City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte

City of Dark Magic (Penguin Books, 2012)by the fictional ghost writer Magnus Flyte (aka Meg Howrey and Christina Lynch) is a fun read. Despite the blurb by Conan O'Brien on the cover that reads, "This deliciously madcap novel has it all: murder in Prague, time travel, a misanthropic Beethoven, tantric sec, and a dwarf with an attitude," I found the reviews mixed; mine is as well. I enjoyed the book; I cannot finish a book unless I enjoy it at least a bit. It has all the elements of books I enjoy: humor in the writing, suspense to keep me going, a sexually free female main character (or otherwise frequent sex scenes), mystery and history together, and even some fantastic elements (ghosts, time travel, magic... any of these will do). The writing wasn't particularly beautiful (which is also a favorite part of reading for me) and the pace of the book lagged in spots, but it kept me ensconced in the mystery nevertheless. Essentially Sarah, a Beethoven expert and musicologist, is drawn to Prague to curate a Beethoven exhibit for a royal museum, as well as to solve the so-called suicide of her brilliant mentor, Professor Sherbatsky. Drawn into the dark history of Prague, ancient time traveling drugs, and yes, a dwarf with an attitude, Sarah manages to not only curate the exhibit, but have anonymous sex in a bathroom and, yes, eventually solve the mystery. I enjoy academics drawn into becoming detectives, but I especially commend the authors for creating an attractive and brilliant female character who is not afraid to admit she enjoys sex on a regular basis, no matter who it is with. However, for my tastes, and despite other reviewers who commented on the "overkill" on the sex scenes, in my opinion this book is pretty tame in that department.

I was even spurred on to read the second book, City of Lost Dreams, which takes the plot into even more fantastic realms of time travel and alchemically induced eternal life (with extra vague yet demonic portals included). It attempts to make it a key point for the reader to root for the romance of the young Prince Lobkowicz and Sarah, but for me it was a foregone conclusion. Closure was provided with more information about Nico and his mysterious long past, as well as interesting plot about child-prodigy Pollina, with some more time-travel-induced intercedence from Beethoven himself. Both books recommended for a light reading.