Review: City of Time and Magic by Paula Brackston

ByMary Emmer Updated on

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City of Time and Magic is here! And if you’ve been reading Paula Brackston’s “Found Things” series, you probably already know that this highly anticipated book is book four of the Found Things series.

We could hardly wait to get this book to see what’s next for Xanthe and everyone else we’ve come to know in this interesting series.

Well the wait is over. Here’s our review, where you’ll learn a bit more about the book and whether we think it’s worth of a read, re-read or reject!

City of Time and Magic by Paula Brackston

cover of the book city of time and magic by paula brackston

City of Time and Magic is the most recent book out by Paula Brackston, and it’s book four in the Found Things series.

Paula Brackston is a New York Times bestselling British author who currently lives in a mountainous part of Wales. Perhaps best known so far for her bestselling novel “The Witch’s Daughter”.

The Found Things series started with “The Little Shop of Found Things” in 2018 and if you’re looking for something just a little quirky and different, this series is perfect, especially if you love historical fiction!

Synopsis of City of Time and Magic

Note: If you haven’t read the first three books in this series yet, and you plan to, there may be spoilers ahead! I do recommend that you read these books in order. Book one is The Little Shop of Found Things. Start with that!

Xanthe Westlake is back! In this adventure, she meets up with Paula Brackston’s most famous character – Elizabeth Hawksmith from The Witch’s Daughter.

Xanthe faces some of her greatest challenges yet, along with some of her loved ones. She must make a very difficult choice between three different treasures that are all singing to her at one time. Very unusual indeed! Because normally Xanthe only finds one treasure that sings to her at a time.

Choosing the correct treasure to follow into the past is critical if she is to arrive there in time to find Liam, the person that she realizes she loves.

Once Xanthe arrives at her destination in the past, her old friend (but is she really a friend…or not to be trusted?) Mistress Flyte desperately needs Xanthe’s help to stop a group of dangerous and unscrupulous Spinners that must, at all costs, be stopped before they change the natural order of things.

This task will not only require Xanthe’s own skills but the skills of her old friends as well as her newly acquired ones. The question is, will all of them survive the inevitable confrontation?

City of Time and Magic – What I Liked

Despite the fact that this is already book four in the Found Things series, it still seemed like I was reading a new adventure. There was absolutely nothing stale or boring in the book even though many of the characters have been in previous books in the series.

And again, despite the fact that I’ve already read the first three books, I started out this book by Googling a few things. I love when books make me want to google stuff. What were my “Googles” for this time?

Two things –

Ley lines in England, and psychometry. If you don’t know anything about either, you’ll have to Google too! Or read the series.

All in all, I loved this book (along with the rest of the series so far) and I was particularly happy that the ending seemed to indicate there would be more books in the series because it doesn’t seem like Xanthe is finished with her work yet.

City of Time and Magic – What I Didn’t Like

I honestly can’t think of a single thing I didn’t like about this book. I loved it and can’t wait for the next one.

City of Time and Magic – Read, ReRead, or Reject?

And now for my 3 Rs of book reviews. Should you read it, reread it, or reject it?

This book is a definite Read.

This book is a solid read for me now, and most likely at some point in the future, it will become a ReRead. Why? Because I will probably want to read the whole Found Things Series again.

Ready for some book suggestions? Explore more historical fiction.

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Mary Emmer, is the founder of Looks Like Books. She is an avid book enthusiast and self-employed entrepreneur, with an inspiring passion for reading and learning.  With a background in the travel industry spanning four decades, Mary has cultivated a diverse range of experiences that have shaped her unique perspective on life and storytelling.  More about Mary.

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