I really thought I was going to enjoy this but I just feel completely disconnected from the characters and plot. As much as I want to enjoy the world created because the magic is interesting and I like the premise, but I've been suffering and just cannot keep doing so.

While I'm sure this would be intriguing and intense for most readers, it just sadly fell flat for me and didn't give me the emotional connection that I needed to care for any of the characters. Usually the whole magic and unlikely friendships would be something I would enjoy but this just lacked the backstory and emotional connection I needed to want to continue.

This was a decently enjoyable sequel to Into the Crooked Place! I really love where the story went, I'm not extremely happy with the ending which is why it's only a 3-star rating, but overall this was an enjoyable read.

I found this book a little hard to get into, but overall I really enjoyed it! I found myself missing some of the characteristics from the first book, and wasn't able to finish the book before it archived. While I enjoyed the snippets I read, it felt kind of slow and in need of something more. I will definitely be giving this book another try soon, but I was unfortunately unable to finish before this deadline.

I enjoyed this second book so so much more than the first book! I have no idea why it took me so long to read but I am so glad I did. Will be recommending this dulogy to everyone!!

What I did like the most about this duology is the dynamic among the four MCs. Even Arjun grew on me. I love the humor. And I appreciate how much Wesley, Tavia, Saxony and Karam complement each other. I do have a couple of grievances. I didn't think what happened to Asees was necessary. What was even the point? The vision Karam saw? It would've made more of an impact if it was kept secret until it needed to happen. And lastly, Zekia was given a waay too easy way out. I don't want her killed or anything like that. I just wanted her held accountable for her actions.

City of Spells was a satisfying and enjoyable sequel to Into the Crooked Place. It's been forever and a day since I read the first book, so imagine my delight when I found that City of Spells started off with a summary of Crooked Place! That was immensely helpful in catching up with my memory and not feeling immediately lost like I do with so many other sequel books that come out a long time after the first. I think every book like this should have such a summary. I remember not loving Crooked much for some reason lost to history, but City of Spells proved to be a different story. City of Spells is well-paced, with action and twists from start to finish that managed to keep my interest in it. There's a particularly delicious twist regarding Wesley in this one I won't spoil, but it was unexpected and really leveled this book up. The characters were a lot of fun with their different story arcs, and I loved seeing Zekia's perspective included in this one as well. With heists, magical gangster rebels and an epic showdown between good and evil, City of Spells is a really fun book to read, a story about the family we are given and the family we choose.

Though it took me a bit longer to get into this book than I wanted (hello pandemic brain), I was very happy to see this conclusion to the duology. The tension between Wesley and Tavia finally breaks and the connection between Saxony, Zekia, and Wesley is satisfactorily wrapped up (it's a lovely thing, really). There's also plenty of space for exploration in this world in later books (which I do hope happens at some point), so we do not have to abandon our characters completely.

The first book of this series quickly became one of my most favorite books ever and I'm so excited for this one! I love the characters and the world feels so magical and a little like a dark wonderland. Absolutely loved every minute.

Alexandra Christo blows me away every time. After reading the first book so I could read this, I was very unsure about how I was feeling. I didn't LOVE the characters, the magic system was still a bit confusing, and I was having a hardtime understanding the politics. But after City of Spells, WOW. I could easily visualize all the fight scenes and all the architechture in this book, and I was yelling outloud at different characters. I had such a great time reading this book.

The final book for the Into The Crooked Place duology did not disappoint! The plot moved along at a steady pace which left me always wanting to read just a bit more, ok... just a bit more. I enjoyed continuing to know the characters more in depth as they carried over from the first book. I would recommend this book to a friend who is looking for something along the lines of Six of Crows.

After the cliffhanger we were left with at the end of Into the Crooked Place, I wasn't sure how I felt going into City of Spells, or if my poor heart could take any more of Christo beating up on my favorite characters, but... somehow she put most of the pieces back together and City of Spells was an incredibly satisfying read.

I will say this is definitely a darker fantasy, from the gritty descriptions of Creije, the magical caste system, and the lengths the characters are willing to go to win back not only their friend but their city. I very much liked how Christo explored the grey areas of each character's decisions and actions and didn't just paint it in black and white details.

I can't wait to see what comes next from Christo, even if it's not a third book in a world I fell in love with!

I liked this one much more than the first book in this duology. Glad that I stuck with the series. I really enjoyed the way the author pulled together all the moving pieces and created a cool story.

I loved Into The Crooked Place and City of Spells was just as good! Returning to these characters was like seeing old friends, and it picked up right back in the middle of all the action, sweeping me away immediately. The pacing of both books is well done, continuously moving forward at a steady pace that keeps you reading and involved. I loved the development of certain characters and even though I was sad to see it end, it wrapped up beautifully.

I really enjoyed Into The Crooked Place last year and was thrilled to get a Netgalley copy of City of Spells. Well Alexandra Christo has captured me again as I could not put this book down. It started with a gasp and a bang and did not let up. Being reunited with these characters felt so good and I loved to see their growth. They are more complex than their original introduction and I enjoyed learning more secrets about many of their pasts. The story was of action and heartbreak, betrayal and world ending heroics. The depth of damage that some of these characters experienced both physically and mentally was written so well and I really appreciated that they tried to support each other in understanding that it was okay to not be automatically okay after what they've been through.  There was even potential for some healing at the end. Though I love that this is a duology (the perfect series length in my opinion) I also would love to see more and more of this complex magical world play out because the different magic and spells were such a draw in this story.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy. The world building is still quite Magnificent. I enjoyed following along the plot and characters as they made their way through this story.

Join us as we continue the adventure from “The Crooked Place” With The Sequel “City of Spells” By Alexandra Christo

We Pick up the adventure with The Loss of a dear friend and the dramatic realization of a friend turned enemy.

I Would Like to mention about the brief plot summary from the first book at the beginning of book 2 it was very well received, and it assisted in throwing you straight into the book. The way the author used the characters' moral to move the story really showed as you feel down and broken like the characters were and as the story progresses you can follow them on their emotional journey as it moves forward and uplifting.

The character Development is well written and you can see how each relationship contributes to it. The way the romances and passion go throughout the book are very helpful in understanding each character and ultimately helps each character come into their own and what they would like for themselves.

One thing I liked also is how much the prophecies and foresight interacted with the characters the way it directly influenced their decisions so that the prophecies would or would not happen I've seen it done before but i really enjoyed The Way Alexandra Use it in the book it was very well done.

First and foremost I’d like to say thank you to the publisher and the author for allowing me early access to this title. I am a little behind on this review because I wanted to reread Into the Crooked Place first and I am so glad I did. I really enjoyed living in this world. I think that Alexandra Christo is amazing at creating worlds you can get lost in. This is one of the best misfit crew duologies out there. There’s so many flaws, banter, all around messiness. I don’t want to say too much spoil too much since this is the second and final book, but there’s an F/F as a main relationship and that was just so nice to see. I love the found family, the heartbreak... I loved it.

Thank you again for allowing me into this world.

I definitely enjoyed the writing, I also very much love the cover.
There's something about the characters that I really enjoyed, and am definitely going to read more of Christo in the future!

City of Spells is full of dark magic and deep secrets.

What a fun second book. It was pleasantly more fast-paced than the first, which I enjoyed. This time, in addition to the Crooked crew, we have a POV from Zekia, the sister of Saxony who aligned herself with the Kingpin, Dante Ashwood. And I just adored the banter and growing bonds between her and Wesley.

He’d never had anything he hadn’t stolen or taken with blood. Except for magic. Magic had always felt so very much his, even when it was just a trick bag or a charm he kept in his back pocket. Each and every one felt like air in his lungs. Now he finally knew why.

“I heard a lot about you,” Bastian said.

Wesley tried to make his voice sound breezy. “I bet none of it was good.”

Speaking of Wesley, our favorite underboss is back and better than ever, and watching the gang reunite with him was so sweet, because he’s a character that certainly grows on you. And watching him come into his magic and its power was such a great twist.

“She changed from wanting to run from Creije and its criminals, to fighting to save it and organize her comrades into an army.”

Personally, I loved the growth and development of Tavia and Wesley. While all our characters are the morally grey questionable sort, Tavia and Wesley go from wanting things of their own volition to wanting things for the good of their friends, family, and city. And even better, the really want to do these things together!

The slow burn romance between them was… *chef’s kiss*. Honestly, why don’t more stories take a while to get around to the kiss? It’s so much more satisfying.

Reading both Into the Crooked Place and City of Spells reminded me of the DnD campaigns I used to have with my friends. The con artist, the mage, the warrior, the sorcerer. All morally grey characters looking for trouble, when trouble eventually finds them.

Just like in the first book, everyone is tested and bonds are reforged. The found family trope will always get me, no matter what.

And speaking of secrets… there were some really big ones that were dropped in this book! Definitely took me by surprise.

Although what I would have wanted to know is… *spoiler* whether Wesley really was related to Ashwood. I mean, the guy spent the whole last fight telling him so, but we never get confirmation.

If you want a satisfying conclusion to a magical and dark duology, with found family to boot, read City of Spells!

I ended my review of Into the Crooked place by stating that I hoped City of Spells held my interest more and it did not disappoint!

City of Spells picks up directly after the events of Into the Crooked place, with Tavia left to run the show after Wesley was taken by the Kingpin. This book started off with a bang and dove right back into the story while still giving us plenty of background information to freshen up our minds on the events from Into the Crooked Place.

This book had a lot more to me then the first one, there’s twisty turns and revelations and more action that had me wanting to keep on turning the pages. Also Karam’s character arc was EVERYTHING, she went from someone I really didn’t love to one of my favorite characters by the end of this series and I can truly appreciate a story that can do that.

Overall, this was an epic conclusion to the Into the Crooked Place duology, full of magic and turns and a ton of growth overall. Destined for fans of Six of Crow like stories with neat, tidy endings.