Book Review: Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis

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Pic from goodreads.com
Is nineteenth-century England ready for the magic and mischief of Kat Stephenson?


Kat Stephenson may have inherited her mother's magical talents, but not everyone in the Order of the Guardians is ready to accept her. When she is tricked into losing her temper in front of the most powerful Guardian in England, she finds herself expelled without a single magic lesson.


After a devastating accusation shatters her sister Angeline's romance, their stepmama whisks the family away to the fashionable city of Bath and orders Angeline to find a new fiancĂ©. But as Angeline plays a dangerous game with a scandalous rake, their brother, Charles, tumbles headlong into danger... and Bath's wild magic gets ready to explode.


With more than one life at stake, will Kat's untrained magic be enough to reunite Angeline with her true love, conquer the danger at Bath, and prove she truly has what it takes to be a Guardian?


I find the historical setting of this series very weird. I mean, Regency England? Come on! But it's interesting how the setting, with all of its values on propriety, restricts Kat's freedom and magic. The second book is some more light fantasy, with hilarious family relations.

Anyway, this series is really pretty sweet juvenile stuff. The fantasy is creative, and I don't think I ever imagined Bath as a city of "wild magic". The rules of the magic in the Kat, Incorrigible series are well thought out, adding.. well, credibility, I suppose (or as much as you can get). The family relationships knotting the whole thing together are very believable, although sometimes I got so "UGGHHHH!!!" because everyone misunderstands Kat so much. I guess that's the point, endearing poor spunky, unappreciated Kat to the reader.

Angeline was really evil, I must say. Without the eldest sister, Elissa, to keep her in check, Angeline was, like, diabolical, almost as much as Lady Fotherington. However, her mischief added a new layer to the story that was somewhat effective. (I also really didn't get the point of having Elissa as a character in the first book if she was just going to go off and get married to a rich guy.)

Lady Fotherington was a villain with quite a dubious motive. It just didn't seem realistic that she would be jealous of Kat's mother because Kat's father was her "true love". I mean, wasn't "Papa" supposed to be bookish and absentminded? I had a bit of a complaint about that. It also didn't seem realistic that Lord Ravenscroft would be a traitor to England. Seriously? The French? Yeah, sure, whatever. 


Overall, the second book in the Kat, Incorrigible series didn't disappoint as a fun, light second book.
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