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Creatures of Will and Temper
Creatures of Will and Temper | Molly Tanzer
15 posts | 10 read | 55 to read
A Victorian urban fantasy featuring duelists, demons, and the dark arts, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray. Victorian London is a place of fluid social roles, vibrant arts culture, fin-de-sicle wonders . . . and dangerous underground diabolic cults. Fencer Evadne Gray cares for none of the former and knows nothing of the latter when shes sent to London to chaperone her younger sister, aspiring art critic Dorina. Unfortunately for Evadne, she soon learns too much about all of it when Dorina meets their uncles friend, Lady Henrietta Henry Wotton. A semi-respectable aristocrat in public, in private she is secretly in the thrall of a demon obsessed with beauty and pleasure. When Lady Henry and Dorina immediately hit it off, Evadne abandons her chaperone duties and enrolls in a fencing school. There, she meets the fencing master shes always dreamed of. But soon, George reveals he is more than just a teacher. He has dedicated himself to eradicating demons and their servants, and he needs Evadnes help. As Evadne gets pulled further into this hidden world, she begins to suspect that Lady Henry might actually be a diabolist. Even worse, she believes Dorina may have joined her. Combining swordplay, demons, and high society, Creatures of Will and Temper shows a timeless world and adventure readers won't soon forget.
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Clare-Dragonfly
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I‘m so pleased that I was able to get this book before going off on a long-weekend trip! And now that I‘m looking at it on Litsy, I see I already have it stacked, thanks to @BarbaraTheBibliophage

Not that I‘m going to have much time to read on this trip. My sister is getting married tomorrow! Book pictured here with the lobby decor in the fancy hotel where we‘re all staying for the wedding 😄

BarbaraTheBibliophage I‘ll be curious to hear what you think! Happy wedding to your sister! 9mo
18 likes1 comment
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MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm
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Pickpick

4 ⭐️s
A darkly fun adventure that was surprising in its originality. Even if I deduced the untrustworthiness of certain characters long before the book “reveals” it… I enjoyed the portrayal of the sibling relationships and the strong personalities of the female characters.
My first read of 2022! And my first book marked off my #Roll100 list! 😍
One distraction was how often Henry‘s name suddenly showed up as Harry numerous times throughout… 🤔

PuddleJumper That was quick! Well done! 3y
MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm @PuddleJumper Thanks! 😅 It was a page turner and I just couldn‘t put it down! 😍 3y
31 likes2 comments
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EchoCharlie
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"What is this morning--or yesterday afternoon---or last week? We have lived since then."

Might want to embroider this. I just like it

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EchoCharlie
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I've never actually read A Picture of Dorian Gray, but I am really enjoying this

BarbaraTheBibliophage I thought this was so original and enjoyable. 4y
1 like1 comment
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kammartinez
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Pickpick

Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-G9

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5 ⭐️s

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Settings
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Pickpick

One of those light Victorian England + magic books - this one inspired by Dorian Gray. Focus on entertainment value and style.

Dorina, a young hedonist, and her sister Evadne, a more grounded character, visit their Uncle Basil in London. Will Dorina be corrupted by Lady Henry, a older (and very attractive) diabolist?

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unabridgedchick
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This Victorian novel is inspired by Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, only with literal demons and very open homosexuality. It's delicious.

Dorina tried to read them like a painting--if an artist had arranged them, how should their positions be interpreted? What intrigues could be presumed, given their attitudes, their expressions? What was represented by the streak of afternoon sunlight spilling over the carpet, dividing her from them?

10 likes2 stack adds
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NovelGirl82
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Still feeling pretty rough, so I finally finished Alias Grace & now I‘m settling in to this library hold that came in...

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annalibris
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Pickpick

This is an odd book. The writing is lovely, the characters are very human, and the story did not go where I expected it to. I liked it, and I liked the characters more as I got to know them.

rubyslippersreads Great cover! 😍 7y
annalibris Isn‘t it? I confess, that‘s why I picked it up in the first place. Shelving books can be a very hazardous activity to my reading pile. 😊 7y
3 likes2 comments
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Kamisha
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Pickpick

Gender-bending retelling of Dorian Gray— with demons! 😱

I really enjoyed this novel set in Victorian London about two vastly different sisters, Dorina and Evadne. Dorina longs to be an art critic and lives for beauty and experience, while Evadne is very practical-minded and lives for her fencing. Both sisters are thrust into a side of London society they never suspected to find, involving demons and diabolists!
#netgalley #arc

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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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Pickpick

This is an urban fantasy. As long as you don‘t mind defining urban as Victorian era London. Alternately, it‘s historical fiction with a distinct supernatural twist. Either way, it‘s a romp on the wild side of an oh-so-cultured time. It‘s the story of two country bumpkin sisters who come to London, and get caught up demonic doings. Don‘t expect demons in the streets. It‘s more subtle than that. 3.5/5 stars.

Full review at www.TheBibliophage.com

kamoorephoto Looking forward to this one! 7y
emilyhaldi Nice review 👌🏻 7y
See All 19 Comments
BarbaraTheBibliophage @kamoorephoto I hope you enjoy it, when you get to it! 7y
Eggs Love photo 7y
Nat_Reads Great review! Stacked! 7y
ElishaLovesBooks Sounds interesting! Stacked! 7y
kspenmoll Great review. You may hook me yet! 😍 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @kspenmoll Thanks! Look forward to your feedback. When/if you do read it. 7y
Cinfhen Great cover 💕awesome review 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen I confess, it was the cover that grabbed me enough to request on NetGalley. Glad you liked the review! 7y
jillrhudy What other kind of urban fantasy is there? 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @jillrhudy Urban fantasy runs the gamut of locations and time periods. For example, Laurell K. Hamilton re-envisions St. Louis in essentially present day in the Anita Blake series. Stacia Kane does urban in an unnamed (I think) but near future city in the Downside Ghosts series. Anno Dracula from Kim Newman is urban fantasy with the same characters over various time periods. Just a few examples. 7y
jillrhudy @BarbaraTheBibliophage 😉 I know. I just like to stick to Victorian London. 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @jillrhudy Ohhhhh. I missed your meaning. 😜 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @jillrhudy Have you read the first Anne Dracula? That‘s Victorian London. What others have you enjoyed? 7y
jillrhudy @BarbaraTheBibliophage Of recent Victorian fiction I like Laurie R. King, Susanna Clarke, Deanna Raybourn, Lyndsay Faye. I thought the YA book Dodger by Terry Pratchett was pretty fun. I adored Possession by A. S. Byatt. 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @jillrhudy I‘ve enjoyed two of Lyndsay Faye‘s and have the Clarke and Rayburn books on my Kindle TBR. Thanks for the other names. I think you might like the tagged book—let me know if you try it! 7y
134 likes10 stack adds19 comments
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StaceyKondla
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Snagged this one for myself while doing a little Christmas-ish shopping and hanging out with my oldest daughter. Oscar Wilde pastiche? TAKE MY MONEY!!!!!

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BarbaraTheBibliophage
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This cover is so gorgeous, and I‘m excited to finally be picking it up (digitally speaking) from my NetGalley shelves. #netgalley #victorian #urbanfantasy #arc

LibrarianRyan Sooooo pretty. 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @LibrarianRyan I hope the story is as good as the cover! 7y
Sophoclessweetheart I love Molly Tanzer xxx 7y
120 likes7 stack adds3 comments
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Liberty
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Kinda obsessed with this book and I haven't even read it yet. But soon! 🖤🖤🖤

RealBooks4ever Interesting cover! 💜 7y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Victorian urban fantasy?! 🙀 YES! 7y
104 likes13 stack adds2 comments
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Siannalyn
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#arc #NetGalley
So far, so good! It's an interrsting reading and I hope to finish it soon!

RaimeyGallant What a cover! 7y
Siannalyn @RaimeyGallant yes, it's beautiful! 7y
15 likes2 comments