Wards of the Roses — Celia Lake

Collaboration and curiosity can get through the thickest thorns.

Giles Lefton has an excellent life. He enjoys his mathematics, his teaching at the University, and his cryptography assignments. When a manor missing for centuries suddenly reappears in the middle of Oxfordshire, Giles is glad to take on the project.

Figuring out magical puzzles and patterns is one of his specialities, after all. Blinded during the Great War, he knows he needs an assistant to help. One who meets his standards.

Kate Davies can be relied on to do her duty without complaint. A full member of Albion's Guard, she is glad to serve where she is assigned. While she is glad the Great War is over, she quietly misses the greater range of duties she had while so many men were overseas.

Now limited to portal duty and seeing to minor scuffles about the local river traffic, she isn't sure what to make of her new assignment. Or the fact she keeps failing at what Major Lefton expects of her.

Together, Kate and Giles tumble into a maze of historical investigation, obscure folklore, and more than a touch of magics neither of them understand.

Wards of the Roses is a standalone romance of 63,000 words with a happy ending (no cliffhangers). The Mysterious Charm series explores the magical community of the British Isles in the 1920s and can be read in any order.

Face the roses with Kate and Giles in 1920 Oxfordshire, and discover the mysteries of the manor.