Love-in-a-Mist

Greenwing & Dart #5

by Victoria Goddard

Magic is out of fashion.
Murder, like romance, is always a possibility.

The journey home from Orio City was supposed to be straightforward. Avoid being captured by brigands or agents of the criminal gangs; try not to cause any further spiritual or magical shocks; and make it over the mountains before winter closes in.

A sudden blizzard drives Jemis and his friends to seek refuge in an eccentric country gentleman's even more eccentric house. They only want to stay out the storm without revealing all their secrets: but the other guests have secrets of their own, and Mr. Dart's ability to hear the inanimate has some unforeseeable consequences ...

Blizzards. Unicorns. Ciphers. Noblesse oblige. A budding romance. And that's before the murder.

Book Five of Greenwing & Dart, fantasies of manners--and mischief.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy Of Manners, Cozy Fantasy, Sci Fi Fantasy, Magic

283 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

I walked across England in 2013, fulfilling a long-held dream. I'm currently the sexton of an Anglican church in Nova Scotia, which means I am keeper of the keys and opener of doors (and shutter-off of alarms). I have a PhD in medieval studies from the University of Toronto, looking at poetry and philosophy in the works of Dante and Boethius -- both the poetry and the philosophy come into my stories a great deal (and occasionally the Dante and the Boethius).

I like writing about the ordinary lives of magical people on the other side of the looking glass ... and the extraordinary deeds of ordinary folk, too. Three of my favourite authors are Patricia McKillip (especially 'The Riddle-Master of Hed' trilogy and 'The Bell at Sealy Head'), Connie Willis ('Bellwether' and 'To Say Nothing of the Dog,' which latter would make my top-ten books on a desert island), and Lois McMaster Bujold ('The Curse of Chalion' and its sequels).

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victoria Goddard took the concept of the country house mystery and said, "You know what this needs? A little more magic. And some old gods. An Ivan Vorpatril analog. And, of course, a baby unicorn."

And you know what? She was right. This is a lovely book and so much fun. Due, in no small part, to Jemis's wonderfulness as a protagonist. Him, Mr. Dart, and Hal being cooped up in a house together with mysterious staff and puzzling side characters is sheer delight.

(This book, and its cover, is the reason I started the whole series. It was a good decision.)

[Julie Dill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The US healthcare system is somewhat of a nightmare hellscape and sometimes rich people form little private subscription networks, contracting the best doctors and hoarding them from everyone else. If *I* were rich, I would pay Victoria Goddard to write Greenwing & Dart novels for me. If you're ever reading one of her books and you wonder for whom, exactly, is the author writing the little inside jokes, it's me. She's writing them for me, and I appreciate it immensely. I notice every single one and I wink at them and slip her an extra $50.

But I'm okay with you getting to read her novels, too, I suppose. Though it puzzles me exceedingly that not enough of you do. Jemis Greenwing is an honorary member of our household. We love him unconditionally, even when he won't shut up (especially when he won't shut up). The arrival of #5 came sooner than we had any right to hope for, and thank goodness. It is A DELIGHT, but it makes little sense to summarize it or comment on it directly, since it's #5 and if you read #4, you HAVE to read it, and if you haven't, you would only be confused.

In conclusion: If you're an adult and finding yourself a bit adrift because you've recently acquired a TERF-sized hole in your bookshelves/heart, you could fill it with Greenwing & Dart novels and you'll get everything that could've been and so much more. Sword fights, sorcery, dandies, drug cartels, bookstores, baking competitions, kittens, cuddles, pirates, poetry... I can probably do this all day. PLEASE READ THESE BOOKS, because, honestly, I am in dire need of the inevitable fluffy gay fan fiction.

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully fun. Between the unicorn, the locked room murder mystery, and the MOST FUN CHARACTER REVEAL EVER, I ate this up. This series has everything I love and more. Adventure! Puzzles! A main cast I can't help but adore so much. Across all of her work, Goddard is simply unparalleled at writing a wide range of real, complicated, interesting characters. Inconvenient for me in that I'm now deeply invested in the lives of approximately thirty imaginary people, but who are we kidding, I'm giddy with delight.

All of this is to say that if you're this far into this series, you'll love this book too. :+)

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went through this relatively short book (not quite 300 pages) like a buzz saw through soft wood. Victoria Goddard is a wizard at developing lore, legends, myths, whatever you want to call them. There is all of that in "Love-in-a-Mist" (which really is a flower species) and now a murder. My goodness a murder in a strange house with invited and uninvited guests. Enter Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie carrying a game of "Clue." The reader is invited to follow along the twists and turns of crime solving. You will love the introduction of the foal.

Plum Duff is next.

[Jess Hale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a let-down after the previous book. I very much got the sense that - after the emotional climax of the last book, but continuing this new plot arc (Jemis' title; brewing revolution etc.) the author wanted to have everyone get (emotionally or logistically) from point A to point B.

Unfortunately the 'mystery' that she used to get there was a bit weak, and I felt a lot was being told rather than shown. I found myself frustrated as the characters we follow closely (Jemis, Dart, Hal) often seemed to be doing their own things and I was just WISHING they would sit down and TELL EACH OTHER what they'd learned/discovered. Instead, we finished the book with me feeling a bit confused about the entire plot, not entirely sure that the characters know as much as I think they need to, and also not sure that some of the plot threads will be picked up in the next books or if they've been dropped and unravelled.

I'm also increasingly sure that the author, while gifted at writing platonic (?!) (mostly male) friendships is also not quite so good at romantic relationships. (Unless there's a Jemis/Hal/Dart endgame, which seems increasinly unlikely.) The love interests seem shoe-horned in, and I wish we knew more about WHY our protagonists were pursuing them and felt the connection we're told they have.

At least the unicorn was cute.

[Blind Mapmaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 I liked it better than the last volume, even though the wish-fulfilment seems to continue and the interlude characters were not that riveting with one exception. It was a very pleasant read up to the point where I noticed it was over without realising the end was coming.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

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I think I would have felt much more bereft about being done with the epic fantasy series I spent the last month on if I didn’t have this book to look forward to! This is the fifth Greenwing and Dart book, and it’s just as funny and full of magic and adventure (and a wee bit of romance) as its predecessors. After the events of the last book, our intrepid duo and their friends are finally heading home, when a storm finds them waylaid at a mysterious manor. There is a UNICORN! And also a MURDER! So basically everything I love in one story. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series, it looks like a lot of stuff is going to come to a head soon (and perhaps there will be a ball?). A.

[Mimi Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

No false advertising in this one - we do indeed meet a unicorn! Also, I really love Victoria Godard’s covers.

Everything clicked in this installment, as the group tries to set off for home. They (of course) encounter a freak weather event and get stranded in a potentially-haunted lordly manor where a dastardly murder takes place.

I appreciated the Agatha Christie tributes, with a confined mystery, a house party with many schemes and secrets and magic galore! Even a mistaken-identity romantic encounter (or two). I was smiling to see tidbits all the way from book 1 coming back and paying off rather spectacularly.

I quite wonder at Dart, and still look forward at understanding the new him and how he related to the world.

[Kate Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

this one is a locked-room mystery, and therefore delightful. the first time jemis lives up to his promise as an amateur detective, not to mention where some of the old fairy magic in the series finally comes to bear. there is a unicorn, the hunter in green, a manor house full of ghosts and mysterious treasures, and several sweet small romances. i rocketed right through it and enjoyed it immensely

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/28/24: Re-reading the series. Love, love, love.

5/27/22: I love this series so much. And as a lifelong fan of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers and other Golden Age detective novelists, this fifth entry was a cherry on top of the fabulous sundae that all the other books have been. A snowed-in country house and a murder? Star-crossed lovers? A mysterious butler? Love it. Add in magic and a baby unicorn? I swoon. Perfection.

I can't believe I only have one book left to read. I hope this series goes on forever although I would appreciate a new book every other month if that's not too much trouble. I am moving right along to Plum Duff and will then start reading Goddard's other books. I am so thrilled to have recently discovered her (through a tor.com article) and don't know why there aren't thousands of reviews on here. Oh, the exquisite joy of discovering a new author and then finding they have a ton of books just waiting to be read...

[Jarmila Kašparová · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book to read on Christmas. It almost works as standalone (it has been some time since I read rest of the series; there are plenty of reminders of what happened in previous books).
It is a mess; a fantasy Christmas-y murder mystery that almost shouldn't work, but does. It didn't help that I kept nicknaming characters after heroes from various TV shows: so, let's say Daniel Jackson (I mean - sneezing, deciphering stuff, and the other thing), the Duke from first season of Bridgerton, Arrow, Rand al'Thor and Cinderella hide from the winter snow in a manor from Knives out (there is even the knives display!) with an old man and a bunch of relatives hoping to inherit. Somebody is murdered during the night. They try to investigate.
It sounds almost like a very over-the-top Doctor Who Christmas special.
I love the way Jemis realizes that the breakfast after he (spoilers) barely makes it to top five of most awkward meals of his life.
Read it for second time, but luckily managed to forget who the murderer is and had the same fun not figuring it out.

[kvon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Further adventures of Jemis Greenwing, now recovering from his recent adventure of being mostly dead (and apparently slow to shed the mystical equanimity of seeing the Other Side--I wish we had someone else's perspective here for that). This is more a cozy mystery, with Jemis and his friends Hal and Dartwing stopping in a weird country mansion, where there are family dynamics, magic, and murder. We finally get to learn about the Hunter in Green, who has popped by in previous installments; there's a unicorn that I expect to have more import in future stories; Perry finally accepting his name and role; and the usual people not being who you think they are, that happens in about half of these books and necessitates rereading. Not quite as funny as the first couple books, but still engaging. Don't start here.

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve yet to meet a Victoria Goddard book that wasn’t an absolute delight to read - this one is no exception, and is probably the most straight-forward of the bunch so far. But I will admit it is maybe the least…interesting is not the right word, but it seems to have lost the focus of the rest of the series. Very few major revelations about Jemis in this one! But I still enjoyed it, and look forward to when Goddard (hopefully!!!) announces another book in the series.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victoria Goddard continues to knock it out of the park. After reading this, I want to go back and re-read the previous books, both to see how she set up various plot points and to enjoy the stories again. There's romance, a unicorn and a locked-room mystery, and she makes it all work. We have no choice but to stan.

[Kate Boots · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story; Kindle version needs proofreading.

The story is wonderful and I look forward to more. The Kindle version has a lot of errors in spelling and grammar which I do not believe are part of a code.😉

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Dart smiled guilelessly at them. "Do I surprise you? You know, I trust, that there is no need to fear magic any longer."
"It -- it is hardly in fashion," Madam Veitch managed, in a shaky voice.
"It will be," Mr Dart replied...[loc. 365]

Following their improbable escape from Orio Prison -- the best practical exercise in literary criticism I've encountered in fiction -- Jemis, Mr Dart and Hal find themselves guests in a remote manor house, snowed in and without transportation. Naturally, a murder mystery ensues: but this is fantasy, so there is also an unexpected unicorn, a possibly-invisible butler, some peculiarly inappropriate dishes at dinner, a couple more friends from university (there is always another Morrowlea graduate), the mysterious Ironwood heiress, a complete run of the New Salon (with its potentially libellous articles about Jemis Greenwing, his father, et cetera), and the sudden arrival of the Hunter in Green, whose identity is at last revealed.

Also, only one bed. And Mr Dart finally emerging from behind his good manners and mushroom-picking to become his best self.

An absolute delight. Jemis is greatly changed by his experiences in the previous novel (it's as though somebody told him 'talk less, smile more') and I suspect that Mr Dart's transformation also owes something to those events, and the ensuant messages. The atmosphere is suitably, traditionally claustrophobic, with recalcitrant servants (the phrase "I'm sure I couldn't say" crops up repeatedly), a hall crammed with potentially-valuable 'collectibles', a mysteriously unsociable host who declines to join his guests for dinner, and snow up to the first-floor windows. There's also a growing sense that Jemis' adventures aren't solely affecting Jemis and his friends: the world (or at least Rondé, the country in which those adventures take place) is changing, and matters both political and religious are coming to the boil.

Two ways in which these are not typical fantasy novels: our protagonists have not ridden anywhere on horseback -- they walk (or, if Jemis, run) or ride in carriages -- and there is no map of Rondé. I would really like a map ...

[Joe Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

After several false starts, I'm delighted to report that this series has finally reached the level I had expected from the other titles in author Victoria Goddard's wider Nine Worlds saga. Every previous Greenwing & Dart installment carried clear potential and a share of excellent individual moments, but was ultimately saddled with too many elements that didn't work well enough for me to assign a rating higher than three-out-of-five stars. In contrast, this fifth volume is wholly charming through and through, especially when it shifts gears at the midpoint from a rambling journey to a murder mystery at a snowed-in country estate. Even before then, however, it establishes a terrific genre blend of cozy fantasy with Shakespearean comedy, full of endearingly misfit characters struggling to pair off appropriately -- some of whom we've already grown to love over the course of the earlier stories, and some of whom only pop here for the very first time. (Roald Ragnor, can you ever forgive me?)

To its detriment and benefit alike, this sequence of novels is rather heavily serialized, and so a reader probably couldn't / shouldn't jump in at book #5, no matter the leap forward in quality. The present title begins with its protagonist having recently come back from the dead, and rests upon all sorts of intrigues that have been humming along across his various post-collegiate adventures to date. You'd be lost if you skipped over those -- and you would miss certain sporadic but genuinely great scenes, anyway -- but anyone who's made the investment and gotten this far into Jemis Greenwing's tale will find this next chapter a most rewarding experience.

[Content warning for drug abuse and homophobia.]

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[Mary Soon Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in the Greenwing and Dart fantasy series, described on the back cover copy as "fantasies of manners--and mischief." I enjoyed the first two-thirds very much, and the remainder a little less, but still sufficiently to be happily engrossed.

Spoilers ahead. Part of the book contains a whodunit mystery, and I was less interested in its solution than in the interactions of the chief characters. Indeed, it is the interactions of the narrator, Jemis, and his friends that have been my principal pleasure in the series. (Well, that and any appearances by the excellent Mrs. Etaris, sadly less of a presence in this fifth installment.) I am in the mood for fiction with good friends who steadfastedly stand by each other.

The plot included several turns, a couple of which I anticipated, and one of which -- the one involving the Hunter in the Green -- I very much liked. I also very much liked the unicorn. Here's hoping that a sixth installment in the series will follow soon.

3.5 out of 5 snowbound stars, rounding up to 4 stars because of the central friendships.

About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

[Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right, so Jemis Grenwing has returned from the dead, terrifying everyone around him, and now his party is on its way home. Violet and her brother in one direction, Hal in another, and Jemis, Perry and Miss Dart back to Bella Ragnor. Or that was the plan. A supernatural storm traps them in a mysterious house (containing yet more former classmates of Jemis) where the guests all have mysteries of their own. And then there's a murder.

This is a pretty fun mystery story. Your classic isolated house, where the guests all have their own secrets, that slowly come out during the course of the book. Think And Then There Were None, but with more unicorns.

I sort of wish there had been space to expand on the romance between Hal and Hope. We're told that this is a thing rather than seeing it for ourselves (although since it apparently started back at university, maybe that's more understandable). I do wonder about the condition in Hope's inheritance though. It was a big thing and then seemed to just fizzle out. Maybe it'll be picked up again in future books.

The resolution to the mystery wasn't unexpected at all, and the whole thing really nodded in the direction of not just classic early 20th century whodunnits, but their later 20th century parodies (Clue etc).

A fun story, but one that seemed an aside to the main thrust of events. Straight on to the next (and final, to date) book.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.75

I was very worried, given the past books in this series, that the enormous revelations that the previous book left off on wouldn't get their due appreciation or moment of reflection from the characters and in a way I was sadly correct; but the fact that this book takes place immediately after the events of the previous did help justify this in-universe, at least, even if narratively it's still far too overlooked and rushed. However, I looooove a good murder mystery, even if it's taking many things directly from Clue (luckily I love Clue so I didn't mind much). In a world where magic is established to be real and the gods are involving themselves more directly into the main characters' lives that makes an old fashioned Victorian era murder mystery in a spooky and mysterious mansion with ghost(?) butlers all the more tantalizing for me. It did fizzle out a little bit at the end, and I wish the murder had happened sooner than over halfway through the book, but this was a very fun read, especially if you can ignore the lack of catharsis or characters really sitting in their feelings. But hey, if you've made it this far in the series, you're used to it at this point, so might as well enjoy a satisfying mystery. Plus, more Perry! (Finally.)

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I started to write this, my opinion of the book began to change and it went from three stars to three and a half. Blackcurrant Fool built up a new, major political drama and, upon completing this novel, my first thought was that it had its charm but didn't move the story laid out in that previous book much at all. But then I realized that, while the previous book put Jemis and Hal in position for that new plot, this one brought at least two other characters into position for it.

Still, despite the revelations and the fairly decent Agatha Christie-esque plot, I had a hard time getting into this story. Some of it felt a little too contrived and I didn't really enjoy having to spend such a huge amount of the story with obnoxious people. Much of what I was interested in, such as the Boring collection, Boring's interest in Jemis and relationship with his grandmother, anything at all about Jullanar Maebh,, or the source of a lot of the magic that came to play in the story didn't really get explored much. Still, it's not exactly an unpleasant thing to spend time reading and I did smile a lot, which is definitely worth something.

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slipping back into Stargazy Pie territory here, Victoria. A whole lot of nothing. The central 'mystery' isn't really a mystery at all and feels tacked on. Two previously beloved main characters seem to have had personality transplants -- Mr Dart into a silent figure whose main contribution is smirking mysteriously, and Hal into a suspicious bore who turns into a caveman about his would-be fiance.

Which leads me nicely onto an ongoing issue I have with the G&D series: the female love interests. They feel like empty placeholders, most especially Violet. The relentless insistence on Jemis' complete adoration of her is downright bizarre considering he has better chemistry with practically every other character in the series who he exchanges more than two lines with. Even Mrs Etaris!

Goddard is a master when it comes to writing deep, complex friendships, but I wish she'd leave the romances alone.

[Rhode PVD · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of the books, not only because it’s a country house murder mystery, a genre that bores me, but also because the portrayals of young women are so single-sided and dull. It genuinely feels as though this author can either do a gloriously interesting older woman, or she can do a boring younger woman.

So, as our various heroes are beginning to be matched up with prospective fiancés, the outcomes are disappointing. None of these young women are anyone I’d go out for a beer with.

Also, there are no queer women or trans people in these books so far, and just one token older male couple. And disappointingly, we learn parts of this world are homophobic. I don’t know why the author would think this a welcome idea to toss in this far into the series.

[Carro · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a roughly food related theme to the titles in this series, but Love in a Mist is actually a flower. She gets around this with there be a type of tea called Love in the Mist. There is also relevance hinted at in the plot regarding alternate names for Love in the Mist.
This turns into a murder mystery in a storm beset country mansion. Various oddities in terms of guests, house contents, servants and the mysterious owner.

As ever, Greenwing and Dart learn just a little bit more about themselves, while solving problems. Also gaining new surprises and new problems. And I do like Goddard's turn of phrase that brings a gentle humour into scenes.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that he's no longer dead (see book #4), Mr. Greenwing is feeling particularly lively (couldn't resist that one!). He's also on his way home with his best friends Mr. Dart and Hal, a duke in disguise. Snowbound in a mysterious mansion, the gentlemen encounter murder, romance, and an adorable unicorn foal. Various other characters appear (see books #1-4) to further entangle the plot and there's at least one swoon (and for once it's not Mr. Greenwing). Cups of tea will be drunk, kittens will return in the final chapter, and all is set for a wonderful Winterturn in book 6.

[Fernanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

admito que no terço final o livro perdeu um pouco do ritmo, mas é que antes tava tão focado nas relações interpessoais dos personagens que quando mudou de foco fiquei meio triste, não é minha culpa se todos os personagens são uns queridos

e meu objetivo agora está sendo que o roald finalmente devolva a caneta do jemis

“‘I’ll have you know that history is entirely full of remedies, if only people were inclined to take them. It’s like a mystery novel: things are always either far simpler than you think or far more complicated than you would have imagined.”

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably one of my favourite of the Greenwing and Dart books so far, since it consists of a self-contained murder mystery which I found a great change of pace from the last book.

The characters I love so much are still there, and they have to grapple with magic, mystery and a unicorn as well as solve a murder. Some of the long-standing character questions are finally answered, though Mr. Dart's own journey remains a mystery.

I do hope we will get back to Jemis' home village and the bookshop soon, but overall I really liked this one.

[Maja · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd fourth book this is - it feels more like an interlude after the conclusion of the first plot arc, and features a plot that should by all rights be more of a side quest. The characters are still delightful, of course, but I did find this one very slow, and the whole murder mystery thing convoluted and mostly boring. I really hope the next book brings some development of any of the main plots.

[Lucy Cummin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love-in-a-Mist is the name of a special tea . . . . but there is love in the air as well, all sorts, love of place, families, parents, lovers, friends (some of them not human) and so forth. The group has escaped Orio City with Jemis' help and now they all need to get to their homes. As ever, this will not be a simple matter, accidents, snow storm and a strange interlude in a strange house and more magic unfolds. ****