this is a traditional McGuffin plot s everyone chases the mysterious box and Ottilie is swept up into the danger but in the story’s latter half the consequences of the box are made clear and how it related to this world’s own conflicts. Long has always known to deliver a blend action and plot together really well and the finale rattles along with lots of revelations and consequences that neatly set up what I know I need to see unfurl in the concluding novel.

If you’re looking for a fast paced but well-crafted adventure story with great characters and an increasingly fascinating storyline then the good news is Entwined is for you. Fans of Long’s work should enjoy this new direction but still appreciate the thoughtful character-work and world-building that their other series have delivered. It is highly recommended and a lot of fun to read too!