Midnight Never Come [Kindle Edition]

The major theme of the book is the contrast between the fae court and the mortal court of Elizabeth I. The idea of a fairy court beneath London acting as a shadow or dark reflection of what happens above, is integral. The two main characters are a mortal and a fairy and we see both of their worlds in vivid detail.

Under Walsingham's sponsorship, Michael Deven is admitted to the Gentlemen Pensioners (men who guard the Queen at court). Ambitious to rise in his station, Michael is taken into Walsingham's confidence regarding a 'hidden player' guiding the hand of Elizabeth and seeks to discover who this hidden player could be. In doing so he meets Anne Montrose, lady in waiting to Countess Warwick who shares his concerns and offers assistance and with whom he falls in love.

Lady Lune, a courtier to the faerie queen Invidiana (whose court exists in parallel to Elizabeth's) is in disgrace for making a bad bargain with the sea faeries in return for their defeating the Spanish Armada. Desperate to redeem herself, she is tasked to spy on Walsingham and attempt to gain leverage over him but is distracted by Tiresias, a mortal in service to Invidiana who suffers visions of the future. Tiresias tells Lune to find Francis Merriman as he is the only one who knows how Invidiana came to ascend the throne of her Onyx Court and wreck an awful tyranny over the English faeries.

Lune and Michael's investigations coincide with each other. They come to realise that they need the help of the other if they are to bring down Invidiana's rule while preserving Elizabeth's.

A deftly researched book, with some wonderful period detail with regard to the politics and intrigue of Elizabeth's court and faerie folklore, the research never overpowers the story and Brennan's world building makes for a fascinating read. Because Brennan's interest is in the unravelling of a political mystery, the events in the book unfold quite slowly, which may put off those who prefer their historical fantasy to contain more action, although there some set-piece fight scenes that are exciting to read.

Michael's desire for advancement is more convincing that Lune's desire for redemption. She seems too easily swayed from her task and for a supposedly savvy player within Invidiana's court, she falls into the traps of other courtiers too easily. The `real' historical characters are convincing, particularly Walsingham, who is intelligent but in poor health and Elizabeth herself - shrewd, powerful and slightly bored with her court.

I would have liked to see a couple of scenes showing how Anne and Michael's romance developed and the ending feels slightly rushed. However this is an absorbing read that's well written and I want to read more from this author.

I've read Elizabethan novels before, but none were quite as imaginative as this one. the caption 'A Great Light Casts a Great Shadow' is really good for the story. Invidiana is a great character. honestly. i have a weak spot for the almighty villains. The romance wasn't really elaborated on and we get ((***SPOILER ALERT***)) Henry's father lecturing him about getting a wife and suddenly he's snogging a woman. Anne Montrose is not properly introduced into the story, and I thought that that was a bit of a let-down. loved this book, though.