Offering a tantalising take on the pop-culture saturated mythologies including extinct culture, civilisations and legends, The Immortal City is a must-read for any fan of the genre.

What an incredible story! A new telling of an old myth set in an exotic background with a diverse cast of characters. Dr. Penelope Bryne is not living her life the way her father would like or insists but she is living her life the way she dreams. Called to the seafloor by a mysterious force resulting in an amazingly historic find, Dr. Bryne is determined to find any trace of the fabled and mystical Atlantis. The last thing she expects is to be called by the Venice Polizia to consult on a ritualistic killing. Great story development which enabled me to lose all track of time, but in a very good way. This book has mystery, intrigue, romance, laughs, tears, history, and really good espresso (according to Penelope). Did I mention the romance, it teases with its magical, mysterious magician who can quite literally sweep Penelope off her feet and transport her to his tower. I eagerly await the next installment with much anticipation!

Rating - 3.5-4 (can't decide,sorry lol)

I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!All the following opinions are my own!

The Immortal City was a novel that very pleasantly surprised me and I really enjoyed reading it! The description of the book is slightly misleading. While the book *is* about murder and a bunch of magical and non-magical folk trying to find the people/demons responsible for it, it is also just a really trashy YA paranormal/urban fantasy with kind of a slow-burn romance.

And I adored it!

The plot was essentially very straight forward and didn't take too many unnecessary tangents, which is great for a book like this. There was a lot of love and research that went into the book since it heavily relied on elements of Greek/Egyptian/Turkish history and mythology. And of course, the mythology of Atlantis. I think the book did a fairly good job of meshing the supernatural with the historic, but there was some annoying name-dropping, as is the case with most novels that go down this path, which I could've done without. Also, there aren't any mind-blowing plot elements in this novel. Everything is pretty much something you can figure out and/or you've seen before. But it was still really enjoyable so I'll give it points for that!

The descriptions were pretty straightforward and the writing style was not too flowery. This was a good choice for this novel because it did have its fair share of moments when the story was a by-the-numbers police investigation and it would've been jarring for the reader to shift between flowery and non-flowery writing. I especially liked the dialogue in this book. It was pretty natural and it dominated most of the events in the book which worked for it! There were a few clunky bits here and there, but they didn't really bother me!

The characters were pretty good, too! I do think they could've been done a little better - and there could've been more showing and less telling when it came to some of their characteristics, but I ended up really caring for them by the end. The main characters are definitely likeable and I didn't regret the time I spent with them in the course of this novel. The side characters could use some more screen-time, so to speak, and a little bit more fleshing out. But they were still fun to read about! My favorite character was, surprisingly, Marco, the cop. I'm a little sad that he didn't get as much screen time as other characters did in the parts2&3 of the book, but he was definitely one of the more polished of the lot!

The romance in this book is...uhh...well, it's intense. It's very YA. If you've read any mainstream popular YA book from the 2000s,you know what I'm talking about. I wasn't a huge fan of how quickly the romance developed in the book, but I do admit that there was definitely chemistry between the characters and it wasn't all just forced and random. It started off awkwardly and progressed too quickly, but it also kind of works and it had its moments. Personally, I would've preferred if their relationship had been a very intense platonic thing--like canon Aziraphale and Crowley (give me some straight-baiting, I'm begging you) -- but that's just probably my ace self projecting on everything.
(*mild spoiler* they had sex and he didn't put on a condom and I almost had a stroke like STAY SAFE KIDS WTF)

Overall, I think this book works as a really quick, fun, distracting read. Don't expect something really deep or groundbreaking going into this, and you'll be fine. In my review, I've tried to be critical about certain aspects of the book, but the reason I'm giving it a high rating is just that it was a really fun time and while I acknowledge its flaws, I think my enjoyment of the book kind of makes up for them! And honestly, I really want to keep reading this series and I can't wait for the next book! I will admit, though, that this is definitely not everyone's cup of tea and you might find this book too generic or boring if you've read too much YA and are kind of over a few of the things tha genre is famous for reading. (If you read it because of me and don't like it, don't @ me lmao)

The Immortal City
By: Amy Kuivalainen
BHC
General Fiction (Adult)
Sci-Fi and Fantasy
324 pages
Published 19 September 2019
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I really enjoyed this book. At first I wasn't to sure about it because I don't speak Italian and I wasn't able to understand what was going on at the beginning but the author got better with letting us know what was being said. This is a mystery with magical elements. I don't see it as being sci-fi but more of a fantasy mystery. I really haven't read a book like this before and found it enjoyable. It did take me a while to read not because it was bad just that I was busy. This is the first book in a series.
This book is about a woman named Penelope who is a historian who loves the story of Atlantis and has discovered a piece of a tablet. She has had bad luck because of Alexus who has blocked her progress with a grant because he is protecting the knowledge of Atlantis and the people. She ends up going to Italy because of a couple of murders that are very strange and she is helping the police. She finally meets up with Alexus and they have some interesting adventures as they try to solve the murders. I would highly recommend this book if you are into both fantasy and mysteries.

3.75 stars
A very interesting read, even with the murder-case that i'm not so fond of. But i loved the part with Atlantis in it. Plus, i came to like Alexis & Penelope alot, Penelope kind of reminded me a bit of Milo from the Disney's Atlantis movie, without the stuttering and the glasses, but you get the gist.

This book is intriguing and a bit different. Penelope finds a piece of tablet on the ocean floor and claims it is from the lost civilisation of Atlantis. Alexis is an immortal magician from Atlantis known as The Defender and for thousands of years, he has tried to keep any knowledge about Atlantis from the public. As one of six surviving magicians from Atlantis, it is his sacred duty. When Penelope’s discovery gains attention, he immediately tries to undermine any credibility she may have but they are starting to have feelings for each other.
Penelope is trying to prove Atlantis exists and travels to Venice to help decipher writing and symbols decorating a horrid murder scene which match the writing on her tablet. As the story progresses she becomes part of a world hidden to ordinary humans, meeting these surviving magicians of Atlantis, and a love story begins between Penelope and Alexis which hopefully will go into more detail in future books.

The backstory of the rising sea levels in Venice was slightly off putting but this book has daemons, magic, mystery solving, love and the interesting story of Atlantis. I will look forward to the next instalment.

Although a lot of what we get focuses on worldbuilding, the plot is interesting and engaging. I liked this blend of murder mystery, action, and romance. I'll definitely keep an eye on Amy Kuivalainen's future releases.

I was pleasantly surprised reading this one. I had no expectations whatsoever and it blew my mind. I liked the writing, the plot and the characters were amazing. I need book two.

Okay team. This is where it gets hard for me. I feel as if I’ve read nothing but wonderful books this year. But I promise to be honest in my reviews always, and this one… fell flat.

The Immortal City had nearly everything that I should want in a story. The Atlantean Legend. Magic. A too involved scholar. Grizzly murders. Venice. It has all the right elements, and it started off well.

I think many of my issues come from the fact that the instalove overshadowed what could have been an amazing book. And the hard part is that they didn’t even rush into it, but it still felt rushed.

There were so many elements, that it almost felt like whiplash, thought they were well done. It just was too much for one novel, without adding another 100 pages. Truly I wish that this had been stretched out over several books, which it might yet be, instead of all in this one book.

Additionally, I love multiple POV books, and I felt myself getting slightly irritated with how they were handled. One of the first POVs that we are introduced to completely falls away, and this promising character loses all realistic growth that I’d been expecting. In reality I would have liked a bit more character growth from the majority of the cast, who were interesting and varied, but other than our main leads, they seemed to not have the depth needed to make them feel truly real.

This isn’t to say that Kuivalainen isn’t a good writer, because she is. Her world building was good, her voice is strong. I just believe that this promising story could have done with another round of edits to make it shine like it should.

I still enjoyed the story, and will be happy to give the next book a chance. This was a solid 3 Stars from me, for the promising story that needed a bit more to make me love it.

Thanks to Amy Kuivalainen, NetGalley, and BHC Press who gave me this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well, there wasn’t as much Venice I would have liked but there was certainly cool dark magic and occult things going on so that placated me.

As far as Atlantis content goes, well, I think/hope there’s more of it to come, it is the first book afterall and this was setting up the world and plots and so on.

I loved the Magician characters I thought they were fun and mysterious and I just wanted to go hang out in their ‘crib’ and drink wine with them.

Unfortunately, I had little love for Penelope. I think she must have been so much younger than I would have thought. This reads more as YA, though Penelope herself is old enough/brilliant enough if she’s still a teen, to have her doctorate. I think the reason I didn’t like her is that I found the romance aspect for her rather dull, but, I did enjoy her hunger for knowledge and her curiosity. I love it when characters are as big as history lovers as I am, haha.

Sadly this was DNF for me. I was so excited about the story and while the writers style is great, the story just felt like it had been done before. I tried to finish this book but I kept getting pulled out of the story. It felt like an adult version of many other young adult novels in one. I'm sure others will enjoy this novel but it wasn't for me.

This book had a unique premise, it was a tad bit slow at the beginning but swept me up soon enough and kept me in it's grip well until the end. I would recommend it to other fellow fantasy fans in a heartbeat. Thank you for allowing me to read and hand sell this title.

Title: The Immortal City
Author: Amy Kuivalainen
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3 out of 5

Dr. Penelope Bryne has been shunned and ridiculed by the scientific community for her theories about Atlantis. Until a woman is sacrificed in Venice, and an ancient script is found at the murder site and the police need Penelope’s help.

Alexis Donato has spent the last few years trying to destroy Penelope’s career from afar, so she doesn’t discover the truth about Atlantis: it did exist, and seven of its magicians escaped its destruction.

With Carnivale erupting around them, Penelope and Alexis will have to work together to keep dark magic from pulling Venice into the sea—just like Atlantis.

I love the tales of Atlantis and I love archeology, so this book sounded exactly suited for me. However…this felt more like a rough draft than a polished novel. Some of the relationships (like Penelope’s friendship with the detective) escalated too quickly to be believable, and there were a few too many instances of things conveniently/coincidentally working out for me to be fully invested in and believing the story. At this point, I wasn’t satisfied enough with the writing to want to read more of the series, as fascinating as the premise was.

Amy Kuivalainen likes to combine fantasy, mythology, and magic in her writing. The Immortal City is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of BHC Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

A very involved look into the world of Demon worshippers and their influence on culture outside the US. I thought the concept of magicians as gods and not party-tricks-with-white-rabbits was interesting and unique, and the story was well written. At times I was bored, but then other times I was super invested in Penelope's and Alexis's relationship and their journey. I have to admit the boredom stems from the confusion of the plot. I couldn't follow very well sometimes, and that made my attention wander. The last four or so chapters upped my rating from a 3 star to a 3.5, so I might read the sequel whenever it comes out because I like the idea that Penelope won't be so easily discarded because she's human: she's the protector of the Archives, so she can't possibly be excluded now.

Dr Penelope Byrne has become a pariah on the outskirts of the academic world, ridiculed for her theories on the lost island of Atlantis. When symbols appear at a Venetian murder scene that match symbols she believes belong to Atlantis, Penelope goes to help the investigation. But she doesn't come close to the truth until meeting the mysterious Alexis Donavato. He may be able to help find the murderer, but only by exposing new secrets: that the city of Venice, and the rest of the world, are in danger from an evil Alexis thought drown with Atlantis ten thousand years ago.

Penelope is a strong, stubborn woman who refuses to stay down when her parents, her colleagues, and the academic world knock her down. She thinks of herself as an ordinary, risk-adverse person, but can't deny the part of her imagination that wishes magic and dreams were real, and that there is something special she is supposed to do with her life. So when a Venetian detective asks for her help on a case, Pen is on a flight to Venice before she thinks about it. Penelope is a wonderful heroine- pragmatic, logical, yet a dreamer with an open mind about the world around her. She accepts that things aren't always what they seem, and more importantly, she accepts that love and fate can arrive when they are least expected. She wasn't looking for a man, but when she meets Alexis she is willing to accept that not all life's plans fall out the way we expect.

Alexis is a man who takes things seriously: protect his people, protect Atlantis' secrets, and stay away from mortals. He's seen death and destruction so often over the years he can't see himself as anything but a jaded warrior. But Penelope gets under his skin before he knows what's happened, and he is helpless to deny the incredible pull between them. As he helps Penelope solve the mystery that brought her to Venice, he realizes that the threat is worse than mortals can imagine, and he and the magicians of Atlantis need to work past their fears to protect the world again.

The Immortal City is a fantastic book that gives magic lovers an entirely new world to enjoy, and leaves you waiting breathlessly to see what will happen next. Well written, edge of your seat action, and marvelous chemistry between Alexis and Penelope kept me reading until I had devoured the book in one sitting, and was only disappointed that there wasn't a sequel out yet to go on to! Full of delightful secondary characters that I can't wait to find out more about (I especially loved Marco and hope he shows up in more of the series! Loved his "Venetian" version of CPR at the end!), magic to learn, and pasts to explore, the Magicians of Venice promises to be a must-read series for fantasy lovers!


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

In the heart of Venice, a woman is sacrificed to a forgotten god, sparking a mystery lost for thousands of years.

Dr. Penelope Bryne is ridiculed by the academic community for her quest to find the remnants of Atlantis, but when an ancient and mysterious script is found at a murder site, she flies to Venice determined to help the police before the killer strikes again.

Penelope has spent her entire life trying to ignore the unexplainable and magical history of Atlantis, but when she meets the enigmatic Alexis Donato, everything she believes will be challenged. Little does she know, Alexis has spent the last three years doing his best to sabotage Penelope’s career so doesn’t learn the truth—Atlantis had seven magicians who survived, and who he has a duty to protect.

As Alexis draws her into the darkly, seductive world of magic and history, Penelope will have to use her heart as well as her head if she is to find the answers she seeks.

With the new MOSE system due to come online, and Carnivale exploding around them, Penelope and Alexis will have to work together to stop the killer and prevent dark magic from pulling Venice into the sea.

Just WOW what an incredible book easy to read and true escapism. When I requested this book from NetGalley I had no idea what to expect but this has completely exceeded my expectations.
Dr Penelope Byrne is a cross between Lara Croft and Indiana Jones , the perfect mix of vulnerability and feistiness.
The plot strikes a balance between detective murder mystery and fantasy and blends the two very well.
The dynamic between Alexis and Penelope is interesting if not a little trite at times..

Overall a great read and I look forward to reading the rest of the series once released.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I'm definitely a sucker for mythology and fantasy, so I was immediately drawn to this book when I read the synopsis. I haven't read a lot of books that center around Atlantis, so that was a huge plus for me.

While I enjoyed the magical elements and adventure, I think that the romance element of this book is more the focal point rather than the fantasy, which I wish would've been the other way around. I enjoy romances in fantasy, but I felt that things were underdeveloped and the pacing was short sighted in favor of a romance that didn't feel genuine at times.

Overall, the book was alright. I think that those who really enjoy supernatural romances will really like this one.

Thank you BHC Press and NetGalley for the eARC. This did not influence my review.

The Immortal City has elements of mythology, romance, murder mystery and the lost city of Atlantis. Even though it was a good book, it did not blow my mind or impress me much. There were some things which I was not comfortable with and which felt underwhelming.

If you loved that old Disney movie Atlantis about the dorky professor who was CONVINCED Atlantis was a real place and turned out to be right, then this is the book for you. That said, it’s definitely a different spin on the Atlantis tale—in The Immortal City, Atlantis was real, but then, because of various magical reasons, was destroyed. Only a few magicians survived, and they’ve spent thousands of years struggling to keep Atlantis secret while also maintaining the knowledge they’ve gained from being basically immortal.



It was a fun read, and while it wasn’t a new favorite and I probably won’t continue reading the series, I enjoyed how Kuivalainen wove together mythology and history and unexplained phenomena.

WHAT I LIKED
Found family characters

Let’s be real, if a story includes characters who don’t have any biological family so they’ve formed their own friend family, I’m gonna love them. The magicians of Atlantis embody this. They’re such a great representation of a group of friends who have been together for a long time and have sooo much history—except in this case, it’s thousands of years of history. Relationship drama, trauma from the fall of Atlantis, saving each other’s lives…it’s all just part of the friend group backstory. It was really fun to see the characters being so distinct from each other but also play off one another really well, and feel like a real friend group.

The setting

The story is set in Venice, and anything set in Venice means bonus points from me. It’s a beautiful city, and Kuivalainen did a wonderful job describing it. Part of the plot occurs during Carnivale, so it was really fun to read about all the celebrations and costumes. In addition, one of the big responsibilities of the magicians in the story is maintaining the Archive, which is the repository of magic and really all knowledge gained in the millennium since Atlantis was destroyed. But it’s also magical itself, and chooses favorites and will reveal books it wants you to read, and I loved how the Archive and house it’s in had personality and was character in and of itself.

WHAT I DIDN’T LOVE
There wasn’t anything that I outright hated, but there were some aspects that fell flat for me.

Penelope and Alexis

While I liked reading about all the secondary characters, the two main characters were just meh for me. I really wanted to like Penelope, the professor who has spent her career trying to prove the existence of Atlantis and been shunned. She goes to Venice to help solve a murder that includes ritualistic writing related to her Atlantis studies, and is almost like a kickass female version of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon. But…she was also kind of annoying. She was so impulsive, and didn’t think anything through—the whole ‘going to Venice thing’ wasn’t because the police asked her to. A detective emailed her a question about the crime scene, and instead of responding, she hops on a plane to Venice. Like, okay?

Alexis is the Atlantean magician and the second point of view in the book. Again, I didn’t hate him. But I wasn’t super excited about him either. He’s some perfect magician almost-god who’s spent his thousands of years protecting the other magicians, meaning he has some serious emotional walls built up that Penelope—of course—comes in to knock down. It could have made for some really interesting character development, but instead the focus is on the fast-moving relationship between Penelope and Alexis, and less about their growth individually. Which leads me to…

A lot more romance than expected

Don’t get me wrong. I love a good romance novel. It’s not necessarily my go-to, but I enjoy them, and love rooting for characters to get together when there’s a romance thread in a book I’m reading. But I came to this book expecting more about fantasy and magic, and it ended up being way heavier on the romance between Alexis and Penelope. Even that wouldn’t have been as bad, except it felt like their relationship moved super fast. There was some fun flirting and “does he like me or not” vibes at the beginning, and that was a good romantic tension. But then all of a sudden they’ve decided that they’re soulmates and are completely obsessed with each other, and it felt like a big jump.

The complicated plot

While I loved the premise of the book, the execution of the plot itself was a little confusing. I’m not sure if I just took too long to read it or if all the weird, Atlantean names threw me off, but I was constantly confused which characters were which and how everything fit together. I think for other readers it probably wouldn’t be a problem, but I felt a little lost throughout the book.

To start off, I would like to thank NetGalley and BHC Press for giving me a free ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to get a hold of an e-ARC of this novel. I really enjoy novels with supernatural and mythological elements. However, this novel pulled away from that relatively early on and started to lean heavily on the romance elements. I would normally not mind if that was what I thought I was going to get from this novel, but I was expecting more supernatural mystery. The romance also moved along a bit quickly and felt unnatural at times. Also the other thing that really bothered me was that everything Penelope suggested always "happened" to be true. It's like she couldn't be wrong. She was perfect and flawless, which isn't realistic. However, this is a fun book in a kind of tropey way.