The Last Magician

Magic is alive and well in New York in the early 1900’s. Of course, the gifted are being hunted by The Order, who are determined to eradicate all magic and if they can’t do that, they want to control it! The magicians are trapped, if they try to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, their magic is stripped from their bodies and they are likely to die. Esta is from the near future. She has the power to manipulate time. The Professor is sending her back to find the Magician and the book that will save the future. Esta will do everything she can to help her friends. But as she goes back in time, she finds herself drawn into a community that welcomes her and her talents. She is especially attracted to Harte Darrigan, the one she is sent to betray. As they find themselves after the same prize, Esta and Harte must work together knowing they will only wind up betraying each other in the end. Esta finds herself at odds with what she thinks she should do and what she is being asked to do. Time travel is a tricky thing, and she must use all her powers to save Magic and the new friends she has made. Nothing is as she thought and no one can really be trusted, even the boy she has come to love. I really enjoyed this book, I like the grit of NYC in that time period and can picture the characters bellied up to a bar plotting adventures. Harte is young, scrappy and hungry and out to save the people he loves. Esta is determined, brave and certainly no damsel in distress. I was left on a cliffhanger, so I look forward to the next chapter as Esta finds a way to get even for what has been done to her family. Happy reading my friends!