Library Journal: A tropical setting on a slave plantation adds interest to the world Kowal has made in which magic called Glamour is real and manipulated by those with special skills. Jane and David should be enjoying the happiest time in their marriage when they discover she is pregnant, but they must endure the fraught situation with Vincent’s father and the many troubles they find on his estate. Through it all, Kowal paints a lovely picture of a couple who truly complement and support each other, capping off a terrific series.
Jane and David Vincent, Glamourists to the Prince Regent of England, look forward to returning home after their adventures in Venice (Valour and Vanity), but instead they’re asked to go to Antigua to deal with the estate of David’s recently deceased father. Owing to the abusive nature of the father-son relationship, any duty involving David’s paterfamilias would be painful, but it is made doubly so when the couple arrive in the Caribbean only to realize that the man is still very much alive and just as determined to bend David to his will.