Book 1: Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

I'm positive I would've liked this book better if I hadn't begun it with such high expectations. In a Regency-era world where creating glamors is considered  womanly art on par with painting or performing on the pianoforte, clever and talented Jane Ellsworth feels overlooked when compared to her lovelier younger sister, Melody. The book really picks up on Jane Austen's "three or four families in a country village" mode of story telling and adds a bit of magic into the mix to spice things up (although brooding glamorist Mr. Vincent could almost pass for more of a Bronte creation there at the beginning). The author really nails the Regency voice, to my mind at least, and anachronistic narration in historical novels are normally really grating to me. On the downside, the character development fell a bit flat. I liked Jane and Melody and Mr. Vincent, but they and their understandings of one another seemed to change on a dime rather than grow gradually over the course of the book. The magic didn't have much impact on the plot, though I liked the system the author devised. All in all an enjoyable read, though I'm in no rush to try out the sequel.