4.5 Stars. This book instantly drew me in with the vivid setting and characters. The magic form was also attractive. I could not put it down- the plot and character development kept me engaged.

At times, the plot was predictable but I didn’t mind it. The climax at the end also seemed a bit more dramatic than needed - without giving spoilers away, I did see a few plot holes which could have made the ending more simple. Overall though, none of this changed my mind on how much I loved this book. I could picture the vibrant Dragonfly Theater and would love a sequel.

Rating: 4.5 ⭐️

Wow what a read. I would first like to thank NetGalley and Brandie June for this beautiful digital ARC! I am beyond blessed to be able to read this early! Now for the fun part.

Since the very beginning of the book, I was truly captivated, not only by the characters, the plot and the writing style. There was a fun yet tense tone within the writing. You can truly tell that this book had heart and each character have their own soul. Now, speaking on the plot, I will say that it was very fast paced (imo) There were some moments where things slowed down to get a bit more context. There are some ups and downs within the book that may have people tense and or emotional. (trigger warning: death, kidnapping, torture) but not in a gory sense and something that would make you uncomfortable. It’s barely brushed on, but it is there. The grand dragonfly theater is a monumental structure that houses a vast majority of people that are one family. When family gets too much and a new person joins, it begins to question what is the definition of family? What is love? How can I accomplish it outside of this ideology or family. Through the ups and downs, the lies in the thievery family always prevails no matter the setting.

The characters:
The characters were absolutely lovable, yet conflicting. Whilst reading this, I understood the plot in the rules of the characters played however I would definitely love to know a bit more of a backstory on the “side” characters and how they got to where they are. Now for the development within the characters, I will say that it was beautiful! There were some moments where certain characters were questionable and I’m glad that they came full circle! Mrs. June knows how to write a character that you will dislike and then end up, loving lol!
I truly love the sister bond that the two main character shared because it shows that with a sibling and or a best friend you will never truly be alone in the world as long as you have family.

Piggybacking off family; this book resembled to me that just because you are not blood that does not mean you cannot be family. I feel that a lot of time society forgets that your friends and your community are just as much as your family as your actual blood relatives and this book really set the tone for exactly that. This was truly beautifully written in a sense that you will always have somebody as long as you have yourself!! no matter where you are or who you are with you are never truly alone.

The romance:
There is a tad bit of romance within the book, but nothing too crazy. Which is just my type of romance (imo) I loved how everything played out within the end, and the characters found themselves, but also the other person. This book does not have spice in it so if that’s something that you were looking for this will may not be for you, but give it a try anyway! But I am personally glad it does not have spice in it because the way that it was written. It has bits and pieces of cute romance, but I love how it was not the main plot.

If you were looking for something that is fast paced, magical, historical fiction with a tiny bit of romantic than this book will definitely be for you!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the arc for this book.

Be ready to be taken on a whimsical journey at the Dragonfly Theatre. I loved the theatre setting and the magic system. It was a super easy read and I’m hoping we get more books set in this world.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me take you into the marvelous review of this shimmering story filled with magic, dangers and twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat! But I'll keep the spoilers to myself so I don't ruin the show for you!

In all honesty, it's been so long since the last time I had so much fun with a romantasy. Every time it seemed like something was missing or underdeveloped and when it ended it just felt like a finished task and nothing else. But with Magic at the Grand Dragonfly Theater, the story remained with me and I caught myself re-playing it in my head like a show I wanted to watch again and again.

The story tells us about a world divided between Illusionists - those who can summon illusions -, Conjurors - those who can create matter - and people like you and me, with no power. There's been a war going on for several centuries and Conjurors are demanded to enlist in it, and those who don't are either dragged by force or killed in the process.

The problem is that the younger sister that we'll follow in the story, Violet, has Conjuror abilities, which her older sister, Iris, and their uncle are working hard to keep hidden so she's not taken into war. And what's the best place to keep a Conjuror hidden?
Under layers of illusions, in the Dragonfly Theater, where people pay to get their eyes tricked.

To make it all worse, Alec, our MMC, is hired by a mercenary to work in the theater and gather proof that Iris, the older sister, is a Conjuror. Looks like a lot, doesn't it? Well, it's way more than that and it's gonna shock you and you're not ready for it.

I also need to talk about the fact that here we have one of the rarest things in fantasy books ever: a healthy sibling relationship, and not just that, but healthy *family* relationships. It's a breath of fresh air to see sisters supporting each other instead of being enemies or rivals, and to see parents and guardians acting like proper adults and helping the teenagers to solve conflicts instead of causing them. Just because of that, it became one of my best readings of 2025.

The writing quality is superb. It's rich without being too complicated and it does wonders in taking you both into deep dialogues and intricate theater performances. It's the type of YA that can easily break barriers and turn into a mature audience favorite - like it happened to me. The author doesn't underestimate nor patronize its public, using nuances of the language to take you into this magical trip.

But it wouldn't be a romantasy if I didn't mention the FMC, the MMC and the couple dynamic: Alec is sneaky and cunning but ingenious, while Iris is smart and extroverted but impetuous, turning their interactions so adorable that I got myself smiling while reading their banter. And it was such a good surprise that in the social background, the MMC was the one with little money and influence, turning the characters’ roles even more interesting.

The cherry on top are the snippets of the world we see at the beginning of each chapter, with quotes from newspapers, diaries and screenplays, giving us a broader vision of the world without having to take us by hand to each place.

I'm usually very hard on my reviews but I can't find a single bad thing about this book. I loved every second of it and all the elements are weaved flawlessly. I'll definitely make sure to trophy Magic at the Grand Dragonfly Theater in my shelf as soon as it releases, without a doubt.

Goodreads review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7515847718

I was lucky enough to read this ARC of Magic at the Grand Dragonfly Theatre and WOW.

I absolutely loved this book, I just didn’t want to put it down.

Following the lives of Iris and Violet as they grow up in the care of their uncle. Iris spends her life trying to protect her sister who keeps herself in the background in fear of her magic abilities being found out and suffering the same fate as their mother.

When Alec, the young boy starts at the theatre to obtain secret information for the Bounty Hunter to which he owes a great debt, the life of the Ashmore sisters is turned up side down.

This story captured me in so many ways from the vivid descriptions of the theatre which reminded me of the fantastic sets, acrobatics and story telling of Cirque du soleil a villain I hated and wanted to fail and complex relationships between families. I found myself relating to violet with the want to be confident and brave like Iris.

Thank you for letting me read this ARC it was beautifully written!

I wish this was a liiiiittle better. I loved the premise and was super excited to pick this up, hoping it was something like Hotel Magnifique. I was a little disappointed. The story and characters were fine, I didn’t have any issue with the magic system, my biggest thing was the writing. It was very basic, to the point where I was questioning why I was reading this. Not everything needs to be super flowery, purple prose but this was so basic and non-descriptive it really took away from the magic of the story for me.

ARC provided by NetGalley

I got this and instantly read it. The title and cover description i couldn't not read it right away. And i wasnt disappointed. The magic system was intricate yet simple . This book was a perfect example of less is more. Great job.