Celia Lake

Mysterious Charm, #1

Outcrossing

Can a chivalrous lord and his clear-sighted wife find love together? As a child, Richard dreamed of knighthood and gallant deeds. As a grown man, he is committed to doing his best as an officer of the Guard, as a Lord of the land, and as a father. Living up to his oaths is easy. Being a good husband is much more of a challenge. Alysoun has done everything expected of a woman in her position. She has married well and had two clever, healthy children. That's not enough. Richard is kind, but increasingly distant. Alysoun herself has pain and fatigue magic can't fix. In truth, she is isolated and more than a little bored. When Alysoun visits a new museum exhibit, she sees something odd in one of the stained glass pieces. Investigating could bring her closer to Richard or at least give them something to talk about. But it might threaten his position or even his life. Join Richard and Alysoun in 1906 as they explore a mystery, take on new oaths, and discover each other after years of marriage. Pastiche is set in the Edwardian era of Albion, the magical community of England, Wales, and Scotland. It is a standalone story of an arranged marriage turning into a true love match.

A Charms of Albion Book

Pastiche

He wants to know why. She wants to belong. Gabe was born into privilege - money, a loving family, and encouragement to follow wherever his curiosity leads. Assigned to help investigate a failed magical portal in the Scottish Highlands in 1922, he's more than up for the challenge. He won't let an old injury - or the rumours of a lethal magical beast - get in the way of solving the problem. Rathna, the Portal Keeper he's been assigned to assist, is not at all what he expected. From their first meeting, it's clear that she's skilled, with a rare talent for magical energy. Her brown skin, the way she doesn't talk about her family, and her prickly insistence on proper form leave Gabe wondering, but she refuses to talk about anything other than their work. As Gabe and Rathna begin to investigate, mystery piles on mystery. The portal is on the side of a steep mountain for no good reason. There's an unknown man asking questions about Rathna's family. Even getting a drink in the pub has risks. As they begin to trust each other and share their secrets, Rathna becomes sure Gabe will disappear as soon as their work together is done. The Fossil Door features a ferocious desire to learn why things are as they are, a London-born Bengali heroine, awe-inspiring geology, life-changing secrets, and chosen family. Set in the magical community of the British Isles in 1920s, the Mysterious Powers series can be read in any order, and each book ends with a happily-ever-after (no cliffhangers.)

The Fossil Door

Anything might happen on a ship in the open ocean. As Rhoe sets out on a trip on the luxurious ocean liner, she expects to spend a pleasant week reading, talking at length to her brother Cyrus, and quietly enjoying herself. When she returns to Albion, she'll be taking up a new and demanding job at the Temple of Healing. Hugh has been aboard ships half his life, so finding his sea legs isn't the problem. But since his father died and his much older half-brother inherited the shipping line, he's not sure where he fits or what his role could be. This trip, he's working to smooth things along for the first class passengers, making sure they have a memorable and delightful voyage. Of course, the sea has her own mysteries. Something is moving in the deeps, affecting the pelagic mermaids and other ocean life. Rhoe, Hugh, Cyrus, and others must work together to find out why and bring everyone safely to shore. Join Rhoe and Hugh for practical conversations, the mysteries of the ocean depths, and the pleasures of a journey in good company. Sailor's Jewel is a romance of 84,000 words set in the magical community of Great Britain in 1901 with a happily-ever-after ending.

Sailor's Jewel

Lord Geoffrey Carillon is known to be a pleasant and harmless man. Apparently fully recovered from the Great War, he sees to his responsibilities as Lord of Ytene when he's not at house parties, balls, and other social events. When an inquiry agency needs his particular talents to investigate a mysterious and highly addictive magical drink, he's happy to lend a hand. Lizzie Penhallow wants the simple things: her sister's health and safety, food on the table, and enough money to pay the bills and keep their home in Cornwall. After her father and uncle were lost on an disastrous expedition (along with a lot of other people's money), she's had a difficult time getting anyone to hire her. Lizzie knows she needs to meet the high standards of her employer to keep her job and she has no time for distractions. Even charming aristocratic ones There's just one problem. Lord Carillon has the access she needs to keep an eye on her sister and help her new employer solve a deadly and complicated problem. She can work with that. There's no choice. Even if it involves house parties, gossip, and some quite suggestive dancing. Goblin Fruit is a standalone romance of 67,000 words with a happy ending (no cliffhangers). The Mysterious Charm series explores the magical community of the British Isles in the 1920s and can be read in any order. Revel in the house parties and try to solve the mystery of the dangerous new drink in Goblin Fruit.

Goblin Fruit

Family brings out the best and worst in all of us. Having survived tuberculosis, a family scandal, and a dangerous magical drink, Laura is ready for a quiet visit to a beautiful home on a remote island off the coast of Cornwall. She finally has a chance to meet more people near enough her age, and begin to build her own connections in the world. It's more than past time. Galen knows his mother wants him to marry, and soon. Laura seems more promising than the other young women who have been invited to stay. But there are things in his family and in the house he doesn't understand. Even his best friend Martin's investigative skills as a journalist haven't helped. When one of the other house guests is murdered, Galen, Laura, and Martin have to work together to protect the innocent and make sure the murderer is caught. New alliances are forged, old bonds are renewed, and nothing is quite what it seems. In The Cards is a standalone romance of 80,000 words with a happy ending (no cliffhangers). The Mysterious Charm series explores the magical community of the British Isles in the 1920s and can be read in any order. Uncover the murderer and explore the twists of romance in the Isles of Scilly in 1925

In The Cards

Mistress Castalia Jones has built up her dressmaking business stitch by stitch. Comfortably middle-aged, she has apprentices to train, interesting clothing to design, and the freedom to make her own choices. When she overhears uncomfortable gossip about one of her best clients and his fiancee, she finds herself sharing the details with his valet, Benton. Benton has served Lord Carillon since the Great War, not only at home in Albion, but on a variety of expeditions to distant parts of the globe. Now that his lordship is preparing to marry, Benton knows that things must change. Cassie's information leaves him determined to untangle the confusing hints she has heard. When an encounter with a difficult rooster leaves Benton in need of more direct help - and a steady hand with a needle - they begin to look at each other in a different light. As people with very different lives and commitments, nothing could possibly come of their growing friendship and trust. Join Cassie and Benton in Albion of 1926 for a wardrobe full of fabulous dresses, three dangerous birds, and a historical costume party that sends the characters reeling. On The Bias is a standalone romance of 85,000 words with a happy ending and no cliffhangers. The Mysterious Charm series explores the magical community of the British Isles in the 1920s and can be read in any order, but you may enjoy On The Bias more if you are already familiar with Goblin Fruit (book 2 in the series).

On The Bias

Collaboration and curiosity can get through the thickest thorns. Giles Lefton has an excellent life. He enjoys his mathematics, his teaching at the University, and his cryptography assignments. When a manor missing for centuries suddenly reappears in the middle of Oxfordshire, Giles is glad to take on the project. Figuring out magical puzzles and patterns is one of his specialities, after all. Blinded during the Great War, he knows he needs an assistant to help. One who meets his standards. Kate Davies can be relied on to do her duty without complaint. A full member of Albion's Guard, she is glad to serve where she is assigned. While she is glad the Great War is over, she quietly misses the greater range of duties she had while so many men were overseas. Now limited to portal duty and seeing to minor scuffles about the local river traffic, she isn't sure what to make of her new assignment. Or the fact she keeps failing at what Major Lefton expects of her. Together, Kate and Giles tumble into a maze of historical investigation, obscure folklore, and more than a touch of magics neither of them understand. Wards of the Roses is a standalone romance of 63,000 words with a happy ending (no cliffhangers). The Mysterious Charm series explores the magical community of the British Isles in the 1920s and can be read in any order. Face the roses with Kate and Giles in 1920 Oxfordshire, and discover the mysteries of the manor.

Wards of the Roses

There are secrets hiding in the ground. Pross thought she had a straightforward research question to solve. A widowed bookseller, she took on the project to help make ends meet. All she needs to do is help her client uncover the truth about the stories of a hidden hoard on the family estate in Norfolk. But the Research Society she knew through her late husband has changed, and the only person who will speak to her is Ibis Ward. And he's rather prickly about it. Ibis knows his colleagues don't care for him. He's both too foreign (if only half-Egyptian) and entirely too competent for their comfort. He spends his time using his fluency with hieroglyphs, his archaeological skills, and his gifts for magic to translate and describe newly uncovered items brought to London from Egypt. Despite himself, Ibis is intrigued when Pross asks for his help. When it becomes clear there's more at stake than a single Roman hoard, he finds himself trusting her more than he's trusted anyone in years. Share the archaeological adventure with Pross and Ibis in 1926 as they are drawn into a web of magic, mystery, and those who use magic and power for their own ends. Magician’s Hoard is a standalone romance of 67,000 words with a happy ending (no cliffhangers) and the world's most adorable hedgehog. The Mysterious Charm series explores the magical community of the British Isles in the 1920s and can be read in any order.

Magician's Hoard

Enjoy this gentle and kind historical fantasy romance set in the magical community of Great Britain after the Great War. Lydia yearns to make her name as a journalist More to the point, Lydia can't keep going as she has. There's never enough money, nor enough time. She's always scrambling, never sure of the ground beneath her or whether she can rely on anyone for help. Galen needs to figure out who he is now. The last year has brought too much change. His parents are rightfully under house arrest, and Galen and his brother are setting up new lives. Restoring the family business after it was nearly run into the ground by a serious of bad decisions is only the first problem. But Galen knows people. When Lydia asks help investigating the aftermath of an odd news story, Galen is intrigued. So are his friends in the secret society Galen has been part of since his school years. The investigation begins with a horse race, but it soon leads them from the clubs to a decadent house party to a far more dangerous gathering that could change everyone's life forever. Point by Point is the sixth book of the Mysterious Powers series, exploring the institutions of Albion during and after the Great War. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. I It is full of the power of friendship, creative solutions, horse-racing, journalism, and powerful ritual magic. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1926 with a happily ever after ending! keywords: journalist, secret society, horse racing, ritual, initiation, friendship, Prometheus, 1926, no cliffhangers, happily ever after, guaranteed HEA, Wales, Great Britain, British Isles fantasy, romance, fantasy romance, romantic fantasy, historical fantasy, historical romance, romance with magic.

a 1920s historical fantasy romance

Point By Point

Enjoy this gentle and kind historical fantasy romance set in the magical community of Great Britain after the Great War. Thalia wants to make an impact. Thalia's life is full of artists, authors, and other creative minds, but she's barely keeping herself together. After yet another rejection of her writing, she's willing to keep an eye out on a remote home on the edge of Dartmoor while her reclusive great-aunt takes a rest cure. Reggie hasn't been the same since the Great War. Reggie's family have long since run out of tolerance for his continuing shell shock. His uncle's broken leg is the perfect excuse to get Reggie out of the house - at least he can make himself useful fetching and carrying. Reggie's not at all sure he can be any sort of help to anyone. When he visits his uncle's apple orchard, he's even more confused by what he finds - and no one else seems to find the late-ripening apples at all unusual. The house has its own secrets. At first, the house seems a pleasant enough retreat for Thalia. The housekeeper and maid are competent, if distant. The food is wonderful, and she didn't have to buy or cook it herself. But there's the odd noise from the attic, the locked rooms, the ageless photographs. When she meets Reggie, they at least agree that something is odd. Can they discover the secret and change their futures? Mistress of Birds is the seventh book of the Mysterious Powers series, exploring the institutions of Albion during and after the Great War. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. It is full of gothic mystery, feeling out of place, apples, birds, and how to move forward into a new stage of life. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy set in 1927 with a happily ever after ending!

Mistress of Birds

Enjoy this gentle and kind historical fantasy romance set in the magical community of Great Britain after the Great War. Robin needs colour and freedom. After a series of awful decisions, Robin has spent the past two and a half years under the close supervision of his aunts on the family estate. Finally they've decided he can go back to his work as an art and antique dealer. When he overhears a conversation about historical pigments, he's sure a spot of forgery is in the works. He needs to know more. No one sees Beatrice. Invisible to anyone outside her family due to an inherited curse, Beatrice has made her own good life. She handles the vault records for her banking family, tending to the details with care and attention. She never expected a stranger to approach her in a tea shop. He sees her, and she has no idea why or how. The more they talk, the more she's intrigued. And that's before the coiling magic, the sensible dragon, or Robin's explanations of how her cousin's suitor is manipulating every conversation. Fool's Gold is the fourth book of the Mysterious Powers series, exploring the institutions of Albion during and after the Great War. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. (Though this book does directly refer to the events of Seven Sisters if you want to avoid spoilers for that book.) ﻿It is full of pigments and colour, the magic of banking, and a very bouncy dragon. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy set in 1926 with a happily ever after ending! Keywords: artist, art forgery, forger, banks, gold, dragon, magic, curse, invisible, courting, suitor, heist, family, Great War, World War I, 1920s, 1926, no cliffhangers, happily ever after, guaranteed HEA, Wales, Great Britain, British Isles fantasy, romance, fantasy romance, romantic fantasy, historical fantasy, historical romance, romance with magic.

Fool's Gold

Can two war wounded learn how to carry on after life-changing injuries? No one has told Roland anything useful since he awoke in the Temple of Healing following the battle of Ypres. Muzzy-headed from the potions he's forced to take and with no word from his family or friends, he is entirely alone. He’s only allowed out of his room for command performances, talking about his experience of the War to people who refuse to listen to reality. When Elen is assigned as his new nurse, Roland assumes she will be gone in a week or two like all the others. She’s still there in a month, stubbornly insisting on doing everything she can to help him recover. Elen has been sent back from the front after a head injury. She used to know the Temple of Healing well, back during her apprenticeship. Now, nothing works like it used to and she can’t figure out what to do about the fact Roland’s healer is entirely absent from his care. Except, that is, for baffling directives that are not at all in her patient’s best interest. Together, they must confront Elen’s fear of questioning authority and find out why Roland has been isolated from everyone he knows. Carry On takes place in the spring of 1915, during the Great War in Albion, the magical community of England, Wales, and Scotland. First in the Mysterious Power series, it has a happily-ever-after ending full of knitting, compassion, and romance.

Carry On

What if you had ancient magic on your side? Vivian has become a trifle bored with the routine of her inquiry agency and her commitments to the fae-blooded community. When a young man asks for help stopping mysterious events at a boarding house his uncle runs, she takes the case. Cadmus knows a great deal about classics and ancient Greek, but this is beyond his ability to translate. He’ll do anything to keep his home safe and give his nephew a proper start in life. If he must, Cadmus will even wrestle with his quite sensible fears of unfathomable magical beings. Dangerous flowers, ghostly figures, and spooky lights were bad enough, but then Cadmus stumbles across one of Vivian’s most closely held secrets. If they don’t learn to set aside their old habits and trust each other, things could end horribly for everyone else in the house. Join Vivian and Cadmus near Oxford in 1922 as they take part in a seance, dive into the past, and just possibly dance into a new future together. Seven Sisters is the final book in the Mysterious Charm series. The series explores the magical community of the British Isles in the 1920s and can be read in any order.

Seven Sisters

A good teacher is always learning something new. Thesan has loved the stars since she was five. Now the Astronomy professor at Schola, she has a wonderful life full of teaching, research, and all the books and star charts she might ever want. However, her late nights and teaching obligations don’t allow for much of a personal life. Besides, most of the other teachers at Schola are decades older with their own passions and problems. Isembard never expected to find himself as a teacher. A year ago, he agreed to teach Protective magics at Schola and act as bodyguard to two children of Council Members. He knows that he should be preparing to challenge for a Council seat himself, find a suitable wife, and produce children. Teaching at Schola means he can put those decisions off a little longer. Even better, Isembard is looking forward to the chance to catch up with his long-time mentor for the first time since the Great War. Thesan and Isembard expect the school year to be the usual mix of teaching and projects, along with a rare upcoming solar eclipse. Instead, they find themselves dealing with a difficult new teacher bent on returning the school to the 1800s, students up to something mysterious and possibly dangerous, and the never-ending question of how to get their students to start thinking for themselves. Eclipse is a friends to lovers romance full of astronomy, academic politics, the question of what makes a good teacher, unanticipated magic, student dramatic productions, and all the things an eclipse reveals. Set in 1924 and 1925 at a magical school off the coast of Wales, Eclipse is 110,000 words with a happily-ever-after ending.

Eclipse

Unexplored Territory

Ancient Trust

Tea and Meetings

Three Tales of  Gabe and Rathna

Mabyn keeps her commitments. The land magic in Suffolk has been failing for years. When the current Lord asks the Council for help, Mabyn knows it's her obligation to see it through. Even if that means immersing herself in a role she failed at in her younger and more optimistic days decades ago. Back when she was married. Cyrus likes a challenge.He doesn't know Mabyn well, but Cyrus does have a gift for ritual, and a broad experience of the world. A widower with a grown daughter, he's up for tracking down a lost heir and seeing if they can learn to take up the land magics. When they arrive at Baddock Hall, it's clear there's more going on than the current Lord's troubles. The land is boggy, the gardens are failing, the bees have fled, and there's no obvious cause. Together, Mabyn and Cyrus must face their own pasts while getting to the root of the problem and making space for the future. The Hare and the Oak is the fifth book of the Mysterious Powers series, exploring the institutions of Albion during and after the Great War. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. It is full of land magic, a late in life romance, a failing family line, and healing old wounds to the heart and soul. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1926 with a happily ever after ending!

Celia Lake

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