Stop the Magician. Steal the book. Save the future.
In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.
Esta is a talented thief, and she’s been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta’s training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.
But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.
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I got into this books like when I first read The Six of Crows. I didn't realize it was a long read either. The book started off a little slow and a little bit too predictable for me. One thing I was sure about at the beginning is I would definitely enjoy reading this book. I don't want to give away a lot of spoilers for this book so here goes.
What I liked. My very obvious answer would be the magic. It's the kind that doesn't involve spells or potions but the natural kind of magic we are born with as part of nature. It was refreshing to read characters who had a certain kind of affinity like the "mutants" in X-men or Heroes. They call it magic instead of mutation and I loved the allusion to the old country where those talents are embraced openly. There are magical artifacts involved but what they do is enhance the ability that is already present in a Mageus.
I loved the names of the main Characters - Esta and Harte. They have this love hate relationship that is not too annoyingly sweet. Haha. Another thing I liked is the description of the time when Esta went back to work the ultimate steal it felt like a very colorful and vibrant time. One of the character Dolph actually was kinda like Kaz from Six of Crows but with less involvement. He was just essential to Esta and Harte's role in the books.
What I didn't like. So I mentioned that this was a little predictable for me. Esta's affinity is with time. She is a talented thief on top of that. She as an orphan who was raised by a "kindly" Professor who trained her to steal artifacts with magical stones and then ultimately go back in time to steal the Ars Arcana or the Book of Freedom. When Esta went back to the time of Dolph Saunders she meets the cre which included a mysterious young man by the name of Nibs ho Dolph added to his crew. From the time I read that in chapter one or to I already new that Nibs and Esta's professor was one and the same. I kept reading because I anted to know if there was at least any twist in the story. There was a twist but I was kinda expecting that to happen too.
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All in all it was a good read and it made me want to read the next and final book in the Duology but we don't have any news about that yet. I would definitely recommend this book to fantasy and magic lovers like me.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
