Review: A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience by Stephanie Burgis

Posted August 22, 2024 by Stephanie in 4 Stars, Historical Fantasy, Review / 8 Comments

Title: A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience
Author: Stephanie Burgis
Publication: August 5, 2024 by Five Fathoms Press
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Rating: 4/5

Margaret Dunhaven may have been forced into marriage with the sinister vampire owner of Shadowcroft Manor in order to fulfill a family obligation, but she’s not about to stay trapped there for long. The beastly man doesn’t even have any decent tea leaves in his kitchen!

However, when she realizes that she’s not the only one who’s been forced into this marital union, it’s time to join forces with her unwanted new husband. If they can combine her scholarly skills with his ancient history, then, working together, they might just manage to reclaim her inheritance, break his curse, and find their freedom.

…Just so long as they don’t fall in love along the way.

A witty and sparkling 17,000-word novella that puts a new twist on Beauty and the Beast in an alternate-history version of late 19th century England.

 

A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience was a short and cozy historical fantasy set in an alternate version of 19th century England. Stephanie Burgis created a world where paranormal creatures such a vampires and werewolves live amongst the human population.

A short novella it may have been but that doesn’t mean the characters or plot weren’t great to read about, on the contrary even! I really liked both Margaret Dunhaven, a scholar, as well as Lord Riven, a vampire. Somehow they both find themselves to be hurriedly married to each other and when they realize they were both forced into this marriage, they decide to work together to find out who is actually behind all of this and how the Rose of Normandy, a mysterious heirloom with incredible power.

This really was a fun novella and with 62 pages it can easily be read in one sitting. For such a quick read it still had enough world and character building to make it a very enjoyable story. Initially Margaret and Lord Riven didn’t get along very well but as they worked together and got to know each other more and went up against the villain of the story they realized they might not hate being married to each other after all.

I loved the humor, the lightheartedness of the story and most of all the two main characters. I would actually love a full novel or series set in this world. I, for sure, would love to read more about Margaret and Lord Riven!

 

 

About the author:

Stephanie Burgis grew up in Michigan (USA), but now lives in Wales with her husband and two kids, surrounded by mountains, castles and coffee shops. She writes sparkling fantasy rom-coms, including the Regency Dragons seriesthe Harwood Spellbook series, and the upcoming Queens of Villainy trilogy, and also fun MG fantasy novels, including the Raven Crown duology and the Dragon with a Chocolate Heart trilogy. A graduate of the Clarion West workshop, she has had over forty short stories published in various magazines and anthologies, and many of them are included in her collection Touchstones. You can find excerpts from all of her novels and novellas (and links to many of her short stories) at her website: www.stephanieburgis.com

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