Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she’s descended from magicians, she’s skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she’s just an ordinary girl who loves books. She seeks the truth from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won’t be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books.

War hero Gabe is gifted with wealth, a loving family, and an incredible amount of luck that saw him survive four harrowing years of a brutal war without injury. But not all injuries are visible. Burying himself in his work as a consultant for Scotland Yard, Gabe is going through the motions as he investigates the theft of a magician-made painting. But his life changes when he unwittingly gets Sylvia dismissed from her job and places her in danger.

After securing her new employment in a library housing the world’s greatest collection of books about magic, Gabe and Sylvia’s lives become intwined as they work together to find both the painting and the truth about Sylvia’s past before powerful people can stop them.

But sometimes the past is better left buried…

My first C.J. Archer book. I picked up the audiobook from the library because I needed something to listen to during a week of driving. It seemed interesting, so I decided to give it a try. I had no real expectations, but I had time, so why not?

I absolutely adored this book. It’s the perfect level of cozy mystery for me, and the light thread of magical realism added a fun new dimension to the story. The story moved at my preferred pace–lots of suspense, but not without taking time to let me get to meet and relate to the characters first. I loved that because I got to bond with the character, which made me want to keep reading. The only thing that would have made this a perfect read is a romantic thread, but there was plenty of romantic tension.

I can’t wait for the rest of the series to come up. I’ll definitely read them.

Rated PG for mystery and mild violence. Get your copy here!

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