It’s been a long year for Sage and his friends, and all of Junction, California, and it’s not over yet.

Freddie’s school of magic is still a mystery, and figuring it out would be enough work, but the investigation leads them to the mysterious coded notes of Junction’s long-dead first magical artist, and then to the last place any of them ever expected to end up: the nineteenth century. Worse yet, when they get there Fluke is missing, and Sage isn’t sure he can get back home without his best friend.

Now—or is it then?—they just need to find Fluke, decode the notes, avoid changing the past, dodge evil Uncle Jonathon and the shady French nobleman at his side, and maybe most importantly, find their way home.

But there’s more in the past than trouble, and Gideon might want to stay there with his wife. If Sage has to leave him behind, is it worth returning to his own time at all?

How was it?

I don’t know why I expected this novel to beat around the biggest revelation from Fluke and the Faultline Fiasco but it went right into the heart of the matter and it was at the center of the story.

Since it’s mentioned in the blurb, I guess it’s fine to talk about. I went in not knowing that there would be time travel in this entry, and I have to admit that I was worried for a bit. It felt like it could be what made this charming little series go off the rails. It didn’t. at least not for me. The time travel aspect wasn’t used in the most perfect way it could have been, but it was used in a way that reflected the series, in a smooth and uncomplicated way. Most of the complications and headaches you’d expect to come with time traveling are simply smoothed out. Instead, it allowed us to meet important people, solve a mystery, and shed some light on long-standing and/or developing story arcs. However, if I’m being realistic, the nineteenth-century folks might be more open-minded and welcoming than one might expect here than one might expect them to be, and yet it didn’t bother me at all.

I loved this adventure, even if it’s light on the romance. It’s clever, very entertaining – I didn’t see the time passed – and like I suggested, a lot of questions are answered, some of which I didn’t even ask.

This was another good light and enjoyable read, my favorite part of the last Fluke-centered chapter put a smile on my face throughout.

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