Every child in the city knew what a conclave meant, and how the previous one had ended—too many people with magical powers, too much pent-up rage and too many grievances. The Houses hadn’t meant to start a war ... [p. 126]
In a Paris devastated by magical war, the great Houses -- many led by one of the Fallen, who were angels but recall nothing of the time before their fall except a lingering sense of loss -- are the only protection against rampaging gangs and general anarchy. Philippe, a former Immortal from Annam (Viet Nam), finds himself connected to Isabelle, one of the Fallen, and effectively imprisoned in House Silver spires, which is established in the ruins of Notre Dame. The head of Silver spires, Selene (who was mentored by Morningstar himself before his disappearance) quickly realises that Philippe is something of a wild card: but she does not expect the horror he unwittingly awakens, and mortal alchemist Madeleine (addicted to angel essence) is unable to counter the damage done by an ancient curse.
The worldbuilding is lushly detailed, melding mythologies from East and West in an almost science-fictional post-apocalyptic urban milieu: the characters are fascinating and their interactions highly charged. Friction between the Houses is exacerbated by rumour and deliberate sabotage. Tantalising hints at what's happening in the wider world kept me reading. There is a lot to like here, and doubtless in the subsequent volumes.
And yet I didn't really engage with this novel, which I suspect was a case of 'right book, wrong time': perhaps my experience was also coloured by the knowledge that the prime villain appears in a spin-off series of romances described by the author as 'fun and fluffy'. I wanted to see that side of him. But I will almost certainly read the other two novels in the main trilogy before branching out to those romances: otherwise, I suspect I'd miss a great deal of context.
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