THE RAKE IS TAKEN

A fantasy romance featuring two superpowered lovers in Victorian-era England.

This new installment in Sumner’s League of Lords series takes a secondary character from its predecessor, The Lady Is Trouble (2020), and puts him center stage. In 1855, Finn Alexander, the adopted son of a viscount, has the paranormal ability to read people’s minds, and he’s set up a gambling den that’s become wildly popular among the well-to-do. But his special talent comes with a price, as his mind is constantly filled with the background noise of others’ thoughts. This, in part, leads to his deep interest in the engaged Lady Victoria Hamilton, whose own powers allow her to erase people’s short-term memories and block others’ powers from working. He experiences the latter power firsthand, and the experience is a first for him: “Added to the bizarre circumstance of not being able to read her, being close to her obscured his ability to read others, like she’d dimmed the flame on the gaslamp of his mind, leaving only his thoughts to contend with.” Finn finds himself truly intrigued by her on multiple levels, and he soon introduces her to a clandestine group of similarly superpowered men and women. As in the previous volume, Sumner seamlessly blends gaslight-era fantasy and conventional historical romance. She also perfectly incorporates detailed supernatural elements into her well-researched setting. Her two central characters are compelling and believably damaged; each comes from a radically different segment of society, and each finds themselves in a relationship that they weren’t expecting. Finn, in particular, is a highly rewarding fictional creation—a well-drawn combination of roguery and vulnerability. Readers may be initially drawn to the book for its exciting paranormal aspects, but they’ll stay for the electric dialogue between Finn and Victoria, which includes plenty of comic banter. (Those expecting X-Men–style superheroics, though, won’t find it here.) Overall, it’s a sparkling addition to this promising series.

A spirited and compulsively readable paranormal-romance series entry.