by  Lisa Maxwell

4.5/5books

*I received an arc from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

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In this spellbinding sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Last Magician, Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic.

Hunt the Stones.

Beware the Thief.

Avenge the Past.

Esta’s parents were murdered. Her life was stolen. And everything she knew about magic was a lie. She thought the Book of Mysteries held the key to freeing the Mageus from the Order’s grasp, but the danger within its pages was greater than she ever imagined.

Now the Book’s furious power lives inside Harte. If he can’t control it, it will rip apart the world to get its revenge, and it will use Esta to do it.

To bind the power, Esta and Harte must track down four elemental stones scattered across the continent. But the world outside the city is like nothing they expected. There are Mageus beyond the Brink not willing to live in the shadows—and the Order isn’t alone in its mission to crush them.

In St. Louis, the extravagant World’s Fair hides the first stone, but an old enemy is out for revenge and a new enemy is emerging. And back in New York, Viola and Jianyu must defeat a traitor in a city on the verge of chaos.

As past and future collide, time is running out to rewrite history—even for a time-traveling thief.

The Devil’s Thief is the second book in the Last Magician series. The story starts off right where The Last Magician left off. Esta and Harte have made it past the brink in New York City and are headed towards St. Louis to go after the first stone that Harte sent out. Things start off in 1902, but due to events that take place on a train ride, Esta ends up moving herself and Harte into 1904. From this point on the book goes back and forth between 1902 and 1904.

During the 1902 part of the story Viloa and Jianyu are the focus of the story. We are also introduced to a few new characters that have an important role in the time frame. I was happy to see more of the old gang have more of a role in the story, since Dolph was killed they are trying to find their place in society since they broke away.

In 1904 once in St. Louis, Esta and Harte are on the trail of getting a necklace back from one of Harte’s contacts in the vaudeville world. They must start dealing with the magic that is inside Harte and how it is

affecting both of them. The tension between the two comes to a head when the magic in Harte starts to become stronger. “I want to be with you, but I can’t” type of deal.

Thanks to the sub chapter titles in the book it was easy to keep track of when and where in the story was taking place, since there was a lot going on in both years.

I won’t lie this was a long book and when I first saw the physical arc I was slightly intimidated, but once I started reading it the pace was consistent, even with the time jumps.

I’m already looking forward to the third book, especially with the way this one ended.