What do you think?
Rate this book
Frost & Filigree #1
Frost & Filigree: Beasts of Tarrytown
They have worked behind the scenes of society for centuries, protecting humans from threats beyond their understanding. They are The Shadow Council, and these Archives are the stories of their members and adventures throughout recorded history. From folk heroes to monsters out of darkest nightmare, the Shadow Council Archives explore the world beyond mundane understanding.
Vivienne du Lac and Nerissa Waldemar -- a.k.a. la belle dame sans merci and the lamia -- have been living among the elite of Tarrytown for quite some time, undetected but for the trail of goats in their wake (one must eat, after all). But just as their eccentricities begin to raise eyebrows, a dark evil arises, intent on murder. They meet a with a young woman named Christabel Crane and a group of bumbling cultists calling themselves the Circle of Iapetus, who beg for help combating the creature.
As they plunge deeper into the mysteries surrounding the New York elite, old flames rekindle, and old grudges, too. Vivienne and Nerissa agree to help fend off the darkness, but will spilled blood mean the end of their reform? And if not, at what cost?
Vivienne du Lac and Nerissa Waldemar -- a.k.a. la belle dame sans merci and the lamia -- have been living among the elite of Tarrytown for quite some time, undetected but for the trail of goats in their wake (one must eat, after all). But just as their eccentricities begin to raise eyebrows, a dark evil arises, intent on murder. They meet a with a young woman named Christabel Crane and a group of bumbling cultists calling themselves the Circle of Iapetus, who beg for help combating the creature.
As they plunge deeper into the mysteries surrounding the New York elite, old flames rekindle, and old grudges, too. Vivienne and Nerissa agree to help fend off the darkness, but will spilled blood mean the end of their reform? And if not, at what cost?
- GenresFantasy
139 pages, Paperback
First published June 6, 2017
13 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Natania Barron
39 books202 followersNatania Barron is a writer with a penchant for the speculative; she is also an unrepentant geek. Her work has appeared in Weird Tales, EscapePod, The Gatehouse Gazette, Thaumatrope, Bull Spec, Crossed Genres, Steampunk Tales, Faerie Magazine, and in a number of anthologies. Her work often incorporates Victorian aesthetics with magic and science fiction, treading between genres whenever possible. Her first novel, Pilgrim of the Sky, debuted in 2011.
She has since published a music fiction novel (ROCK REVIVAL), a trilogy of novellas set in early 20th century high society with monster heroines (THESE MARVELOUS BEASTS), and her Arthurian retelling QUEEN OF NONE will be re-released by Solaris Books in May of 2024, along with its two sequels, QUEEN OF FURY and QUEEN OF MERCY.
Solaris Nova is also publishing her queer Regency romantasy trilogy, Love in Netherford, starting with NETHERFORD HALL in '24 and THE VISCOUNT ST. ALBANS and THE GAME OF HEARTS in '25.
Natania holds a BA in English/Writing from Loyola University Maryland and an MA in English with a concentration in medieval literature from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In her spare time she cooks, bakes, drinks wine, crochets, plays guitar and ukulele, and enjoys nature. She lives in North Carolina with her family.
She has since published a music fiction novel (ROCK REVIVAL), a trilogy of novellas set in early 20th century high society with monster heroines (THESE MARVELOUS BEASTS), and her Arthurian retelling QUEEN OF NONE will be re-released by Solaris Books in May of 2024, along with its two sequels, QUEEN OF FURY and QUEEN OF MERCY.
Solaris Nova is also publishing her queer Regency romantasy trilogy, Love in Netherford, starting with NETHERFORD HALL in '24 and THE VISCOUNT ST. ALBANS and THE GAME OF HEARTS in '25.
Natania holds a BA in English/Writing from Loyola University Maryland and an MA in English with a concentration in medieval literature from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In her spare time she cooks, bakes, drinks wine, crochets, plays guitar and ukulele, and enjoys nature. She lives in North Carolina with her family.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 27, 2017
Mesmerized by the deep, unfolding characters. It's not a big book, yet it has big magic packed inside it. The author must be a faery's child - hair long, foot light, eyes wild, brain quick, heart open - bleeding love.
Read it.
Read it.
June 25, 2017
This was so so good but TOO SHORT! I mean I know it's a novella but still :p Complex, engaging, funny characters, and an exciting story that was over much too soon. Looking forward to the next installment!
November 18, 2017
I've never had so much fun writing a book. Vivienne, Nerissa, Worth, and Christabel have become some of my favorite characters I've ever written. When I sat down to write this, I had the voice of the Dowager Countess from Downton Abbey in mind; I wanted a serious tale that was punctuated with absurdity but embraced my love of the Edwardian period, as well as myth. I have a MA in English, and my primary study was Arthuriana and the Romantic poets, so this was one of the first opportunities I had to talk about both of them (apologies to Mallory and Keats). The sequel, MASKS & MALEVOLENCE follows our heroes to Cairo, in 1922, after a string of strange murders piques their attention.
August 2, 2019
Much more complicated set of characters than I normal find in the Shadow Council shared world - almost doesn't fit in the novella (which is a complete story). A couple of the transitions between chapter/scenes have abrupt jumps; a problem with the extremely short format of novellas.
The language is beautiful. I bet this will be an amazing audiobook.
What makes a monster? When does one become a monster, and when does one stop being a monster? The monsters in this book are not that introspective, and they know what they are and what they have been capable of in the past. But in the here and now, they want to be part of society. For Vivienne du Lac, it is because she feeds on emotions of people. The higher and brighter the better, and this was a time of high society parties. For Nerissa, well, keeps her from backsliding.
She doesn't want to be that monster in the swamp eating people; she wants to be better than that. But when a group of humans set off a bomb at a party to maximize blood (but not death), Nerissa and Vivienne need to face their baser selves, deal with the humans willing to risk the two monster setting off a blood bath, and fight the real monster in the area. All the while being distracted by the return of an old flame of Vivienne's who she thought was dead. Is he the new monster - or is the new monster pretending to be him?
Action packed, but turn of the 18 to 19th century beauty. A good read in the style of an urban fantasy Victorian romance.
The language is beautiful. I bet this will be an amazing audiobook.
What makes a monster? When does one become a monster, and when does one stop being a monster? The monsters in this book are not that introspective, and they know what they are and what they have been capable of in the past. But in the here and now, they want to be part of society. For Vivienne du Lac, it is because she feeds on emotions of people. The higher and brighter the better, and this was a time of high society parties. For Nerissa, well, keeps her from backsliding.
She doesn't want to be that monster in the swamp eating people; she wants to be better than that. But when a group of humans set off a bomb at a party to maximize blood (but not death), Nerissa and Vivienne need to face their baser selves, deal with the humans willing to risk the two monster setting off a blood bath, and fight the real monster in the area. All the while being distracted by the return of an old flame of Vivienne's who she thought was dead. Is he the new monster - or is the new monster pretending to be him?
Action packed, but turn of the 18 to 19th century beauty. A good read in the style of an urban fantasy Victorian romance.
January 31, 2018
What a wonderous romp! I can't wait to read what happens in Cairo in the upcoming Masks & Malevolence. Nerissa is my power creature, but all the Beasts of Tarrytown are multi-faceded gems in an opulent setting.
July 12, 2021
This novella had a bit of everything I love supernatural mystery, romance, and an historical setting. A quick, fun read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews