Time & Temper: Beasts of London

Frost & Filigree #3

by Natania Barron

It's been two decades since Vivienne du Lac, powerful night sylph and mysterious monster of fashion, was abducted from Tarrytown New York in a display of strange magic. Her friends Nerissa Waldemar, the lamia; Worth Goodwin, the Questing Beast; and Christabel Crane, a unicorn, have chased her shadow across two continents, down the winding streets of Cairo, and indeed, into the Underworld itself. Just when they're about to give up, a surprising letter indicates that Vivienne might still be alive, and closer than they think. Aided by a kitsune named Kit, a reluctant angel named Ophaniel, a dwarf named Alma, and a host of gods, goddess, monsters, and miscreants, Waldemar, Goodwin, and Crane dash through London and into Spain to try and unite with Vivienne once again. But an army of void creatures greets them, and alongside their deadly attack clues to the insidious villain who's been lurking in the shadows for thousands of years.

Once again, it's up to the team to sort through their own interpersonal challenges of love, jealousy, and inner desires, as they race against the clock -- and time and existence itself -- to rescue Vivienne, or else perish trying. Will Nerissa beat her addictions? Will Christabel get over her lost love and find her place in the world? Will Worth ever cease being a sartorial nightmare? Tempers rise and adventure awaits in the final installment of the Frost and Filigree series.

Genres: Fantasy

228 pages, Paperback

First published December 6, 2019

About the author

Natania 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.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad to see Frost & Filigree come to an end--I've grown quite fond of these characters over the past couple of years--but this was an often surprising, ultimately satisfying culmination of their adventures (thus far). Given the breadth of cast and depth of worldbuilding in this (regrettably brief) series, I must hold out at least a faint glimmer of hope that Vivienne, Narissa & co. will someday return to the page to share their further exploits navigating the precarious balance between the worlds of gods and monsters.

[Erin Penn · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the third, and final, book of a series, one always waits with baited breath. Will the author do the voice justice? Will my investment as a reader be fulfilled? Can everything be drawn together in a satisfying manner?

Never question if Natania Barron can draw anything - whether cover art or a conclusion to a beloved series. The richness of her voice, the complicated characters, everything in Time and Temper is as gratifying as one might hope.

If you love a rich voice set in Victorian times through the Roaring twenties, with everything from angels to lamia, this is the series for you. Start at book one. I *think* Time and Temper works as a stand-alone, but you will be shorting yourself if you don't read the whole series.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously good. Do yourself a favor and read the trilogy!