What do you think?
Rate this book
Mysterious Arts #4
Facets of the Bench
The War changed everything.
Annice grew up wanting to carve jet. Born and raised in Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast, she learned from her father and grandfather, drawing beauty out of ancient stones. But now she’s on her own, there are customs against women carving jet, and the stone’s fallen out of fashion. It’s 1927. People want to forget their grief, not wear it for all to see. For all those reasons and more, Annice is at a crossroads in her life.
Griffin has lived in Trellech, Albion’s magical city, all his life except for his service during the Great War. He’s loved the city nearly as long, years before he made a place for himself tending the magic of the courts as a solicitor and specialist. After the War, he came home willing to use whatever tools he needed - wheelchair, crutches, canes - to keep doing what he loved. But other people don’t think he’s still capable. Griffin’s been stuck in a professional limbo that hasn’t budged for years.
When the magic and the jet of one of the courtrooms starts failing, Griffin is the one who has to figure out how to fix it. On a trip to Whitby, it becomes obvious that he needs Annice’s help to keep the inheritance court working as it should. If he can convince her to be confident in her skills - and give Trellech a try - there’s a chance for the two of them to do much more together than they could on their own.
Facets of the Bench is about loving a place and sharing it with others, competence, and making the most of an opportunity. It features an ambulatory wheelchair user, a woman whose skills just need a little encouragement to blossom, and a city full of magic. Set in 1927, it’s a romance with a happily ever after ending.
Annice grew up wanting to carve jet. Born and raised in Whitby, on the Yorkshire coast, she learned from her father and grandfather, drawing beauty out of ancient stones. But now she’s on her own, there are customs against women carving jet, and the stone’s fallen out of fashion. It’s 1927. People want to forget their grief, not wear it for all to see. For all those reasons and more, Annice is at a crossroads in her life.
Griffin has lived in Trellech, Albion’s magical city, all his life except for his service during the Great War. He’s loved the city nearly as long, years before he made a place for himself tending the magic of the courts as a solicitor and specialist. After the War, he came home willing to use whatever tools he needed - wheelchair, crutches, canes - to keep doing what he loved. But other people don’t think he’s still capable. Griffin’s been stuck in a professional limbo that hasn’t budged for years.
When the magic and the jet of one of the courtrooms starts failing, Griffin is the one who has to figure out how to fix it. On a trip to Whitby, it becomes obvious that he needs Annice’s help to keep the inheritance court working as it should. If he can convince her to be confident in her skills - and give Trellech a try - there’s a chance for the two of them to do much more together than they could on their own.
Facets of the Bench is about loving a place and sharing it with others, competence, and making the most of an opportunity. It features an ambulatory wheelchair user, a woman whose skills just need a little encouragement to blossom, and a city full of magic. Set in 1927, it’s a romance with a happily ever after ending.
404 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 2, 2024
4 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Celia Lake
48 books75 followersCelia Lake spends her days as a librarian in the Boston (MA) metro area, and her nights and weekends at home happily writing, reading, and researching.
Born and raised in Massachusetts to British parents, she naturally embraced British spelling, classic mysteries, and the Oxford comma before she learned there were any other options.
Born and raised in Massachusetts to British parents, she naturally embraced British spelling, classic mysteries, and the Oxford comma before she learned there were any other options.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 28, 2025
Lovely slow building of a relationship. Competence, confidence, conviviality, compatibility, learning, practicality, feel of place, love of place. Delightful, warm, feel-good, emotionally satisfying.
August 3, 2024
I liked the protagonists. I enjoy seeing characters being competent. :) Griffin's physical/magical(?) injuries during World War I had disrupted his sense of balance and at times caused muscle weakness in his legs. So sometimes he'd use a wheelchair, and sometimes forearm crutches. Some casual observers who saw him using the various mobility aids at different times had unpleasant feelings towards him.
I'm familiar with trying to get a walker to stay hanging on the back of a wheelchair. I envied Griffin the magic that let him make sure the crutches would stay attached to the wheelchair. My own injury was more like that of another character in the world of Albion. Like Gabriel Edgarton, I broke my ankle badly. Modern-day surgery and then physical therapy helped me get a lot of function back. I remember that temporary disability, though, how a wheelchair let me have more use of my hands and was less exhausting than using a walker.
Griffin's mental and magical abilities were intact, but he needed to prove himself to doubters. Annice was an expert in an industry that was dying, the carving of jet. Also, there was prejudice against women carving jet. Annice wanted to do the work, though. She wasn't aware of good options for other jobs. So both protagonists faced challenges.
The romance was a pretty slow burn. I was okay with that, though. The situations the characters were in were interesting, and so was the dialogue.
I'm familiar with trying to get a walker to stay hanging on the back of a wheelchair. I envied Griffin the magic that let him make sure the crutches would stay attached to the wheelchair. My own injury was more like that of another character in the world of Albion. Like Gabriel Edgarton, I broke my ankle badly. Modern-day surgery and then physical therapy helped me get a lot of function back. I remember that temporary disability, though, how a wheelchair let me have more use of my hands and was less exhausting than using a walker.
Griffin's mental and magical abilities were intact, but he needed to prove himself to doubters. Annice was an expert in an industry that was dying, the carving of jet. Also, there was prejudice against women carving jet. Annice wanted to do the work, though. She wasn't aware of good options for other jobs. So both protagonists faced challenges.
The romance was a pretty slow burn. I was okay with that, though. The situations the characters were in were interesting, and so was the dialogue.
May 1, 2025
A lovely, warm, compassionate gaslamp fantasy romance between a high ranking legal court official with a mobility disability and a jet carver searching for something more in her life. The workings of Albion’s courts are discussed as well as the magic in stones and jewels, especially jet. The disability representation is so well-done (as I can attest from personal experience). The romance is understated and slow-burn but built very well. I wanted these people to succeed and find happiness. A lovely, comforting book that I needed in my life.
August 2, 2025
I do enjoy this series….. However, this one is a little more complex (LOTS of characters to keep track of) than the previous 3 books in the series.
There are charming characters (some more charming than others), witty dialogue, MAGICK, lots of interesting info about jet and other stones and charms, romance (one rather graphic sexual episode), no violence, no editing issues, and best of all…..no cliffhanger ending.
A perfect book to curl up in a comfy chair with a cup of tea and a snack and enjoy.
i am looking forward to the next book.
There are charming characters (some more charming than others), witty dialogue, MAGICK, lots of interesting info about jet and other stones and charms, romance (one rather graphic sexual episode), no violence, no editing issues, and best of all…..no cliffhanger ending.
A perfect book to curl up in a comfy chair with a cup of tea and a snack and enjoy.
i am looking forward to the next book.
October 24, 2024
This is a fairly minor story in terms of the arc of Lake's world and yet the specificity of both characters and the way that they make sense of each other's worlds is charming (and comforting).
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews