A City of Swords and Fangs

A Spirit Mage's Journey, Book 2

De: BR Kingsolver

Narrado por: Arielle DeLisle

"In my world, keeping my head on my shoulders has always required paying attention to what goes on around me. I've seen chaos, and I've seen evil . . . "

In Zurich—the wealthy, peaceful city where I plan to attend university—I walk into a war zone. Vampires, werewolves, Knights Magica, and the Mage Guild battle for supremacy. Apprenticed to a man considered the greatest living mage, I have a lot to learn—if I survive.

"Balance is messy. Freedom is messy. People and their social constructs aren't always pretty."

A dark, character-driven urban fantasy where magic is power, alliances are fragile, and survival means walking the line between order and chaos.

Perfect for listeners who love: dark, immersive urban fantasy with political depth; complex heroine with untamed magic; magic vs. morality stories where no side is clean; and high-stakes danger, evolving friendships, and hard-earned power.

Contains mature themes.

©2025 BR Kingsolver (P)2025 Tantor Media

I liked the first book in this series and was look

The first half of this book was interesting. We follow our FMC Kaitlyn Dunne as she moves to Switzerland. She has a uniquely rare type of magic (being a spirit mage) and there is a tremendous amount of potential, but to REALLY learn all she can, it would be better if she learns from someone who understands her type of magic. With that in mind, she is given a great opportunity to study magic under a Master Mage, so hence the move. She will be also attending the University in the fall.

When she moves to Switzerland, it is a bit of a culture shock, finally being around people her own age (19 years old) and meeting other mages who are also apprenticing. She decides to do everything she can to improve her magical abilities and quickly learn the language before the fall term.

Here is where things got a little wonky for me. Without going into spoilers, I'm just going to mention a few items that continually pulled me out of the story:

Kaitlyn's Magic - it is supposedly awesome and unique, yet she is continually told by her mentor that she still has so much to learn and that she uses her magic incorrectly ("like driving a nail with a wrecking ball") and without subtlety. Yet, when things get crazy, she is the most powerful mage around.....???

The war in the city - there is a war going on between everyone. Initially between the Lycans and the Strigoi, then the Mages and the Supernaturals, then between the Knights and everyone else and then all of a sudden, the Mage Guild swoops in and ........???? Was it really that easy? If so, why the heck did it take so long?

Older men - Kaitlyn talks about how disgusted she is with older men, how they are always trying to hit on her and because of her past (where she was assaulted) she has no desire for men but especially not for older men. Then the last page of this book ends with her expressing an out of the blue desire for a particular OLDER man....???

These were just a couple of things. This book felt very all over the place. It also felt superficial, like we were just getting an overview of everything and because of that, I never really felt invested.

So, I think I will probably stop with this book. Maybe.....