I received an ARC from Edelweiss
TW: physical abuse & imprisonment, kidnapping, arson & graphic injuries from fire, historic racism & misogyny, claustrophobic situations, manipulation & violent threats, bloodletting as a punishment, gun violence
4.4

For Jack, life as a magician's assistant is almost all he knows. Of course The Enchantress is not always the easiest to work with, and they pad their pockets with cons and the occasional pickpocketing and break ins, but it's a life Jack is comfortable in. For Wilhelm, working as a magician's assistant is not something he chose nor something he is used to- in fact, up until recently he has been used by his captor, Teddy, as an unwilling accomplice in heists, something his secret power makes easy. For reasons unknown to Wilhelm, Teddy has set his sights not on a vault to crack, but on the World's Fair, gaining attention through magic tricks fueled by Wilhelm's power to Travel. It's a nice reprieve from being forced to steal, and it helps him meet Jack, who's also working at the Fair, but he knows it's only a matter of time before Teddy reveals what they're really there for.

As a concept, this book is really fun. The blurb compares it to The Prestige, and as one of my favorite movies, I was hooked from that alone. It does carry the seedy yet elegant, sophisticated yet irreverent feelings of that movie, and the choice to remove homophobia from the time period also gives the feeling of safe perimeters to let loose in.
The combination of magicians, unexplained magical powers, semi-forbidden love, and heists makes this book impossible not to get absorbed into.

Hutchinson plays with tension well in this book, which also keeps it hard to disengage from for long. Whether it's the precarious situation Jack's adoptive family is in, Wilhelm's imprisonment, bootlegging, stage magic, or any number of other situations, there's always something begging you to keep your eyes on it.

And, of course, there's the romance. I'm never quite sure what I'm getting into with Hutchinson's books because I've had very mixed experiences both overall and with his romances in general, but this one is solid and very cute. Both these characters are interesting and different from each other while fitting together in ways that make perfect sense. The build up of their relationship has good pacing and is very nice to watch, and by the time things settle into an official romance you are absolutely sold and rooting for them.

For me, there were just a few spots where things felt thin or overstuffed, like they were meant to be rounded out but it never quite got there. I also am not a fan of the ending in general, just because it felt a little simple and I'd been hoping for more explanation- though that's 100% my own personal expectations and preferences.

Mostly, I had a lot of fun with this book! It balances the trauma of Wilhelm's situation with the glitz and seediness of the magicians and the sweet, tenderness of the growing relationship incredibly well, and definitely sticks with you far past the last page.