"It's beautiful." Fascination replaced fear, and I ran my fingertip along the automaton's sleeve. The velvet was nearly as soft as a rabbit's fur, and beneath it traced the line of a metallic skeleton.
We find our heroine Nimira (Nim) dancing & singing as a "trouser girl" on a dank music hall for a living in New Sweeling. Nim was once the daughter of a privileged family in the court of Tiansher but after her mother, a favourite in the Royal Court Troupe, died everything changed for the worst and Nimira set sail leaving everything behind to seek her fortune.When she catches the eye of dashing sorcerer Hollin Parry, he offers her an escape from her dreary existence but at what cost?
In return for a home, new clothes & food in her belly Nim must sing in accompaniment to an Automan, a fairy-made clockwork man who plays a pianoforte when wound up with a key.
Large brown eyes stared glassily ahead from a finely crafted face, its lips shut and perked in a smile. I nearly believed it could come to life with the slightest provocation. Soft brown hair framed its forehead and cheekbones, with delicate ears poking out, and the rest drawn back at his neck into a blue satin bow.
Sounds easy right? As the story continues you find that the Automan is infamous in the Parry household for being haunted and that previously hired female singers have often not lasted longer than a day or two in its presence. If a haunted Automan wasn't enough, she also has to contend with Miss Rashten, a keeper of dark secrets hidden in the manor that makes her disapproval of Nim very clear and Mr Smollings, the new creepy Ambassador of Magic, who has more than keen interest in the Automan & Parry household. Does Nim have the courage to discover the truth?
Once I picked up and started reading the book I got sucked right in. Lovers of enchantments, fairies & hidden secrets will love this book. You can't help but admire Nim for her determination & courage through the course of the story. I hope that there is a sequel coming out soon, as the ending left it open to the possibility of a further adventure.
P.S. The characters I imagined as I read the book looked nothing like the ones on the front cover... I guess the illustrator didn't really read the book =-p
Pages: 225 pages
Oh I love this sort of stuff - I'll have to get my hands on this book then.
ReplyDeleteI think my love for toys coming to life etc stems form a mix of chitty chitty bang bang, the fairytale Bluebeard and the Little Tin Soldier.
I love fairy tales & folk tales too. Tin soldier is one of my faves too. Have you seen Fantasia 200? It has Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major-I. Allegro – based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Steadfast Tin Soldier.
ReplyDeleteI can't get my hands on a copy of a book that actually includes a decent rendition of the tale of Bluebeard though...