Well this was a weird one.
I liked it though. I liked it a lot.
Let’s get into the nitty gritty.
Characters
This book has all the hallmarks of a Jodi Taylor novel and it wasn’t hard to find the parallels between the main characters here and the ones in the St. Mary’s series.
Our protagonist, Elizabeth Cage, feels a lot like a slightly more boring version of Maxwell and the ‘Mountain’ Jones seems a carbon copy of Leon. Good, strong, dependable Leon.
That isn’t to say I didn’t like them. These characters felt familiar, but still novel. You could get comfortable with them quite quickly and the amazing narrator makes you feel right at home.
Worldbuilding
As usual, the world-building is functional, with enough bells and whistles to integrate well in the story, but without getting into paragraph on paragraph of describing a particular scene.
Story
It’s a very different story from what I’m used to at St. Mary’s, where everything that happens is supported by a scientific background. Here things take the more paranormal route (because just like we don’t call it Time Travel, we won’t call it Magic). It was a bit unexpected, but it wasn’t jarring or anything. The story is part mystery, as Elizabeth explores her powers and the magical paranormal world around her, and part thriller as she has to come to grips with the legacy of her late husband. I quite liked it.
Writing
What’s left to say here? Jodi Taylors writing always seems to work for me, it’s the combination of lightheartedness, wit and that British tone of voice/accent that really make everything she writes immediattely work for me. Wether it’s thrilling adventure, a suspenseful mystery or a romantic evening on the couch, it all just works.
Conclusion
Not a great surprise here, I very much loved my time with Elizabeth Cage and I’m gonna jump into the next one with gusto.
