[Spotlight Post] J Kathleen Cheney & The Seat of Magic

This week’s spotlight post is on J.Kathleen Cheney’s second book – Seat of Magic. I mentioned when I wrote about her before that I tend to hesitate reading people I’m friends with, but she was worth the read. Her first book in this series, The Golden City intrigued me.
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This world is early 1900s Portugal – but alternate universe – where magic exists as does Selkies, Seria, and Otter Folk. There is political intrigue, murder, and mayhem – along with a decent relationship/love interest element. The first book set up the characters and the relationships – along with dealing with the story. Cheney set up both a stand-alone story and enough arc that you could see where the series might go. I bought The Golden City devoured it, and then despaired for the delay until reading the second one.
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Cheney sent me an ARC (advanced reader copy) a few months ago. I didn’t read it in a single sitting, but it was close. The ARC doesn’t have the amazing cover art or the final font (I’ll be buying that to keep the set consistent), but it was awesome. I knew there were going to be three books in this series (so far planned), and there’s always a bit of trepidation going into a second book of “is something actually going to happen or is this just the journey”. No, stuff happens.

This was the kind of second book you want to see in a series. It brought more of the over-arching elements into play while having a fully contained story in play. And it’s a good story. This one is a bit more procedural in investigating occultish killings that seem to be connected. There’s even more political intrigue, spies, history, and a well-woven narrative that made me love and hate my friend all at the same time.

Why? Because this book officially comes out on Tuesday, July 1. There’s no release date on the third book, and darn it, I want to know what happens to these characters. I’m completely invested in this universe she’s created and I want to know how everything turns out – and I want to know NOW.

Seriously, if you like historical fantasy – pick up these books. They’re beautifully written, the historical part is interwoven enough to NOT be overwhelming. It’s … just go get ’em. J. Kathleen Cheney will be at SoonerCon this coming weekend with me. We’re doing the Sunday Koffee Klatch together – we’re autographing at the same time, but not in the same place. Go figure.

Tags: historical fantasy, J. Kathleen Cheney, Seat of Magic, Soonercon, The Golden City