Mad Musings on: City Of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte

The Blurb:

Once a city of enormous wealth and culture, Prague was home to emperors, alchemists, astronomers, and, as it’s whispered, hell portals. When music student Sarah Weston lands a summer job at Prague Castle cataloging Beethoven’s manuscripts, she has no idea how dangerous her life is about to become. Prague is a threshold, Sarah is warned, and it is steeped in blood.     Soon after Sarah arrives, strange things begin to happen. She learns that her mentor, who was working at the castle, may not have committed suicide after all. Could his cryptic notes be warnings? As Sarah parses his clues about Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” she manages to get arrested, to have tantric sex in a public fountain, and to discover a time-warping drug. She also catches the attention of a four-hundred-year-old dwarf, the handsome Prince Max, and a powerful U.S. senator with secrets she will do anything to hide.
     City of Dark Magic could be called a rom-com paranormal suspense novel—or it could simply be called one of the most entertaining novels of the year.

Mad Musings:

I was very excited to receive an arc via Netgalley and Penguin Books for two reasons:  A.) It sounds like something right up my alley (ie, paranormal historical mystery) and B.) It's set in Prague, and is another historical type story similar sounding to the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness(which I adore!) 

It has a lot of the same components - time travel, historical figures, paranormal happenings, romance...of a sort.  

What I wasn't expecting was it's fun quirkiness and nympho-like heroine!  I mean, she arrives in Prague on assignment, and proceeds to let a total stranger feel her up at dinner after meeting her cohorts for the first time AND then has anonymous sex in the bathroom with a mystery man.... What a way to start the book!!  Not the way I would introduce myself to a bunch of strangers......  

The best part of the book is Magnus Flyte himself (the author, you'll notice)  Seems his story is just as out-there as one Lemony Snicket!  The book (can we even call it a prologue?) explains on the first page about how this mysterious manuscript 'City of Dark Magic', hand typed, just kind of 'shows up' on the editor's desk one day....  I knew I was going to be intrigued with the story right from then....

The story builds from one bizarre event to the next, adding in elements of a murder mystery, or two, a strange drug, a foreign prince, an American Senator, a seemingly ageless dwarf, and Beethoven.....  yes that's right, Beethoven and his Immortal Beloved.  I learned a lot of interesting tidbits about Beethoven and his flatulence and quirks and off/on deafness.  How he managed to become one of the greatest composers in history is anyone's guess - must be pure talent!  The climax of the story builds  to one hell of an explosive finale.... and sets up expectantly for a book #2 (which I understand is in the works)

This was a fun read!  I look forward to the second book.

4 Stars

Look for City of Dark Magic - Magnus Flyte on amazon.com and goodreads