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Complementary
Undercover in the nonmagical world... with a cosy cottage with only one bed.
As an artist and a magical investigator, Elizabeth is the perfect choice when midwife Rosemary comes to her for help investigating something strange at an artist’s colony on the English coast in 1910.
Problem one: Elizabeth and Rosemary can’t reveal their magic to anyone there.
Problem two: They met less than a week ago but have to pretend they’re good friends to keep their cover. That’s going to be even harder to do with growing feelings sparking between them.
Further problems: There’s also an imminent birth, a kitchen that needs a good scouring, and the immense ego of one of the artists.
In this seemingly quiet corner of the countryside, nothing is as it seems, and Elizabeth and Rosemary are about to uncover more than one secret that will change lives forever. Maybe even their own.
Complementary is a standalone f/f novella of 33,000 words. All of Celia Lake’s Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. Complementary is full of fae magic, the Norfolk coast, art and artists, cooking, and sensible decisions. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with no sex scenes set in 1910 with a happily ever after ending!
As an artist and a magical investigator, Elizabeth is the perfect choice when midwife Rosemary comes to her for help investigating something strange at an artist’s colony on the English coast in 1910.
Problem one: Elizabeth and Rosemary can’t reveal their magic to anyone there.
Problem two: They met less than a week ago but have to pretend they’re good friends to keep their cover. That’s going to be even harder to do with growing feelings sparking between them.
Further problems: There’s also an imminent birth, a kitchen that needs a good scouring, and the immense ego of one of the artists.
In this seemingly quiet corner of the countryside, nothing is as it seems, and Elizabeth and Rosemary are about to uncover more than one secret that will change lives forever. Maybe even their own.
Complementary is a standalone f/f novella of 33,000 words. All of Celia Lake’s Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. Complementary is full of fae magic, the Norfolk coast, art and artists, cooking, and sensible decisions. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with no sex scenes set in 1910 with a happily ever after ending!
140 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 17, 2021
2 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Celia Lake
45 books72 followersCelia Lake spends her days as a librarian in the Boston (MA) metro area, and her nights and weekends at home happily writing, reading, and researching.
Born and raised in Massachusetts to British parents, she naturally embraced British spelling, classic mysteries, and the Oxford comma before she learned there were any other options.
Born and raised in Massachusetts to British parents, she naturally embraced British spelling, classic mysteries, and the Oxford comma before she learned there were any other options.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 23, 2021
I felt like this story was a whole lot of nothing.
Bogged down in minutiae of everyday tedium, that wasn't interesting nor added to the plot of characters overall. Then lots of verbose speech making.
The few bits of mystery and magic we got, was far too little - the same with the supposed 'romance' which again was far too conversational, and completely unemotional.
The entire story just ends out of nowhere, with nothing much revealed.
Apparently there will be other installments, but I can't say I will be willing to try them when it all felt so tedious and lacking in emotion.
Bogged down in minutiae of everyday tedium, that wasn't interesting nor added to the plot of characters overall. Then lots of verbose speech making.
The few bits of mystery and magic we got, was far too little - the same with the supposed 'romance' which again was far too conversational, and completely unemotional.
The entire story just ends out of nowhere, with nothing much revealed.
Apparently there will be other installments, but I can't say I will be willing to try them when it all felt so tedious and lacking in emotion.
September 26, 2021
I love Celia Lake books! Just….not this one.
On the positive side, Elizabeth and Rosemary are well-drawn characters, totally their own people and totally believable. And we do get something that’s 100% necessary for me in a romance: we see WHY they start to like each other. That’s so nice!
But sadly, that’s about all we get here. The plot resolution happens off page. There’s no declaration of feelings, other than hinted at (in the vein of “I’d like to see you again”). There was opportunity for adrenaline hit of characters-sneaking-around, and opportunity for dopamine hit of “aww they’re in love, 😍😍😍” …and there was neither.
So read some Celia Lake fantasies, yes! But put this one last on your list. I recommend starting with The Fossil Door, or Goblin Fruit and its follow-up On The Bias.
On the positive side, Elizabeth and Rosemary are well-drawn characters, totally their own people and totally believable. And we do get something that’s 100% necessary for me in a romance: we see WHY they start to like each other. That’s so nice!
But sadly, that’s about all we get here. The plot resolution happens off page. There’s no declaration of feelings, other than hinted at (in the vein of “I’d like to see you again”). There was opportunity for adrenaline hit of characters-sneaking-around, and opportunity for dopamine hit of “aww they’re in love, 😍😍😍” …and there was neither.
So read some Celia Lake fantasies, yes! But put this one last on your list. I recommend starting with The Fossil Door, or Goblin Fruit and its follow-up On The Bias.
January 1, 2022
All of the authors books have the problem of very weak plots that are usually resolved in two pages with a deus ex machina device. I like most of the books anyway because of the world building, the great characters and their development.
But this book has no plot at all. The heroines are sent to retrieve a magical artefact, but the author does not even describe how it is retrieved or why it is dangerous. You just get a paragraph stating that the issue has been handled. And there is no character development at all, just instalove, which is not more believable with a lesbian couple than it would be with a heterosexual one.
But this book has no plot at all. The heroines are sent to retrieve a magical artefact, but the author does not even describe how it is retrieved or why it is dangerous. You just get a paragraph stating that the issue has been handled. And there is no character development at all, just instalove, which is not more believable with a lesbian couple than it would be with a heterosexual one.
March 10, 2022
An f/f installment in an ongoing series about a magical society embedded in the “real world” and responsible for taking care of unfortunate magical “incidents.” A sweet mystery set in an artists’ colony in the early 20th century, with a parallel plot about two women discovering that they fit into each other’s lives very comfortably. Well-written with an interesting series premise. The world-building didn’t quite grab me enough to pursue other books in the series, but I very much enjoyed this one and it can reasonably stand alone.
April 28, 2022
Quiet WLW Fantasy Romance
I was happy to see Mason get a story, but unfortunately it was thin. The budding relationship between Elizabeth and Rosemary was sweet and lovely, but the mystery of magic among the non-magic was missing a lot. The entire resolution occurred off-page, and that was a disservice to Mason. I’m giving 4 stars for the portrayal of the relationship, but wish there had been more to the story overall.
I was happy to see Mason get a story, but unfortunately it was thin. The budding relationship between Elizabeth and Rosemary was sweet and lovely, but the mystery of magic among the non-magic was missing a lot. The entire resolution occurred off-page, and that was a disservice to Mason. I’m giving 4 stars for the portrayal of the relationship, but wish there had been more to the story overall.
June 11, 2022
Probably a little more than three stars. This is short and quite sweet, the characters (especially Mason who appears in other parts of this series) specific and defined. The plot feels a bit like an afterthought though.
May 27, 2023
A delightful little romance/mystery. My only criticism is that the biggest action piece takes place "off stage", so to speak.
December 5, 2023
Not her strongest, but that premise tho
October 8, 2023
When a magical healer & a Penelope from the Albion Guard are assigned to investigate an artist's colony on the Scottish coast in 1910, their friendship deepens into love.
January 3, 2024
A cozy historical fantasy romance
After rereading a different book in this world, I wasn’t quite ready to move on so I reread this story featuring one of the side characters from the previous book.
Mason is a Penelope- kind of a magical investigator attached to the Guards- who is sent to an artist colony in rural Suffolk to investigate a possible misuse of magic. She is accompanied by Rosemary, the midwife healer who first discovered the problem there.
There’s an interesting cast of characters and a minor mystery, but as usual with Lake’s books the real fun is in the relationships and the world building of a magical Albion that exists alongside 1920s Britain. The romance in this one is no spice f/f.
After rereading a different book in this world, I wasn’t quite ready to move on so I reread this story featuring one of the side characters from the previous book.
Mason is a Penelope- kind of a magical investigator attached to the Guards- who is sent to an artist colony in rural Suffolk to investigate a possible misuse of magic. She is accompanied by Rosemary, the midwife healer who first discovered the problem there.
There’s an interesting cast of characters and a minor mystery, but as usual with Lake’s books the real fun is in the relationships and the world building of a magical Albion that exists alongside 1920s Britain. The romance in this one is no spice f/f.
October 16, 2022
Sweet. Undercover at an artists' collective.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews