Narrated by Joel Leslie
This original and entertaining fantasy romance was one of my favourite books of 2018, so I was delighted when I learned I’d be able to experience it again in audio format performed by a narrator I’ve enjoyed listening to on several occasions; it’s always nice to know something you’re looking forward to is unlikely to be a huge disappointment! Salt Magic, Skin Magic is set in a Victorian era in which magic is known about and practiced, and author Lee Welch does a terrific job, right from the opening lines, of pulling the listener into the tale, creating an atmosphere of menace and uncertainty that immediately grabs the attention.
Soren Dezombrey, Viscount Thornby, was happily kicking up his heels living a life of luxury and dissolution in London until his father, the Marquess of Dalton, burst into his home one morning and forced him to return to Raskelf Hall, the family seat in Yorkshire. That happened eighteen months earlier, and Thornby has been unable to leave ever since. He’s not physically restrained in any way, but something stops him each time he gets near the estate boundary; he feels panicky, he’s assailed by all sorts of doubts and fears, his mind keeps telling him there’s something else he should be doing (like the Victorian equivalent of “have I left the iron on?”) – he literally CAN’T leave.
On the day of his most recent attempt to escape, the family is joined at dinner by John Blake, an industrial magician who has been asked by a friend – who is distantly related to Lady Dalton – to check on her, because she believes Thornby (her stepson – she’s the Marquess’ second wife) is out to do her harm. This isn’t John’s usual milieu; ancient spells and curses of the sort he can sense emanating from the very pores of the entire house are normally the province of the Theurgists, magicians who are able to summon demons to perform their bidding and thus don’t get their hands dirty (so to speak) – and who look down on John and those like him as being of a lower status because they tap into the magic of materials and inanimate objects. John is usually employed to work in factories, warehouses and work-places to ward against things like fires and accidents, so the request for him to visit a nobleman’s home is an unusual one – but he agrees to go to Yorkshire to see what he can find out.
When John first sees Thornby, he’s struck by both the arrogance and the sheer beauty of the man. Thornby is the quintessential indolent, disdainful nobleman, exactly the sort John would love to take down a peg or three – preferably in bed – and when he realises that none of the subtle spells he tries on Thornby work, John begins to suspect that his friend may have been right and that the viscount is indeed up to no good. He doesn’t believe Thornby’s protestations that he bears no ill-will towards Lady Dalton or his increasingly desperate assertions that he’s unable to leave the estate – not until John tries to forcibly march Thornby across the boundary in order to disprove his claims, and witnesses the other man’s frantic struggles – and once off Raskelf land, watches helplessly as horrible wounds begin to open up on Thornby’s face and body.
After this, there’s no doubt in John’s mind that Thornby is the victim of some kind of curse – but who – or what – has placed it upon him and how is it being maintained? John vows to help Thornby to escape from Raskelf – but to do that, he is going to have to confront some ancient and powerful magic… and as their mutual attraction grows into something more, to face the prospect that freeing the man he’s coming to love may just mean losing him forever.
Salt Magic, Skin Magic is Lee Welch’s second published work (and first full-length novel) and it’s an extremely accomplished piece of writing. The world-building and the rules governing the systems of magic within it are very well done, and John’s magical abilities in particular are incredibly inventive. I loved the detail given about the way he weaves his spells and charms, and the relationship (there’s no other word for it, really) he has built up with his trusted materials; they speak to him and he to them after a fashion, and there’s a whole lot of mutual trust between them. The author vividly evokes the image of Raskelf Hall in all its gothically crumbling, creepy glory, creating a pervasive atmosphere of dread, and brilliantly juxtaposes elements of old magic – the fae, mystical creatures and parallel worlds – with the more ‘mundane’ hands-on approach fundamental to John’s industrial magic.
The romance is a delicious slow burn, as John and Thornby – two men from opposite ends of the social spectrum who, in ordinary circumstances, may never have met – gradually move from a position of mutual suspicion and mistrust to one of affection, tenderness and eventually, a soul-deep love. The chemistry between them is fabulous; their verbal interactions are flirty and tender, the love scenes are intense, and they’re well-drawn, three-dimensional characters with insecurities and vulnerabilities that make them feel that much more real. They’re both used to being on their own, so having a partner – in the working sense as well as the more intimate one – is an eye-opener for both of them as they come to realise what they’ve found in each other.
Joel Leslie (and his alter-ego, Joel Froomkin) is a narrator I’ve enjoyed listening to on a number of occasions, so I was delighted when I saw his name attached to this project. He’s simply outstanding in Alexis Hall’s How to Bang a Billionaire, and I’ve been impressed with his work in Sheri Cobb-South’s John Pickett Mysteries, so I was fairly sure I was in for an enjoyable listening experience. His voice is smooth and pleasant to listen to; he’s a very experienced narrator, and as one would expect, is technically very skilled. His pacing and diction are spot on and his vocal characterisations are appropriate across the board; Dalton’s twisted cruelty is present in his voice, and his portrayal of Lady Dalton is excellent. He differentiates between John and Thornby mostly by pitch and timbre; John has the deeper, more resonant voice of the two, and the higher pitch used for Thornby works well to denote his relative youth as well as his vulnerability and fears in some of the more perilous moments in the story. Mr. Leslie does a superb job of reinforcing the strength of the connection being developed between the pair in their many scenes together, and he injects each one with the right degree of expression and emotional nuance. This is especially evident near the end when John’s desperation and insecurities come to the fore, and every emotion he’s feeling is present in his voice. It’s an enjoyable, highly polished performance that combines with a compelling, refreshingly different story, wonderfully atmospheric writing and tender, sensual romance to earn Salt Magic, Skin Magic a very strong recommendation.
Caz
Buy Salt Magic, Skin Magic by Lee Welch on Amazon
