Well I did tell you I’d be back. It says a lot that I fully intended to do other things tonight and the book sucked me back in so thoroughly that I did not do those things.

“A Matter of Magic” is a squashing-together of two of Wrede’s books, “Mairelon the Magician” and “The Magician’s Ward.” It has the added benefit of having beautiful cover art. (See it? See the pretty, pretty cover art?)

In “Mairelon” we meet Kim, a thief who takes a job breaking into a street magician’s wagon on behalf of a mysterious man. The man says he just wants her to see if the magician has a silver bowl in his possession. Said magician, Mairelon, catches Kim when she touches the bag the bowl is wrapped in and it throws her into the wagon’s wall, knocking her unconscious. The bowl, as it happens, is part of a set, along with a platter and two balls, which can work a powerful spell, and Mairelon, the absent-minded young wizard, has been framed for the theft of the platter. Mairelon decides to bring Kim along with him on his search for the platter, to the chagrin of his grouchy companion, Hunch. Kim, tired of living on the street, being constantly hungry, wet, and cold, and hiding the fact that she’s a girl so that she won’t be forced into a brothel, agrees to go with them. On top of encountering many dangerous characters, all after the platter for their own various and dishonorable reasons, Mairelon discovers that Kim has the rare ability to feel magic, and he begins to train her as his apprentice. As in all good YA novels, there is danger, excitement, and a mounting sense that you are juuuust about to figure out what’s been going on since page four.

“The Magician’s Ward” takes off where “Mairelon” left off: that is to say, having solved the mystery of the theft, Kim is now focused on learning magic. Mairelon (or Richard Merrill as he is known in polite society) becomes her guardian, and they are now living in London, where the Season is about to begin. Under the guidance of Mairelon and his mother, Lady Wendall, Kim enters into society with new gowns, dances, dinners, visitations, rides in the park, interested young men, and a debut ball. Of course, it can’t be that easy. (You knew it wouldn’t be. You’re too clever to be thrown, aren’t you?) A rather inept thief attempts to steal a book from the Merrill family’s library, setting off a chain of magical catastrophes. Once again, Mairelon and Kim are mystery-solving, with heavy doses of magical training and dancing thrown in for good measure.

As with many of Wrede’s novels, the reader follows along as the young hero and heroine attempt to unravel the plots of the unscrupulous antagonists, the plots usually being focused on some kind of magical, and therefore dangerous in the wrong hands, object. (See also: “Sorcery and Cecilia or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot” and the whole of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.)

I stayed up very, very late last night finishing Mairelon and starting Ward. It was an excellent read, and I found the plot to be very satisfying and intriguing. If you are a fan of who-done-it books, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this. Being an extraordinarily unobservant person, I followed along without ever stopping to seriously question the who or where until they were actually presented to me near the end. (This is NOT the fault of the book: it is a character flaw, but I own up to it, so there you go.)

Wrede does one of my favorite things, which is to write fiesty, capable girl characters. Her characters don’t wait in the corner while there’s sleuthing to be done; they boldly march into danger and whap anyone dumb enough to get in their way. I like that. It’s decisive. 3.5 stars, Ms. Wrede, for two jobs well done!