The beloved Elemental Masters series moves to America for the first time in a rich retelling of The Queen of the Copper Mountain, set against the backdrop of Tennessee coal country.

Anna May Jones is the daughter of a coal miner, but a sickly constitution has kept her confined to the house for most of her life. Hoping to improve her daughter's health-and lessen the burden on their family-Anna's mother sends her to live with her Aunt Jinny, a witchy-woman and an Elemental Master, in a holler outside of Ducktown.

As she settles into her new life, Anna learns new skills at Aunt Jinny's side and discovers that she, too, has a gift for Elemental magic that Jinny calls "the Glory". She also receives lessons from a mysterious and bewitching woman named Jolene, who assures her that, with time, Anna could become even more powerful than her aunt.

But with Anna's increasing power comes increasing notice. Billie McDaran, the foreman of the Ducktown mine, begins to take an interest in Anna and her abilities-even though Anna has already fallen in love with a young man with a talent for stonecarving.

If she wants to preserve the life she has come to love, Anna must use her newfound powers to oppose the foreman and protect those around her.

Every book that I read by Mercedes Lackey is deeply absorbing and engaging. I am never bored. While I've loved all of the Elemental Masters books, I found this one most intriguing for the setting. Set in America for the first time, I wondered how that would change the more familiar elements. One of the changes is more explanation of the ability of Anna May Jones, her elemental magic and the teaching that her aunt Jinny does. While the minutiae could have been too much, Mercedes Lackey has a wonderful ability to hone-in on the key information needed for the reader to understand the process and magic while not drowning the reader in too much detail. Because Anna May is a beginner with no knowledge of magic, her tutelage is part of what makes the story so endearing.

I have often pondered why I find the series so absorbing. The story is simple and straight forward. I think for me it is the characters and the history of the time that made this novel so engaging. Anna May is caring and her desire to learn is logical, she can learn how to take care of herself. Her friendship with her aunt is realistic and authentic. Jinny is as interesting as Anna May and the mystery of Jolene pulls the reader into the story. I very much appreciated the history of the time being woven into the story, especially the truth of the mining businesses including how they treated their miners and the families. It is a piece of American history that is less pleasant but is truthful. And included in that history is the treatment of the Cherokee. I especially love the inclusion of the Cherokee in the narrative. I also like that the author does not sugar coat the past and is not misleading in the history of the time. All of those weave together to make a riveting story with interesting characters.

If you like fantasy novels set in historical times, this is a great novel. It is well researched, authentic and the characters are realistic. The story is engaging with interesting characters who have meaningful actions and a plot that sweeps you up into the details. The plot is not complex but it is engaging. The characters are using the language of the time and area but references within the story will aid the reader in understanding. And the language choices add to the authenticity of the story. If you like Mercedes Lackey, I recommend this latest in her Elemental Masters series.

Rating: 5 out of 5 elementals. ~~ Andrea Rittschof

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