The Lost Things series shares the unique experience with time travel for Xanthe Westlake. She moved from London with her mother Flora to Marlborough following the divorce from her father, Philip. As they attempt to start their new life and renovate the old antique shop left in disarray after the death of Mr. Morris, a ghost from the past hones in on Xanthe for help. Margaret Merton, a spirit from the past, senses Xanthe's unique sensitivity to "hear singing" when she held certain items from the past. Through the years it has served well discovering the history and unresolved issues left with the items. This time Xanthe buys a silver chatelaine, made in Bristol, at an auction which desperately made it known it needed her help. Little does she realize that the chatelaine is connected to the ghost, Margaret Merton, who haunts and threatens her to help her save her daughter, Alice. Of course, the problem is that Alice lives in 17th century Marlborough accused of a crime to which is she due to be hanged.

They each tell stories following the challenging adventures Xanthe endures to hopefully save people and solve mysteries. Trying to maintain discretion to avoid stressing her ailing mother, Flora, Xanthe develops a friendship with Liam Adams, a local mechanic who agrees to check on her mother when she has to "visit a friend". Her dedication to her mother, Flora, who ails with often disabling arthritis, is admirable but she soon finds herself "lost" between the past and present trying to solve a mystery for a spirit who presents a danger to her mother should she fail. In the process, Xanthe meets and confuses many people as she seeks help and information which leaves many with unresolved feelings and unanswered questions.

Xanthe's time travel eventually leads her to discovering there's a deeper purpose for her special abilities when she meets Mistress Flyte on one of her missions. She also encounters another time traveler who becomes her nemesis by trying to derail her missions. She initially shares her secret with Harley who runs The Feathers pub with his wife Annie. Soon her travels become more dangerous so she needs to inform her mother in case something should happen to her. Although each story focuses on a specific mission, I would not recommend reading these as standalone. This addition to the series introduces a character from the author's The Witches' Daughter series, Elizabeth Hawksmith. Her travels begin to involve other people and she learns more about the history of the Spinners and the moral responsibilities. ( )

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Paula Brackston for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

Xanthe has an ability to time travel based on old objects she finds that “sing” to her. When an object speaks to her, she can go back in time and there is usually someone in trouble that she has to help, a wrong to right. Now Xanthe has more confidence in her abilities and is learning that there is a whole group of Spinners, people who can travel back in time. But there are always unscrupulous people who want to take advantage of this gift to ensure their success. People who want to use Xanthe. Can Xanthe find Liam and dismantle this group or will she be forced to do their bidding in order to get him back.

Finally, the conclusion to this series. I would recommend for this series it is better if you read each book in order, especially this one. The last book ends on a cliffhanger where Liam is taken in the past and Xanthe must complete her mission before they will give him back. Xanthe has decided to take on the Visionary Society. This book contains the usual danger, intrigue, while affording us a look into the past. Throughout the series Xanthe has gained confidence and seems to be taking on the danger herself, rather than have things happen to her. You have the usual group of characters that accompany her on her mission that always lend flavour to the story.

This was a satisfying conclusion to the series and I enjoyed it. There are always lots of elements in these stories including family, friendship, personal growth, love, with the added elements of danger, action, suspense and of course, history. I’m glad I stuck it out and read the whole series. ( )

After the cliff-hanger of the last book (The Garden of Promises and Lies), I was eager to jump into this book...even though I had to wait a year. I was a little lost initially, but soon the past pieces came back to me.

In City of Time and Magic, we start off with Xanthe trying to find an object to sing to her so she can find Liam, who was taken at the end of the previous book by Lydia Flyte, and is being held in an unknown location and time. With Harley, she travels back to the mid-to-late-1800s, where she meets and befriends a fellow spinner, a mysterious woman named Elizabeth, and their son -- all who help her on her journey in finding Liam. However, she soon learns that things aren't what they appear, and Xanthe learns of the Visionary Society -- an elite club where several Spinners abuse their gift of time travel to bring riches to their clients -- who must be stopped. With her friends with her, she will need to figure out how to stop them.

I did really enjoy this book. The cast of characters was interesting, albeit tame, and I really liked the fact that Harley was able to travel back with Xanthe this time! I never read The Witch's Daughter (though it's been on my TBR for a while), so the cross-over wasn't as highly-anticipated as it would otherwise have been, but I really enjoyed Elizabeth's character as well (and would've liked to know more about her background...guess it's time to finally read The Witch's Daughter...). The pacing did feel a little off at times. Close to the end of the book, I was convinced it would leave on a cliff-hanger like the previous book in the series, but thankfully everything was resolved, albeit a little too quickly, making the ending feel rushed. However, although there was a resolution to the climax, City of Time and Magic did end on an open note, leaving room for the author to revisit and expand the series in the future.

3.5, rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. ( )

When I opened this book I was smiling at an old friend knowing that I was going to enjoy the next installment in Paula Brackston’s “Found Things” series. She makes time travel so interesting and the interwoven mystery is artful and clever. Her characters have more depth and the surrounding colorful descriptions get better and better.

In this episode Xanthe has multiple missions but first she has to figure out why she has been betrayed, lied to, hurt and terrorized. She has some heavy lifting ahead of her, but she is not without the help of close friends as well as the addition of several new and very interesting characters. The explanations of time travel are so believable that they are just that - believable.

The definition of the story and the nod to morality is beautifully summed up: “What matters is how we proceed from the point of awakening. What we do with the challenges set us. How we behave toward others while we follow our destiny.”

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book that sends the reader a “protective wave of goodwill and sincerity.” ( )

This was great! I have really enjoyed this series so far so I was excited to read this newest installment. This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book so I do recommend reading this series in order. I found this book to be incredibly entertaining and I love the historical detail and the wonderful characters at the heart of this story.

Liam was left in an uncertain situation at the end of the last book and Xanthe is desperate to do whatever it takes to get him back. She starts looking for something that will call her to him wherever in time Mistress Flyte has taken him. She finds three items and must decide which one will be the one she needs. Her choice leads her to meet some really interesting characters that end up playing a huge role in the story. She soon learns that there are some very serious things that she cannot ignore and it will test her abilities greatly.

The characters in this book were wonderful! Xanthe has embraced her role as a spinner and is doing everything in her power to do good. Liam was very understanding and I love the fact that he is willing to put himself in danger if that is what is required of him. I love the fact that Harley got to play a larger role in this book and hope to see that again in future installments. It was great meeting Elizabeth who I understand is a character from Brackston’s previous novels and I loved what she added to this story.

The mystery in this story kept me guessing. I had no idea how Xanthe and the rest of her group would pull off everything that they needed to do but I was excited to go along for the ride. There were some pretty big developments that should have a big impact on the series moving forward. I found this book to be very entertaining with a lot of excitement. The historical details also added a lot to the story.

I would recommend this series to others. It is an incredibly well-done take on moving through time with characters that are easy to care about. I cannot wait to read more of this author’s work.

I received a review copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press. ( )