A Treason of Thorns by Laura E Weymouth is a darkly charming tale about a magical House, a dying land, and bonds that transcend notions of animate/sentient and inanimate/non-sentient. Violet Sterling grew up in the shadow of Burleigh House, one of England’s Great Houses whose magic sustains (or condemns) the land. Her father was Burleigh’s Caretaker, charged with managing the House’s magic, until he was convicted of treason and the talisman that allows him to safely channel Burleigh’s magic is taken away. He was left in House arrest, to suffer the consequences of using the magic with no safety. Violet and two servants who are more like family move to the fenlands, though Sterling’s ward Wyn stays behind.

When her father finally succumbs to the inevitable excruciating death, Violet is brought back, not as Caretaker, but to help put Burleigh to rights and accept a new Caretaker chosen by the King. Seven long years have passed since she saw the House last, and it is crumbling under the weight and pain of its unused magic. After learning the truth about her father’s treason, and being denied the chance to be Caretaker in her own right, Violet sets out to free Burleigh from the chains that bind the House to the monarchy.

I loved this book! Burleigh House reminded me of the Warehouse from Warehouse 13, which also needs a Caretaker linked to its magic. And like Burleigh, the Warehouse may not ‘speak’, but it can get its point across quite well, and has a personality all its own. That the magic is tied to the land makes sense. It seems to be the interface point between humans and the vast, indifferent magic that sustains the land. It’s so sad that the humans, both in England, and in the mainland, have enslaved the Great Houses, claiming the power for themselves. And I so felt for the weight of Burleigh’s pain! As someone who lives daily in varying degrees of pain, from a 4, to a ‘stepping on a small blue Lego whilst running full-tilt’, this resonated deeply with me. And just… the notion of enslaving something humans don’t understand but just want to control, without caring about its sentience, sickens my heart.

Vi seems very much like the dedicated Caretakers of the Warehouse, linked as she is to Burleigh and its moods despite not actually being Caretaker. She puts its needs first, above all else. She has great support too, and from some rather unlikely places. People who want to help her succeed where her father failed. Because now the stakes are so much higher, and risk Burleigh’s destruction. Which, as it turns out, would be very bad. Like Vesuvius level bad. 

The manifestation and cost of using the House magic were very neat concepts, and made it clear why the talismans were needed by the Caretakers. Its a bond both symbiotic, and parasitic depending on a number of factors. Ideally it should always be symbiotic, but the bindings have effed with that… I don’t want to spoil the uniqueness, but its very house specific. One thing I will say is that I loved the memory magic Burleigh could pull off, and how vivid it could be. And oh but the archaeologist in me would love to explore all the things the Houses have seen. The history witnessed. The changing generations. The stuff of any historian’s dreams!

Highly recommended!

*****Many thanks to HarperTeen for providing a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for FFBC Tours.