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The Last Magician #2
The Devil's Thief
In this spellbinding sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Last Magician, Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic.Hunt the Stones. Beware the Thief. Avenge the Past. Esta’s parents were murdered. Her life was stolen. And everything she knew about magic was a lie. She thought the Book of Mysteries held the key to freeing the Mageus from the Order’s grasp, but the danger within its pages was greater than she ever imagined. Now the Book’s furious power lives inside Harte. If he can’t control it, it will rip apart the world to get its revenge, and it will use Esta to do it. To bind the power, Esta and Harte must track down four elemental stones scattered across the continent. But the world outside the city is like nothing they expected. There are Mageus beyond the Brink not willing to live in the shadows—and the Order isn’t alone in its mission to crush them. In St. Louis, the extravagant World’s Fair hides the first stone, but an old enemy is out for revenge and a new enemy is emerging. And back in New York, Viola and Jianyu must defeat a traitor in a city on the verge of chaos. As past and future collide, time is running out to rewrite history—even for a time-traveling thief.
705 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 9, 2018
750 people are currently reading
20353 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Maxwell
13 books2,054 followersLisa Maxwell is the New York Times Best-Selling author of THE LAST MAGICIAN. Also of UNHOOKED, SWEET UNREST, and GATHERING DEEP. When she's not writing books, she teaches English at a local college. She lives near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so patient boys.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,182 reviews
May 11, 2021
Reread in 2021: ok so now that I’m rereading I’m realizing this was a bit sluggish of a story to get through, BUT that ending still makes everything a-ok to me lol. You can’t get to the last page and say you saw that coming ;-)
Holy crap. HOOOLLYYYY CRAP. I have no words. I am in love and horrified at the same time, and I don’t know which is worse. If you haven’t heard it from me yet, please pick up this series. It. Is. Amazing.
Holy crap. HOOOLLYYYY CRAP. I have no words. I am in love and horrified at the same time, and I don’t know which is worse. If you haven’t heard it from me yet, please pick up this series. It. Is. Amazing.
August 4, 2025
This reread only took me a year and a half lmao *eye twitch*
I'm sadly lowering my rating from 5 to 4 stars, and not because I don't love this series anymore (my original review still stands). With a reread I was actually less blinded by the incredible plot and could see how differently this book was approached in comparison to book 1. Book 1 was superior in every way and for me the editor takes the blame here.
Every time I try to read this book it takes me forever. It drags and drags. The narrative is great but it's bogged down by too many pov changes and long draggy sentences that are unnecessary because they keep repeating the same concepts over and over again. Yes, I already know that Harte is trying to keep the power inside him in check. Yes, I already know that Jack thinks greatly of himself and that he hates magic. Yes, I already know that Viola is biding her time under her brother's clutches. And there's many more examples I could mention here. The length of book 1 was perfect and the writing flowed effortlessly, so why not do the same for this book? I will never understand. It's like this book was very lightly edited and then printed without much care. I notice the rest of the books in this series are even longer, and I don't have enough hope to think this issue is going to be solved, so pray for me lol.
Original review:
I SWEAR—
What the actual hell is this ending!
HOW DARE YOU LISA MAXWELL
Footage of me reading the last ten pages thinking everything would be not fine but at least close to fine:
I still don’t see people reading this series, and oh boy, are you missing out.
This was so long and full of twists, I'm still recovering. The characters we know from the first book have grown so much and some of them are even more ruthless than before. I also hate some of them more than before.
There are new developments which also complicate things, as if the original quest wasn't hard enough. Will these characters ever get to breathe?
Esta and Harte are the usual angsty but we stan. That night in the inn was 👌
I love that this is historical and fantasy at their best. The commentary on immigration, gender inequality, racism and discrimination made me so happy, including how well the historical period and the St. Louis World Fair are described. You can see it in every detail that the author cares about portraying everything as close to reality as possible. This is some Research™.
I have very few things to say about this second book that made me like it less than the first one. This was as epic as The Last Magician and I am even more in love with this series, it's ridiculous. But still. The book slumped a bit in the middle and it was hard to get into it at first because there are double the number of povs of TLM and they keep changing non-stop.
Another one is for the typos: I can understand this is a very big book, but there were a lot of mistakes. In particular for Italian words, which is something that happened in the first book too but not as much as in here. I know Italian as well as I know English, and it's always great to read from Viola's pov because of that, but I often find that the Italian words sprinkled in her narrative are in the wrong gender, number or not in the right place in the sentence. It's like the author looked for Italian words on Google translate and the editor didn't even bother to check if those few words were correct. Viola sounds Italian most of the time, but when I see those mistakes it's like my brain switches to seeing her as a modern American who just thinks she knows Italian.
Now I'm in denial because Lisa Maxwell is still writing the third book and we probably won't get it before the middle of next year. At least she's posting plenty about her writing so I can get snippets *hand rub*
I'm sadly lowering my rating from 5 to 4 stars, and not because I don't love this series anymore (my original review still stands). With a reread I was actually less blinded by the incredible plot and could see how differently this book was approached in comparison to book 1. Book 1 was superior in every way and for me the editor takes the blame here.
Every time I try to read this book it takes me forever. It drags and drags. The narrative is great but it's bogged down by too many pov changes and long draggy sentences that are unnecessary because they keep repeating the same concepts over and over again. Yes, I already know that Harte is trying to keep the power inside him in check. Yes, I already know that Jack thinks greatly of himself and that he hates magic. Yes, I already know that Viola is biding her time under her brother's clutches. And there's many more examples I could mention here. The length of book 1 was perfect and the writing flowed effortlessly, so why not do the same for this book? I will never understand. It's like this book was very lightly edited and then printed without much care. I notice the rest of the books in this series are even longer, and I don't have enough hope to think this issue is going to be solved, so pray for me lol.
Original review:
I SWEAR—
What the actual hell is this ending!
HOW DARE YOU LISA MAXWELL
Footage of me reading the last ten pages thinking everything would be not fine but at least close to fine:
I still don’t see people reading this series, and oh boy, are you missing out.
This was so long and full of twists, I'm still recovering. The characters we know from the first book have grown so much and some of them are even more ruthless than before. I also hate some of them more than before.
There are new developments which also complicate things, as if the original quest wasn't hard enough. Will these characters ever get to breathe?
Esta and Harte are the usual angsty but we stan. That night in the inn was 👌
I love that this is historical and fantasy at their best. The commentary on immigration, gender inequality, racism and discrimination made me so happy, including how well the historical period and the St. Louis World Fair are described. You can see it in every detail that the author cares about portraying everything as close to reality as possible. This is some Research™.
I have very few things to say about this second book that made me like it less than the first one. This was as epic as The Last Magician and I am even more in love with this series, it's ridiculous. But still. The book slumped a bit in the middle and it was hard to get into it at first because there are double the number of povs of TLM and they keep changing non-stop.
Another one is for the typos: I can understand this is a very big book, but there were a lot of mistakes. In particular for Italian words, which is something that happened in the first book too but not as much as in here. I know Italian as well as I know English, and it's always great to read from Viola's pov because of that, but I often find that the Italian words sprinkled in her narrative are in the wrong gender, number or not in the right place in the sentence. It's like the author looked for Italian words on Google translate and the editor didn't even bother to check if those few words were correct. Viola sounds Italian most of the time, but when I see those mistakes it's like my brain switches to seeing her as a modern American who just thinks she knows Italian.
Now I'm in denial because Lisa Maxwell is still writing the third book and we probably won't get it before the middle of next year. At least she's posting plenty about her writing so I can get snippets *hand rub*
February 6, 2019
"Anger and sadness and destruction and chaos was her song, and Esta was the melody she sang to. She would rip apart the world."
1) The last magician ★★★★★
why did you do this to me lisa, I deserved an amazing sequel, not this
1) The last magician ★★★★★
why did you do this to me lisa, I deserved an amazing sequel, not this
November 20, 2021
--Buddy Read with Bopeep and Emily--
key words for this series: time travel, cliffhangers, slow burn, urban fantasy, found family, betrayals, gangs, victorian-esque era, people with powers
if you haven't read the first book, what are you doing? and also... HARTE. JULIEN. THEO. read it for them. If the goal is to make me anticipate The Serpent's Curse, it's clearly working.
— overall thoughts: 4.5 —
🌚 reps: poc main-ish characters (3; asian, lantinx, african-american), lgbtq side character, lgbtq main character
🌚 vibes: magical time travel adventure with many conflicts
My heart was breaking for Cela and Viola 24/7, give these girls a break !
philippines shoutout count: 2
I was going through reviews of this when I was half-way through the book and I was surprised at how many people didn’t like it. I realized it might be because of how slow paced everything still is given that it is the second book and most of the world-building is usually over with. It did take me around the 20% mark to get back into the groove but I was far from saying that I hated this sequel.
Slow plot pacing also means that the scenes were very flushed out and vivid so... I’m not really complaining.
Harte and Esta are the epitome of a slowburn.... and I LOVE it. Because we get to watch their friendship(...?) grow and perhaps falter at times while knowing that they both basically have the hots for each other.
*Harte eyes* haha, get it?
in Bopeep’s words: “he’s a delicate princess”. Or I might just be sick of the hard and brooding male mc who refuses to speak to the girl he likes infront of people. And here we have Mister Darrigan holding Esta’s hand every time he gets an excuse to. While harte does tend to be dark and broody at times it’s okay because he’s also ~sensitive~
call me old school, but I love to see it
The characters, as usual, were a strong aspect of the story for me because it does introduce a found family in the first book but now they sort of keep getting torn apart. Which is both heartbreaking and intense to read about because I just want them to be together is that so hard to ask?? Is it obvious that I do not forgive the ending of this book.
There is not much character development though to be honest, in case that was something you were looking for. The characters are set straight for the most part and even though they make questionable decisions *cough*Harte*cough*, it's just part of their personality? I guess, at this point?
It's mostly them trying to solve the never ending conflicts that head their way every other chapter.
I’m going to be honest and say that a lot of the characters and plot points were forgettable in the long term. Given that I did read the first book a year ago I might not be the best reference but my buddies just read it a month ago and they can probably testify.
The writing style with the short chapters and constant back and forth between character POVs was really effective it making me feel that all of the scenes could be happening all at the same time. As this is a time travel story which deals with multiple plot lines. Another reason that a lot of people might not have gotten into this book because it could cause whiplash.
I found the POC rep slightly iffy because of how the Rusians were automatically in charge of the mob. And we have yet another asian side character who's defining quality is being asain.
Anyway, I've been reading this for the whole September for some reason which is way longer than my usual so I'm glad that it's done but I am so frustrated at the cliffhanger feeling of this ending. Seriously.
instagram | blog | ko-fi | booksirens
key words for this series: time travel, cliffhangers, slow burn, urban fantasy, found family, betrayals, gangs, victorian-esque era, people with powers
if you haven't read the first book, what are you doing? and also... HARTE. JULIEN. THEO. read it for them. If the goal is to make me anticipate The Serpent's Curse, it's clearly working.
— overall thoughts: 4.5 —
🌚 reps: poc main-ish characters (3; asian, lantinx, african-american), lgbtq side character, lgbtq main character
🌚 vibes: magical time travel adventure with many conflicts
My heart was breaking for Cela and Viola 24/7, give these girls a break !
philippines shoutout count: 2
I was going through reviews of this when I was half-way through the book and I was surprised at how many people didn’t like it. I realized it might be because of how slow paced everything still is given that it is the second book and most of the world-building is usually over with. It did take me around the 20% mark to get back into the groove but I was far from saying that I hated this sequel.
Slow plot pacing also means that the scenes were very flushed out and vivid so... I’m not really complaining.
“If we can get control of my affinity, there is no such thing as too late.”
Harte and Esta are the epitome of a slowburn.... and I LOVE it. Because we get to watch their friendship(...?) grow and perhaps falter at times while knowing that they both basically have the hots for each other.
*Harte eyes* haha, get it?
in Bopeep’s words: “he’s a delicate princess”. Or I might just be sick of the hard and brooding male mc who refuses to speak to the girl he likes infront of people. And here we have Mister Darrigan holding Esta’s hand every time he gets an excuse to. While harte does tend to be dark and broody at times it’s okay because he’s also ~sensitive~
call me old school, but I love to see it
The characters, as usual, were a strong aspect of the story for me because it does introduce a found family in the first book but now they sort of keep getting torn apart. Which is both heartbreaking and intense to read about because I just want them to be together is that so hard to ask?? Is it obvious that I do not forgive the ending of this book.
There is not much character development though to be honest, in case that was something you were looking for. The characters are set straight for the most part and even though they make questionable decisions *cough*Harte*cough*, it's just part of their personality? I guess, at this point?
It's mostly them trying to solve the never ending conflicts that head their way every other chapter.
I’m going to be honest and say that a lot of the characters and plot points were forgettable in the long term. Given that I did read the first book a year ago I might not be the best reference but my buddies just read it a month ago and they can probably testify.
“He didn't realize death could wear a woman's skirts.”
The writing style with the short chapters and constant back and forth between character POVs was really effective it making me feel that all of the scenes could be happening all at the same time. As this is a time travel story which deals with multiple plot lines. Another reason that a lot of people might not have gotten into this book because it could cause whiplash.
I found the POC rep slightly iffy because of how the Rusians were automatically in charge of the mob. And we have yet another asian side character who's defining quality is being asain.
Anyway, I've been reading this for the whole September for some reason which is way longer than my usual so I'm glad that it's done but I am so frustrated at the cliffhanger feeling of this ending. Seriously.
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November 10, 2018
Here’s my definition of an uroboros (a snake swallowing its own tail):
a) Something that keeps going around in circles (HA!)
b) An ENORMOUS (1388 page) waste of time
Oh. My. Beard. I am pissed, disappointed beyond measure and annoyed at how outrageously pointless this entire book is. Like, it’s a THOUSAND plus page book and it achieves nothing at the end. At least nothing it could have at easily half that size.
The plot was all over the place and yet nowhere at all. It was bloated with a shit ton of point of views, it took pages and pages and pages (and pages) for anything considerable to occur, only for it to be nullified right after, and then the whole process started again.
Why the actual fuck is this book even that long? It exhausted me with its constant pointlessness. All the characters had to do was find a bunch of artifacts. All 600 of them ran and chased and pursued and delivered some trite god-forsaken monologues just to get to those awe-inspiring magical objects, only to lose them and start their chase all over again. Except for that bit about Seshat and Thoth, which, by the way, clears up exactly nothing about this stupid magical system which seems to make even less sense than it did before the more the writer tries to explain, this monstrosity was a worthless pain in the ass.
The time span isn’t even that long but it takes absolute fucking FOREVER for things to happen and I like I’ve said before, those things are pointless in the long run.
The romantic sub plot is equally frustrating. Harte is ‘keeping the power in check’ almost 67 times in a single scene with Esta while she is busy being idiotic. Someone please tell me how refusing help when you actually need it makes you stronger? Like, her definition of being a strong female heroine is that while the guy is trying to make her stay where she is because SHE IS INJURED and he’s just being considerate, she has to be all indignant and outraged because how dare he leave her out of things? COME ON. He’s literally trying to save your fucking life but you have to twist it into a man being dominating.
On top of that she is so blind that even while she has witnessed him being possessed by the power and he himself has also explained it to her, whenever he’s being controlled she either feels hurt and betrayed by his behavior or is like what the hell is wrong with you? HE’S FUCKING POSSESSED BY A DEMON, YOU MORON, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE A REAL SMART ASS CAN’T YOU JUST SEE?
That pretty much put my interest in the two of them to the grave, complete with a tombstone saying R.I.H (Rot In Hell). The second was Viola and the girl she legit falls in love with under 5 minutes of seeing her. Another grave, another tombstone.
No plot, no romance worth-investing, slow pace, zero development, ridiculous length, insane amount of repetition and confusing world-building. What else is there? Nothing. In short, this book was a disaster and I fucking hated it.
February 15, 2021
”True power was the ability to bend others to your will while they thought the bending was their own idea”.
Después de leer este libro he decidido que voy a abandonar esta saga. Creo que, sencillamente, no está hecha para mí. Todo sigue sintiéndose demasiado como un thriller y una búsqueda que se va a hacer eterna. Y ni siquiera la promesa del romance entre Esta y Harte me mantiene enganchada, así que nada.
Después de los sucesos de The Last Magician, el poder casi maldito del Libro ha quedado atrapado dentro de Harte y, básicamente, lo está poseyendo poco a poco, así que él y Esta deben ir a la Feria Mundial de St. Louis para recuperar una de las gemas que los ayudará a controlar ese poder de origen egipcio. Y así se pasa el libro, ellos investigando cómo pueden robarse aquella joya y viendo cómo, poco a poco, Harte se va perdiendo a sí mismo.
La verdad es que el libro no me enganchó para nada. En un punto todo se dividió en dos tramas que sucedían con un par de años de diferencia y, vale, entiendo la importancia de la historia de Esta y Harte, pero la otra línea argumental realmente no aportaba nada y sólo me aburría aún más. Quizá es porque no conecté con los demás personajes desde el primer libro, pero me pareció insufrible.
Y es que, de verdad, de sólo pensar que Harte y Esta tienen que encontrar otras tres piedras elementales e imaginarme que se les va un libro completo encontrando cada una. No, no, nope, I can’t.
Después de leer este libro he decidido que voy a abandonar esta saga. Creo que, sencillamente, no está hecha para mí. Todo sigue sintiéndose demasiado como un thriller y una búsqueda que se va a hacer eterna. Y ni siquiera la promesa del romance entre Esta y Harte me mantiene enganchada, así que nada.
Después de los sucesos de The Last Magician, el poder casi maldito del Libro ha quedado atrapado dentro de Harte y, básicamente, lo está poseyendo poco a poco, así que él y Esta deben ir a la Feria Mundial de St. Louis para recuperar una de las gemas que los ayudará a controlar ese poder de origen egipcio. Y así se pasa el libro, ellos investigando cómo pueden robarse aquella joya y viendo cómo, poco a poco, Harte se va perdiendo a sí mismo.
La verdad es que el libro no me enganchó para nada. En un punto todo se dividió en dos tramas que sucedían con un par de años de diferencia y, vale, entiendo la importancia de la historia de Esta y Harte, pero la otra línea argumental realmente no aportaba nada y sólo me aburría aún más. Quizá es porque no conecté con los demás personajes desde el primer libro, pero me pareció insufrible.
Y es que, de verdad, de sólo pensar que Harte y Esta tienen que encontrar otras tres piedras elementales e imaginarme que se les va un libro completo encontrando cada una. No, no, nope, I can’t.
November 24, 2023
”after all, stories are often easier to tame than actual hearts.” ♡₊˚
hoooly shit!!! my jaw was dropped for the last twenty or so pages. i was not expecting the story to go the way it did but i loved it! this is such a complex and intriguing story and i love the characters so much. the tension and longing between harte and esta is literally killing me. i’m so eager to see what happens with them. i’m so happy to be finally making my way through this series! i can already tell it’s going to be one of my favorites <3
hoooly shit!!! my jaw was dropped for the last twenty or so pages. i was not expecting the story to go the way it did but i loved it! this is such a complex and intriguing story and i love the characters so much. the tension and longing between harte and esta is literally killing me. i’m so eager to see what happens with them. i’m so happy to be finally making my way through this series! i can already tell it’s going to be one of my favorites <3
Want to read
February 23, 2018We got a title! FUCK YEAH!!!
And that cover!
And that cover!
August 7, 2019
the specific overwhelming reader emotion where you desperately love a book and its world and its characters and you need to talk about them because they're rattling around in your head and feel so real but no one else understands and can talk about it with you because no one else has read the book? me currently as only 1,500 of you goblins have read this excellent historical fantasy and I'm mad
Book 1: The Last Magician - ★★★★★
This book definitely wasn't as flashy as it's predecessor. The Last Magician is full of shock plot twists and dramatic character moments and intense action. The Devils Thief is much quieter and drawn out - I can see why people don't like it as much (I also didn't love it quite as much) but for me, this was really still a strong second book. Why? Because it took time to actually delve into the world and characters and build a plot that didn't rely on quick plot twists and dramatic reveals. If The Last Magician is a train veering wildly off course and making turns you didn't see coming, then The Devils Thief is rattling toward disaster - you can see it coming, but you have to slowly watch the approach, and brace for impact. I think the time taken to raise and stakes and build tension, in anticipation for a third and probably explosive third book, was a good choice.
Also, this book just has a lot of angst and I love angst. Like, literally nothing goes write for these characters for 700 pages and I literally love pain so it worked for me.
The trend of me being obsessed with the couples in this series continues. Harte and Esta are ..... *clenches fist* everything. I'm sorry but you all know I love angst and slow-burn romances where like, everything is roadblocking their pursuit to Fuck and this book really HAD IT ALL. Including some small specific things in books I love - which I won't mention because of spoilers. but AAAAAHHH I was living. I love the forbidden attraction / star-crossed lovers kinds of tropes so this book was really doing it for me.
I don't really want to say too much about this book as I feel anything I get into even related to character would spoil the end of book one. But I will say - and this ties into my original point, I thought the character development was good. All the characters arcs and issues weren't resolved (But thats what the final book is for) but they all progressed a lot. I also enjoyed getting POVs from some characters who didn't appear in the first book as a POV character.
Overall, just wanna say I lOVE THIS SERIES. It reminds me of The Diviners and the magic, gangs, secret societies, magical artifacts, relationships and diverse cast + more is just SO GOOD. It has so many specific little tropes I love, I feel like this book was WRITTEN FOR ME. And I really wish more people would read this series as its SO UNDERRATED. The final book is one of my most highly anticipated releases of 2020
He might be a magician by trade, but was a con man at heart.
Book 1: The Last Magician - ★★★★★
This book definitely wasn't as flashy as it's predecessor. The Last Magician is full of shock plot twists and dramatic character moments and intense action. The Devils Thief is much quieter and drawn out - I can see why people don't like it as much (I also didn't love it quite as much) but for me, this was really still a strong second book. Why? Because it took time to actually delve into the world and characters and build a plot that didn't rely on quick plot twists and dramatic reveals. If The Last Magician is a train veering wildly off course and making turns you didn't see coming, then The Devils Thief is rattling toward disaster - you can see it coming, but you have to slowly watch the approach, and brace for impact. I think the time taken to raise and stakes and build tension, in anticipation for a third and probably explosive third book, was a good choice.
Also, this book just has a lot of angst and I love angst. Like, literally nothing goes write for these characters for 700 pages and I literally love pain so it worked for me.
“Anger and sadness and destruction and chaos was her song, and Esta was the melody she sang to. She would rip apart the world.”
The trend of me being obsessed with the couples in this series continues. Harte and Esta are ..... *clenches fist* everything. I'm sorry but you all know I love angst and slow-burn romances where like, everything is roadblocking their pursuit to Fuck and this book really HAD IT ALL. Including some small specific things in books I love - which I won't mention because of spoilers. but AAAAAHHH I was living. I love the forbidden attraction / star-crossed lovers kinds of tropes so this book was really doing it for me.
I don't really want to say too much about this book as I feel anything I get into even related to character would spoil the end of book one. But I will say - and this ties into my original point, I thought the character development was good. All the characters arcs and issues weren't resolved (But thats what the final book is for) but they all progressed a lot. I also enjoyed getting POVs from some characters who didn't appear in the first book as a POV character.
Overall, just wanna say I lOVE THIS SERIES. It reminds me of The Diviners and the magic, gangs, secret societies, magical artifacts, relationships and diverse cast + more is just SO GOOD. It has so many specific little tropes I love, I feel like this book was WRITTEN FOR ME. And I really wish more people would read this series as its SO UNDERRATED. The final book is one of my most highly anticipated releases of 2020
October 8, 2018
Title: The Devil's Thief
Series: The Last Magician #2
Author: Lisa Maxwell
Release date: October 9, 2018
Cliffhanger: Yes
At her side stood the Magician. Once he had been her enemy. Always he had been her equal. Now he was her ally, and she had risked every thing to come back for him.
After reading and loving The Last Magician this year, I couldn't have been more excited about getting an arc of the second in the series. Book one ends in quite the cliffhanger, so obviously I was eager and excited to continue with Esta and Harte's incredible adventure.
Fantasy lovers will find so much to love about this series. Lisa Maxwell knows how to pack in the action at a nail biting pace, and plenty of suspenseful, pulse pounding moments. The unpredictable twists are sure to keep you hanging on until the very end, because you know that at some point she's going to deliver a jaw dropper. But the biggest draw for me? The time travel trope. Add magic into that scenario, and I am one happy reader. This series has all the ingredients for my perfect happy place, but it didn't all come together as well as I was hoping this time around. I was still a solid and enjoyable read for the most part, but I did have some frustrations that took away from my enjoyment.
We take off right where we left off at the end of The Last Magician. Esta and Harte have succeeded in their heist at Khafre Hall, and now must make it past the Brink and collect the five artifacts that were sent into safekeeping. Or at least, that was the plan at the time. But we all know that plans don't seem to work out so well for this pair, and it was never more evident than in this installment. The Ars Arcana book holds power and knowledge that would be cataclysmic if it falls back into the wrong Sundren's hands. Unfortunately, Harte has unwillingly transferred the energy or power inside himself, and this causes some monumental challenges for the pair.
The dark choir merged into a single voice, one that was speaking in a language he should not have recognized but understood nonetheless. A single word that held untold meaning. Soon.
There are two alternating timelines: 1902 & 1904. But we get a ton, and I really mean a TON of POV switches and new characters. Jianyu and Viola were not in the forefront of the story in the previous book, but they definitely shared the spotlight here, feeling much less like secondary characters. Jianyu is tasked with keeping Cela safe, as well as stopping Logan from reaching Nibsy with invaluable information. All this while keeping out of the hands of those who betrayed Dolph, and the ever sinister Order. Jack has a strong ascension into power, as well as the new leader of the Devil's Own. Viola places herself into the Five Pointers' gang, at her brother's mercy in order to gain information and bide her time. She will find a new love interest as she plots to destroy the Order by whatever means necessary.
1904 introduces us to a whole new set of challenges, created by a chain reaction of mishaps with Esta and Harte. The Anistasi anarchists have now entered the scene, and their intentions are murky at best. It takes some time to decide if they are friend or foe. Ruth, Maggie, and Lucas are new intriguing characters that have their own score to settle, and the appearance of Harte and Esta may be an interference they couldn't have anticipated. Everyone is on their guard, watching their backs and holding their cards close to their chest.
Here's the thing: the world building quality Ms. Maxwell produces here is notable, and her ability to keep a time travel plot free from holes is truly impressive. BUT...the length. The length of this book was problematic. I'm not one to complain about a book being too long, especially a fantasy. In this case, the book started out strong, but slowly deteriorated in pace. I would describe the middle chunk of this book as stagnant. There was little to no progression with the characters, it was simply hopping from one character to another at a frenetic speed where they never seemed to achieve any of their goals or noticeably move things forward.
Failure after failure kept occurring, bad luck following everyone like a black cloud ready to unleash a storm. After a certain point I started to become frustrated at how little success had been gained. In fact, they were worse off in every regard than when they started. Like there was a lot of filler content simply to fill time or set up the next book. Yes, Harte did finally understand more about the power inside the book and himself, and what they were up against. But in regards to their original mission at the start, it seemed to all crumble like a house of cards.
Esta and Harte had some hints of a romance brewing in book one, and I was really looking forward to seeing that develop more. There was constant back and forth between them, a lot of repetitious internal pining or a moment of weakness, followed by a surge of the darkness inside of him, and then retreat. It never produced any change in their relationship, any chance for romance was slimmer than ever before. Viola's love interest had considerable development in comparison, with the promise of even further growth. I have to say, I was more than a little surprised that she was falling for someone so soon after grieving that deeply for Tilly, but it was at least not an insta-love situation.
In the end, while there were no inconsistencies, my main issue was the pacing and progression. It held my attention in parts, but there were long lags were I struggled and my attention wandered. My favorite things about this part was seeing more depth from Viola and Jianyu. Their past and present were fully fleshed out, and it endeared me to both of them so much more. As always, I loved the Mageus and their many varied talents, as well as the time travel and how it potentially influenced the course of the future. We didn't leave off in the most positive of places, so I'm anticipating that it's still going to take a lengthy conclusion to wrap the series up. I'll be really interested to see how she brings everything to a close with all of the new information brought to light.
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July 29, 2023
~4⭐️~
I never realized I could love this series so much. I had it rotting on my shelf and yet I said if I don't look, I can't
see💀
The depths and the description of magic and the world around having the imagery of a movie😌
I just love it
Sooo...I have a hard time imagining scenes or characters in books since I have aphantasia. I see something that might resemble what the author is trying to describe but for the life of me I can't see shit. The best I can do is see them as sticks like those inflatable dummies from the gas stations running around in a field of popcorn (exaggeration but u see my point🤡)
Faces nada, clothes nada, environment nada, facial expressions nada.
Once in a while my brain decides to do me a favor and let me see what I want to see but it rarely happens. When a book helps me see its world almost clearly, that story glows in my eyes. So that's why this series has my heart.
And yes, despite that, I read bc like for everyone else, it's an escape. While I might not see much, I still get attached to the characters and their journey (if it's a good book ofc). For me, to love a book, it has to have that "feelings over looks" vibe. While that version might not be available for me to use in real life bc I am a "judge a book by its cover" gal in every aspect of my life, I do choose to live by that in my stories.
I really recommend this series y'all. It's a slowburn, yes, especially this second book but you cannot not get attached to these books🫶🏻
Onto the next one🫂
Reading updates:
61% update:on lord, the tensionnnn, just fuck already😭🧎🏻♀️
49% update: "The Diviners" vibes are immaculate. My guy is a little jackass right now tho but it's fine, we're coping🤡
I never realized I could love this series so much. I had it rotting on my shelf and yet I said if I don't look, I can't
see💀
The depths and the description of magic and the world around having the imagery of a movie😌
I just love it
Sooo...I have a hard time imagining scenes or characters in books since I have aphantasia. I see something that might resemble what the author is trying to describe but for the life of me I can't see shit. The best I can do is see them as sticks like those inflatable dummies from the gas stations running around in a field of popcorn (exaggeration but u see my point🤡)
Faces nada, clothes nada, environment nada, facial expressions nada.
Once in a while my brain decides to do me a favor and let me see what I want to see but it rarely happens. When a book helps me see its world almost clearly, that story glows in my eyes. So that's why this series has my heart.
And yes, despite that, I read bc like for everyone else, it's an escape. While I might not see much, I still get attached to the characters and their journey (if it's a good book ofc). For me, to love a book, it has to have that "feelings over looks" vibe. While that version might not be available for me to use in real life bc I am a "judge a book by its cover" gal in every aspect of my life, I do choose to live by that in my stories.
I really recommend this series y'all. It's a slowburn, yes, especially this second book but you cannot not get attached to these books🫶🏻
Onto the next one🫂
Reading updates:
61% update:on lord, the tensionnnn, just fuck already😭🧎🏻♀️
49% update: "The Diviners" vibes are immaculate. My guy is a little jackass right now tho but it's fine, we're coping🤡
dnf
March 20, 2019RIP this book.
I tried.
And it's going to be a big no for me......for now anyways.
The first book was really great and this book just took a fricking 180 turnaround into mess and I'm not feeling it. At all. Well, actually it's not too bad, honestly. But really this book could be so much shorter.. Like waaaaay shorter.
I get the POVs of 6+ characters and I don't really see a point in reading all of them. Instead we're getting their POVs and I don't really care for any of them aside maybe two characters. Yes, while there's a lot happening in their POVs, we get like such small minuscule slices of it, it's like it'll take forever to get through their own part of the story. Which is frustrating to say in the least.
With six frickin POVs....the story drags oooooooooonn. Too much. Don't care.
Also can we talk about the most annoying character of the book: DARRIGAN HARTE??!!
I get it. The time period at the time was drastic for women and for being treated and viewed poorly along with people of color.
BUt hoNESTLY??! He's just really really annoying to the point where I want to slap the shit out of him. Literally because of him, Esta, the other main character, wouldn't be in various predicaments she's in now and the book PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN OVER 700+ PAGES LONG.
He undermines her so much and is really a bland boring character who is just—
Damn it, Darrigan Harte can choke, not talking about him anymore.
As for the villain.......
LOL.
In the first book he was actually good as a villain and now he's more comical than anything else here.
sigh.
I tried to push through and tried to force myself to read and finish. Totally unnecessary. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book but now I don't see myself finishing it for the time being.
Got halfway through.
That's enough.
Fuck it.
I tried.
And it's going to be a big no for me......for now anyways.
The first book was really great and this book just took a fricking 180 turnaround into mess and I'm not feeling it. At all. Well, actually it's not too bad, honestly. But really this book could be so much shorter.. Like waaaaay shorter.
I get the POVs of 6+ characters and I don't really see a point in reading all of them. Instead we're getting their POVs and I don't really care for any of them aside maybe two characters. Yes, while there's a lot happening in their POVs, we get like such small minuscule slices of it, it's like it'll take forever to get through their own part of the story. Which is frustrating to say in the least.
With six frickin POVs....the story drags oooooooooonn. Too much. Don't care.
Also can we talk about the most annoying character of the book: DARRIGAN HARTE??!!
I get it. The time period at the time was drastic for women and for being treated and viewed poorly along with people of color.
BUt hoNESTLY??! He's just really really annoying to the point where I want to slap the shit out of him. Literally because of him, Esta, the other main character, wouldn't be in various predicaments she's in now and the book PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN OVER 700+ PAGES LONG.
He undermines her so much and is really a bland boring character who is just—
Damn it, Darrigan Harte can choke, not talking about him anymore.
As for the villain.......
LOL.
In the first book he was actually good as a villain and now he's more comical than anything else here.
sigh.
I tried to push through and tried to force myself to read and finish. Totally unnecessary. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book but now I don't see myself finishing it for the time being.
Got halfway through.
That's enough.
Fuck it.
November 29, 2022
“True power was the ability to bend others to your will while they thought the bending was their own idea.”The last magician was fresh and amazing.and one thing that absolutely allowed me to enjoy the book is Harte and Esta. Their tension build up is everything and I hope they can finally do something about it in book 3.
This is a meaty book. And I’ve read meaty books before where the author writes a brick of a book and more often than not tries to make it meatier with nonsensical plots and information, but I feel like every single word and page in this monster of a book mattered even if you don’t think it does. However, i got A little down while reading this book and that's why i had to settle on 4 stars.
Lisa Maxwell did her research into every aspect of the early 1900s in the States. Expositions, gangs, racial discrimination, and characters based on actual real people (I’m looking at you, Julian Eltinge). But on top of that, we get some Egyptian history as well. Score!
Side note – I loved Harte’s worries about Esta’s reaction to Julian thedrag queen (basically). Esta grew up in the 21st century Harte – chillax 🙂
This time, I don’t even know how many POVs there were, but there were way too many. I usually don’t mind different perspectives but only when it is necessary. The Devil’s Thief did not need all of these different characters. Along with it having too many points of views, it jumped around way too much. This contributed a lot to my attention to the story. While I really enjoyed them in the first book, I didn’t care about them that much to have their story in over 50% of the book. I think it really took away from the main story plot
The amount of stuff going down in the book really made me uncaring for the chapter titles. In fact, I mostly forgot about them.I will also say the other big thing I didn’t love about this book was the lack of communication with majority of the characters because, as always, things would be a lot simpler if they would just talk to one another. I was more interested on when and where the chapter was taking place.
There was also no sense of continuity from what happened in the first book in the sense that everything going on made me forget Paul Kelly held the Five Pointers, and that this Tammany Hall had stakes for power, that Harte’s power involved compulsion and mind reading/manipulation, that Viola liked women…you guys get the point. But maybe that’s just on me.
I’m a reader who needs a lot of explaining if you’re going to be talking history. And I feel like because I got lost in the historical complexity of the gang culture and the ridiculous amazement of the St. Louis exposition, I lost touch with what the plot was supposed to be most of the time.
that being said BI*TCHES
I SWEAR—
What the actual hell is this ending!
Even if this was a filler book where “nothing happened,” and I should probably give it 3.5 stars, I still personally feel like so much happened that I need to give it 4 stars again.
Goddamn, what a good series.
August 28, 2021
Cette série est juste pas pour moi c’est trop long
October 16, 2018
THE DEVIL’S THIEF is such a strong follow-up to its predecessor! It takes the world of magic and corruption and science and secrets, and just throws us right into a story where the stakes just keep on getting higher. Once again, it’s a very immersive story and it really requires a reader to just sit and be reading this book with their full attention — and the pace is still slow and steady. But it’s so well-plotted and well-written and I need the next one!
November 29, 2018
This book is so hard for me to rate and review because I did struggle with keeping interest in it. I usually don’t have a problem with multiple POVs in books but this one just switch around a between so many and so often. I don’t think it will turn off a lot of people because it still has a great story and group of characters but I just struggled with reading and finishing it. I loved the first book so much and it had my interest from start to end so not sure why this one was such a struggle really.
My quick and simple overall: a good sequel and the reading struggle was probably just personal on my part with very little to do with the book. The ending leaves a good deal of interest for the next book though.
My quick and simple overall: a good sequel and the reading struggle was probably just personal on my part with very little to do with the book. The ending leaves a good deal of interest for the next book though.
November 24, 2019
The Devil’s Thief
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow, this book was so capturing and filled with action. I can’t wait for the third, and if so, final book to this amazing series. I really enjoyed reading from each of the characters perspective, and I think that following even the ones that wanted bad things to take place helped me understand their motives better. I have to say that I actually liked almost everyone, I didn’t expect that, it made me want to never even finish the book. Each character had their own problems and things to take care of, and therefore it was more interesting than reading of only one thing they wanted to solve. I can’t wait to read more of these characters and how things develop!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow, this book was so capturing and filled with action. I can’t wait for the third, and if so, final book to this amazing series. I really enjoyed reading from each of the characters perspective, and I think that following even the ones that wanted bad things to take place helped me understand their motives better. I have to say that I actually liked almost everyone, I didn’t expect that, it made me want to never even finish the book. Each character had their own problems and things to take care of, and therefore it was more interesting than reading of only one thing they wanted to solve. I can’t wait to read more of these characters and how things develop!
November 1, 2019
Gros coup de cœur pour ce livre, pour cette saga. On est plongé dans un univers fascinant, avec des personnages extrêmement bien construits et hyper attachants. L’intrigue est haletante, complexe mais bien pensée ! Franchement, j’adore j’adore j’adore j’adore 😍
November 5, 2018
This was truly amazing!! The world, the characters, the intrigue and magic ... LOVED everything about it!
February 7, 2019
*3.5 stars*
I didn't quite like it, but somehow I really enjoyed it at the same time??
I mean, there's time travel, thievery, gang drama, strong female leads, angst, and a whole lot of tension—all packed in one. There might be a few issues with this book, but Lisa Maxwell did not come to disappoint.
Anger and sadness and destruction and chaos was her song, and Esta was the melody she sang to. She would rip apart the world.
Let me break it down for you:
What I loved:
✽ Jianyu, Viola, and a new character, Cela's perspectives. It started a bit wobbly, but I really started to care for these 3 aside from the MCs. Maxwell really gave a depth to them and I enjoyed reading all their backstories (especially Jianyu and Viola) and I'm praying to God they don't die in book 3
✽ The whole idea of a drag queen in the early 1900's, I mean...I never asked for this but...I'M ALL HERE FOR IT
✽ The time travel. You probably saw this coming since this is a whole time travel book and all, but I seriously love the way Maxwell writes time travel. There are so many aspects of the past and present and the future tied together, yet she does it so effortlessly. It's my favourite thing about her books.
✽ The magic! The Mageus are so intriguing, and seeing a wider variety of their powers and its limits was a great addition to this book
✽ The world! It's no surprise I love books set in the past. Living in the present (I hope this makes sense) somehow makes us forget how some of the important events/people that came before us have really impacted and shaped the world to how it is now, some of them so little talked about. It's kind of mind-blowing.
What I didn't like:
✽ As great as it was, the book got draggy so many times! It was a little less than a major issue in The Last Magician, but it was overtaking the story here, imo.
✽ Esta and Harte's angsty romance. Okay okay, please allow me to explain: I LOVE angst. Like I'm a sucker for tension, but that wasn't exactly the problem. The problem was that the angst between Esta & Harte was repetitive. And I really, don't like repetition. The cycle went something like this: an attraction, ignores it, makes a move, what am I doing, mission abort. And it happened so many times, that it just got boring. I knew there was some hope for romance since the ending of the fisrt book, but it kind of depleted here. I still hope they get over it and aDMIT THEY ARE IN LOVE ALREADY, because CLEARLY THEY ARE, and because I STILL SHIP THEM NO MATTER WHAT.
✽ The length. I know a modern YA book being 700 pages is no big deal, but it just was too much. I think it could have easilt been cut down to around 500 pages. Especially when there was literally nothing being achieved in that extra 200 chunk. I think that's part of the reason I felt the book was draggy.
✽ The POVs. Oh god, this was kind of a major problem for me. I generally don't mind multiple POVs—I prefer them, even—but there. Were. Too. Many. Like we were being introduced to new ppl uptil the 50% point of the book. It was getting hard to keep track of everyone and their actions, some of them I had no interest in, and it took away some of my general anticipation for the story.
My review is a huge jumble between good and bad, but jumbled is sort of what I felt reading The Devil's Thief. That being said, the ending was so unexpected and so interesting, I'm really looking forward to the last book to see how Maxwell ties all these complicated knots to end the series! Can't wait for the cover and title reveal!! I'm loving them so far ;)
I didn't quite like it, but somehow I really enjoyed it at the same time??
I mean, there's time travel, thievery, gang drama, strong female leads, angst, and a whole lot of tension—all packed in one. There might be a few issues with this book, but Lisa Maxwell did not come to disappoint.
Anger and sadness and destruction and chaos was her song, and Esta was the melody she sang to. She would rip apart the world.
Let me break it down for you:
What I loved:
✽ Jianyu, Viola, and a new character, Cela's perspectives. It started a bit wobbly, but I really started to care for these 3 aside from the MCs. Maxwell really gave a depth to them and I enjoyed reading all their backstories (especially Jianyu and Viola) and I'm praying to God they don't die in book 3
✽ The whole idea of a drag queen in the early 1900's, I mean...I never asked for this but...I'M ALL HERE FOR IT
✽ The time travel. You probably saw this coming since this is a whole time travel book and all, but I seriously love the way Maxwell writes time travel. There are so many aspects of the past and present and the future tied together, yet she does it so effortlessly. It's my favourite thing about her books.
✽ The magic! The Mageus are so intriguing, and seeing a wider variety of their powers and its limits was a great addition to this book
✽ The world! It's no surprise I love books set in the past. Living in the present (I hope this makes sense) somehow makes us forget how some of the important events/people that came before us have really impacted and shaped the world to how it is now, some of them so little talked about. It's kind of mind-blowing.
What I didn't like:
✽ As great as it was, the book got draggy so many times! It was a little less than a major issue in The Last Magician, but it was overtaking the story here, imo.
✽ Esta and Harte's angsty romance. Okay okay, please allow me to explain: I LOVE angst. Like I'm a sucker for tension, but that wasn't exactly the problem. The problem was that the angst between Esta & Harte was repetitive. And I really, don't like repetition. The cycle went something like this: an attraction, ignores it, makes a move, what am I doing, mission abort. And it happened so many times, that it just got boring. I knew there was some hope for romance since the ending of the fisrt book, but it kind of depleted here. I still hope they get over it and aDMIT THEY ARE IN LOVE ALREADY, because CLEARLY THEY ARE, and because I STILL SHIP THEM NO MATTER WHAT.
✽ The length. I know a modern YA book being 700 pages is no big deal, but it just was too much. I think it could have easilt been cut down to around 500 pages. Especially when there was literally nothing being achieved in that extra 200 chunk. I think that's part of the reason I felt the book was draggy.
✽ The POVs. Oh god, this was kind of a major problem for me. I generally don't mind multiple POVs—I prefer them, even—but there. Were. Too. Many. Like we were being introduced to new ppl uptil the 50% point of the book. It was getting hard to keep track of everyone and their actions, some of them I had no interest in, and it took away some of my general anticipation for the story.
My review is a huge jumble between good and bad, but jumbled is sort of what I felt reading The Devil's Thief. That being said, the ending was so unexpected and so interesting, I'm really looking forward to the last book to see how Maxwell ties all these complicated knots to end the series! Can't wait for the cover and title reveal!! I'm loving them so far ;)
October 7, 2018
The Devil's Thief by Lisa Maxwell picks up where The Last Magician left off. Now that Esta has traveled back in time to save Harte, the two of them work together to find the scattered elemental stones. Can they find them before the Order does?
I really enjoyed this beast of a book! It was beautifully written, featuring rich world building and life-like characters. While the sheer amount of details made the plot drag at times, I still loved reading it!
The Devil's Thief bounces back and forth between multiple character's perspectives. There are a lot of characters in this book, and you get inside each of their heads! My favorite storyline to follow was probably Viola's, especially once she meets Ruby. Viola is a fierce character with a rough family history. She's tough--physically and emotionally--and has a strong moral compass guiding her actions. Her part in the book was interesting. In The Last Magician, you start to get to know Viola, but in The Devil's Thief, you get to know her well. I really like her as a character!
Harte and Esta were also fun to watch in The Devil's Thief. There's so much tension between the two characters, but unfortunately, there's a huge elephant sitting between the two of them that hinders most of their interactions. I'll be curious to see how their relationship continues to develop.
The ending of The Devil's Thief was great! Understanding what's happening with the Book, Nibsy, and Harte is utterly fascinating. I can only imagine how this will all play out in the next book.
All of the characters in The Devil's Thief were well-written. Lisa Maxwell knows how to write stunning characters! There are a lot of characters in this book, but they're easy to keep straight because they're so unique and individualized. I couldn't ask for better character development.
If you haven't read The Last Magician, I highly recommend you do so, that way you read The Devil's Thief!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this beast of a book! It was beautifully written, featuring rich world building and life-like characters. While the sheer amount of details made the plot drag at times, I still loved reading it!
The Devil's Thief bounces back and forth between multiple character's perspectives. There are a lot of characters in this book, and you get inside each of their heads! My favorite storyline to follow was probably Viola's, especially once she meets Ruby. Viola is a fierce character with a rough family history. She's tough--physically and emotionally--and has a strong moral compass guiding her actions. Her part in the book was interesting. In The Last Magician, you start to get to know Viola, but in The Devil's Thief, you get to know her well. I really like her as a character!
Harte and Esta were also fun to watch in The Devil's Thief. There's so much tension between the two characters, but unfortunately, there's a huge elephant sitting between the two of them that hinders most of their interactions. I'll be curious to see how their relationship continues to develop.
The ending of The Devil's Thief was great! Understanding what's happening with the Book, Nibsy, and Harte is utterly fascinating. I can only imagine how this will all play out in the next book.
All of the characters in The Devil's Thief were well-written. Lisa Maxwell knows how to write stunning characters! There are a lot of characters in this book, but they're easy to keep straight because they're so unique and individualized. I couldn't ask for better character development.
If you haven't read The Last Magician, I highly recommend you do so, that way you read The Devil's Thief!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 3, 2020
3.5/5 –
WOWOW The Devil’s Thief is a 700-page wild ride. The Last Magician was one of my favorites of last year (and maybe ever?), but for some reason this took me FOREVER to read. probably because i was really busy irl & also because it’s so big. because of that, i felt i couldn’t get into as much as i’d hoped. but i still loved it!!
some things to note:
- it gets draggy at times. i would ready chunks and feel the need to stop and do something.
- half audiobook-ed it at the end bc i really wanted to finish but couldn’t bring myself to read???? like i wanted to read but didn’t want to??
- along these lines, i thought this was a duology and was expecting more ~stuff~ to happen, but it was more a sequel-book rather than conclusion.
- i kinda wished i reread TLM before beginning this because i forgot so many details from the first book T.T
- the slow-burn and angsty romance!!!!!! so good!!!
- there’s a new f/f i’m positively OBSESSED with
- along those lines we delve deeper into the side character’s stories, which i love
- esta is still angry & v feminist!!! there’s a cross dresser/drag queen in 1900 america!!! poc fighting for rights!!! all is good
- magic is so cool!!!! honestly love the world so much & love how it makes me WANT to learn about our history and how it shapes the future etc etc
overall, i loved the characters and world, but found it harder to connect with the plot and story as a whole. if i had a different personal reading experience (aka more time on my hands, in the right mood, etc), i think my opinions would be a little different. that said, it’s great & i’m so excited for the next book!!
WOWOW The Devil’s Thief is a 700-page wild ride. The Last Magician was one of my favorites of last year (and maybe ever?), but for some reason this took me FOREVER to read. probably because i was really busy irl & also because it’s so big. because of that, i felt i couldn’t get into as much as i’d hoped. but i still loved it!!
some things to note:
- it gets draggy at times. i would ready chunks and feel the need to stop and do something.
- half audiobook-ed it at the end bc i really wanted to finish but couldn’t bring myself to read???? like i wanted to read but didn’t want to??
- along these lines, i thought this was a duology and was expecting more ~stuff~ to happen, but it was more a sequel-book rather than conclusion.
- i kinda wished i reread TLM before beginning this because i forgot so many details from the first book T.T
- the slow-burn and angsty romance!!!!!! so good!!!
- there’s a new f/f i’m positively OBSESSED with
- along those lines we delve deeper into the side character’s stories, which i love
- esta is still angry & v feminist!!! there’s a cross dresser/drag queen in 1900 america!!! poc fighting for rights!!! all is good
- magic is so cool!!!! honestly love the world so much & love how it makes me WANT to learn about our history and how it shapes the future etc etc
overall, i loved the characters and world, but found it harder to connect with the plot and story as a whole. if i had a different personal reading experience (aka more time on my hands, in the right mood, etc), i think my opinions would be a little different. that said, it’s great & i’m so excited for the next book!!
August 5, 2019
Puntuación: 4,5
Me ha durado más de lo esperado por un viaje en el que no he leído nada. Ha sido un libro genial que me ha sorprendido mucho, la historia no decae casi en ningún momento, quizás me sentí bastante perdida al principio, muchos datos que recordar y otros nuevos que había que procesar pero en cuanto me he metido en la historia he disfrutado plenamente de cada página. La autora nos mete en contexto desde el principio y nos refresca la memoria, pero mientras tanto ha sido una lectura algo lenta, pero me ha gustado pese a eso, porque desde cierta parte es un no parar, los personajes no paran de estar en peligro a cada momento, además de conocer a muchos otros nuevos. Lo malo es que se queda de una manera que me muero por el tercero, y para eso queda mucho.
Reseña completa: https://rubiesliterarios.blogspot.com...
Me ha durado más de lo esperado por un viaje en el que no he leído nada. Ha sido un libro genial que me ha sorprendido mucho, la historia no decae casi en ningún momento, quizás me sentí bastante perdida al principio, muchos datos que recordar y otros nuevos que había que procesar pero en cuanto me he metido en la historia he disfrutado plenamente de cada página. La autora nos mete en contexto desde el principio y nos refresca la memoria, pero mientras tanto ha sido una lectura algo lenta, pero me ha gustado pese a eso, porque desde cierta parte es un no parar, los personajes no paran de estar en peligro a cada momento, además de conocer a muchos otros nuevos. Lo malo es que se queda de una manera que me muero por el tercero, y para eso queda mucho.
Reseña completa: https://rubiesliterarios.blogspot.com...
October 14, 2019
2/5
“Jamás volverás a tocar el corazón de la magia. Y tus seguidores te traicionarán. Te harán pedazos. Y yo bailaré sobre tus huesos mientras se secan al sol.”
La ladrona del diablo ha sido una lectura, que por desgracia, me ha decepcionado mucho. La primera parte me encantó, pero esta no ha estado a la altura de mis expectativas y me ha aburrido muchísimo. No creo que siga leyendo la tercera y última parte. Una pena.
-Reseña Completa: http://addicionaloslibros.blogspot.co...
“Jamás volverás a tocar el corazón de la magia. Y tus seguidores te traicionarán. Te harán pedazos. Y yo bailaré sobre tus huesos mientras se secan al sol.”
La ladrona del diablo ha sido una lectura, que por desgracia, me ha decepcionado mucho. La primera parte me encantó, pero esta no ha estado a la altura de mis expectativas y me ha aburrido muchísimo. No creo que siga leyendo la tercera y última parte. Una pena.
-Reseña Completa: http://addicionaloslibros.blogspot.co...
November 5, 2018
*You can also find this review on my blog*He might be a magician by trade, but was a con man at heart.
So, let's not beat around the bush
A fine feast of 700 pages alchemy tome. Happy Halloween to me 🎃
Magic, time travel, secret societies, love, deceit, prophets, web of secrets <---- somewhere here my head is starting to spin ----> I honestly don't know how the author is going to untangle that spider's web.
And judging by the way things have ended in book 2...
So reader, if you have not yet started reading "The Last Magician", what are you still doing here?! Go read it or else...
July 24, 2019
and she killed not with what she was — what her god had made her to be—but from choice and practiced skill. she killed with her blade
my god, i love this series with my whole heart. i thought this was the final book but thank god it’s not that ending was so open ended.. i’m: stressed.
i loved every single pov (and there was a lot) which is actually super rare for me. usually there’s at least one mc that i hate reading from but nope.
will continue to rave about viola and i can not wait to see her in the next book thriving and a part of the main plot because i deserved more of her (and more of ruby)
my god, i love this series with my whole heart. i thought this was the final book but thank god it’s not that ending was so open ended.. i’m: stressed.
i loved every single pov (and there was a lot) which is actually super rare for me. usually there’s at least one mc that i hate reading from but nope.
will continue to rave about viola and i can not wait to see her in the next book thriving and a part of the main plot because i deserved more of her (and more of ruby)
November 18, 2019
A fairly solid follow up to The Last Magician. The Devil's Thief has a lot to recommend it, but it's also laced with some problems that I fear will only worsen as the series continues.
The book is too long and starts to drag toward the end, and I have a lot of concerns about where this Thoth-Seshat thing is going. It's a weak concept and I worry it will cheapen the good vs evil trope that previously worked well and was populated by perfectly good villains who fit the story better than the out-of-left-field toss-in of two snarly, vengeful Egyptian deities who are somehow simultaneously trapped in a book and also capable of possessing a human mageus. Hmm.
I could also do without the Esta-Harte tortured love story that becomes more and more overwrought and obnoxious as the book progresses. The first book of the series was blissfully free of this kind of angsty junk content that often plagues YA fantasy. So...that was fun while it lasted, I guess.
All that said, Maxwell is a master of atmosphere, and has deepened the complexity of an already impressively nuanced story without making it feel cluttered or confusing. And credit to Maxwell for deftly injecting some diversity into her cast of characters without (unlike so many YA authors) making them come off as mere tokens.
A lot of how I'll ultimately feel about the plot of this book will likely depend on where the series goes after this. Much of it will likely look either far better or far worse once we have a better idea of how all of the many seemingly disparate plot threads present in the story eventually come together.
In all, I enjoyed this, but I have concerns about where the series is headed in the future.
The book is too long and starts to drag toward the end, and I have a lot of concerns about where this Thoth-Seshat thing is going. It's a weak concept and I worry it will cheapen the good vs evil trope that previously worked well and was populated by perfectly good villains who fit the story better than the out-of-left-field toss-in of two snarly, vengeful Egyptian deities who are somehow simultaneously trapped in a book and also capable of possessing a human mageus. Hmm.
I could also do without the Esta-Harte tortured love story that becomes more and more overwrought and obnoxious as the book progresses. The first book of the series was blissfully free of this kind of angsty junk content that often plagues YA fantasy. So...that was fun while it lasted, I guess.
All that said, Maxwell is a master of atmosphere, and has deepened the complexity of an already impressively nuanced story without making it feel cluttered or confusing. And credit to Maxwell for deftly injecting some diversity into her cast of characters without (unlike so many YA authors) making them come off as mere tokens.
A lot of how I'll ultimately feel about the plot of this book will likely depend on where the series goes after this. Much of it will likely look either far better or far worse once we have a better idea of how all of the many seemingly disparate plot threads present in the story eventually come together.
In all, I enjoyed this, but I have concerns about where the series is headed in the future.
July 14, 2018
Just like in Last Magician, what really shines in The Devil's Thief is the way Maxwell twines history and magic together. We get to see what our favorites are up to now that everything kind of what backward for them. Esta and Harte travel across the country and time to St. Louis during the Worlds Fair (meet me in St. Louis, Louis. Meet me at the fair) while Jian and Viola deal with the aftermath of Dolph's murder and Nibs' take over. We also get introduced to other characters, the most wonderful being Calla; a black seamstress who gets tied up with our mageus thanks to Harte Darrigan.
This book is full of lovely characters, fun capers, and twists that will leave you begging for more.
This book is full of lovely characters, fun capers, and twists that will leave you begging for more.
August 23, 2020
i’ve gotta lower my rating. it’s been months and i can’t stop thinking about how bad this was. so three to one, here we go.
///
but what was the point?
this was a longgg book, and yes lots happened, but i don’t see how any of it really mattered. for the many, many simultaneous storylines, i don’t even know what the plot of this really was. nothing was accomplished. and the end? it was so random, no closure, no nothing. was i supposed to be shocked? i think i was, but i was so confused already it barely even registered.
and time travel still gives me a headache.
///
but what was the point?
this was a longgg book, and yes lots happened, but i don’t see how any of it really mattered. for the many, many simultaneous storylines, i don’t even know what the plot of this really was. nothing was accomplished. and the end? it was so random, no closure, no nothing. was i supposed to be shocked? i think i was, but i was so confused already it barely even registered.
and time travel still gives me a headache.
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