I reread The Company of Eight before settling down with The Conspiracy of Magic. I feel that this helped, but there was enough information given during the beginning of The Conspiracy of Magic to not feel lost if it has been a while between books.

I loved diving back into Cass' world, it was great to see a different part of the world that Harriet has created. I was sad that we didn't get to see anything of Rip, but I am glad that we got a little bit of news of him. I loved getting to see the other old characters back. Dacha was lovely and I cried a lot at a certain point.

I love this series and cannot wait for the next one.

In The Conspiracy of Magic, we are back with Cass, who is with people she considers family in Minaris.  There is a map at the start of the book, which shows another part of the world from the first book, which was in the lovely warm Islands.  This time we go north!

Harriet Whitehorn's style of immersing you in the landscape continues to delight. Now it's warmth and furs and icicles and snowstorm in dark brooding forests.  Not all the snowstorms are real... There is a magician at work in a land where great magic has been outlawed. Fortunately, Cass is a rarity, a person who does not see magical tricks and is therefore immune to most tricks.

This is a beautifully constructed world which builds together well.  The story has twists and turns and adventures just right for most middle grade readers, although there is a death of a major character. This is sensitively handled in that we see Cass's grief and how she handles it, and indeed some time is spent dealing with the aftermath.  On balance I think it still fits in MG.

It was a joy to read and I throughly recommend it.  But it might be helpful to read the books in order.

Swashbuckling swordswoman Cass is back in the sequel to The Company of Eight!

So, I didn’t like this as much as I liked the first book, which is a real shame. Some of that is down to my own personal preferences (I really struggle to have as much interest in cold/winter settings as I do in warm ones – and no, I don’t know why!), and some is down to the fact that I felt like it lost some of the magic of the first book’s world. The Conspiracy of Magic is more of an action/adventure story than a magical exploration of a fantasy world, which is a shame as it was the worldbuilding that made The Company of Eight stand out to me. We do get to see more of the Longest World, but I so enjoyed the island-hopping and ship-based travel of the first book that travelling in carriages through a more classically European setting was a little disappointing in comparison.

I also felt as though this more straightforward girl-and-friend-beat-evil-through-good-hearts plot seemed to aim at a younger audience than the first book; more solidly 9-12/middle grade, where The Company of Eight was pushing the upper bounds. There are some darker parts, including character death, but some of the nuance between good and evil is lost, with the villains more cackling and the good guys more brave and true. Hitting a younger audience isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, but I would expect, if anything, the tone to age up with subsequent books, not down.

That isn’t to say that this isn’t a fab middle grade story – it is! Cass is still a fun, talented heroine to follow, and her adventure is compelling. She’s asked to pose as a lady-in-waiting for the Queen of Minaris, while really being there to protect her with her incredible sword skills. The story also brings into focus something which is only briefly mentioned in the first book, which is that Cass is immune to magic – this makes for some really great moments, since this book’s bad guys rely more heavily on magic than swords.

I was sad to lose the character of Rip, whom the first book had done a great job of getting me invested in, and have him replaced by Dacha, who was less of a rogue and less funny. I did notice that at one point the author even said ‘Cass and Rip’ when she meant ‘Cass and Dacha’, so I can’t be the only one missing his snark! There were some great new characters, though, including the Queen of Minaris, and lots of reappearances from old favourites, especially Lion, who is as cute as ever.

For me personally, this is a 3.5 cat read, but I think it will be well-loved by many, especially if you don’t have my weird bias against snowy settings. This is still great girl-focused fantasy, and I’m still really excited for book 3!

What a fantastic sequel loved it even more than the first one. The world-building is amazing and so different from the previous book setting. A must-read!

The Conspiracy of Magic follows on from The Company of Eight, taking the story and its characters in a totally new direction.

Where most of the first book was set at sea, on a collection of fascinating ships and islands, this one is pretty much landlocked. We head north into new territories, of dark forests and castles. There's a beautiful queen on a diplomatic mission and Cass is there to keep her safe.

I love the political slant to this book, it's not something I've seen used very often in middle grade fiction though it's a staple of adult fantasy, and it worked very well here. There's plenty of intrigue, betrayal and twists to keep things very exciting.

It was also really interesting to see more of the magic of this world, and I particularly liked seeing how Cass, who is immune to magic, reacted to magical tricks and illusions being used against her party.

The adventure roars along, the peril feels very real at times and there was plenty of intrigue to keep me fully gripped by this excellent book.

It's the first book i read in this series and fell in love with the characters and the world building.
It's an engrossing and entertaining read, with a cast of interesting and well thought characters, and a well crafted plot.
I look forward to reading other books in this series.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is the second book in the series and I probably loved it more than the first, if that is possible.
I love the world that the series is set in and think that Cass is a fantastic protagonist. Young, tough, resilient, loyal, and caring Cass keeps fighting for what she believes is right. The pace of the story is fast and gripping and I raced through till the end.

In this adventure we find out so much more about the world Cass lives in. We meet more of her friends and she faces all kinds of danger. The Conspiracy of Magic is jammed packed full of danger and adventure and is an amazing read for kids and grown ups alike.

I absolutely adored The Company of Eight and so was thrilled to see The Conspiracy of Magic as the second in the series.
Cass is a stunning and formidable character and she surprised me constantly and had me guessing throughout both books.
I love her courage and tenacity, and her loyalty is unsurpassed. She is the epitome of girl power!

The story picks up some time after we leave Cass in The Company of Eight, and much has happened to Cass, but she is finally returning home. But in true adventuring style, she isn’t home for long before a new chapter and challenge await her. She is to accompany the queen on a long journey to negotiate peace. Travelling is dangerous but even more so with a richly jewelled queen, and so thieves and bandits appear, although they seem to leave the queen alone.

Cass is the intended target and due to her immunity to magic she easily sees traps set by powerful magicians. Still, she is unable to protect herself and spends some time in the company of Lin’s sister, Nym. She has become an incredibly strong and powerful magician, using her powers for evil, making plans to invade neighbouring regions.

With Cass being so fierce and with brave friends met along the way, she escapes and there are intense battles using swords and daggers. It is all so exciting and I read it in one evening. I was unable to leave the story at any point.

I might just be Cass’s biggest fan and I so hope there is a third in the series.
This is a five star read and I can imagine how perfect the books will look next to each other with the beautiful cover illustrations.