I notoriously loved The Notorious Virtues.

Alwyn Hamilton has a new series The Notorious Virtues and the first installment is amazing. Read my 5 star review.

Out: Now

Nora is daughter to the heiress of the Holtzfalls who control all the money and magic in the country. Her mother is found dead and the position of the new heir must be decided by the Veritaz, the family magical competition. The 16-year-old must beat the cousins she dislikes and one new addition to the family, Lotte. She is the illegitimate daughter of Nora's favorite aunt who'd been left in a village convent. From being an orphan Lotte is suddenly surrounded by a family that mostly wants her dead. While Nora tries to find who murdered her mother with the help of a journalist who hates what she stands for, Lotte searches for her father's identity as the danger of the Veritaz looms...

Hamilton knows how to set the scene. We enter this world, looking around in wonder and taking it in. A place of town cars, brass bands in clubs, champagne, milk being delivered and newspapers. But also of magic, sworn knights and undying things living in the woods. This mixture of urban richness with touched-by-the-fantastical darkness creates a potent uniqueness. The luscious detailing and figurative speech of creative vividness and beautiful wording along with the sharp dialogue bring this story to life. The world's history and people's backstories are given mostly through thoughts and remembered incidents and contribute admirably to building this tale, never hindering its flow. Ohh and fairytale-like excerpts between chapters.

Multiple POVs with clarity of emotions and true intentions for each of the protagonists who feel like outsiders for different reasons. These characters are deliciously flawed, trying to promote their own agendas, some for greed, some for self-worth, even for self-preservation. Theo, a knight-protector, honorable and dutiful, seems to be the exception. But you are invested in all the characters.

The storytelling is exquisite. Cynicism and sarcasm rage as we have family drama reaching the extreme, people being ruthless, entertaining zingers and backhanded comments and devious plotting. The competition being for virtues is ironic if you count the behavior of these contestants. The trials are nothing like you expect. The magic system where power is used through a wide variety of charms and the existence of singular gifted individuals is quite creative. Things get more intense as the story threads are woven expertly, the suspense had me with my hand on my chest as if I could hold my heart & breath while everything seemed to blow up as we got closer to the end.

This book touches and examines the topics of privilege and social inequality in an engaging way. It also shows the complexity and often ugliness of human nature. Purpose is an important theme here.

Showcasing captivating action, intrigue, secrets, mysteries to solve and conspiracies it is chock full of gasp-worthy events. The spark of rebellion and civil unrest threaten the city on the verge of igniting. Saying I adored it is an understatement. I was totally immersed and felt like I was in a high-quality, magic fantasy thriller TV series.