Allie Therin’s inventive and entertaining Roaring Twenties Magic series comes to a rousing conclusion with Viscounts & Villainy, in which our heroes – upper-crust cynic and self-professed arsehole Wesley, Lord Fine, and “dangerous marshmallow” Sebastian de Leon – come face-to-face with probably their most dangerous (and unhinged) foe yet. This story links back to events in earlier books in both this series and the author’s Magic in Manhattan books, and although it’s probably possible to enjoy this story without having read the earlier series, it’s essential to have read Proper Scoundrels and Once a Rogue before Viscounts & Villainy as there’s an overarching plotline and reference to earlier events that will likely be confusing if you haven’t.

Please note that there are likely to be spoilers for those books in this review.

At the end of Once a Rogue, Wesley and Sebastian narrowly escaped death at the hands of the deranged paranormal who was ​​part of a plot to control and destroy magic through unlocking the evil magic held within the pomander relic, a magical artefact dating from the fifteenth century. Alasdair Findlay now lies unconscious in a mental hospital and the pomander is no more, but victory came at great cost to Sebastian, who sacrificed his magic in order to destroy the relic and save Wesley’s life. He doesn’t regret it and he’d do it again in a heartbeat to save the man he loves – but it’s going to take a huge adjustment to learn to live without magic.

In the weeks since those events, it’s become clear that Findlay and his cronies weren’t working alone and that someone else has been pulling the strings all along, someone withdeep knowledge of paranormal lore and magical history. Wesley, Sebastian and their friends are sure that they – whoever they are – isn’t going to just give up, and that they need to act quickly if they’re going to find them and prevent more death and destruction. With little to go on, they decide to follow the trail of the relics themselves; seven were created to hide the magic of seven powerful paranormals during the Spanish Inquisition, and they know the location – or fates – of five of them. So tracking down the missing two – a medallion that can track magic, and a cuff that can cast curses – would be a good starting point. Sebastian, a direct descendant of the witch hunter who tracked down the seven relic-makers, knows that the cuff once belonged to a Spanish countess whose English husband, the Duke of Valemount, created the medallion – and Wesley, given the aristocratic circles in which he generally moves, knows the current Duke of Valemount.

Wesley, Sebastian, Arthur and Rory prepare to return to England, where Wesley plans to put in an appearance at a number of social events at which the Duke of Valemount is sure to be in attendance, and to which he will be accompanied by his friend, Don Sebastian, the eldest son of a Spanish count. Sebastian isn’t overly enthused by the idea of infiltrating English society as a Spanish aristocrat, but it makes sense for him to tag along with Wesley because he can act as a second pair of eyes – and because he’s the most likely to recognise any reference to the relics Valemount might make. It also turns out that Sebastian and Valemount are probably very distantly related (through that fifteenth century Spanish countess), and given the duke himself is descended from two powerful paranormals, they can’t discount the possibility that he might have magic himself.

Viscounts & Villainy is another fabulous, well-paced, and gripping read in which the high-stakes plot and delightful, opposites-attract romance are skilfully balanced so that it never feels as though one takes precedence over the other. Wesley and Sebastian’s romance has developed over three books and I’ve loved every minute I’ve spent watching them falling for each other and coming to accept that they’re worthy of love and deserving of happiness. It’s been a hard road though; Sebastian had to come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t responsible for the bad things he did while he was magically enslaved, and Wesley continues to struggle with the fact that Sebastian adamantly refuses to believe he’s the cold-hearted bastard everyone else thinks him to be. But it’s been his reality for so many years that he’s bought the lie, too, believing that if everyone he knows thinks he’s a cynical, sarcastic and intolerable arsehole with no feelings, they must be right.

From the moment they met, Sebastian has thrown Wesley off balance – figuratively as well as (sometimes) literally – making it clear that he doesn’t believe Wesley to be hard-hearted or intolerable; that he sees through the act to the kind and decent man underneath. Wesley tries to laugh it off as Sebastian’s soft heart and desire to see good in everyone, insists that he’s seeing him through rose-tinted glasses; but after Sebastian gave up his magic to save Wesley’s life, he’s finding it harder and harder to cling to his entrenched beliefs about himself. If Sebastian – probably the only truly good person Wesley has ever known and who knows Wesley better than anyone else by now – thought he was worth such a huge sacrifice, then… might Wesley not be such an irredemable arsehole after all? And on top of all this, Wesley is horrified at the thought that he might actually be having some of those pesky feelings he’s avoided for so long.

As Wesley struggles to come to terms with this reassessment of himself, so is Sebastian struggling to deal with the loss of his magic and to adapt to living without it. In an odd reversal of their usual positions, Sebastian is certain it’s gone forever while Wesley simply can’t shake the feeling that it’s still with them, somehow – but Sebastian is determined to force himself to move on and into a non-magical life without looking back. The love and trust they have for and in one another is displayed beautifully when Wesley tells Sebastian to slow down and take a breath, reminding him that he’s allowed to rely on other people as he adjusts, and when Sebastian says he feels safe enough with Wesley to admit how bereft he feels. Knowing of his lover’s new vulnerability redoubles Wesley’s already fierce protective streak when it comes to Sebastian, but he tries hard not to be overprotective, knowing Sebastian’s innate kindness and sweet disposition don’t make him weak and that he’s stronger than most people give him credit for.

The dynamic between these two has always been a highlight of the stories; the teasing and flirty banter is funny, their growing love for each other has been a delight to watch and the way they are so utterly supportive and intuitive to the other’s wants and needs is wonderful to see. I liked seeing Wesley’s gradual acceptance that he might have actual friends for possibly the first time in his life – and enjoyed seeing those friends again, although they are, rightly, supporting characters, and allow Wesley and Sebastian to take centre stage.

I’m rather sad this series has come to an end – I’ll miss Wesley’s snark and Sebastian’s sweetness – but I’m happy it’s gone out on such a high note. Viscounts & Villainy is imaginative, funny, clever, and romantic, and I’m more than happy to recommend both it and the entire Roaring Twenties Magic series.