#AtoZChallenge 2024 letter L

Emily Larkin

Emily Larkin writes historical romance set in England but with a twist. Her stories follow an extended family. Many generations ago, one family member helped a faerie. In exchange she got a promise that in their 20s each of her female descendants will get to chose a magical power. (The faerie is still really angry about this but she’s holding up her end of the deal.)

The gifts in this main series aren’t the things that you might think that they would ask for. No one is asking for riches. There is the ability to tell if someone is lying or to find missing people for two examples.

In offshoots of this series there are other branches of the family where the gift has been transferred to some men. They chose shapeshifting and levitation. That’s a bit more standard for fantasy stories. But they are used a bit more creatively in these stories. The man who can shapeshift uses his power when he loses a bet to live as a female servant and realizes what life is like for them.

There is also a series that gives the history of the woman and her close family who made the deal with the faerie.

These books are silly but they are a joy to read and well written enough to be engaging regardless of the premise.