27/50 (4/50): The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale

162 (341) days remaining

Pages: 356

Total pages in challenge: 13,091 (1,811)

“It is 1752. Winter is approaching, and two secrets - an unwanted pregnancy and a theft - drive seventeen-year-old Agnes Trussel to run away from her home in rural Sussex. Lost and frightened as night descends on the menacing streets of London, she is drawn to a curious sign depicting a man holding a star. It is the home of Mr. J. Blacklock, a brooding fireworks maker who is grieving for his recently deceased wife. He hires Agnes as his apprentice, and as she learns to make rockets, portfires, and fiery rain, she slowly gains the laconic Blacklock’s trust. He initiates her into his peculiar art and sparks in her a shared obsession for creating the most spectacular fireworks the world has ever seen.

But her condition is becoming harder to conceal, and through it all, the clock is ticking - for Agnes’s secret will not stay hidden forever. Soon she meets Cornelius Soul, seller of gunpowder, and she conceives a plan that could say her. But why does Blacklock so vehemently disapprove of Mr. Soul? And what is Blacklock hiding from her? Could he be on the brink of a discovery that will change pyrotechny forever? A summer storm is brewing - but Agnes has no idea that her mysterious mentor has been watching her, and hatching plans of his own.

The Book of Fires vividly evokes a dark bygone world and offers a masterful portrayal of a relationship as mysterious and tempestuous as any the Brontes imagined. Jane Borodale’s portrait of 1750s London is unforgettable, from the grimy streets to the inner workings of a household where little is as it seems. Beautifully written, complex and layered, The Book of Fires is a captivating debut of fireworks, redemption, and the strange alchemy that will forever change the fortunes of a young woman once bound for ruin.” -Dust Jacket