Review of Of Noble Family (Glamourist Histories Book 5)

I just finished reading Of Noble Family (Glamourist Histories Book 5) by Mary Robinette Kowal.📚

After the adventures time in Murano, Jane and Vincent spend some time with the Family in Vienna when Vincent receives a letter from his brother informing him that their father has died and asks him to look after the family affairs on the West Indies’ properties. He is not happy to need to clean up after his father, but the two decide to take the journey.

This book did break the alternating pattern of a good and a weak book in this series. We do not have so much research here and certainly no heist in this book. And due to Jane being in “the family way” to use the words from the book ;-) also not so much glamour casting.

Glamour is not the center of this book, but the author compensates for this deficit by an exciting setting and impressive side cast. And some unexpected turns in the story. And although Jane cannot execute glamour right now, she still thinks a lot about its theoretical aspects and how the English way of learning hinders her from achieving the full potential of what’s possible with glamour.

This book is a dignified ending to a solid series; I’m sad that I cannot read more about these two, but it is also right that the series has an end while it is still good. So the story has an ending, and Jane and Vincent can live happily ever after ;-) I like the world-building and the magic system shown here. It is not very powerful, but it integrates nicely into our world.

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