WHAT IT’S ABOUT:

What’s a hardworking MagiPol agent need to do to get a little R&R?

Between Agent Söze, the treacherous Internal Affairs tyrant who’s taken over my precinct, and the super illegal sorcery my partner Lienna was hiding in said precinct—which is now missing—my usual routine of busting magical criminals has fallen apart in favor of hectic damage control.

But that went out the window too when a respected Guild Master was found dead. Agent Söze is trying to cover it up, which is all the reason I need to make solving the murder my top priority.

Except now Agent Söze is trying to arrest and/or kill me. Not entirely unexpected, but both dangerous and highly irritating.

With the clock ticking on the next mysterious Guild Master murder, Lienna and I have to find a way to prove Agent Söze is behind it all. We need rock-solid evidence to bring him down, which is kind of tricky when crooked agents, shady allies, and cutthroat assassins keep complicating matters.

And if we don’t get to the bottom of it fast, my next day off will be in the morgue as another corpse to be swept under the corruption rug.

—
The Guild Codex: Warped
Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors (#1)
Hellbound Guilds & Other Misdirections (#2)
Rogue Ghosts & Other Miscreants (#3)
More than a Little Warped (#3.5)
Stolen Sorcery & Other Misadventures (#4)

More series in the Guild Codex world:
The Guild Codex: Spellbound
The Guild Codex: Demonized
The Guild Codex: Unveiled

MY THOUGHTS (spoiler-free):

Note: I received an Advanced Reading Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Tell me something good.”

Ah, Kit, I missed you so, it’s good to have you back!

Stolen Sorcery & Other Misadventures picks up right after the events of the novella, More Than A Little Warped, which I would definitely recommend reading first. The vile Agent Söze is still in control of the precinct and Kit, Lienna, Captain Blythe and the rest are powerless as he stops investigations for no apparent reason and arrests officers who speak up against him and his methods. Oh, and he’s also stolen Lienna’s portal sorcery. But when a GM is found dead inside of a closed room, Kit and Lienna go to investigate and in doing so, end up on the run from Söze themselves. Now they need to stay one step ahead, solve the murder, prove Söze is behind it all, and try not to get killed by any of the assassins that are after them while doing so.

This story was another hectic and chaotic rollercoaster ride, but in all the good ways. The story moves at such a rapid pace, going from one high-stakes action scene to another and yet it still has all the slower, important character moments in there as well. It’s just such a perfect balance that I feel is a signature trait of all of the Guild Codex books. I could not put this installment down because I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Besides the pace, one thing I really appreciated about this story is how much further it developed the character of Kit. We know him mostly as a jokester, a funny guy who loves movies and uses his wit and humor to deal with the things life throws at him. But that’s not all he is. He’s not just a one-dimensional character. There is a depth to him – he feels things deeply. Like his concerns and insecurities about his powers. But also his feelings for Lienna. In this installment, it’s clear to Kit that Lienna is hiding something from him and won’t rely on him even when it’s clear that something is wrong. The two partners definitely go through a rough patch, but it makes their bond (and the slow burn) that much stronger.

Another highlight of this installment? Cameos! We finally have Kit meet a certain beloved demon and there is also of course a certain beloved mysteries guild master. And as predicted, those scenes are fire!

I also loved that all the previous installments are coming together in the form of an overarching big bad. It’s genius how the storytelling brings everything together and how the arc as a whole is really building towards an epic showdown. Be warned though, this book ends on a nice cliffhanger and you’ll be itching to find out what happens next. With that, the wait for September begins…

As I mentioned in my previous reviews, I highly recommend this series! It has it all, a complex magical world, amazing characters and character development, humor and movie references, fast-paced adventure, nail-biting suspense and swoony, slow-burn romance.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

“We’re not here to snoop.”
“I’m not snooping,” I said, perhaps too defensively. “I’m checking for eavesdroppers and intruders. Don’t you find it ominous how freakin’ quiet it is in here?”
She rolled her eyes. “Kit, you said it yourself. This place is a fortress. We’re perfectly safe.”
“Oh.” I looked back down at my feet, then hopped up another couple of steps. “Then I guess I’m snooping.”

Cats must be magical. It was the only explanation for why, despite the very real danger to my life, I wanted to pet it. Desperately. But there wasn’t an ant’s chance under a magnifying glass that I was moving any closer to Zylas. Stupid demon. Let me pet your cat.

I made the boar cease its bucking, and in the voice of a cinematic Spaniard, it declared, “My name is Pignigo Montoya. You slaughtered my father. Prepare to die.”

When I turned around to see what we’d walked into, a self-congratulatory grin beamed across my face. “Oh. My. God.”
“Don’t say it,” Lienna whispered.
I couldn’t help myself. “It’s a supervillain lair!”
She sighed. “I hate it when you’re right.”

I didn’t need to be stronger or smarter than my enemies; I just needed a bigger stick. I was sure Zylas would approve.

The hammer didn’t budge. Shit, was this Mjölnir’s cousin or something? Was I not worthy?

Tell Me:
Have you read The Guild Codex? What did you think about it?

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