Ten Thousand Stitches (Regency Faerie Tales)

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But what I loved about her character arc is that the author makes sure we understand that Effie’s anger and that of anyone else working in that household is justified, and while them being quiet about it is necessary for their job prospects, it doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing to do. The second book in the Regency Faerie Tales series, I ended up enjoying this book way more than I thought I would. This second book in the Regency Faerie Tales did not completely capture the same magic for me as Half A Soul did, but it was still an absolutely delightful time. From the description, I thought we were heading down much more of a “Rumpelstiltskin” path with an impossible task, but that really wasn’t the case. Yes, his help leads to some disasters but he is too endearing to be very angry at, and I know Effie will agree with me.

The Regency Faerie Tales are just delightfully whimsical, cozy, and entertaining fantasy historical romance! As the name suggests, Blackthorn is a vegetation heavy land that has its own plans for people, and is not above a few small but deft manipulations! I loved soo many of the characters but I have to say Lord Blackthorn definitely stole my heart with his enthusiastic joy and sincerity as he strives to become a better person. I liked this focused on a maid in Regency England, as that almost never happens, and I did life the "social justice" undertones.

He's such an over the top character, full of a puppy-dog kind of enthusiasm and innocence that makes his fae ways somewhat less creepy than expected (though no less bizarre). On a lighter note, Lady Culver's insistence that her maids pretend to be French is taken from a real firsthand account. Charming, gentle, innocent, fragrant (in a sense, as you’ll see) - I’m groping for adjectives in the least used parts of my reviewing toolbox to describe this fun story. Benedict Ashbrooke as if she is an actual person of rank, and not an invisible maid, well, she rather inconveniently falls in love with him. I’ll say no more on the magical plot, although it involves horrible aristocratic owners, haughty housekeepers and Faerie folk.

There’s also an interesting cast of characters, our feelings towards whom keep fluctuating as the story goes on and things are revealed. Of course, later as she’s serving at a fancy ball, he looks right past her and doesn’t recognize her at all. This story will give you all the laughs and heartwarming moments you want from a farcical magical Regency romp, but it also does a brilliant job of discussing how privilege tends to blind people to the hardships of those less fortunate.

It was just a tough part to fit, with some of his bumbling playing for great laughs and “ah shucks” moments, but then those same aspects of his personality directly conflicted with the more typical romantic hero vibes you may be expecting. Regency era servants often recommended family members for jobs in the same household, and it only made sense that Effie and George were related, given their interactions so far.

This all happened exactly how I imagine a Faerie with good intentions trying to help a maid out would go down. And though I hate to say it, the best scene of the entire book took place in faerie with a cameo character from book one — I say that I hate this because you want the subsequent characters to outshine the ones that came before and yet this was the highlight (though to be fair it is mostly a coincidence as Effie and Jubilee did sparkle by themselves in this particular moment). The work is never-ending and exhausting, and whenever a servant leaves (or is fired), the others simply must pick up the slack.Lydia mentions that a servant named Lucy was dismissed after Lady Culver discovered she was pregnant.