The year is 1926. Magic has been illegal since 1919, but the prohibition of sorcery has led to a booming magical black market with sorcerer’s shine at its center. Joan is offered a chance to escape her family’s failing shining room and work for a man who promises rich rewards if she can perform, but Joan soon finds herself playing a dangerous game with the notorious Shaw Gang.

Alex is the son of a convicted sorcerer, but his attempts to put the past behind him go awry when the feds discover he is not as innocent as he claimed. Forced to work undercover for the feds, Alex finds himself in the middle of the Shaw Gang with a pile of secrets that could get him killed.

Told from alternating points of view, Alex and Joan fight for survival in a dark and strange world.

A Criminal Magic takes the Roaring Twenties and turns it on its head. Instead of alcohol, it’s magic that is illegal, creating an exciting twist on the classic gangster story. While the book started a little too slow and mysterious for my taste, the story became more intriguing as the pieces came together. If someone combined The Departed and The Night Circus and set it during the late 1920’s, you would have something like A Criminal Magic. Strange and exciting, you never know where the story will take you.

BookSparks sent this book to me for review but all opinions are my own.

I'll start with the simple statement that I could not put this light thriller down. To have the gift of true magic could be empowering and an excellent asset, but it could also be a huge liability as the list of people trying to use and abuse you would be never ending. Especially those who would enslave you by threatening what you find most valuable. This brings us the foundation of Joan's story. I found the character development to be strong as Joan, who locked her magic away, reopens it and discovers her inner strength and how strong she really can be. She doesn't do it alone. I liked the teamwork with the other characters and the bonds they develop. I even liked the bad guys. The settings are descriptive and I felt like I was there with them. The story plot moves along at a fair speed with plenty of twists in a duo perspective. It has a pulp fiction feel, but that may be due to the time era set in 1926.

All in all, I enjoyed A Criminal Magic. I am still thinking of the characters long after the story has ended. This is a stand alone book, but it is possible for a sequel to happen.

Really enjoyed this book as it was more Adult Fantasy (breath of fresh air after so many YAs)

A Criminal Magic is set in the Prohibition era, but with magic being outlawed instead of liquor, and instead of underground speakeasies where illegal alcohol is served, they have magic havens where sorcerers perform illegal magic shows and brew sorcerer’s shine, a highly addictive magic-infused drink that allows sorcerers and non-sorcerers alike to “see” magic.

The book is told in four parts with chapters alternating between the perspectives of Joan Kendrick and Alex Danfrey as they both get mixed up in the dangerous 1920’s world of gangsters, violence, and shine – and kind of fall in love along the way. The two meet somewhere in the middle of their individual arcs, but, sadly, it soon becomes apparent they don’t quite share the same moral compass. Or they do at one point, but that changes as their individual journeys take them on different paths.

Joan Kendrick is determined to claw her family out of poverty, even if it means tapping into the dangerous magic running through her veins and working for a notorious crime family. Her journey is a little morally grey and ambiguous. She’s willing to do anything to elevate her family’s fortunes, and as the story progresses she realizes how far she’s willing to go and the actions she’s able to rationalize as just means to an end. She’s not a bad person, not really, but she is at her core a survivor and the impossible situation she finds herself in brings that out in her – survival of herself and her family at all costs.

Alex Danfrey just wants to stay out of jail and fix his family’s good name after his father’s underworld dealings damaged it almost beyond repair, but he gets roped into helping the Feds by going undercover to take down the criminal world that so ruined his own. Alex starts out really only caring about himself – getting back the prestige his family name used to afford him and not going to jail – but as he gets deeper into the crime syndicate and sees how dangerous the illegal magical substances they push are, he begins to genuinely care about the cause he’s been grudgingly recruited for.

The writing in this is fantastic and it’s such a great build as the story unfolds and the main characters get pulled deeper into the criminal world around them and the possibility of untangling themselves from the sticky web they’re both stuck in gets more complex, as is the possibility of any kind of happy ending for the pair. The tension at the end, oh my goodness, I literally had to put the book down in the final chapters because I got so anxious – loved it!

I really enjoyed this book. The moral ambiguity and opposing character arcs of the main characters really make this a fascinating read. If you like books about magic, gangsters, the Roaring Twenties, or any combination thereof, I highly recommend A Criminal Magic.