The Magic Thief: Home audiobook

In HOME, Conn is back in Wellmet and has a number of problems. He is a very powerful wizard but, being only about twelve years old and not very tolerant of what he sees as stupidity, most of the other wizards really, really dislike him. His best friend Rowan is, at sixteen, the new Duchess of Wellmet and his cousin Embre is the Underlord who runs the Twilight part of the city. Rowan wants to "reward" Conn for his efforts to save and protect Wellmet by making him the Ducal Magister. Conn doesn't want the job and especially doesn't want to live in the Dawn Palace and be watched over. Additionally, someone is stealing the locus stones of the other magisters and most believe that Conn is the one responsible. Conn knows that he didn't do it and sets the problem aside to deal with the problem he believes is more important. The two magics that now inhabit Wellmet aren't working together and it is throwing off all the spells cast by any magicians. If Conn can't get the magics to work together, they could destroy the city.And, just because things can never be easy for Conn, an old enemy has returned who wants to defeat both the Duchess and the Underlord and take over the city himself. He doesn't realize that his plans could cause the destruction of the city he wants to rule.A big part of this story has Conn deciding what he wants to be and do. He doesn't fit back into the gutterboy lifestyle and he certainly doesn't want the Ducal Magister lifestyle. Once he gets a minute without a crisis he is going to have to decide what he does want.This is an excellent and entertaining addition to the Magic Thief series. Middle graders will love the action, the danger, the friendships, and the dragon. They will also enjoy getting to know Conn. The coded messages (key at the back of the book) will also intrigue readers. This series is a "must buy" for both my elementary and my middle school media centers. I can't wait to share it with my students.

The Magic Thief: Home proves yet another children’s book that’s simply wasted on children! Middle-grade readers can’t understand the I’ll be honest: After The Magic Thief: Found, I couldn’t see where author Sarah Prineas could possibly take the story of a thieving gutterboy turned prescient wizard. That just shows my lack of imagination — and faith in a superior writer. I should have known better!Lady Rowan, now the Duchess of Wellmet, elevates Connwaer — much to his distress — to Ducal Magister, a title heavy on excruciatingly boring meetings, pomp, scratching clothes, and responsibilities. At the same time, someone is somehow stealing the locus magicalicus stones of Wellmet’s wizards. Thanks to the backbiting wizard Nimble, suspicion has fallen on Conn and his dragon Pip. Hoping to clear his name — and, more importantly, solve the thefts and protect the magics of Wellmet and Arionvar — Conn goes undercover back to his old haunts, the Twilight. What he discovers causes Conn’s skin to prickle. Could the former Underlord of the Twilight, the ruthless Crow, be back from exile?The Magic Thief: Home proves even more of a thrill ride than The Magic Thief: Home — which is saying a lot. Forgive the cliché, but I couldn’t put it down! If you’re new to the series, you won’t want to stand with The Magic Thief: Home; however, longtime fans of clever Conn and indispensable Nevery won’t want to miss a chance to reunite with old friends. And Ms. Prineas, please, please tell us that there will be fifth tome in the series! We’re all hooked now!

Aw... that ending. Sniffle. Just perfect. Highly recommend the series. It is good for the heart.

Hail, Hail The Gang's All HereWhen I pick up the fourth volume of a trilogy, (this series supposedly wrapped up with the third volume in 2010), I think of a performer waiting nervously in the wings after his act is done, waiting to see if the audience's applause is enthusiastic enough to justify an encore. With this series the audience was very enthusiastic and there was much disappointment that the Magic Thief trilogy had concluded. Well, Book 4 has finally been launched, and it was worth the wait.Everyone is back and we pick up right where we left off. Conn and Nevery and Benet and Rowan and Embre and Captain Kerrn, and that bad baby dragon, Pip, are all here, and the book takes off in a rush. By the end of Book 3 Conn had brought a new younger magic to supplement the older but weakening magic that had always powered Wellmet. As Book 4 opens, the two magics are not working well together, ("...like two dragons, both trying to fit into one dragon's space,...), and magic is in considerable disarray. Rowan, the ruling Duchess, needs Conn to serve as ducal magister, (head wizard), and get a handle on the problem. Conn resists, and then when a locus magicalicus stone is stolen he is accused and his whole thief history comes back to the fore. Who is really stealing these magical objects, and why? I had forgotten how much I liked these characters. Rowan is the most competent, vulnerable, resourceful heroine I've encountered since Hermione Granger and her struggle to be a good ruler at a tender age is touching and inspiring. Conn is, as usual, a bit more angsty than I'd like, but once we move beyond that he remains a solid bad-boy hero. Every other character steps up to the plate in a satisfying fashion, so it's all good.As always Prineas has a good handle on her material, with a nice balance of magic, action, intrigue, Wellmet politics, humor and character development. On reflection, these books are actually pretty "sprawling" for middle grade fantasy adventure, but Prineas keeps everything sharp, clear and energetic, and completely accessible to a younger reader. So, it took a while, (Prineas has published her "Winterling" books in the meantime), but all's well that ends well. This is a solid entry in the Magic Thief series.Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

just simply most, most lovely! all books should be this good!

In the final installation of this series we follow Conn as he tries to find his purpose. Of course he finds himself in a lot of trouble along the way. The story comes full circle when a new threat to the city is found, is it a new adversary or an old foe? You definitely need to read to find out! My son and I really loved this series and were sad to reach the end, but the ending is satisfying and just felt right for this series. We loved the characters, Conn especially is so endearing. We loved trying to guess where the story was going, sometimes we were right but most often we had no idea where the twists and turns were taking us. I highly recommend this series for anyone who loves YA fantasy.

** spoiler alert ** A good way to end the series.Quite an interesting read from start to finish and a clean worthwhile experience.Conn is a very interesting character and, although some parts took me by surprise, it's a heart warming ending.Nimble and Crowe had it coming and I'm still trying to figure Kernn out!Nevertheless, a pack of books I strongly recommend.Thank you Sarah Prineas for giving us such a pleasant story.

I loved this series growing up as a kid as my dad used to read it to me every night before bed and this was the only book I’d never read. I found it much more enjoyable than the third book and I’m incredibly sad that there are no new books for me to read. That being said it was an incredible read and a great send off for the characters! I loved every moment of it and will definitely read it again and hopefully get a chance to read it to my kids if I ever have any.

Dragons everywhere

This is the fourth book in the Magic Thief series. This has been a wonderful middle grade fantasy series that is great for all ages. This book was just as wonderful as the previous books in the series. My whole family enjoyed it a lot.My whole family listened to this together on audiobook on a road trip back from Yellowstone. This whole series has been incredibly well done on audiobook. The narrator does Conn’s voice spot on and is excellent at all the other character voices as well. I highly recommend listening to this on audiobook if you listen to audiobooks.Duchess Rowan wants to promote Conn to ducal magister, however Conn objects. Conn feels that he has other problems to deal with and that sitting in meetings all day won’t help. The two magics that were joined in the last book Magic Thief: Found, are fighting each other and wrecking havoc in the city. To makes things even worse magicians’ locus stones are being stolen and Conn (as the only known person who can touch another magician’s locus stone and survive) is being blamed for the thefts.In a desperate attempt to both fix the magic in the city and uncover the locus stone thief Conn ventures back to his thieving roots in the Twilight where his story started.As with all of the other books in this series this was a wonderfully fun and magical read. It is even more fun because of the inclusion of Pip, Conn’s little dragon companion/locus stone.Conn grows a lot in this book. Rowan is trying to make him ducal magister and give him a lot of responsibility, she believes in him and appreciates his help. Conn knows that he won’t be good at the type of position but is struggling to figure what he wants to do to help support the city of Wellmet. Conn spends a lot of time figuring who he is and who he wants to be; is he a thief, a wizard or something else completely? He spends a lot of time in the Twilight as a thief again in this book and discovers that he just doesn’t make a good thief anymore...he is just more than that now. Conn is also learning that accepting help from others and working with others isn’t always a bad thing.The plot is very well done too. Honestly everything is really well tied up in this book. I couldn’t find information on whether or not there would be another book in this series but I really really hope there is. I would love to see how some of the decisions Conn makes at the end of the book play out.Overall a spectacular middle grade fantasy. This whole series has been so much fun to read; full of magic and adventure. It’s a great read for all ages, I enjoy these books just as much as my seven year old son does. I sincerely hope there are more books in this series!

My favorite part of Home didn’t actually take place in the book, but in the little notes at the end. Conn’s treatise on dragons and then his notes to Rowan about the menu had me cracking up. Conn is such a fun protagonist and the notes in the back and the ones scattered throughout the book really do a lot to enhance his personality even more (and those of the characters he interacts with).I also love Nevery and Conn’s relationship and its development over the four books. By the time you get to this one, Nevery’s “I love you like a son” (not his exact words, but it’s what he meant) moment is so fulfilling and heartwarming, especially after the events in Found. I love moments like that as you might know if you read my review of Jinx, which has a similar trope.Although I thought the return of one of the first book’s villains was odd and felt a teensy bit recycled, I did enjoy the way it bookended the series and made it come full circle. I especially enjoyed Conn’s development in Home as he discovers his place in society and finds his, well, home.I still think this series has a few flaws (such as the way the city and the world feel empty except for the named characters, the clumsy names like “Academicos” and “locus magicalicus,” the sudden appearance of Benet/Kerrn and Embre/Rowan, and the flatness of secondary characters like Rowan), but I fully admit that I can’t expect middle grave novels to do what I expect young adult novels to do, so as a middle grade series, The Magic Thief is top-notch.Overall, The Magic Thief: Home is a fulfilling end to the Magic Thief series, with the same fun and the same sophistication (in most respects) that drew me in when I read the first book, and the added bonus of culmination of character development and relationships. I personally have a few minor issues with the series as a whole, but overall these are all delightful books, and this one especially had me rolling with laughter at the end.

Reader thoughts: So fun! This had rising danger from friends and foes alike as Conn is threatened, beaten, and arrested. While more people trust him than before, now Conn has to learn to trust others and learn to ask for help when he can't do it alone. And, boy, he can't solve this one by himself!We have the two magics, Wellmet and Arhionvar, fighting with each other. We also have unrest in Twilight and Sunrise both. We have locus magicalicii going missing. We have people trying to put Conn in a box, literally and figuratively; is he a thief? A gutterboy? A ducal magister? He decides to find out his own way, and he never heeds the caution of, "Be careful!" How can he be careful when his city and his magics are in danger?I loved it, but I am a sucker for the self-sacrificing MCs who throw themselves into danger for the good of everyone else. (See The False Prince or The Way of Kings for some of the best MCs.)Writer thoughts: I just love Conn's voice in Prineas's books. I also love that the little snippets from Nevery, Embre, Benet, and the Duchess are in unique voices as well. Conn uses words like skiff and phrases like quick as sticks which brings out his personality so clearly. It can be hard for readers to understand an MC who doesn't talk much, but Conn has enough voice and inner dialogue to make up for his lack of speaking aloud.

This book was really awesome. In some book series, some books are really good and other ones are crap. But so far through out this series, the books are all similarly well written and captivating (if not more so than the last). Conn (ex gutter-boy/thief/wizard) is given the unwanted job of being a Magister of Wellmet. However, Conn and his dragon Pip soon find themselves in trouble (again) and are accused of stealing other Magister's locus stones. Conn, after not much consideration, decides to jump head first into trouble and becomes a gutter-boy once more to figure out who is stealing the locus stones and why. Unbeknownst to him, the trouble lies on the shoulders of an evil not so new to him. What I liked about this book was (view spoiler)[the way Sarah implied the connection between and Rowan and Embre, and Kerren and Benet but never actually admitting to it. It's also funny how Conn, smart though he is, doesn't understand what is happening between Rowan and Embre (even though he does notice that Rowan blushes around Embre a lot). The relationship between Kerren and Benet is also a riot. Who ever thought that those two would like each other? I hope in the future that these two couples will become couples and I look forward to reading more about it. Maybe Conn might find someone special in his life as well (maybe a certain someone named Jo. wink wink). (hide spoiler)]

12-year old wizard Conn is appointed Ducal Magister by his best friend Rowan, the Duchess of Wellmet, angering older wizards, especially given Conn's humble roots as a street urchin and thief. Meanwhile, someone is stealing the locus stones of the other wizards and most believe that Conn is responsible. Conn flees the safety of the palace to clear his name and find the guilty party; however, just as he starts making progress, masquerading as a chimney sweep, he is captured and imprisoned. His nemesis is working to frame Conn for the planned havoc, and wrest control of Wellmet from Rowan and Underlord Embrey. Conn is forced to concede he needs help, reaching out to those who care most for him, including Nevery and Benet.

It's been many years since I read 'The Magic Thief' and now I have finally finished reading this series. Prineas' way of writing is wonderful, it's funny and exciting and her books always leave me with happy emotions. You couldn't ask more from a book.