Piano Black - The Seatbelts

Magic Under Glass
Magic Under Glass, Book 1

Author: Jaclyn Dolamore
Pages: 225
Publisher: Bloomsbury

Brief Summary:
Nimira works in a music hall as a trouser girl, scraping together just enough pennies to stay alive. So much for earning a fortune like she planned when she left her home country of Tiansher for Lorinar. Her luck seems like it might finally be changing when sorcerer Hollin Parry offers her a job after having seen one of her performances. He wants her to sing to accompany a piano-playing automaton he acquired. Thrilled at first, both at the prospect of a better life and at Parry's attentions to her, she begins to realize that there are a lot of dark secrets in Parry's House. The automaton which was rumored to be haunted turns out to be a fairy trapped inside a clockwork body; she must find a way to set him free, hopefully while finding a purpose for herself.

Review:
The opening chapters did not interest me immediately, and I feared that I would not care much for this book or the sequel. Then Nimira went to Parry's house and suddenly, without noticing the change, I realized that I was reading voraciously, completely wrapped up in the story Dolamore created. From that point, she didn't let me go.

Nimira is not the typical strong heroine, nor is she a shrinking violet. She lacks in physical strength and she cries several times. Still, she is a powerful girl to be reckoned with. When the chips are down, she does not let fear stop her. She fights for those she loves and for herself.

Okay, who would have thought that an author could make this work so well? I mean, Erris can't say anything but "Mmm," and can communicate solely by piano. His movements are similarly limited. Yet, Dolamore manages to make him come across as a real, dynamic character with a personality, rather than a static one. Wow. Just wow.

The inside flap compares Magic Under Glass to Libba Bray and Charlotte Bronte. My initial reaction to this was skepticism. I definitely didn't see the Bronte at all. When I found it, my like for the book became even stronger. This was pretty much the deciding factor for loving this book over merely liking it.

This book has everything. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Cinder or A Long, Long Sleep, other recent favorites. I am so incredibly excited to read Magic Under Stone.

Rating: 4.5/5

Note: I love this song for this book, because I like to imagine that this is what the automaton's piano sounds like, very different from the fairy music. :-p

Note 2: I prefer this cover, because it's the same girl who's on the cover for book two, who looks way more like Nimira than the girl on the cover of the edition I read.