4/5 stars
A great one-sentence summary from a post on Goodreads: "Steampunk-fantasy murder-mystery with paranormal romance vibes set in a world inspired by WWI Britain, following a witch disguising himself as a doctor to avoid being essentially enslaved by his sister."
In Witchmark, Miles Singer is a doctor working in a hospital that treats combat veterans from the recent war between Aeland, where the story is set, and Laneer. He is a veteran himself, having absconded from his noble family to join the ranks, and subsequently faked his own death so he would not have to return to them. Why go to all that trouble? Because Miles, whose real name is Sir Christopher Miles Hensley, is part of a family with unique magical gifts they use to control the weather (and other things too, but weather seemed to be the main thing!). Within that family, some are stronger than others... and those that are not as magically capable are made to "partner" with another - in this case, Miles' sister Grace - and basically become their ward, and a magical battery, of sorts, helping to support and feed their magical needs.
The noble class of Aelanders are not the only ones with magic, but all others who show magical abilities are sent to witches' asylums (or they hide their abilities to avoid this fate). Miles uses his magical abilities to diagnose and treat his patients, though he is careful to do so stealthily so no one notices. In particular, Miles is treating a great number of men who have returned from war with what appears to be some kind of PTSD. They all complain of the same symptoms of feeling like there is someone else inside their heads, telling them to do harm to others. Untreated, they tend to go on killing rampages. Miles is dedicated to trying to unravel this mystery. When a patient, who has been fatally poisoned, arrives yelling about how Miles must expose "the truth" about magic and the war, his own personal crusade turns into one much larger, upon which the safety of the entire nation rests.
Along with a stunningly beautiful man-creature from another realm, his sister Grace, and a fellow doctor, Miles attempts to avoid permanent capture by his overbearing father, maneuver a tricky political climate, save thousands of Aelander and Laneer lives, and expose the corruption and deception that has served to exploit magical people for decades. In Stormsong, the narrative shifts to Grace's perspective, as the story continues on to reckon with the aftermath of Witchmark's revelations.
The world-building is imaginative, the characters are well-written, and the issues at hand are nuanced and complicated, never black-or-white.
There is a third book in the series as well, called Soulstar, but from the description it seems to focus on one character I didn't find as compelling, so I decided not to continue.
UP NEXT: I Have Some Questions For You, by Rebecca Makkai
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