This book wasn’t for me. The changing characteristics of the plot didn’t do it many favors, and it seemed the writers couldn’t decide what type of story they wanted to tell. The paranormal aspects weren’t strong enough for me to recommend this to fantasy readers, and the mystery wasn’t developed well enough for me to recommend this to readers of thrillers or spy novels. I would maybe recommend this to adult YA readers, but only with the caveat that it is more spy games than fantasy.

Review originally posted to Goodreads on 9/15/12:
Lately, I have found myself drawn to books set in the city of Prague. This is interesting, as none of them delve too deeply into describing the surroundings, yet they offer enough description of the setting that I am prompted to do my own independent research to find out more. Is there a trip to Prague in my future? I am tempted to say yes, which makes me wonder if this isn't some master plan developed by the Czech Tourism Department...

City of Dark Magic was an interesting story, one that I enjoyed quite a bit. I liked the characters and for the most part found them to be fairly authentic, though I was a bit skeptical about the main character, Sarah, who is not only physically attractive, but also academically gifted. She had a less-than-privileged upbringing, and at times shows signs of having something akin to street smarts, then turns around and behaves in a fairly naïve manner.

However, my main issue with the book is the convoluted storyline and what I can only describe as a duality of genres. What was the original intent of the book, to be a spy thriller with a historical bent, or an intellectual mystery with some magical underpinnings? Was this mixing of plot lines due to the fact that two separate people were writing the story? I freely admit that I hoped it would be more of the latter, and I would have awarded it an additional star if it had focused more on the intellectual and magical. (A greater focus on the spy element would have kept me from picking up the book in the first place.) I found the CIA/KGB love story to be unnecessary, and the character of Charlotte Yates a waste of time. The Marchesa would have made a better villain had she been more fully developed and given a more active role. Overall, the story moved at a good pace, had plenty of action with a few twists (though nothing too shocking), and was an enjoyable read.

While the authors did a fairly decent job of tying up all the loose threads at the end, there were a few things that made me wonder if perhaps a sequel is in the works. Will Nico find an answer to his dilemma? Will Max find the treasure he is looking for? Will we see more of Pols and perhaps find out there is more to her than we originally thought? And Sarah, will she get the opportunity to see her idol once again?

I struggled a lot with this. I heard it was a fan favorite but it never really clicked with me. i didnt enjoy the characters or the chapter layouts

Magnus Flyte continues to be a very popular author at our school. This book did not disappoint and will be purchased and added to the library.