Format: Mobi, 268 pages
Release Date: August 11, 2015
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult
Victorian London: For five years, Charlotte (Charlie) Holloway has lived as a boy in the slums. But when one theft too many gets her arrested, her only means of escape lies with a dead man. Charlie hasn't raised a spirit since she first discovered she could do so five years ago. That time, her father banished her. This time, she brings even more trouble upon herself.
People are now hunting Charlie all over London, but only one man succeeds in capturing her.
Lincoln Fitzroy is the mysterious head of a secret organization on the trail of a madman who needs a necromancer to control his newly "made" creatures. There was only one known necromancer in the world - Charlotte - but now there appears to be two. Lincoln captures the willful Charlie in the hopes the boy will lead him to Charlotte. But what happens when he discovers the boy is in fact the young woman he's been searching for all along? And will she agree to work for the man who held her against her will, and for an organization she doesn't trust?
Because Lincoln and his ministry might be just as dangerous as the madman they're hunting.
The Last Necromancer is the first installment in The Ministry of Curiosities series by author C.J. Archer. Set in 1889 Victorian London, Charlotte (Charlie) Holloway has been living on the streets of London since her father called her the devil's daughter and kicked her out of the house. For the past 5 years, Charlie has been living as a boy, never staying in one place for very long. She moves every SIX months so that people don't start asking questions about her youthful appearance.
Charlie aka "Fleet foot Charlie," also has a reputation as being the quickest thief around. Which is surprising since she ends up getting caught stealing an apple and ends up in jail. While in prison, a fellow inmate tries to protect her from rapists and bullies, and dies. Charlie uses her necromancer abilities for the second in her life to bring the man back to life, and escapes from prison with his help.
Charlie doesn't get very far before she is corralled by Lincoln (Death) Fitzroy's men Seth and Gus. Death has been searching for a girl necromancer named Charlotte Holloway since hearing about her in a separate novella which I have not yet read. Death leads a group calling themselves The Ministry of Curiosities or the Committee. The Ministry investigates phenomena that seems to happen for no earthly rhyme or reason. Charlotte is one of those curiosities.
But, Death and the Committee aren't the only ones searching for Charlotte. Straight out of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is also looking for her to assist him with one of his endeavors of creating the perfect human. Victor has it in his head that with Charlotte's abilities, she can help reanimate his creations. Victor is almost as ruthless about having Charlotte alongside him, as Death is at trying to protect her from being used.
The Last Necromancer is an interesting story with a lead character who hasn't exactly had a life of fulfillment since her father tossed her out of the house like so much garbage. She's a bit on the sarcastic side. She's feisty, and combative, and she doesn't like to be under anyone's thumb, let alone the dark, and handsome Death who runs hot and cold with emotions when it comes to Charlie. She ends up finding a connection and a bit of friendship with Seth and Gus and even Cook who work for Death.
I dare say that the three men treat Charlie as though they are her older brothers which is perfect acceptable to me. I could say a whole lot about the Committee, but I'll just summarize. They are god awful! Outside of Death, the only person I could stomach at all was Lady Julia Harcourt. Even then, Julia had some ulterior motives involving Charlotte. There are still so many mysteries surrounding Lincoln, that I'm pretty sure I will be reading the sequel called Her Majesty's Necromancer.
**I received this book for free from "Xpresso Book Tours" in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
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AUTHOR BIO:
C.J. Archer has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two with her writing. Under her other name of Carolyn Scott, she has published contemporary short stories in women’s magazines, and she also writes romantic mystery novels under this name.
She has at various times worked as a librarian, IT support person and technical writer but in her heart has always been a fiction writer. She has won and placed in romance writing contests including winning RWAustralia’s Emerald Award in 2008 for the manuscript that went on to be released under the title HONOR BOUND. C.J. spent her early childhood in the dramatic beauty of outback Queensland, Australia, but now lives in suburban Melbourne with her husband and two children.
To be notified when C.J. releases a new book, subscribe to her newsletter from her website. She only sends out the newsletter when she releases a new book, and never spams.
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This sounds like a fun read with a lot of little side mysteries, too! I like how characters driven it all sounds. Glad you liked it, Shelley! Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Giselle! Looking forward to sequel. Maybe you'll have that one as well! ::fingers crossed::
DeleteI think I saw this at NG, got me interested, but the YA tag discouraged me. It sounds good though, do you think it'll go darker?
ReplyDeleteI think it will. There are too much unknowns still not revealed.
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