The Last Magician (The Last Magician, #1)

by Lisa Maxwell

An instant New York Times bestseller!

“Will keep you guessing until the last page.” —Cinda Williams Chima, New York Times bestselling author

A girl travels back in time to find a mysterious book that could save her future in Lisa Maxwell’s “splendid series opener” (Kirkus Reviews).

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.

• ISBN10: 1481432087
• ISBN13: 9781481432085
• Publish Date: 5 September 2019 (first published 18 July 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Margaret K McElderry Books
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 528
• Language: English

Reviews

[Stephanie]

Um, that was a book.

Names that really got my aesthetic: Dolph, Harte, Esta, Nibsy.

[Joséphine]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Initial thoughts: The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell was one of those books that dealt with time travel very well. As a book of fantasy, that involved magic rather than science, yet Maxwell still took great care to factor in the cultures of the different time periods of New York. I loved how she addressed the main characters' clashing sentiments with regards to feminism as someone from the 21st century faced with early 20th century conservatism. If you love books with heists and gangs on top of magicians, The Last Magician needs to be on your radar.

[tweetybugshouse]

I got a copy of this wonderful book through Around The World arc tours This book sits at just over 500 pages which gives the author plenty of room to set the stage for the events that are waiting to unfold in the pages of this book. The start of the book we jump around between the past and the present in order to lay the ground work for how the two will combine in the later parts of the book.
The story centers around the determined talented thief Esta who has the unique aspect to be able to steal anything in what appears to be the blink of the eye. I really loved how the author enveloped us in the magical aspects of this world steeped in magic. This is the second book i read from this author the other was Hooked. She is very good at describing the scence and when a death occurs your heart is ripped out just like it should be. This story had me wrapped up in it and did not want to it to end.

I like how though their no mention of a sequel on goodreads yet you know their has to be more story to tell and i am very much looking forward to what is going to happen.