City of Dark Magic Audiobook Review

Publisher's Summary: "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. 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 400-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."

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Yowza! This book is a wild ride. There is sex, history, lies, magic, priceless artifacts, music, murder, drugs, intrigue, espionage, alchemy, mystery, and Beethoven. It's no rom-com (romantic comedy) but it is an original, super cool, suspenseful mystery with plenty of fascinating historical elements, written in a style that is both deep and brutally honest.

Whine: Pet peeve alert! Why does that bad guy or girl have to be an evil Republican? *eye roll* Come on. Politicians on both side of the aisle are corrupt. Parajunkee said it best recently in her post Stereotypes in Fiction.

Wooed: Beethoven Beethoven Beethoven. His music is a big part of the story. If I ever listen to this again, I will make sure I have a pen and paper handy so I can look up all the musical pieces Sarah mentions.

Wishing: I totally wish they had a City of Dark Magic tours of Prague. I would love to wander the city and explore the places that inspired the story while listening to the music that was pivotal in certain scenes.

Words aloud: Natalie Gold impressed me. She does an awesome dry sarcastic Sarah and crazy tyrannical Charlotte. Both are so different and well done that I had a hard time believing it was the same narrator. I even checked several sites to make sure I wasn't overlooking someone. I've seen a few complaints regarding Natalie's accents but I disagree. I genuinely liked them.

Whodunit: All the twists and turns kept me guessing. You never know who is in cahoots with who and who you can trust.

Whippersnappers: Sex, murder, death, some profanity, drug use, and a few homosexual characters. However, there was only one scene that made me uncomfortable. I cringed and my tummy hurt a bit after the "Hieronymus Bosch" scene in which Sarah witnesses multiple rapes. It's not descriptive but it is something that may affect sensitive readers.

Wind-up: City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte, is narrated by Natalie Gold, published by Penguin Audio, and is 13 hours and 33 minutes long. Audiobook rating: 4 stars. Narrator rating: 5 stars.

Want more?
Read That's What She Read's review of City of Dark Magic.
Flip through the photos of the real Magnus Flyte at Cari's Book Blog.
Watch the City of Dark Magic trailer.

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