Recently I learned about Thomas’s Lady Sherlock series and devoured them with rapid abandon. While all of her books so far have a strong romance element, Thomas writes broadly within the genre. So far I’ve encountered heroines who are neurodivergent, magical, extraterrestrial, and historical. I once had an art teacher who gave us very specific instructions for our work — exactly 1″ margins with one “break,” use only four colors, etc., for each project. Within those boundaries, however, we were encouraged to be creative and go wild. The result was that the guidelines enhanced our creativity. I don’t know if Thomas has put a hard boundary on herself to stay within the genre of romance, but I am continually impressed by her ability to find new ways of telling the story of love. And so it is with great anticipation, gentle reader, that I present to you this Reading Pathway for Thomas’s work. Usually Reading Pathways include three suggestions, but I got special permission to add a bonus entry for you: Charlotte Holmes has no wish to participate in the traditional life of a Victorian woman. Instead, she uses her considerable powers of observation and her formidable intelligence to find her own way in the world. When she realizes that the world will not accept a lady detective, she adopts the persona of the mysterious Sherlock Holmes and sets her mind to solving a trio of mysterious deaths in order to clear her sister and father’s names. And there you have it, fellow readers! Four different paths to start reading Sherry Thomas’s work. Go forth and enjoy some “finely wrought stories, with an edge.” One elemental mage has been prophesied to meet and destroy The Bane, thus saving the Realm. That mage, it turns out, is Iolanthe Seabourne, and she is not only untrained but also just 16 years old. Prince Titus has vowed to protect Iolanthe, but he has also sworn to destroy The Bane, who killed his family, at any cost — including his own life, and that of anyone else in the way. He must now choose between his mission and her life.
