When goodness and virtue cannot endure, the characters are drawn inexorably to their limits in a conclusion that is as heartbreaking as it is satisfying. Cordelia is a singular character, beholden to nobody and far more capable than the supposedly stronger people who are enchanted by her beauty and hope to command her elusive loyalty. The romance between Cyril and Aristide is presented matter-of-factly the flaws, roughness, and sincerity are organic to the relationship rather than being the tropes of gay narratives. Donnelly’s masterly creation is richly imagined and moves at an unchecked pace, painting a layer of sumptuous indulgence over a society of corruption, vice, and oppression. While the settingthe troubled confederacy of Geddamay be fantastical, the reader will immediately recognize the characters’ lifestyles and the looming threat of fascism as highly reminiscent of the 1930s. Cyril is comfortable as a dilettante until a mission goes badly, putting his lover, burlesque performer Aristide Makricosta, at risk under a rising conservative regime that aims to consolidate the four diverse nation-states of Gedda into “one tightly controlled entity.” Aristide recruits Cordelia’s help without knowing the mortal danger Cyril has accepted in his effort to protect them both. AMBERLOUGH ( Amazon) is a remarkably self-assured debut, as Donnelly carves an unique space for herself in the fantasy world. Cordelia Lehane is content to scrape out a living any way she can, whether by fabulous stage performances or black market dealings.

By night, he moves drugs and refugees under the noses of crooked cops. Her fiction won the Dell Magazine Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science. Setting that owes much to pre-WWII Europe but has its own complicated politics, Cyril DePaul is a young man of privilege who’s gotten in over his head as an agent for the Amberlough government. The Smuggler: By day, Aristide Makricosta is the emcee for Amberlough City’s top nightclub. LARA ELENA DONNELLY is a graduate of the Alpha and Clarion writing workshops. Donnelly blends romance and tragedy, evoking gilded-age glamour and the thrill of a spy adventure, in this impressive debut.

Amberlough by lara elena donnelly