Review: The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

The Last Magician

by Lisa Maxwell

July 18, 2017

512 pages

Goodreads   Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

Stop the Magician.
Steal the book.
Save the future.

In modern day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives.

Esta is a talented thief, and she's been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink. With her innate ability to manipulate time, Esta can pilfer from the past, collecting these artifacts before the Order even realizes she’s there. And all of Esta's training has been for one final job: traveling back to 1902 to steal an ancient book containing the secrets of the Order—and the Brink—before the Magician can destroy it and doom the Mageus to a hopeless future.

But Old New York is a dangerous world ruled by ruthless gangs and secret societies, a world where the very air crackles with magic. Nothing is as it seems, including the Magician himself. And for Esta to save her future, she may have to betray everyone in the past.

Review

Electrifying and all-consuming, I can tell you now The Last Magician will have a spot in my list of top ten books I read this year. The story is phenomenal with incredible characters and spellbinding twists. I loved every second.

I really enjoyed the writing in this one. The Last Magician is a big book but it didn't feel that way when I was reading it. I love the originality of the story. It's one big game of uncertainties and a daring race against time. There's layers upon layers of complexity. The careful set ups, risky gambles and boiling tension all led to some shocking revelations.

Ms. Maxwell takes the time to saturate the atmosphere with lies, distrust, manipulation and deception. It was impossible for me to discern who was worth trusting. I loved it. Secrets and truths came spilling out as the  story reached its climax. There was so much to take in but I enjoyed every bit.

The illusions were beautifully done. They kept me on the tip of my toes. What was real and what was not? Who or what should I be wary of? My mind was working overtime to fit the puzzle pieces together. It was satisfying to see my suspicions confirmed but even more exhilarating to learn that my predictions were wrong. Such cleverness in bringing individual components together to form a new angle.

The characters were darn amazing. They snuck into my heart and stole all my feelings. I was rooting for and hating each one at the same time. Esta had my support from the very beginning. Despite her unknown past she's got a great mindset: "Regret was for people who dragged their past along with them everywhere. and Esta had never been able to afford that kind of dead-weight." (ARC, p.9). She's audacious but her intentions were always clear and pure. I rooted for her success.

A huge cast of characters all played a key role in The Last Magician. Harte, Dolph, Nibsy, Viola, Jianyu and Jack were essential to the slow unraveling of the story. Each proved to be interesting in their motives and entertaining in their abilities. It's always the quiet unassuming ones you have to watch out for. I particularly loved Harte Darrigan. A seemingly nobody that just wanted a life of his own but could somehow never catch a break. The moments he shared with Esta were pulse-pounding and my favourite.

Even though there's been no indication of a next book, I can tell The Last Magician is only the beginning. I've got all my fingers and toes crossed for a sequel! I NEED more of this unique and hypnotizing world.

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way. All quotes were taken from the Advance Review Copy I received.