The author threw too much into this novel. However, the wyldmagic and the rebellion were already part of the Rafferdy/Ivy/Quent storylines writing in another main character whose connection to the rest is extremely tenuous, and whose addition to the plot is extraneous, is just sloppy. His plot is that he has dealings with one of the rebel leaders and is moreover learning illusion magic. Eldyn Garritt is a completely unnecessary character. Beckett is setting us up for a series, or at the very least a sequel, and so he introduces far too many plot points. First, the author's heavy debt to Austen and Bronte. There are two major problems with this book.
There is, moreover, a great deal more magic and action in the last third. Without P&P to rely on, Ivy and Rafferdy's relationship feels more natural and less forced. Then, after the rush through Bronte, the story (and Ivy) is abruptly thrust back into the city. Quent is rather more reasonable than Mr.Rochester, if less gothically charismatic. The children, for instance, are far more lifelike than Mr.Rochester's ward. Some facets of the reworked story work better than the original, at least for a modern audience. Even the point-of-view switches to match JE's first person narrative.
The first 200 pages are P&P, but the next 140 are a spooky retelling of Jane Eyre. But then Rafferdy and Ivy's friendship blossomed, and against my will I found myself drawn into the story.
The main character, Ivy, and her family are clearly the Bennets from Pride and Prejudice, right down to their grasping cousin Mr. The first fifty or so pages are a pedestrian, awkward attempt at a Regency society novel, with mentions of mysterious magicians shoehorned in.
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