Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments

Some secrets are meant to stay buried

When Ropa Moyo discovered an occult underground library, she expected great things. She’s really into Edinburgh’s secret societies – but turns out they are less into her. So instead of getting paid to work magic, she’s had to accept a crummy unpaid internship. And her with bills to pay and a pet fox to feed.

Then her friend Priya offers her a job on the side. Priya works at Our Lady of Mysterious Maladies, a very specialized hospital, where a new illness is resisting magical and medical remedies alike. The first patient was a teenage boy, Max Wu, and his healers are baffled. If Ropa can solve the case, she might earn as she learns – and impress her mentor, Sir Callander.

Her sleuthing will lead her to a lost fortune, an avenging spirit and a secret buried deep in Scotland’s past. But how are they connected? Lives are at stake and Ropa is running out of time.

I’m very proud of myself for making some progress in my series with this book which is book two in the Edinburgh Nights series. Dare I say that I enjoyed this book more than the first one!

I absolutely love Ropa as a character. She’s so strong and tough but with such softness and love when it comes to her friends and family. I enjoyed finding out more Ropa’s grandmother and her history and magic.

I found the world building in this book to be fantastic! In the first book I thought the world was like a sort of medieval version of Edinburgh but I was wrong. This book revealed so much more of the world which was actually the modern world…just a different timeline.

The magic system is so cool. I loved getting to know more about the magic system and the rules surrounding it. I got so excited by the magical bank and the archive (possibly extra excited about the archive because it was next to a shopping centre I used to frequent as a teenager!). I feel like a have a really good understanding of the magical system and the risks involved in using magic.

This book had two different story arcs which I enjoyed to different levels.

I didn’t enjoy the storyline with the mysterious stranger as much. Mainly because I didn’t like the stranger. He seemed dodgy and untrustworthy and I just wasn’t overly into his tale.

I loved the storyline with Max, the unwell child. This story took us to one of Edinburgh’s oldest magic school. That magical garden gave me everything!

This was a wonderful continuation of the series and I’m buckled in for book three!