May 19, 2014
Skillful massing of surface details camouflages so-so basic materials in Cheney's debut historical fantasy, set in an alternative 20th-century Portugal. Although nonhumans are banned from the Golden City, Oriana Paredes has been living there for two years as a spy for the sereia, the mer-folk. After she's killed as part of a scheme to accumulate magical power, which would give Portugal dominance over her home islands, she becomes an uncomfortable ally to Duilio Ferreira, a half-selkie gentleman with a personal interest in thwarting the conspiracy. The fantastic elements are somewhat jerrybuilt, since the focal point is the clumsy struggle of two young people against their attraction for each other. However, the setting is so densely, convincingly detailed that readers are unlikely to notice weaknesses as they race toward a conclusion that screams for a sequel.
October 15, 2013
An ambitious debut from Cheney: part fantasy, part romance, part police procedural and part love letter to Lisbon in the early 1900s. Oriana Paredes has webbed fingers, gills on her neck and discoloration on her legs that looks like scales. She is a sereia hailing from unmapped islands off the coast of Portugal; her people are the basis for the legend of mermaids. But in 1902 Lisboa, the golden city of the title, she passes as the human companion to a young gentlewoman, Isabel. The sereia have a fraught history with the Portuguese--they are illegal in the city itself--and Oriana's role in society is a cover for her real vocation: sereia spy. Spying, however, is lonely and boring until Oriana and Isabel are kidnapped and left in the river for dead. Isabel, sans gills, dies, but Oriana escapes and, in doing so, discovers clues to an elaborate, sinister plot under the guise of a large artwork installation. She exits the river heartbroken, with an eye toward revenge. Within days, Oriana's search connects her to Duilio Ferreira. A gentleman of the city and frequent consultant to the police, he is privately investigating the deadly artwork installation. Duilio is also part selkie--seal person--and convinces Oriana to work with him in solving the mystery. Their mutual trust grows in the process, along with a burgeoning affection, and they are aided by a colorful cast of characters, many with magic powers or mythic backgrounds. Cheney could use more practice determining which details are worthy of explication--Oriana's webbed fingers are a constant reference, but where the case is concerned, it can be difficult to track who knows what, which of the plethora of details are important and how. But she does a lovely job connecting magical, historical and romantic elements; her Lisboa is a marvelous place to visit, and the installation artwork at the center of the mystery is a creepy, creative plot device. A diverting read, with plenty of loose ends for a sequel.
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Starred review from November 15, 2013
As one of the sereia, or sea folk, Oriana is banned from the Golden City. For two years, however, she has worked as a spy for her people, disguising her webbed hands with gloves and hiding her gills beneath high-necked clothing, while in the employ of the upper-class Paredes family. When she and Isabel Paredes are kidnapped, Oriana watches helplessly as Isabel drowns, getting away only after the tragedy. Keeping her escape secret, Oriana tries to track down Isabel's killer and encounters Duilio Ferreira, a gentleman acting as police consultant. Although she does not completely trust him, the pair work together to solve a mystery that grows increasingly complex and dangerous. VERDICT Cheney's debut is a masterpiece of historical fantasy, set in early 1900s Portugal, a time and place rarely explored in English-language fiction. The fascinating mannerisms of the age and the extreme formality of two people growing fonder of each other add a charmingly fresh appeal that will cross over to romance fans as well as to period fantasy readers.
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