Dark Mirror (Dark Passage #1) by M.J. Putney
YA Paranormal
March 1, 2011
Paperback
St. Martin’s Griffin

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “That is the definition of true courage. Being frightened, yet still doing what is right.”

Lady Victoria (Tory) Mansfield has an enviable life as the youngest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Fairmount. But when a twist of fate reveals Tory has magical abilities she is exiled to Lackland Abbey; a reform school for those like her.

At Lackland Abbey, Tory finds a strange and wonderful world filled with adventure, friendship, and true love. Here Tory will discover who she really is; beyond the trappings of her family and social position.

Set is the early 1800’s, magic is thought to be an abomination by the upper class. Lady Victoria (Tory) Mansfield, the daughter of an Earl, has a special gift but does what she can to hide all traces of her abilities. When her nephew’s life is threatened, Tory exposes herself in order to save his life. Shocked and disgusted by her magical abilities, her family ships her off to Lackland Abbey in hopes she can be “cured.” Lackland Abbey is a reform school for the upper class that attempts to suppress the magic in it’s charges. Upon her arrival at Lackland Abbey, Tory tries to be humble and unobtrusive. Convincing the headmistress that she is cured of magic is her only hope of being able to return home to her family.

But things are not what they seem at the school. Soon Tory meets the irregulars. The irregulars are a group of students and teachers who don’t feel magic is something to shun but to be embraced and used for the good of the world. Meeting in secret, this group studies and learns to enhance and control their magic.

When the group’s secret hiding place is raided, Tory finds herself transported to the future by means of a magical mirror. Arriving during World War II, Tory meets an irregular’s future descendants and sees that perhaps fate played a hand in delivering her there. Soon she brings her friends forward when it is made known that their magic is needed in the future. There Tory discovers that social status means nothing in the face of war, friendship, and true love.

I have been a fan of M.J. Putney’s historical romances for years. When I heard she was writing a youth paranormal, I was eager to see how well she made the transition. I’m delighted to say it was a success. Dark Mirror is a wonderfully light hearted story that focuses on the coming of age for a young woman in the 1800’s. Smooth conversational writing mixed with an easy to follow storyline does speak to a somewhat younger age group then, I think, intended. Filled with magic and adventure-it has a Harry Potter feel to it but on a simpler level.

The characters are well defined and filled with wonderful three dimensional personalities that were easy to relate to. I was very impressed with Tory. Her reactions and expectations are realistic and translate well across the board.

The romance here is sweet and blooms slowly yet plausible for the time period and the characters ages. I admit I wanted a little more “oomph” but that maybe because I’m used to Ms Putney’s adult romances.

Ms Putney does a wonderful job of explaining the various magics in the book with out over whelming us with information. The plot is fairly predictable and there really isn’t much in the way of suspense or drama. It’s all rather straight forward. I would have liked to have seen a bit more depth to the storyline. I felt the smaller sub stories intertwined well with the main plot and resolved themselves in a way that allowed for satisfying resolution yet keeps the door open for the next one in the series-Dark Passages -which is set to release Fall 2011. All in all a wonderful beginning to what is sure to be an adventurous series that will appeal to teens and adults alike.

Rating: C+

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