Fantasy Mystery Book Review | The Immortal City by Amy Kuivalainen

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | The Immortal City is a mythical elevator ride to an enchanted world full of magic and mystery. An original mix of fantasy, mystery, and even romance, the story will have you happily staying up late to find out what happens next. In this first novel (of a promised series), we meet Dr. Penelope Bryne. She is an academic who is struggling to build her reputation while maintaining her determination to find the lost island of Atlantis. When she is called to Venice to help solve a series of murders, her eyes are opened up to a whole new world that is as mysterious as it is dangerous.

The plot appeals to people who believe in mystical and magical places, and the many gods worshipped in those societies. Nothing embodies that more than the lost city of Atlantis, whose demise created stories of mythical proportions.

The Immortal City is fast-paced. It is a book that once you start, you won’t think to look up from the page until hours have passed and you are already halfway through the story. When you read as much as many of us do, this is a refreshing aspect.

An exotic city locale fits perfectly with the story. Venice is a romantic city within what was once the Roman Empire. The use of this locale brings to mind Dan Brown’s Davinci Codes, but I love the solving of puzzles, and the novel keeps you guessing in that aspect.

A more thorough description of the magicians’ home would have helped me to visualize it better. On the flip side, more exposition would slow down the pace of the novel, but I would have sacrificed a faster pace at times to be able to visualize the home better, which is ordinary yet fantastical.

The dialogue flows better at specific points in the novel than others. Conversation can flow smoothly, just as in real life, or it can be forced. There are several points in the story when the dialogue is forced, though this did not detract from my overall love of the book.

The Immortal City is destined to be a great new series in urban fantasy fiction. It will entertain and delight you as you join Dr. Penelope Byrne in discovering what happened to Atlantis. Be assured that you will happily volunteer to keep reading long into the night.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.