Ten Thousand Stitches (Regency Faerie Tales)

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It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Ashbrooke's heart. It’s whilst working that she quite literally stumbles into Benedict Ashbrooke and falls head over heels in love with him. Housemaids do not marry gentlemen, of course… but a faerie named Lord Blackthorn is only too eager to help Effie win Mr Benedict’s heart regardless. It’s a slow realization, and she stumbles a bit in between, repressing her anger at every turn when she is belittled or forgotten or not seen, until it all bubbles up and comes out in an explosive way. With an underlying air of kindness and charm grounding the entire story, Atwater infuses such heart into the second installment of her regency faerie tales.

When we meet her at the start of the book she’s quite downtrodden, is unhappy being a servant and she sees it as a thankless job especially because she’s not appreciated by the family she works for. In the case of Olivia Atwater’s Ten Thousand Stitches, its those details that make it one of the more unexpectedly romantic retellings out there. So, if your looking for a Downton-esque, Studio Ghibli rendition of Cinderella set in an alternate regency England then you definitely have to give this a read, it’s absolutely delightful! Also, why the heck was Effie ever wearing a fancy embroidered gown that a lady would feel comfortable going to a daytime party in to clean and make fires?The language that employers used to describe their servants in letters to one another was flagrantly patronising. It's not just you average romance, it's a clever social commentary and emotional examination threaded through with an undertone of imaginative magic. He has a very small moment in HALF A SOUL, where he talks to Dora about what makes someone virtuous, which sets him on his path in this book.

While I had a hard time warming up to Effie (and lost patience with her several times throughout the story) because of her eagle eyes for every inch of her own woe and utter myopia when it came to anyone else's problems, it was when she chewed out poor Miss Buxley (and the story clearly sided with Effie) that I really stopped caring about her. Stern and self-approving and hard backed chair Protestant which my Catholic raised soul has never responded to.It also turns out that there’s a hint of magic in her fine sewing — when she sews, she imbues her stitches with her emotions… and given how angry she’s been, soon there’s a plague of anger amongst the servants. Book Description: Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr Benedict Ashbrooke. Enter Lord Blackthorn, a faerie who is keen to learn all he can about the English, and to grow to be as virtuous as possible. He doesn't fall into the dark/mysterious/grumpy type of faerie, but he instead came across as a bit of a himbo to me, and I was so here for it.