The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey

TL;DR: This would have been fantastic if the blurb didn’t FULLY spoil the whole plot.
Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher!

Plot: The first paragraph of the blurb tells you the first 67% of the book, and it has the rest in the next paragraphs.
Characters: I really liked them, they were delightful and I always love how generally caring the ‘good’ guys in these books are.
Setting: A lovely historical setting, just enough to keep it rooted and cozy feeling.
Fantasy: I always enjoy the fantasy in this series. It’s a light touch that has changed the world just enough to feel fantastical.

Summary:

Elena Whitstone and her seven brothers, abandoned by her mother, find themselves with a new stepmother.  At first she seems more neglectful than evil, until just after Christmas she proves herself to be worse than evil; she is an actual magician, a Master of Water, who attempts to muder Elena’s seven brothers when they are skating.  When they survive that attempt by transforming into swans, she drives them away.  

But the shock of having all of his heirs perish in a frozen pond is too much for Elena’s father.  He dies, and his widow is abruptly confronted with the inconvenient truth that the estate is entailed, and she not only must leave, she is lawfully in charge of Elena. 

Furious, and possessing “only” what was gifted to her during her marriage, the stepmother retreats to Bath, to take up residence in the luxurious townhouse that was bought for her, and resume her former profession as a “Cyprian,” a very exclusive courtesan, with Elena reluctantly posing as a page-boy and her servant.  Nothing lasts forever, of course, and three years later, Elena is rapidly maturing too much to continue that ruse–and the stepmother is facing the ravages of time.  The stepmother concocts a plan to establish an exclusive brothel and regain her wealth by selling Elena to the highest bidder.

Alone, Elena must not only find a way to save herself, but to reverse the spell that has transformed her brothers.

Thoughts:

I have very little to complain about with this volume in the Elemental Masters series. I really enjoy these books, I find the twists the magic adds is very fun. I love the writing, it’s familiar to me and comforting. And I usually find the plots just engaging enough to feel cozy. But I have a big complaint on this, and it’s not the book’s fault.

The blurb of this book, the back summary, gives away the entire story. Short of one character and the steps the main character has to take to resolve the curse on her brothers (which are part of the source story/myth), it’s entirely spoiled. The first 67% of this book is the first paragraph. The next 33% is within the following ones. What is that? Why are we doing this?

I will add, there is a brief sexual assault on page which I didn’t love. That and this back summary thing were my only complaints. I had a lot of fun here. I am genuinely a little stuck on this as I was having fun the entire read until I’d think ‘but wait this is coming’ and I’d then examine the story waiting for what I knew was next. It killed the wonder, the mystery, and the engagement I had every time I gave it any thought. It’s such a shame. I’ll be reading the rest of the series but I’m going to avoid the back summaries from now on.