Magic Under Glass Book

Nimira is a foreign music-hall girl forced to dance for mere pennies. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to sing with a piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new and better life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets are beginning to stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumors swirl about ghosts, a madwoman roaming the halls, and Parry's involvement with a league of sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. Then Nimira discovers the spirit of a fairy gentleman named Erris is trapped inside the clockwork automaton, waiting for someone to break his curse. The two fall into a love that seems hopeless, and breaking the curse becomes a race against time, as not just their love, but the fate of the entire magical world may be in peril.

Publishers Weekly

Back home, 17-year-old Nimira was the daughter of an honored artist, but in Lorinar she’s just an exotic singer in a music hall, hating the smoky, cutthroat city. When the sorcerer Hollin Parry offers her a luxurious life in return for singing with his piano-playing automaton, she accepts immediately. Hollin’s country estate is splendid but unwelcoming, and Hollin, though attractive, is a man with secrets. Having heard rumors, Nimira is not entirely surprised when the automaton begins to stare at her and make noises that have nothing to do with the piano. She learns that the automaton is actually Erris, a lost fairy prince, and Nimira faces both personal and political challenges as she attempts to release Erris from his clockwork enchantment. Debut author Dolamore draws heavily on Jane Eyre and its themes of sexual and class prejudice for her plot, reshaping the source material with skill. Nimira is not as high-minded as Jane, and her apotheosis is not as sweet, but hints of a sequel indicate that readers may learn more about Nimira in the future. Ages 12–up. (Jan.)