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Sparks and Philtres #1
Gate Sinister
Disguised as a governess, the last fairy in Britannia infiltrates the household of the Gloucester family to fulfil a vital mission on behalf of her exiled people.
On the run after offending the Royal family, two infamous magical engineers set out to commit the crime of the century on behalf of a wicked enchantress.
For one night only, the Gate Sinister can be opened between worlds, clearing the way to the long-lost Forest of Arden. For one night only, all things are possible…
Gate Sinister is the first in a new gaslamp fantasy series of novellas by the author of Tea & Sympathetic Magic and The Frost Fair Affair.
On the run after offending the Royal family, two infamous magical engineers set out to commit the crime of the century on behalf of a wicked enchantress.
For one night only, the Gate Sinister can be opened between worlds, clearing the way to the long-lost Forest of Arden. For one night only, all things are possible…
Gate Sinister is the first in a new gaslamp fantasy series of novellas by the author of Tea & Sympathetic Magic and The Frost Fair Affair.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2023
18 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Tansy Rayner Roberts
133 books315 followersTansy Rayner Roberts is a fantasy and science fiction author who lives in southern Tasmania, somewhere between the tall mountain with snow on it, and the beach that points towards Antarctica.
Tansy has a PhD in Classics (with a special interest in poisonous Roman ladies), and an obsession with Musketeers.
You can hear Tansy talking about Doctor Who on the Verity! podcast. She also reads her own stories on the Sheep Might Fly podcast.
Tansy has a PhD in Classics (with a special interest in poisonous Roman ladies), and an obsession with Musketeers.
You can hear Tansy talking about Doctor Who on the Verity! podcast. She also reads her own stories on the Sheep Might Fly podcast.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
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September 1, 2022A whimsical, warm-hearted gaslamp fantasy with just a hint of teeth beneath the surface. Book one in this new novella series sets up a fantastical alternate version of historical Britain, where fairies are real (though currently banished to their own realm) and love potions add another layer of danger to match-making.
A fairy governess in disguise! Unsettling societal impacts of love potions! A travelling pair of performing magician brothers! Precocious magically gifted children! A gate to fairyland that opens only one night of the year…
I adore how this world grounds the fantastical in domestic life. Extremely more-ish; I galloped through this novella and can’t wait to read the next.
A fairy governess in disguise! Unsettling societal impacts of love potions! A travelling pair of performing magician brothers! Precocious magically gifted children! A gate to fairyland that opens only one night of the year…
I adore how this world grounds the fantastical in domestic life. Extremely more-ish; I galloped through this novella and can’t wait to read the next.
December 4, 2022
Gate Sinister by Tansy Rayner Roberts is the first in the new novella series, Sparks and Philtres. It's set in a fae and magic secondary world based loosely on Victorian Britain (but with a Queen Isolde instead of Victoria).
This was an enjoyable and reasonably quick read. The story follows two sets of characters and it took me a little bit longer to warm to the second set, as is often the case with any piece of fiction; we get attached to the first characters we meet and then want to get back to their story as soon as possible! Of course, once both threads of the story started to come together, I found myself enjoying both sides of the narrative.
I appreciated that this novella stands alone fairly well. It does a lot of worldbuilding for later stories (I assume), but the story itself is self-contained. While our characters decide at the end to go off to do various things, it's not entirely obvious (to me, anyway) what story or path the next novella in the series will follow. That said, there are a lot of interesting possibilities and I am up for reading a story about any of them and curious about where the author will take the series.
Gate Sinister is an interesting start to what promises to be an enjoyable series. It is generally lighthearted but contains some darker themes and choices for the characters. It's a case of things getting darker the more you dwell on them, so there are some layers to the story and worldbuilding. I recommend Gate Sinister to fans of fairies, the ethics of love spells and novellas.
4 / 5 stars
This was an enjoyable and reasonably quick read. The story follows two sets of characters and it took me a little bit longer to warm to the second set, as is often the case with any piece of fiction; we get attached to the first characters we meet and then want to get back to their story as soon as possible! Of course, once both threads of the story started to come together, I found myself enjoying both sides of the narrative.
I appreciated that this novella stands alone fairly well. It does a lot of worldbuilding for later stories (I assume), but the story itself is self-contained. While our characters decide at the end to go off to do various things, it's not entirely obvious (to me, anyway) what story or path the next novella in the series will follow. That said, there are a lot of interesting possibilities and I am up for reading a story about any of them and curious about where the author will take the series.
Gate Sinister is an interesting start to what promises to be an enjoyable series. It is generally lighthearted but contains some darker themes and choices for the characters. It's a case of things getting darker the more you dwell on them, so there are some layers to the story and worldbuilding. I recommend Gate Sinister to fans of fairies, the ethics of love spells and novellas.
4 / 5 stars
July 29, 2022
So it's no secret that I love Tansy's work, and I loved this - but it *is* a little different from what I might have expected! The title says everything in that, there's a bit more sinister in with all the magic that I return for time and again, the magic itself part of the sinister background, but it's also clear that there's more to it than that. Things that won me, the children! They were excellent characters and I want to follow their adventures. Flavia I liked more and more as the story unfolded but I did find her a little hard to get to know at first. The Device Brothers, I like them as having chosen each other as family, but the bumbling antics are not always my favourite thing so I'm not sure what to make of them yet, time will tell. I begin to see the shape of the Brittania Tansy's building here, although it's early days - I'm looking forward to it being more fleshed out, same as some of the other characters who perform more of a background role in the story. On the one hand, I'm delighted I got to read this early in return for an honest review (thank you Tansy!), on the other hand it doesn't come out for everyone else until next year, which makes it a looong time to wait. But anticipation is sweet, so I'm game and I'm looking forward to reading more!
February 19, 2023
I rated this one as 4.5 on Storygraph. It doesn’t quite tip to 5 as I’m not quite so in love the characters as I am with many of Tansy’s worlds. But maybe book 2 will change that. 😉
April 26, 2023
A satisfying Victorianish fantasy novella, about a slightly weird new governess showing up at the big house, from the point of view of the slightly weird new governess. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
September 2, 2023
An eerie fae regency mash-up with a search for a magical elixir. It starts fairly ordinary with a hint of mystery, but builds to a climax. The extraordinary and miraculous device brothers were a highlight. The combination of fae and historical was well executed and I can't wait to read more.
September 7, 2022
I received this book from the author, who is a friend of mine... for which reason if I didn't like, I just wouldn't have written a review!
It's no secret I'm a fan of Tansy's work. Hilariously, I was a fan long before I met her: I read Splashdance Silver at uni, and THEN I met her a convention and was completely overwhelmed and THEN she turned out to be, like, a real person.
ANYWAY.
This lovely novella has a lot of Tansy Trademarks. The story skips along at a smart pace, with the occasional aside to explain something. There is a very good line in banter - the sort of repartee that can only exist in stories because no one can be that good on their feet, and is one reason why I like reading these sorts of stories because I dream of being that fast on my feet. It's a little bit dark, and honest about human nature while ultimately striking a hopeful note.
Tansy has a good line in using kind-of-historical settings for her work. The Creature Court series used her wealth of knowledge about the Roman Republic and Empire. Here, she's using Victorian England, and giving it a fantastic twist - love potions are real, fairies are too but they've been banished, magic is real. She even uses a governess, and I know for a fact that she prefers Wuthering Heights over Jane Eyre (she's wrong). Chapter headings lean into Georgian/Victorian styles, with headings like "In Which Toadstools Are False, Storybooks Are Essential, and a House has its Secrets" - which also implies the gothic overtones, because houses are creepy.
Overall, highly enjoyable, and I will take more stories about Flavia and her wards any day.
It's no secret I'm a fan of Tansy's work. Hilariously, I was a fan long before I met her: I read Splashdance Silver at uni, and THEN I met her a convention and was completely overwhelmed and THEN she turned out to be, like, a real person.
ANYWAY.
This lovely novella has a lot of Tansy Trademarks. The story skips along at a smart pace, with the occasional aside to explain something. There is a very good line in banter - the sort of repartee that can only exist in stories because no one can be that good on their feet, and is one reason why I like reading these sorts of stories because I dream of being that fast on my feet. It's a little bit dark, and honest about human nature while ultimately striking a hopeful note.
Tansy has a good line in using kind-of-historical settings for her work. The Creature Court series used her wealth of knowledge about the Roman Republic and Empire. Here, she's using Victorian England, and giving it a fantastic twist - love potions are real, fairies are too but they've been banished, magic is real. She even uses a governess, and I know for a fact that she prefers Wuthering Heights over Jane Eyre (she's wrong). Chapter headings lean into Georgian/Victorian styles, with headings like "In Which Toadstools Are False, Storybooks Are Essential, and a House has its Secrets" - which also implies the gothic overtones, because houses are creepy.
Overall, highly enjoyable, and I will take more stories about Flavia and her wards any day.
March 17, 2023
How can you not love a book which has chapter titles like "In Which Miss Wednesday is Snubbed By a House"? This was a comfort read, despite it being a completely new story. I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out in April.
This is definitely a look at an alternate Victorian England where fairies and magic were a part of the world, but there are enough name changes that it took me a little while to realize that it was actually an alternate version of our world and not a similar-but-different world (the way that the author's Teacup Magic books are similar-but-different). I enjoyed the book without the alternate world aspect playing a role at all; I was enjoying the story purely for the characters and story itself. It's not an entirely fluff story—there are deeper themes here if you choose to read into them. Themes of family and what makes up "family;" themes of debt and honor; themes of duty and equality. But those themes are woven into a fun romp of a fairy story, and the whole makes for a thoroughly enjoyable novella.
This is definitely a look at an alternate Victorian England where fairies and magic were a part of the world, but there are enough name changes that it took me a little while to realize that it was actually an alternate version of our world and not a similar-but-different world (the way that the author's Teacup Magic books are similar-but-different). I enjoyed the book without the alternate world aspect playing a role at all; I was enjoying the story purely for the characters and story itself. It's not an entirely fluff story—there are deeper themes here if you choose to read into them. Themes of family and what makes up "family;" themes of debt and honor; themes of duty and equality. But those themes are woven into a fun romp of a fairy story, and the whole makes for a thoroughly enjoyable novella.
September 20, 2022
This alt-Victorian fairy-gothic novella was a lot of fun. A fairy governess, two magical children, and a pair of travelling carnival magicians all converge in a world that acknowledges the deeply problematic nature of love potions, and the malevolence of the fae.
If you like Stephanie Burgis' Harwood Spellbook books or perhaps some of the whimsy of T Kingfisher, you might like this. I'm looking forward to future instalments in the series.
Also, that cover! I read this for a "make your own prompt" section of the #booked2022 reading challenge... and check out this pairing! The yarn is Sultan Deluxe from Hobbii, in Imperial Purple.
If you like Stephanie Burgis' Harwood Spellbook books or perhaps some of the whimsy of T Kingfisher, you might like this. I'm looking forward to future instalments in the series.
Also, that cover! I read this for a "make your own prompt" section of the #booked2022 reading challenge... and check out this pairing! The yarn is Sultan Deluxe from Hobbii, in Imperial Purple.
November 24, 2024
Fun novella and a promising start to a series set in fantasy-Victorian England.
August 31, 2022
Gate Sinister is the first in Tansy Rayner Roberts' new 'Sparks and Philtres' series, set in an alternative 19th century where science operates alongside magical devices, potions and spells, and the world of Faerie has been banished beyond the hidden Forest of Arden.
The potion at the heart of Gate Sinister is an awful, widely used love potion, which makes the Marriage Market a particularly dangerous prospect, and the need to rediscover the formula for its antidote, Love-Me-Not.
Being a TRR story, the story is full of intrigues and secrets, rogues and scholars, and characters full of texture and depth. The first of these is Flavia Wednesday, a governess with a mission, newly appointed to care for the two 'extremely delicate' children of the high-born Gloucester family in Kent, whose fortune was made with the lost Love-Me-Not. The only thing delicate about the very likeable Dashmond and his older sister Petronella is their untrained magic, but Flavia is uniquely suited to handle the challenge.
Alongside Flavia's mission, two former darlings of the court, the brothers Orlando and Renaldo Device, have their own mission which may or may not get the rakish Orlando about of something worse than his regular trouble, even if it won't persuade Queen Isolde to forgive them.
Of course, these two missions will collide on All Hallows Eve. Hard decisions, sacrifices and courageous choices will be made.
Gate Sinister has all the TRR hallmarks of fabulously drawn characters who are likeable even with their flaws, lightly drawn yet deep world-building, a sparky pace and plenty of bright wit. The conclusion is satisfying but leaves plenty of scope for more adventures for Flavia and the Device Brothers in future. I can't wait!
The potion at the heart of Gate Sinister is an awful, widely used love potion, which makes the Marriage Market a particularly dangerous prospect, and the need to rediscover the formula for its antidote, Love-Me-Not.
Being a TRR story, the story is full of intrigues and secrets, rogues and scholars, and characters full of texture and depth. The first of these is Flavia Wednesday, a governess with a mission, newly appointed to care for the two 'extremely delicate' children of the high-born Gloucester family in Kent, whose fortune was made with the lost Love-Me-Not. The only thing delicate about the very likeable Dashmond and his older sister Petronella is their untrained magic, but Flavia is uniquely suited to handle the challenge.
Alongside Flavia's mission, two former darlings of the court, the brothers Orlando and Renaldo Device, have their own mission which may or may not get the rakish Orlando about of something worse than his regular trouble, even if it won't persuade Queen Isolde to forgive them.
Of course, these two missions will collide on All Hallows Eve. Hard decisions, sacrifices and courageous choices will be made.
Gate Sinister has all the TRR hallmarks of fabulously drawn characters who are likeable even with their flaws, lightly drawn yet deep world-building, a sparky pace and plenty of bright wit. The conclusion is satisfying but leaves plenty of scope for more adventures for Flavia and the Device Brothers in future. I can't wait!
August 19, 2022
Like the fairies in this novella, Gate Sinister is witty and sparkling at its surface and unexpectedly dark underneath, and its alternate-history worldbuilding is really well-layered.
There are two intertwining stories within the novella, and my favorite was definitely the Gothic-with-a-twist story of Flavia, the apparently-harmless and placid new governess to two precocious children, who is bringing with her magical secrets and a Plan. The kids really do feel like kids (albeit believably precocious ones), and I enjoyed everything about their relationships and storyline throughout. The stars of the second storyline (the astonishing Device brothers, Rinaldo and Orlando) are also fun to follow, with plenty of witty banter along the way, even though I didn't feel quite as grounded in their storyline or as close to them as characters. Both stories intertwine in one magical night in the enchanted Forest of Arden...and as you all know, enchanted forests + faerie danger = my JAM. So of course I enjoyed this novella, and of course I will be reading the rest of this series!
There are two intertwining stories within the novella, and my favorite was definitely the Gothic-with-a-twist story of Flavia, the apparently-harmless and placid new governess to two precocious children, who is bringing with her magical secrets and a Plan. The kids really do feel like kids (albeit believably precocious ones), and I enjoyed everything about their relationships and storyline throughout. The stars of the second storyline (the astonishing Device brothers, Rinaldo and Orlando) are also fun to follow, with plenty of witty banter along the way, even though I didn't feel quite as grounded in their storyline or as close to them as characters. Both stories intertwine in one magical night in the enchanted Forest of Arden...and as you all know, enchanted forests + faerie danger = my JAM. So of course I enjoyed this novella, and of course I will be reading the rest of this series!
January 23, 2023
“A Tale of Treacherous Fairies, Governessing in Gothic Manors, Vile Enchantments, Phantasmagoric Philtres & Extraordinary Devices, the Entirely Lost & Not-Quite-Found Forest of Arden, Magical Artifice & the Science of Miracles in 19th Century Britannia.”
Flavia Wednesday is the last fairy in England and she disguises herself to gain a place as governess to the Gloucester children, Petronella and Dashwood. It is up to her to free all the fairies who were banished. Meanwhile Orlando and Rinaldo, the Miraculous and Extraordinary Device brothers are on a mission set for them by a wicked enchantress. They all need to find a way through the gate sinister.
My favorite part of this novella was the magical gaslamp setting and the two Gloucester children. This is a world with love philtres, magical automatons, and shape changers. Beneath the whimsical setting and the bantery dialogue though, there’s a darker element lurking. I’m really looking forward to learning more of the story in this new series of novellas.
April 7, 2023
Have I officially declared Tansy Rayner Roberts a favorite author? Because she is.
Fantastic character work and worldbuilding in so few pages (I feel like she's really a master at the novella), I loved the two leads and how their stories connected, the fairy elements were done so well, and I can't wait to pick up the sequel!
I did feel that Flavia's initial plan didn't quite make sense based on her character as we'd gotten to know her, but the story was done so well and Flavia herself is such a wonderful protagonist that I didn't mind much!
And bonus for dealing with how f---ing messed up love potions are! one of my favorite weirdly specific things to deconstruct in fantasy.
(Also, how perfect that I'm reading this for All the World's a Page and this story heavily features the legendary Forest of Arden??)
CW: Violence, abuse, attempted drowning, references to: homophobia, racism
Fantastic character work and worldbuilding in so few pages (I feel like she's really a master at the novella), I loved the two leads and how their stories connected, the fairy elements were done so well, and I can't wait to pick up the sequel!
I did feel that Flavia's initial plan didn't quite make sense based on her character as we'd gotten to know her, but the story was done so well and Flavia herself is such a wonderful protagonist that I didn't mind much!
And bonus for dealing with how f---ing messed up love potions are! one of my favorite weirdly specific things to deconstruct in fantasy.
(Also, how perfect that I'm reading this for All the World's a Page and this story heavily features the legendary Forest of Arden??)
CW: Violence, abuse, attempted drowning, references to: homophobia, racism
April 22, 2024
I hoped to like this but it wasn't to be. I just couldn't get into this.
I found the writing in this to be choppy and jumping around. The way the chapters switched between the perspectives of multiple characters felt disjointed to me and I had trouble following the plot and knowing where we were and what was happening. It just didn't work for me.
Ultimately, trying to read this book felt like work for me, and that shouldn't be the case. A book that is right for me is easy to read and immerses me in the story without having to work for it. I'm moving on to something else.
I found the writing in this to be choppy and jumping around. The way the chapters switched between the perspectives of multiple characters felt disjointed to me and I had trouble following the plot and knowing where we were and what was happening. It just didn't work for me.
Ultimately, trying to read this book felt like work for me, and that shouldn't be the case. A book that is right for me is easy to read and immerses me in the story without having to work for it. I'm moving on to something else.
August 22, 2023
Meh, it was ok. It had potential but it never really grabbed me and I just wasn't that invested in any of the characters or their stories (except perhaps the 2 children). Possibly because it was so short but mostly I think because there was no sense of connection between any of the characters themselves or between me & any of the characters.
September 2, 2025
Three and a half stars
This is set in an alternate 19th Century British Empire and I quite like what it's doing with the alternate history fantasy setting with its fae and potions and magic. The story is entertaining, has an excellent cast, and there's an edge of darkness that gives it all depth.
This is set in an alternate 19th Century British Empire and I quite like what it's doing with the alternate history fantasy setting with its fae and potions and magic. The story is entertaining, has an excellent cast, and there's an edge of darkness that gives it all depth.
January 15, 2023
An entertaining way to spend an afternoon
Like all Tansy Rayner Roberts books this one leaves you wanting more. At novella length it’s a quick read but one that packs in a lot of detail and hints of what’s to come. Looking forward to diving into the next one.
Like all Tansy Rayner Roberts books this one leaves you wanting more. At novella length it’s a quick read but one that packs in a lot of detail and hints of what’s to come. Looking forward to diving into the next one.
February 2, 2023
Had a bit of trouble getting into this one, but once I hit the halfway point I was completely hooked and devoured the rest quickly. Looking forward to the sequel.
July 18, 2023
Loved it. The end.
December 19, 2023
This was a pleasant enough diversion for a long plane flight.
September 11, 2025
Took a little bit to get my head around the world but this was a really cool fantasy read!!!
Cover art does it a complete disservice unfortunately!
Cover art does it a complete disservice unfortunately!
March 19, 2023
Really it was 3.5, very whimsical and fun. I know it’s a novella, but just when I was really getting interested in the characters it was over. I’ll definitely read the next one and cross my fingers that it’s a bit longer!
August 7, 2023
I discovered on reading the blurb for ‘Gate Sinister’ that I am there for fairy governesses just like I am there for magical libraries. Flavia, like Jane Eyre, isn’t pretty. She is ‘sturdy’, practical, abandoned by her only human family and over-looked by everyone else – but also brimming with magic. Every night she dances with fairies who tell her that they are her true family, and that her loyalty should be to them. It’s understandable she believes them: the fairies give her the only affection and attention she gets. Flavia’s outer world is lonely, dreary and disappointing. As a governess she’ll be destined to care for another, richer family’s children and live in genteel poverty all her life. It becomes clear that Flavia has been set a task by the fairies she dances with at night in her dreams: to use the children she is teaching to open the Gate Sinister, the gate to the Forest of Arden and ultimately of Fairyland set in the grounds of the great house Gloucester Worth.
This is a young lady who seriously needs some decent friends – Flavia’s loneliness is painful, even as her observations about life in her new household are hilarious.
The story and Flavia are saved by two magician-artificers Roland and Orlando Device, there also to find their way to Gate Sinister and steal what they can from the Forest of Arden. They have all the warmth, humour and zest for life that Flavia has been denied. I wondered by the end if they also offered her an idea of how her life might turn out if she decided to give up this ‘governessing slavery’ (as Mister Rochester called it) and got some better friends than the fairies.
Somehow Gate Sinister managed to be both high Gothic brooding AND very funny, the chilliness juxtaposed with a real warmth and kindness. That’s quite the trick. I am definitely looking forward to the next novella in the series, ‘House Perilous’, for more Roland and Orlando banter, and to find out what happens next to Miss Flavia Wednesday.
Four out of five pease-blossoms.
This is a young lady who seriously needs some decent friends – Flavia’s loneliness is painful, even as her observations about life in her new household are hilarious.
The story and Flavia are saved by two magician-artificers Roland and Orlando Device, there also to find their way to Gate Sinister and steal what they can from the Forest of Arden. They have all the warmth, humour and zest for life that Flavia has been denied. I wondered by the end if they also offered her an idea of how her life might turn out if she decided to give up this ‘governessing slavery’ (as Mister Rochester called it) and got some better friends than the fairies.
Somehow Gate Sinister managed to be both high Gothic brooding AND very funny, the chilliness juxtaposed with a real warmth and kindness. That’s quite the trick. I am definitely looking forward to the next novella in the series, ‘House Perilous’, for more Roland and Orlando banter, and to find out what happens next to Miss Flavia Wednesday.
Four out of five pease-blossoms.
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