Ashes and Light (Swords of Charlemagne Book 3) Ashes and Light (Swords of Charlemagne Book 3)
Gaslamp/Historical Romance/Fantasy
Independently Publihsed
July 20, 2021
285
The search for the swords brings Douglas and Margaret back to England, where Mystere has hidden the sword Almace -- his own sword. Four months pass with no signs of Mystere, and Douglas and Margaret start to make plans to go in search of him. Then they accidentally become the caretakers of an injured street urchin. The boy — a sweep’s apprentice — tells them that there is something invisible haunting the rooftops of London, preying on the children who make their living there.
In the absence of Mystere, Margaret insists that they need to help, but Douglas refuses. Margaret defies him and goes anyway, only to discover that what lurks on the rooftops is far worse than she had imagined -- Caedda has taken the rooftops of London as his domain. Worse, he has taken Mystere prisoner, he holds the sword Almace, and he knows that Margaret is there.
Trapped on the roofs, unable to reach Douglas, Margaret has to rely on her wits and her memories in order to save Mystere, herself and her unborn child.
Reviewed By Sherry Perkins
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
“Blood magic,” Roland whispered. Turpin had told him about it, about how to recognize the signs of it, how to defend against it. But he’d never seen it before, and none of their discussions had included how to defend yourself from blood magic…”—Ashes and Light
So, I mistakenly read volumes 3 & 4 of Elizabeth Schechter’s Swords of Charlemagne books out of order (TBH, I haven’t read books 1 & 2 either). It worked quite well though because I was curious to know more about the love story between the main characters and their quest to find a missing friend. Therefore, backtracking between books was an adventure.
Imagine my surprise then, when I realized “Table of Stone,” book four, wasn’t a love story between two characters but three instead. “Ashes and Light,” book three, detailed what I’d thought was a relationship among a powerful mage and his apprentices, making it something with a bit more heft, import, and mystery.
Where “Table of Stone” was basically told from Margaret’s point of view, with a brief flashback as exposition, “Ashes and Light” toggles back and forth between centuries and character experiences. It’s multiple POV too. Both books are formatted to feature some telepathic communication between the main characters and character names differ according to where they are in the flashbacks or what they recall vis-à-vis their progression from one host body to another. That may sound complicated but it’s not—you’ll get the gist regardless.
Margaret is a feisty character, a powerful mage. She is also the proper wife of a 19th century physician named Douglas. Between them, they come face-to-face with a powerful enemy. Caedda is that enemy. Naturally, he has an evil agenda that involves acquiring four very special swords. These swords, when wielded together, could result in unimaginable death and destruction—something Margaret, Douglas and their absent friend, Mystere will do whatever necessary to prevent. If only they could find him, that is. But there are monsters on the loose in the city, preventing Margaret and Douglas from reuniting with Mystere. Maybe Caedda has something to do with that…
A four-star story about characters who are not who they seem to be and what an ancient biblical fall from Grace has to do with that.