GAJA J. KOS

Blurb:

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.

Review:

There are some books you just can’t stop thinking about, no matter how much time goes by. The Last Magician was one of those for me.

Right when I thought I’d moved on, my mind would offer up a snippet, an emotion, a taste of the amazing atmospheres Maxwell created… It was a struggle to keep myself from reading the book over and over again. So, naturally, it made me wonder how could anything possibly be better than The Last Magician? How could anything ensnare me as much as This. Damn. Book?

Apparently, I only needed to wait long enough to get my hands on The Devil’s Thief.

First of all, let me say that it was a dream to spend time with all my faves again, as well as meet the newbies (love the newbies!). The cast was one of those aspects that played a crucial role in making me fall heads over heels with TLM, and let me tell you, the ball just keeps on rolling. The blend of queer, POC, as well as white cishet characters builds a believable reality that is only further augmented by the layered complexity of every individual we meet. They all have their own struggles, some tied to the story, some to their own emotions, but also to society and its perception of what is acceptable and what is not. Their voices are clear and distinct, so even though I have my personal sweethearts, I thoroughly enjoyed every single perspective The Devil’s Thief offered.

I won’t go into the story itself because it would be super hard to avoid spoilers, but I can say that the book didn’t disappoint. The prose is stunning, and Maxwell ingeniously weaves the numerous storylines into a seamless, spellbinding whole that spans across time.

The Devil’s Thief is definitely among my top 2018 releases, and the series itself is one of my favorites in general. I highly recommend it to all who enjoy losing themselves not only in an epic story, but an entire intricately designed world.

The next instalment can’t come out soon enough!