{"id":26608,"date":"2026-04-22T19:55:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=26608"},"modified":"2026-04-23T20:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T00:14:10","slug":"the-magpie-lord-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/26608","title":{"rendered":"The Magpie Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Magpie Lord<\/em><\/a> (2013) KJ Charles<\/a> (A Charm of Magpies #1)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Merrick frowned. \u201cGot to fight it, my lord.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFight what? Give me something to fight, and I\u2019ll fight it\u2014but how the hell do I fight my own mind?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Crane looked at the naked hostility in the other man\u2019s face and posture, and strolled to a conclusion, since he hardly needed to jump. \u201cI take it you\u2019ve encountered my brother, Hector,\u201d he said. \u201cOr possibly my father.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBoth.\u201d The little man spat the word out. \u201cOh, I\u2019ve encountered your family alright. It\u2019s something of an irony to be sent to help one of you.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe can all kill people. I could have put a pillow over your face while you slept at any time in the last twenty years, and I\u2019m struggling to recall why I haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Stephen Day, Lucien Vaudrey Lord Crane, Frank Merrick, Mrs. Esther Gold, Dr. Daniel Gold, Mr. Peter Janossi, Jenny Saint, Hugh Baines, Mr. Rackham, Sir James and Lady Thwaite, Graham, Mrs. Mitching, Aunt Annie, Mrs. Parrott, Henry, Marjorie Bell, Nan Talbot, Liza Trent, Ruth Baker, Mr. Haining, Sir Peter and Lady Bruton, Mr. and Mrs. Millway, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon, Maria, Thomas Underhill<\/p>\n

Cover by Lexiconic Design<\/p>\n

Rating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Magpie Lord (2013) KJ Charles (A Charm of Magpies #1) Merrick frowned. \u201cGot to fight it, my lord.\u201d \u201cFight what? Give me something to fight, and I\u2019ll fight it\u2014but how the hell do I fight my own mind?\u201d Crane looked at the naked hostility in the other man\u2019s face and posture, and strolled to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[194,27,292,2,204,33,148,41,26,56],"tags":[941,50,476,544],"class_list":["post-26608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-5-10","category-alternate-history","category-ebook","category-fantasy","category-good","category-historical","category-queer","category-reread","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-a-charm-of-magpies","tag-boinking","tag-kj-charles","tag-mm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6Va","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14344,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14344","url_meta":{"origin":26608,"position":0},"title":"The Magpie Lord","author":"Michelle","date":"May 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Magpie Lord (2013) KJ Charles (A Charm of Magpies) I can\u2019t bear it. He\u2019d never said the words in thirty-seven years, not even in the times of hunger and degradation. He wanted to say them now. Merrick frowned. \u201cGot to fight it, my lord.\u201d \u201cFight what? Give me something\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"the magpie lord","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/the-magpie-lord.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10500,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/10500","url_meta":{"origin":26608,"position":1},"title":"The Magpie Lord","author":"Michelle","date":"April 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Magpie Lord (2013) K.J. Charles (Charm of Magpies) One for sorrow Two for joy Three for a girl Four for a boy Five for silver Six for gold Seven for a secret never to be told Eight for a letter over the sea Nine for a lover as true\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/the-magpie-lord.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10856,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/10856","url_meta":{"origin":26608,"position":2},"title":"Flight of Magpies","author":"Michelle","date":"May 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Flight of Magpies (2014) K.J. Charles (A Charm of Magpies) The third book of the Charm of Magpies series finds Stephen and Lord Crane struggling to come to terms with Vaudrey's desire to leave England and Stephen's dedication to his job--a job that offers little remuneration but a lot of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/flight-of-magpies-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":26612,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/26612","url_meta":{"origin":26608,"position":3},"title":"Flight of Magpies","author":"Michelle","date":"April 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Flight of Magpies (2014) KJ Charles (A Charm of Magpies #3) Stephen stuffed his hands in the pockets of the topcoat that Crane had insisted on buying him for this chilly winter. It had been a great deal more expensive than Stephen, who accepted gifts with startling gracelessness, had wanted;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Flight of Magpies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/flight-of-magpies-2-197x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17492,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17492","url_meta":{"origin":26608,"position":4},"title":"Short Stories: KJ Charles","author":"Michelle","date":"June 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Short Stories: KJ Charles \"Five for Heaven\" (2019) A Charm of Magpies 3.5 Set in Nagasaki, three years after A Flight of Magpies (15 pages) \"A Confidential Problem\" (2016) Society of Gentleman 2.5 Set in England in 1820 (14 pages) \"A Private Miscellany\" (2016) Society of Gentlemen 3.5 Set in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/A-Private-Miscellany.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14346,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14346","url_meta":{"origin":26608,"position":5},"title":"A Case of Possession","author":"Michelle","date":"May 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A Case of Possession (2014) KJ Charles (A Charm of Magpies) \"An honest mandarin.\u201d There was a dubious murmur at that. Most of those present regarded bribery as something between a handy tool and a form of tax; none of them had high opinions of mandarins of any nationality. \u201cI\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"a case of possession","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/a-case-of-possession.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26609,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26608\/revisions\/26609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}