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Magic City Mayhem
Not yet published
Expected 23 Jun 26In Miami, death is just another hustle.
Archmagus Pablo Díaz is Miami’s most overworked necromancer, and he’d like you to know he didn’t ask for this life. Unfortunately, Miami keeps dying — violently, inconveniently, and in places that ruin his shoes.
Struggling to meet the expectations of his Cuban-born father – and swamped by Papi's medical bills – Pablo sells his abilities to anyone willing to pay, from grieving widows to homicide detectives.
But when a pair of mutilated corpses wash out of Biscayne Bay and point their bony fingers toward Miami’s criminal underbelly, Pablo is drawn into a mystery that tugs on every string in his life: the Necropolis beneath the city, the cutthroat magical academy, and the increasingly erratic Chancellor who raised a tower out of the ground—and out of the dead.
As his investigation unleashes eldritch monsters on the streets of Miami, Pablo must balance duty, danger, and the complicated business of being a good son. Because something dark is stirring in the Magic City, and this time, even a necromancer might be in over his head.
Featuring bilingual dialogue woven through its supernatural noir sensibilities, Magic City Mayhem speaks to readers of Jim Butcher, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Junot Díaz — with enough humor, ghosts, and cafecito to wake the dead.
Archmagus Pablo Díaz is Miami’s most overworked necromancer, and he’d like you to know he didn’t ask for this life. Unfortunately, Miami keeps dying — violently, inconveniently, and in places that ruin his shoes.
Struggling to meet the expectations of his Cuban-born father – and swamped by Papi's medical bills – Pablo sells his abilities to anyone willing to pay, from grieving widows to homicide detectives.
But when a pair of mutilated corpses wash out of Biscayne Bay and point their bony fingers toward Miami’s criminal underbelly, Pablo is drawn into a mystery that tugs on every string in his life: the Necropolis beneath the city, the cutthroat magical academy, and the increasingly erratic Chancellor who raised a tower out of the ground—and out of the dead.
As his investigation unleashes eldritch monsters on the streets of Miami, Pablo must balance duty, danger, and the complicated business of being a good son. Because something dark is stirring in the Magic City, and this time, even a necromancer might be in over his head.
Featuring bilingual dialogue woven through its supernatural noir sensibilities, Magic City Mayhem speaks to readers of Jim Butcher, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Junot Díaz — with enough humor, ghosts, and cafecito to wake the dead.
352 pages, ebook
Expected publication June 23, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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May 6, 2026Miami urban fantasy with Cuban MC! Let's go, mi gente!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Marcus X. Figuerola, NetGalley and Bannermen Books for the eARC.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish!
The story was fast paced, but not exhaustingly so, and never felt like it had any dead moments. The inclusion of spanish dialouge was enjoyable (I don't speak any spanish myself) and for me made the story more immersive. I liked the magic system used, and would have loved to sit in on Pablo's lesson. Pablo was an interesting character with a depth, hubris and flaws to him that made him just as much likeable as it made me want to smack him upside the head, and tell him to just dip out and catch a break. Poor man went through a lot in these pages!
Some of the side characters had a bit of a "filler" quality to them, where they were probably meant to have a deeper impact. I think that might have been that there isn't enough pages in one book to give them more space. Both Hellas and Espinoza come to mind, but I felt this particularly in the case of Georgina; As much as her impact and importance to Pablo was introduced, the space she was given wasn't enough to give me a sense of closeness to her. When the closure between her and Pablo happened I didn't really feel anything, even though I recognised the impact the author was going for (doing my best to say this without giving spoilers). If this had been a duology, and the side characters had more space to introduce themselves and their importance/influence in Pablo's life, I think the story would have greatly benefitted from it. I personally wanted to know a little more about them.
And though I had hoped for a different ending - the one provided was a bit anticlimatic and left something to be desired - I was left with a question I thought worth pondering; did Pablo end up fulfilling the mastermind's plan behind the grand plan after all? I see what you did there author.
Thank you to NetGalley, Marcus X. Figuerola and Bannermen Books for the eArc, it was a treat to read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish!
The story was fast paced, but not exhaustingly so, and never felt like it had any dead moments. The inclusion of spanish dialouge was enjoyable (I don't speak any spanish myself) and for me made the story more immersive. I liked the magic system used, and would have loved to sit in on Pablo's lesson. Pablo was an interesting character with a depth, hubris and flaws to him that made him just as much likeable as it made me want to smack him upside the head, and tell him to just dip out and catch a break. Poor man went through a lot in these pages!
Some of the side characters had a bit of a "filler" quality to them, where they were probably meant to have a deeper impact. I think that might have been that there isn't enough pages in one book to give them more space. Both Hellas and Espinoza come to mind, but I felt this particularly in the case of Georgina; As much as her impact and importance to Pablo was introduced, the space she was given wasn't enough to give me a sense of closeness to her. When the closure between her and Pablo happened I didn't really feel anything, even though I recognised the impact the author was going for (doing my best to say this without giving spoilers). If this had been a duology, and the side characters had more space to introduce themselves and their importance/influence in Pablo's life, I think the story would have greatly benefitted from it. I personally wanted to know a little more about them.
And though I had hoped for a different ending - the one provided was a bit anticlimatic and left something to be desired - I was left with a question I thought worth pondering; did Pablo end up fulfilling the mastermind's plan behind the grand plan after all? I see what you did there author.
Thank you to NetGalley, Marcus X. Figuerola and Bannermen Books for the eArc, it was a treat to read.
March 28, 2026
Figuerola has crafted a fabulous urban fantasy tale that hooked me from its first page. Free of the genre's worst tropes, Figuerola masterfully weaves magically mundane worldbuilding, well paced action, introspective flashbacks, and a touch of mystery in a story that loves Miami like only a local could.
Dr. Diaz lives in a world of demons and dissertations, trolls and traffic, ghosts and gangsters. Cell phones, due to their personal connection to their owners, turn out to operate inadvertently as phylacteries, requiring special care around evil spirits and the like. The book is sprinkled with these deliciously interesting intersections of the magical and the mundane (always my favorites in sci-fi and fantasy).
After a fantastic prologue written in the style of an anniversary news broadcast, we're dropped into the perspective of Professor Diaz. He lives in a Miami where magic has returned and you can even major in it at FIU. Like Harry Dresden before him, Pablo is stressed and overworked, principled and passionate, carrying more than his fair share of cares.
Pablo is a fighter, but he's no superhero. There are real, tangible limits to what he can do with magic and a physical cost to every one of his choices. Every action sequence is accompanied with creative uses of magic and real consequences, both for Pablo himself and the residents of Miami. Often the solution to the problem isn't "punch it harder with magic", and it's incredibly refreshing to see a protagonist approach problems more like Vision than Captain America.
I could gush for paragraphs about this story and our main character, but I don't want to say more to rob anyone of getting to know him the way I did (or to have to hide this review behind a spoiler tag). Suffice it to say we get to see Pablo on his worst days, and the way he responds to the various challenges and his personal history with the rest of the cast gives depth to the character and makes him feel like a real person.
The only thing that keeps this from being a five-star review is a somewhat unsatisfying ending. The climax itself is great, but the epistolary epilogue attempts to wrap up everything a little too quickly and neatly.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bannermen Books for an advance digital copy of this novel!
Dr. Diaz lives in a world of demons and dissertations, trolls and traffic, ghosts and gangsters. Cell phones, due to their personal connection to their owners, turn out to operate inadvertently as phylacteries, requiring special care around evil spirits and the like. The book is sprinkled with these deliciously interesting intersections of the magical and the mundane (always my favorites in sci-fi and fantasy).
After a fantastic prologue written in the style of an anniversary news broadcast, we're dropped into the perspective of Professor Diaz. He lives in a Miami where magic has returned and you can even major in it at FIU. Like Harry Dresden before him, Pablo is stressed and overworked, principled and passionate, carrying more than his fair share of cares.
Pablo is a fighter, but he's no superhero. There are real, tangible limits to what he can do with magic and a physical cost to every one of his choices. Every action sequence is accompanied with creative uses of magic and real consequences, both for Pablo himself and the residents of Miami. Often the solution to the problem isn't "punch it harder with magic", and it's incredibly refreshing to see a protagonist approach problems more like Vision than Captain America.
I could gush for paragraphs about this story and our main character, but I don't want to say more to rob anyone of getting to know him the way I did (or to have to hide this review behind a spoiler tag). Suffice it to say we get to see Pablo on his worst days, and the way he responds to the various challenges and his personal history with the rest of the cast gives depth to the character and makes him feel like a real person.
The only thing that keeps this from being a five-star review is a somewhat unsatisfying ending. The climax itself is great, but the epistolary epilogue attempts to wrap up everything a little too quickly and neatly.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bannermen Books for an advance digital copy of this novel!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Don't be thrown by three stars - there's a lot of good stuff here. It was fun but seemed to have pacing inconsistencies that I occasionally struggled with, and I'm still not sure about the ending... The world building was cool and intriguing, and I loved the opening. There were a few times that the narrative seemed to get bogged down in descriptions that felt unnecessarily detailed and pulled me from the action and suspense - not enough to disrupt the book as a whole, but enough that I noticed my attention flagging. Fortunately things usually picked up in relatively short order, so it wasn't a big deal.
I liked the magical structure and always enjoy a Harry Dresden-esque idealogue-in-a-world-that-doesn't-reward-them protagonist, so that was fun for me. His battles against The Man (figuratively and literally) were filled with snark and righteousness, and I enjoyed watching him muddle his way into victory.
The ending/apocalyptic battle was a bit of a head-scratcher for me, and I'm still not entirely sure it felt satisfying - but the very end/closing note definitely did! On the whole it was a fun and engaging read and I"d be interested in a sequel - it seems like the ending could leave things open to that, and if so I'm in!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
I liked the magical structure and always enjoy a Harry Dresden-esque idealogue-in-a-world-that-doesn't-reward-them protagonist, so that was fun for me. His battles against The Man (figuratively and literally) were filled with snark and righteousness, and I enjoyed watching him muddle his way into victory.
The ending/apocalyptic battle was a bit of a head-scratcher for me, and I'm still not entirely sure it felt satisfying - but the very end/closing note definitely did! On the whole it was a fun and engaging read and I"d be interested in a sequel - it seems like the ending could leave things open to that, and if so I'm in!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I am finished with this book, and as happens sometimes when finishing a book, I’m not really sure how to rate this. First, I will say that the writing was excellent. It was engaging and very fast-paced. However, after a while, I got very aggravated with our main character Pablo as he just blundered from one mistake to another. He should have known better from the beginning as that beginning move was a little out of character as we came to know about him as the book progressed. The end also threw me for a loop, and I came away a little confused about a couple of things which I can’t say here as it’ll spoil a couple of things. All told, I did enjoy this book even if I don’t think it was perfect. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
DNF @ 15% for the Harry Potter reference. Dramatic maybe, but I don't care to entertain this in 2026 when we know how terrible of a person JKR is.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, despite that.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, despite that.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews