3.5 stars

There are some books that - no matter how much you enjoy them at the time - are just not memorable. It’s not that a particular aspect of the story was unpleasant or that the writing style was all that bad, there is just something about the story that refuses to stick with you. Unfortunately, I think Newt’s Emerald falls into that category.

I think this may have to do with the fact that I had recently read Love, Lies and Spies, a similar historical fiction story. Ignoring the fact that it had no magical twist like Newt’s Emerald, LL&S did almost every aspect of the stories slightly better: the banter with the protagonist’s romantic interest was wittier; the dialogue was more perfectly nailed with the right balance of Victorian slang and proper (Old) English; the plotline was more logical and entertaining; and, the mystery was a little more engaging. As a whole, I could not stop comparing the two in my head… and Newt’s Emerald also came in at an unfortunate second.

With that being said, I did enjoy this story. I liked both of the protagonists. Truthful was everything you look for in a female protagonist of a regency romance: she had spunk and determination, and thankfully, she was the type of girl who - sticking true to the times - was adorably naive but ready to take on more responsibilities. I did find Major Harnett harder to warm up to. I never felt that we got to know him as well as we should. While Truthful and his relationship was not poorly written or ill-suited, I just did not come to care enough about them together to ship it… especially compared to Juliana and Spencer in LL&S. I think this may have to do with the nature of their meeting. Both characters lied to each other a lot at the start of their relationship. I understand they had to but at the same time, I always find it hard to understand how characters can come to trust one another with that sort of history.

The plotline was fun. I liked the incorporation of magic into a Victorian setting but I felt that this aspect was also a tad underdeveloped. I was also not happy that we did not know the extent of Truthful’s powers. She seemed to be able to conveniently tamper with stormy weather when it suited the story and nothing more. I prefer my fantasies - particularly when it concerns a magic system - to be a little bit more fleshed out than that. Espionage is always up my alley though so I did enjoy seeing the mystery of the stolen Newington Emerald play out. I also loved seeing Truthful’s cousins help her with the mystery. I love m/f friendships, even if the characters are technically relatives! If the ending had been a smidge more climactic (or at least not so rushed), I think the plot could have been slightly more satisfying as whole but I still found it - for the most part - entertaining.

Overall?

Newt’s Emerald was an enjoyable story but not particularly memorable, especially since I had recently read and enjoyed a similar historical fiction. The plotline was a little too tame for my liking and the magic system - which was meant to set this story apart from the other books in the genre - was underdeveloped. The romance, banter, writing style and MCs were all perfectly adequate… just not quite as good as Anstey’s [b:Love, Lies and Spies|25320766|Love, Lies and Spies|Cindy Anstey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1506719083s/25320766.jpg|45053729]. I do intend on reading more of Nix’s books but I have a feeling traditional fantasy stories may be more his thing than historical fiction.