Book Review: The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner

Published January 12, 2021 by Ace

Intended Audience: Adult

Pages: 371

Genres: Historical Fantasy, Romance

Diversity/Representation: F/F relationship

Content Warnings: violence, murder, drug use and addiction

This is a difficult book for me to review because there are so many contradictory aspects of it. It was full of action and intrigue but seemed very slow-paced. The central conflict often got overshadowed by the details of the daily action and the central group of characters developed a strong trust but had very little lasting ties to one another. That being said, I really enjoyed this book but it’s definitely not going to work for everyone.

Let’s start with the characters:

Our main character, Dellaria (Delly) isn’t a “good” or even a particularly likeable person but she is an interesting and multi-faceted character. She’s a petty thief who, at the start of the book, is down on her luck, drinking away her last bit of money and in danger of getting kicked out of her apartment. She thinks very little of herself and has a self-destructive nature. However, she cares very deeply for her mother despite their complicated relationship and is motivated by her desire to get her off the streets and away from the drug that has taken over her life.

There is a lot of long inner monologue in which Delly frequently compares her own wretched life to that of other well-bred characters. She repeatedly claims to be motivated only by money as a way to justify any heroic actions to herself, but proves to be a reliable and caring person despite her rough exterior.

Winn is such a lovely character. She’s a half-troll, badass bodyguard and well-bred lady who is sincere, kind to everyone, loves food, and laughs at her own corny jokes. The romance between Delly and Winn was very enjoyable to watch unfold.

As for the rest of the group of female bodyguards, they all had distinct personalities (except for the two new characters who joined the group around the second half of the story) and served a purpose in the story. They weren’t particularly memorable on their own, but there was a sense of comradery between them by the end of the book. At one point when they’re fixing up their base of operations, it feels almost like a found family but in the end most of them split off, apparently with no lasting ties to one another.

Setting and Plot

Most of the story takes place in the city of Leiscourt, which has a sort of grungy Victorian vibe. The language and the way the characters speak takes a little while to get used to but I enjoyed the atmosphere created in this fantasy world. I liked the social structures in the story, in the sense that characters’ sexualities are simply accepted without question and there is no stigma about the group of women being bodyguards instead of pursuing traditionally “female” roles.

In regards to the pacing, for a book that includes bodyguards, assassins, wizardry, and murder, a lot of the story seemed very slow-paced. There are bursts of action, but a lot of time is dedicated to details and planning, speculation, character interactions, and Delly’s inner thoughts. I liked the atmosphere and the characters so this didn’t bother me but it will probably be annoying for some readers.

Looking back, I feel that while the character relationships were explored in-depth, the actual plot of the book was very disconnected. The antagonist basically disappears after the first big conflict and the rest of the book is spent trying to hunt her down. I personally found the conclusion of this part of the story very unsatisfying. I did like the way Delly’s mother’s drug addiction and the drug scene in Leiscourt was built up and felt like it touched on some very real aspects such as the trap of addiction and drug dealing, and the way a parent’s addiction affects their children even after they are grown.

I wish there had been better explanations and more in-depth world building when it came to the magic systems. Delly is a firewitch but I never really understood the extent of her powers. She seems to be extremely powerful but untrained. There is a bit of backstory that she attended a magic school for a year but didn’t end up finishing her training because of the extreme classism that became a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. Other characters like Winn are able to create illusions and wards, but this is also never fully explained. I feel like there was so much more potential for learning about the magic systems. Based on the title, I expected there to be more scenes of the characters learning magic.

Another random thing, I really didn’t understand the whole thing with Buttons, the undead mouse…it wasn’t a big thing, but the explanation and what happened with him in the end was just all over the place for me. Though that could have been partly because it was around 1:00 AM when I was reading that part.

Final Thoughts:

The pacing is slow and I had some issues with the plot. However, I found the atmosphere of the world, and the romance to be very enjoyable. If you like sarcasm, morally ambiguous characters, historical fantasy, bad ass women, magic, and slow-burn f/f romance, you might like this book.

Rating: 4/5