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Charlotte E. English

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Wyrde and Wayward (House of Werth Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Charlotte E. English (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 1,045 ratings

Book 1 of 4: House of Werth

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Miss Gussie Werth is the only ordinary lady in her family, without a single drop of magic to liven things up. Fortunately, she's just been abducted.

Miss Gussie Werth has grown up surrounded by the most supernatural family in England. Nell talks to the dead, Lord Werth is too often found in the churchyard at the dead of night... and the less said about Lord Bedgberry, the better.

Somehow, Gussie has been passed over by the family curse. She sups on chocolate, not blood; she's blissfully oblivious to spectres (except for Great-Aunt Honoria, of course); and she hasn't the smallest inclination to turn into a beast upon the full moon, and go ravening about the countryside. All things considered, her life has been unbearably placid and uninteresting.

Thankfully, Gussie has just been abducted by a neighbouring family every bit as strange as her own... and as deliciously spectacular disasters start to stack up, she begins to suspect that she may not be quite as normal as she thought. Far from being ordinary, Gussie may well prove to be the worst Werth of them all…

Meet the Regency-era Addams Family—full of spectres, gorgons, and polite, ravening monsters—in this fresh, absurd gothic fantasy by the author of Modern Magick and the Malykant Mysteries. "Strange and utterly delightful" (Olivia Atwater), Wyrde and Wayward's notorious House of Werth will sink its teeth into you and leave you wanting more.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07Z3Z7H8X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ (October 23, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 23, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4521 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 252 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 9492824116

Best Sellers Rank: #405,002 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #342 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #631 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books)
- #1,956 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 1,045 ratings

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Charlotte E. English

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English both by name and nationality, Charlotte hasn’t permitted emigration to the Netherlands to damage her essential Britishness. She writes colourful fantasy novels over copious quantities of tea, and rarely misses an opportunity to apologise for something. Spanning the spectrum from light to dark, her works include the Draykon Series, Modern Magick, The Malykant Mysteries and the Tales of Aylfenhame.

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4.2 out of 5

1,045 global ratings

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Grace Oxley

A riveting delight

Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2023

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I was looking for something light and engaging, and I found it here.

A decent understanding of historical social etiquette marries well to modern sensibilities of camp, sarcasm, and monsters. The voice of the author is charming, the characters well defined and distinctive, and the plot just twisty enough to maintain interest throughout. My only wish was that it was longer, rather than split into four separate books.

Fans of Gail Carriger would probably like this.

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Corey Beth

3½ stars. Unusual Historical Paranormal Romp

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2023

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Wyrde & Wayward is an unusual book. I can't really compare it to anything because it stands in its own category. I'm kind of on the fence about how I feel about it. While a lot of aspects felt like they had potential, I thought the pacing was off. It started out fast paced with a mystery to solve regarding Gussie's Wyrde powers (or lack thereof), as well as what the Selwyn siblings want from Gussie. Then during the middle I felt as though it was just plodding along with nothing of particular excitement happening. It picked up again for the last third then, but that meandering middle had me considering putting it down for awhile.

I liked the characters, for the most part, although unfortunately the main character, Gussie, was probably my least favorite. I had a hard time relating to her. I felt like the author tried too hard to make her witty & quirky, to the point that she comes off more annoying & callous. Luckily I found the rest of the characters of interest, particularly Theo; I actually think if enjoy the story a lot more if he was the main character instead.

For me, the best thing about this book was the Wyrde itself. The Wyrde is a mysterious power that certain people have within them that can be activated, that gives them powers such as the ability to talk to the dead, to shapeshift, etc. There are a variety of members of the Werth family presented in this book & all of them have unique & interesting Wyrde powers. I loved reading about the diffent ones & I would really enjoy some history of how the Wyrde started & just more information about it in general. That paranormal aspect was top notch. I loved the idea of the monstrous Books. That section was my favorite part of the story.

I guess I just found this book somewhat all over the place. It could have used some more coherency if plot. Also, I kept expecting some romance. Now, by no means do I think books always need romance, but in this case I think a romantic element would have let me connect more with Gussie. There are two male characters who would've made good love interests, & one female who seemed like she might be interested as well, so maybe the romance is something that will develop later in the series. Unfortunately, I am not sure I am going to continue with the series. I have so many books on my TBR & while I'll probably read book 2 at some point, it is not a huge priority for me. Just FYI, this book does not end on a cliffhanger.

Bottomline, I'm giving Wyrde & Wayward 3½ stars. It was entertaining & I think there is just a ton of potential & possibility for future installments. The pacing really through me off though. I think this book will appeal to people who like regency era urban fantasy or historical fiction with paranormal aspects. It is imaginative & I liked that the language used fit the time period. It is also relatively funny. I laughed out loud a few times while reading. I will probably pick up the next book sometime in the future.

4 people found this helpful

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Sarah M

Feels like a big part of the plot was dropped partway through, but amusing and wonderfully weird

Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2021

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'Scions of the House of Werth are all born normal. It is what happens afterwards that sets them apart.

It is not easy being the most supernatural family in England. Nell talks to the dead; Lord Werth is too often to be found out in the churchyard at the dead of night; and the less said about Lord Bedgberry, the better.

Only Miss Gussie Werth has missed out on the family curse. She sups on chocolate, not blood; she's blissfully oblivious to spectres (except for Great-Aunt Honoria, of course); and she hasn't the smallest inclination to turn into a beast upon the full moon, and go ravening about the countryside.

But there's more to the Wyrde than meets the eye. When a visit to a neighbouring family goes spectacularly, deliciously wrong, Gussie's ideas about her own nature undergo a swift and serious change.

Far from being the most ordinary of the bunch, she may just prove to be the most disastrous Werth of them all...'
______________________________

Wyrde and Wayward is the first book in Charlotte E. English's House of Werth series and is a paranormal historical fantasy which follows the Werths, a prevalent wyrded(magical) family in which individuals learn of their abilities on their third birthday.

I'm on the fence about this book. This is one of my favorite genres and it is well written with lovely and amusing characters. Gussie is sarcastic, stubborn, and not one to shy aware from adventure. I'm going to try not to give anything away, but the issue that I had with the book is that a big chunk of the first half of the book was dedicated to setting up a specific conflict for the book then seemed to change focus and veer off into another direction. Which was disappointing because I found it to be the most amusing bit of the book. The issue is not really revisited in any way before the book ends, which made it feel like a lot of wasted effort that could have been introduced without quite so many chapters. Certain characters were willing to go to such lengths to carry out a plot, but when they are twarted they just let it go? That's what I have to assume since that plotline seemed to have just been forgotten.

Overall though the story was amusing and wonderfully weird and I'll probably continue to read the next in the series, Wyrde and Wicked and hope that it benefits from better focus.

8 people found this helpful

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The Owl Underground

Georgette Heyer meets the Addams Family

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2020

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In this delightfully funny book, we meet Augusta Werth, a spinster (26) whose (Viscount) uncle permits her to live in a cottage on the grounds of his estate. She lives with her former nanny/governess, for it would be improper for an unmarried woman to live alone. She has received a letter containing a mysterious invitation to visit one of her aunt's friends -- a woman she has never met. On her way to ask permission from her Aunt and Uncle to accept this unexpected invitation , she encounters her cousin Theo, who has fresh blood on his cravat -- as usual. The appearance of her other aunt is usually presaged by thunder, and sometimes rain. As the story progresses, we begin to realize her family is not your ordinary aristocratic household. Gussie declines the invitation, but her hostess won't take no for an answer.

What makes the humor in this book work is that Ms. English plays it straight. No tongue-in-cheek, nudge-nudge wink-wink. We see Gussie's world as she sees it -- perfectly normal. Gussie is witty, droll, and just a tad snarky, but every inch a Lady. I wasn't two chapters into this book before I bought Book 2. It's that good, and that funny!

19 people found this helpful

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Lunarose

Impressive

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2024

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I very much enjoyed this book. Although the writing style was a bit overwrought. First time in years that I have had to look up a couple words as well.

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Amazon Customer

Odd & intriguing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2023

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I like this book. I don't think I've read anything like it; it's almost as if Jane Austen wrote an extended episode of The Munsters with the lead character being Wednesday Addams without the the darkness but keeping the sarcastic, dry wit.

Kindle-Kunde

schräges Vergnügen

Reviewed in Germany on May 23, 2021

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Adams - family in der Regency Periode... und wer Vergnügen hat an diesem speziellen Humor, wird gut unterhalten. Ideenreichtum, schräge Figuren und witzige Dialoge kennzeichnen das Buch. Diese Art Humor lebt aber nicht nur von Kontrasten, sondern auch vom Timing und hier fehlt der letzte Schliff zu einem Klassiker. Ich hoffe, die Autorin entwickelt sich weiter, denn es macht Spaß, ihre Werke zu lesen.

One person found this helpful

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kk

Very enjoyable

Reviewed in Australia on September 19, 2022

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A very good little regency fantasy, well written and a page turner. Look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Amazon Customer

A+

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2020

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Fun, and an amusing setup. Obviously only an introduction to the basics of the world. Hoping to see where it goes!

M.A.SPRIGGS

Fun Regency/fantasy romp

Reviewed in Australia on January 11, 2020

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Highly entertaining and well written. I loved all of the characters and enjoyed the author's sense of humour. Can't wait for the next book in the series.

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Wyrde and Wayward (House of Werth Book 1) Kindle Edition

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Charlotte E. English

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