Published By: Hodderscape
Pages: 304
Released On: 12/03/2026
Prague, 1769. In the Magic Quarter of the jewel-box city of Prague, Thea runs Stiltskin’s Apothecary. There, she brews potions to chase away nightmares and soothe heartache – and strikes bargains to change her customers’ fates. The only fate she cannot change? Her own.
Seven years ago, Thea bargained away her heart and her memories to the apothecary’s owner, the cold, yet enigmatic Jasper, for reasons she cannot remember, and a reward she cannot recall.
Then one day a stranger arrives with an unusual request. One that will upturn Thea’s entire existence – and offer her a precious chance to recover her heart . . .
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodderscape for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I love Kuzniar’s books so much, they give adults an excuse to read fairytales. However, I didn’t find this one lived up her other work.
There’s no denying she is so brilliant at creating a sense of space and place. This fantasy world is described in such detail that you can practically walk alongside the characters – it had a similar feeling to the first time I read about Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. As a whole, it also reminded me of Stephanie Garber’s books.
This has magic pouring out of every page, but beneath that it has a human story of friendship, community, family, and love.
Her previous books have been loose adaptations of fairytales, and whilst this is loosely based on Rumpelstiltskin, it had a different feel about it. In my opinion, it felt very far away from Rumpelstiltskin; it still had those enchanting magical elements, but felt original.
I do love the idea of a secret magic quarter in a normal city, this idea that magic could be there all the time under our noses. And whilst magic can often be depicted as negative in books, Kuzniar’s books, whilst they don’t hide away from that negative side, they do highlight it in an enchanting, joyful, and – dare I say it – magical way.
The characters were where this went wrong for me. They were okay, some had their good moments but overall I felt they were lacking. And Thea…she’s in her 30s but she comes across as young and juvenile and immature. She is very stubborn and puts her own issues above that of the rest of the community, which highlights her naivety.
It isn’t my favourite of her books and it’s not her best one either. I did enjoy reading it and it had a lot going for it. But it was missing something special, something that tied it all together. It was missing the shine that her other books have.
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