The Seat of Magic

The mesmerizing sequel to The Golden City shows the deepening relationship between two non-humans living clandestinely in an alternate early-1900s Portugal. Though mer-folk such as beautiful sereia Oriana Paredes and half-selkie Duilio Ferreira are officially banned from the mainland, they choose to live there and use their superhuman abilities to protect their friends. The two are brought together by their mutual attraction and the discovery that someone is butchering sea-folk to steal their supernatural powers, part of a plot to gain control of the throne. Despite a somewhat rambling plot, Cheney assembles the necessary details to build convincing scenes of unpleasant things happening to the believable, fallible, mostly sympathetic characters. Oriana and Duilio’s efforts to stop the grotesque mutilations turn out to be less interesting than their attempts to figure out what future they have together. (July)