About the Book:

Title: Steel & Spellfire 

Author: Laura E. Weymouth

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books 

Release Date: July 22, 2025

Pages: 368

Genre: YA Fantasy 

Synopsis:

A devastatingly gifted mage with clandestine romantic connections to a Royal Guard joins the court social season in an attempt to undo past wrongs, only to fall under suspicion when a creature with powers shockingly like her own begins slaughtering her fellow debutantes.

Pandora Small has two ruling objectives: first, to keep the prodigious extent of her power secret, in a world where mages are feared and governed by suffocating laws. Second, to find her wealthy and noble-born patron, a shadowy figure bound to Pandora by magic, who stole her childhood and grew her power until she became a weapon rather than a girl. To that end, she’s posing as an Ingenue, a privileged and petted young woman of strictly limited abilities, who is allowed access to the royal court’s social season in order to find a husband and patron to control her magic.

But on Pandora’s arrival at court, Kit Beacon, one of the most promising members of the Royal Guard, inadvertently learns the true scope of her power. Privately sympathetic towards mages and the difficulties they face, Beacon decides to keep Pandora’s secret. But when someone or something with powers terribly like Pandora’s own begins slaughtering her fellow Ingenues, Beacon’s resolve to keep what he knows about her private is put to the test.

Tasked with protecting all the girls in the palace, not just one, Beacon will have to decide whether Pandora is a suspect or an ally, while to win his trust, Pandora will have to let him know more of her still—the worst of who she is and what she’s done. Because only unity between them during the social whirlwind to come will enable Pan to find her patron and Beacon the killer and ensure they both see justice meted out.

Review:

*I received an e-arc via Netgalley from the publisher. Thank you for the opportunity to review. All thoughts are my own*

I have been reading Laura E. Weymouth’s books since her debut The Light Between Worlds, and she has not disappointed me yet! She has become an auto buy author for me, and I will continue to read whatever she writes. Steel & Spellfire has a unique magic system, murder, mystery, court intrigue and romance all in a Regency Esque setting. It totally gave off Bridgerton vibes and I was here for it!

Pandora Small has two objectives. First, she wants to keep the extent of her power secret, where mages are both feared and persecuted. Second, she wants to find her patron who stole her childhood from her and turned her power into a weapon. To meet her objectives, she is posing as an Ingenue to gain access to the royal court’s social season, where the girls are groomed to find a husband and patron to control their magic.

When Pandora arrives at court, Kit Beacon, a member of the royal guard, quickly discovers the magnitude of her powers. Beacon has sympathy for mages and the difficulties they face, so he decides to keep her power a secret. However, as someone begins murdering Ingenues, with a power that’s quite similar to Pandora’s, his trust is put to the test.

Beacon’s duty as a royal guard is to protect all the girls at the palace, so he will have to decide if Pandora is a suspect or an ally. To gain Beacon’s trust, Pandora must share more about herself, who she truly is and what she has done. The pair soon discover that they must work together to find Pan’s patron and Beacon’s murder suspect to ensure justice.

Pandora and Beacon were both very likable characters that I enjoyed getting to know. I found myself rooting for them as they raced to solve the mystery and find justice in a society that was oppressive to people with magic. I really enjoyed the magic system and the world in which these characters lived. The story was fast paced, and it wrapped up well for a standalone.

I definitely recommend to fans of Laura’s and to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy!

 

About the Author:

Laura Weymouth is a Canadian living in America, and the sixth consecutive generation of her family to immigrate from one country to another. Born and raised in the Niagara region of Ontario, she now lives at the edge of the woods in western New York, along with her husband, two wild-hearted daughters, and an ever-expanding menagerie of animal friends.