The Cyprian

By Mercedes Lackey

Book Overview

A cozy, cottage-core Regency fantasy perfect for fans of Bridgerton

Elena Whitstone and her seven brothers, abandoned by her mother, find themselves with a new stepmother. At first she seems more neglectful than evil, until just after Christmas she proves herself to be worse than evil; she is an actual magician, a Master of Water, who attempts to muder Elena's seven brothers when they are skating. When they survive that attempt by transforming into swans, she drives them away.

But the shock of having all of his heirs perish in a frozen pond is too much for Elena's father. He dies, and his widow is abruptly confronted with the inconvenient truth that the estate is entailed, and she not only must leave, she is lawfully in charge of Elena.

Furious, and possessing "only" what was gifted to her during her marriage, the stepmother retreats to Bath, to take up residence in the luxurious townhouse that was bought for her, and resume her former profession as a "Cyprian," a very exclusive courtesan, with Elena reluctantly posing as a page-boy and her servant. Nothing lasts forever, of course, and three years later, Elena is rapidly maturing too much to continue that ruse--and the stepmother is facing the ravages of time. The stepmother concocts a plan to establish an exclusive brothel and regain her wealth by selling Elena to the highest bidder.

Alone, Elena must not only find a way to save herself, but to reverse the spell that has transformed her brothers.

The latest in Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series is a stand-alone romantasy based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Wild Swans.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0756419115
• ISBN13: 9780756419110
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Daw Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A good retelling

I am quite the fan of the Elemental Masters series. And this is one of the stronger ones I have read over the past few years. This one being a retelling of Wild Swans set in the Regency with the majority of the story being how Elena and her brothers are adjusting to their father marrying a new woman who may be more than meets the eye. You get lots of coziness and quiet times and making the best of a bad situation of the children suddenly relegated to almost outcast status. I loved the closeness of the siblings (all sets of twins), how they stick together and can work out almost any issue that arises, whether it is mundane or magical and how they can remain so optimistic in their plans for escape as they warm up cool food on shovels over the fireplace. You also get a bit about the elemental magics, mostly through Elena and the fairies that live with the siblings, until their new stepmother appears at least and then there is a darker magic to be seen. It does have one fairly graphic bit near the end with Elena and what her stepmother plans for her that shocked me as it did not fit so well. But other than that it is a fun retelling. As is fairly common in books written by Mercedes Lackey, the climax and highest action part of the story are at the very end, kind of leaving it rushed when I wished it could be drawn out a bit more to match the rest of the story. I still really enjoyed reading it though and I am glad I got the chance to see Elena shine with her brothers against their stepmother and find their happy ending.