Goodreads Synopsis

After the sudden death of his mother and the disappearance of his father, seventeen-year-old immigrant Ezra Newport is assigned to live at Belfast Preparatory School until graduation. The year is 1906, and a growing unrest in the world slowly begins to creep its way into Ireland. Unexpectedly, Ezra stumbles upon a secret society known as the Third Order of the Magi, a group sworn to protect citizens through magical powers granted by their ancestral predecessors. He soon discovers the happenings of his life were never accidental but instead, guiding him toward an existence he never dreamed possible.

My Mini Review

***Thanks to NetGalley and EnchantFire for providing a copy of the book. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I loved this book so much. The pace was intense throughout and kept me on the edge of my seat from the very first chapter. I liked the way the author used multiple POV, and each of the characters was complex and provided something unique to the story. The writing was engaging, and I particularly liked the dialogue in this book as it made the characters feel real and exuded each of their individual personalities. The magic system and the secret societies that wielded it were interesting, and I enjoyed learning about them in the book. I’m a sucker for political intrigue and conspiracies, and there was plenty of each in this story. However, I found some of the explanations of the magic system to be a bit unwieldy and would have liked a bit more clarity about it, which will hopefully come in subsequent books. One of my favorite things about this book was the integration of bits of ancient history into the story, along with the turn of the century setting in Ireland. The book is heavy on tropes, including found family, absent/dead parents, forbidden lovers, and chosen one/prophecy, but it did manage to surprise me with a couple twists despite being largely linear in other ways. In regards to the characters, I enjoyed the portrayal of Jonas and his struggle with following authority vs. doing what he believed to be right, especially given his history with his father. Ezra was also an interesting character due to his determination to seemingly avoid his destiny, and Diego was just an absolute delight to read. Overall, I enjoyed the adventure and had a lot of fun reading this book. Therefore, I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.