In A Conjuring of Assassins, Glass takes readers on another fantasy “heist” adventure. At first, the mission seems simple, but it gets more and more convoluted when investigations yield unexpected results. The Chimera team has to deal with foreign ambassadors with very unusual inclinations. And assassins. And vendettas. And there’s a mysterious stranger Romy saves from drowning in the river.

The Chimera team is an ensemble of four spies. Each of them has a unique magical talent necessary during heists but also a personal history that creates obstacles. As a child, Romy was sold by her parents and trained as a courtesan. Her brother Neri grew up in poverty and ignorance. Placidio has a murky background but is a professional duelist, who has to stay in the middle ranks of his profession, to keep his particular skills hidden. Dumond the metalsmith has a family he wants to keep safe. They have to deal not only with hiding their magic but also with poverty, civil strife, violence, and the other, more ordinary difficulties of everyday life.

Apart from the exciting plot and solid twists, we get a lot of character development for all team members. Especially for the reader's favorite Placidio. As an expert swordsman, he earns his living as a professional duelist. Throughout the Costa Drago, dueling is strictly regulated. Depending on a duelist place in the rankings the fees for fighting vary (those higher on the list charge higher fees). Placidio can't win as often as his skills might allow, lest people start noticing that he has other skills than just swordsmanship. That depresses him and makes him drink a lot. But there's also another side to him and in A Conjuring of Assassins Glass reveals it to readers.

As usual, the strength of the novel lies in relationship between characters. That's where magic happens. That said, I found the plot exciting and immersive but I can't discuss it without spoiling things to potential readers.

Overall, a fun and strong sequel. I can't wait to read the next installments whenever they come.

Cate Glass continues to impress with A Conjuring of Assassins, the second addition to the Chimera series. Glass' writing is elegant and colorful, and her story is rife with clever images. The reader can really experience what the characters are going through. Although slow at times, this high stakes, magical heist adventure keeps the reader engaged. I especially loved delving more into Romy's magic and the different characters she creates. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

A Conjuring of Assassins is a magical, swoon-worthy, fantasy, adventure that should be on everyone’s shelf. I was in love with An Illusion of Thieves last year and how this strong girl Romy could manage to live and deal with so much loss and still find a purpose. The world-building and twist had me hooked. A Conjuring of Assassins takes place immediately after the last book and is a perfect follow-up.

There were many times in this book where I became so overwhelmed and invested in the plot that I had to physically put the book down and walk away from it for a few hours because I was reading too fast to properly comprehend all the details. It gets that intense.

All of our characters are facing intense inner turmoil and it was so interesting to see how they each approached their problems. Especially since Cate Glass didn't shy away from showing how sometimes the decisions you make are wrong and society is selfish at its core. The plot lines are very intricate and it is so amazing to watch the story unfold. I was constantly coming up with different theories and trying to figure out the true meaning of the story. Cate Glass surprised me so much in all of her plot twists. There were many moments where I would audibly gasp and yell "NO WAY" or "I KNEW IT". This book is steeped in betrayal and corruption, I never knew who to trust because everyone was so morally grey! I love how Glass managed to keep me on my toes, I was constantly craving more of the story.

Wow. Just wow. A beautiful followup to an already amazing book, Glass knows what she's doing in the world of fantasy. I didn't know what to expect coming into this series, but this second book makes me even more glad to have picked it up; the action and political intrigue is abundant, and at the forefront is a protagonist that I can't help but enjoy. Romy is a fantastically interesting character, and her companions continue to be extremely endearing.

Getting more background on Placidio was so intriguing, and Teo was a welcome addition to an already extensive cast. As for the plot, I found it really interesting. I love me a good political intrigue book, and this doesn't fail to please. The story doesn't ever seem to stop, and I'm so excited for the next one. The tiny elaborations on the magic system make sense, it doesn't seem overpowered the way some systems go, and none of the sorcerers magic is more than the others, which is uncommon.

Now I'm just disappointed that I have to wait for the next one!

I received an Arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review. I'll be reviewing the series on my YouTube channel Books Rebound closer to release but for now I figured I'd write a review here.

I really love this series. It feels really fun and refreshing since it's lighter in tone and more fast paced than a lot of what I read. This book really impressed me just as much as the first, though I did prefer the first a little more.

So this series takes place in an Italian inspired world where magic is a crime. All those with magic are deemed spawn of Dragonis, an ancient evil that sleeps beneath the Costa Drago in this world's rich mythology. Our main character Romy was sold by her mother to the Moon House where she was trained as a courtesan and eventually wound up service the city's ruler for nine years as Mistress Cataline where they fell in love. Due to her brothers crime, her father's hand was cut off and he along with his family of eleven were exiled from the city but her brother Neri was forced to stay and Romy was exiled from Sandro's service back to the Beggar's Ring of the city. There Romy and her brother met two other sorcerers and when word came of a plot against Sandro, they used their magic and wits to foil the plan in book one. Sandro recognized their service and the good they could do and decided to ignore their crime of magic and call on them in the future if the need arises.

Romy can replace a story in someone's head, erasing a memory or creating a new one. She can work this on herself as well and act so well that she becomes a whole new person, forgetting her true identity until someone touching her speaks her name and she can return to herself.

Neri, her brother, can find any item as well as find a path to it, using his magic to walk through walls. He makes for a great thief and scout.

Dumond, a metal worker, has the ability to paint a doorway on a wall and walk through it to the other side or to an entirely different location where another door has been painted.

Placidio, an enigmatic swordsman, has the ability to predict his opponents moves before theyve even thought to make them. He can see a few seconds into the future and react accordingly.

Teo, a new character even more enigmatic than Placido, can speak in another mage's mind, heal quickly and lend his magic to other sorcerers.

In this book the need has indeed arisen once more. There is a foreign prisoner being transferred from Sandro's custody into the custody of the Mercediaran embassy. This prisoner has a document, The Assassin's List, that could plunge Cantagna into a war with Mercediare if it comes to light. Romy and her team, known as the Chimera, have to act fast in order to secure the list. This book has more intrigue than the first as the Chimera slowly discover plans within plans within plans that just get crazier and more audacious. I really can't say much more than that here but if you liked the first book there's no way you'll dislike the second book. I highly recommend this.

Romy will definitely be featured in an upcoming YouTube video about strong female characters who aren't just emulating men's physical strength but have a strength all their own. She reminds me a bit of Phedra from Kushiels Legacy.

Awesome addition to the series! Love the labyrinthine plots that twists and turns- but always bringing the readers along, never leaving us to confusion or boredom. There’s always danger lurking, and magic a foot. Such a cool ending!!! Cannot day more- but I’ll reiterate that the Romy/Placidio pairing could not come soon enough- and if it doesn’t happen, it’ll be a wasted opportunity.

I also want to say that the villain and his/their plot was fiendish and chilling. Such a step up from the first adventure. It was chilling, ALL that they were involved in was chilling.

Also Romy, I’m hoping will make greater strides to look less whistfully back at her time with Il Padrone- he did drop you- but great strides were made at the end- in my estimation anyway. Can’t wait for book 3!!!

Holding off on the full review until nearer publication date but this was brilliant. I loved how Glass turned familiar tropes on their heads here. Fast paced, twisty and exciting, this is even better than book one. A series not to miss.

This book was received as an ARC from Macmillan-Tor/Forge - Tor Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I absolutely love twists and turns and this book was full of them. A family of assassins now turned immediate heroes and discover that the Ambassador's home from simple things could mean death was so outrageously exciting that I could not stop reading this book. The plot was way out of left field and that made me want to read it even more. A lot of our teen book club members read the first installment of the series and really liked it and I know for a fact they will love this one as well. Our teen patrons respond well to books with a unique story line and concepts that are unusually different and A Conjuring of Assassins is exactly that.

We will consider adding this title to our Science Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.