The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas

The Blurb On The Back:

NEVER STEAL FROM A WIZARD!

Connwaer is a thief of the Twilight. On the run from the city’s Underlord, he steals a banished wizard’s locus stone. Touching the locus magicalicus should kill him, but miraculously he survives.

Intrigued, the wizard Nevery takes Conn on as his apprentice and the boy becomes embroiled in his master’s plan to save the city from the death of magic. But Conn is hiding his own dark secret ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

A fun, fast-paced read with a great central character who’s self-reliance and determination has you rooting for him, this is a great introduction to the people and places of Wellmet and I will be reading more of this series to find out what happens to Conn next.

Thanks to Quercus for the free copy of this book.

Low Life by Ryan David Jahn

The Blurb On The Back:

Simon Johnson is attacked in his LA apartment.

When he turns on the lights after the fight he realises two things: one, he has killed his attacker; two, the man has the same face as himself.

Over the coming days, Simon’s life will spiral out of control. He embarks on a gripping existential investigation, into his own murky past, and that of his would be killer, Jeremy Shackleford, who is now lying in Simon’s bathtub under forty gallons of ice.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

As a character study, this is a well written piece charting the main character’s loss of control and spiralling paranoia as his life is turned upside down. The problem though is that the plot hinges on a twist that is too predictable, which spoils the second half of the book (notwithstanding the excellent writing, which includes some toe curlingly gruesome scenes). I will read Jahn’s next book, but this book is unlikely to be the breakout he deserves.

Thanks to the Amazone Vine Programme for the ARC.