In an alternate version of 1920s London, vestiges of England’s magical past exist, but the use of magic has been outlawed, leading families still with powers to operate illegal speakeasies for a public still hungry for magic. Vesper Holloway runs her family club, where a dash of spell powder or an enchanted cocktail can add a little extra intrigue to the evening. But one night a man drinking a Flotation Fizz that should allow him to levitate a few inches finds himself bumping his head on the ceiling. Word among the magical elite is that such accidents have been happening more frequently, and the club owners are worried that the danger will spread.
Enter Maxwell Ashbridge, a onetime friend of Vesper’s brother, who has joined the government agency tasked with enforcing the ban, and who has a personal vendetta against the magical elite. But he does not have a vendetta against Vesper; in fact, he finds her rather enticing. He promises her immunity for her club, if she teams up with him to help gain entry to other establishments and find out who is responsible for the contaminated magic threatening her family business. But their investigation does little to quell the chemistry they share. As accidents continue and the fight to repeal the ban gains ground in Parliament, Vesper and Max will have to decide—is the magic between them worth fighting for?
The idea that London in the 1920s was full of bars in which you could ingest magic and spells, and have fun with some harmless magic well, sign me up.
Vesper and Maxwell are on opposite sides of the magical debate. She owns one of the establishments that sell the spell infused drinks, and Maxwell works as a government employee in charge of enforcing the ban on magic of all kinds.
So, definitely an enemies to lovers story. But really only on paper. It became clear for me, and quickly, that while Max may say he wants to remove all of the magic, he doesn't really object all that much if it's harmless, he just wants to make sure no one is getting hurt by it, which absolutely could be happening.
I thought this was a fun, easy read in a world where there is just enough magic for it to be enticing without it being a Harry Potter type story, where there was nothing but magic.
I liked the characters, the secondary characters, and I thought the mystery of what was going on with the magic potions was engaging enough to keep the story interesting.
This is my first title by this author, but I will absolutely be open to reading others.
