I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
City of Time and Magic by Paula Brackston Series: Found Things #4
Published by St. Martin's Publishing Group on November 23, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Historical
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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Xanthe meets Brackston's most famous heroine, Elizabeth Hawksmith from The Witch's Daughter, in this crossover story with all the "historical detail, village charm, and twisty plotting" of the Found Things series (Publishers Weekly).
City of Time and Magic sees Xanthe face her greatest challenges yet. She must choose from three treasures that sing to her; a beautiful writing slope, a mourning brooch of heartbreaking detail, and a gorgeous gem-set hat pin. All call her, but the wrong one could take her on a mission other than that which she must address first, and the stakes could not be higher. While her earlier mission to Regency England had been a success, the journey home resulted in Liam being taken from her, spirited away to another time and place. Xanthe must follow the treasure that will take her to him if he is not to be lost forever.
Xanthe is certain that Mistress Flyte has Liam and determined to find them both. But when she discovers Lydia Flyte has been tracking the actions of the Visionary Society, a group of ruthless and unscrupulous Spinners who have been selling their talents to a club of wealthy clients, Xanthe realizes her work as a Spinner must come before her personal wishes. The Visionary Society is highly dangerous and directly opposed to the creed of the Spinners. Their actions could have disastrous consequences as they alter the authentic order of things and change the future. Xanthe knows she must take on the Society. It will require the skills of all her friends, old and new, to attempt such a thing, and not all of them will survive the confrontation that follows.
This was great! I have really enjoyed this series so far so I was excited to read this newest installment. This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book so I do recommend reading this series in order. I found this book to be incredibly entertaining and I love the historical detail and the wonderful characters at the heart of this story.
Liam was left in an uncertain situation at the end of the last book and Xanthe is desperate to do whatever it takes to get him back. She starts looking for something that will call her to him wherever in time Mistress Flyte has taken him. She finds three items and must decide which one will be the one she needs. Her choice leads her to meet some really interesting characters that end up playing a huge role in the story. She soon learns that there are some very serious things that she cannot ignore and it will test her abilities greatly.
The characters in this book were wonderful! Xanthe has embraced her role as a spinner and is doing everything in her power to do good. Liam was very understanding and I love the fact that he is willing to put himself in danger if that is what is required of him. I love the fact that Harley got to play a larger role in this book and hope to see that again in future installments. It was great meeting Elizabeth who I understand is a character from Brackston’s previous novels and I loved what she added to this story.
The mystery in this story kept me guessing. I had no idea how Xanthe and the rest of her group would pull off everything that they needed to do but I was excited to go along for the ride. There were some pretty big developments that should have a big impact on the series moving forward. I found this book to be very entertaining with a lot of excitement. The historical details also added a lot to the story.
I would recommend this series to others. It is an incredibly well-done take on moving through time with characters that are easy to care about. I cannot wait to read more of this author’s work.
I received a review copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press.
I really need to try this series
This sounds like such an interesting series! I like your comment about moving through time with the characters. That definitely intrigues me.
I like that the mystery kept you guessing. This series sure sounds interesting.
You really seem like you are getting on track these days now with the moving completed.