What a great way to start the year! The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey was my first book of 2026, and it did not disappoint! I have been reading Mercedes Lackey’s books since the 1980s, when she started the Valdemar fantasy series, so I am definitely a long-time fan.
This book is number 18 in her Elemental Masters series, which is set in an alternate reality where magic exists. They take place in the early 1900s, mostly in England, and an Elemental Master is someone who has magical control over air, water, fire, or earth. Each book has its origin in a famous fairy tale, this one being Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans, but that is just the starting point for Lackey’s magical storytelling.
In The Cyprian, we meet Elena Whitstone and her seven brothers. Their mother has fled and now their father is bringing home a new stepmother, who is certainly neglectful and possibly evil. I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I’ll just say how much I enjoyed this story and highly recommend checking it out. It can be read as a standalone book, although you may want to go back and read them all afterwards!
In So Many Words 