From Goodreads: When sisters Muna and Sakti wake up on the peaceful beach of the island of Janda Baik, they can’t remember anything, except that they are bound as only sisters can be. They have been cursed by an unknown enchanter, and slowly Sakti starts to fade away. The only hope of saving her is to go to distant Britain, where the Sorceress Royal has established an academy to train women in magic. If Muna is to save her sister, she must learn to navigate high society, and trick the English magicians into believing she is a magical prodigy. As she’s drawn into their intrigues, she must uncover the secrets of her past, and journey into a world with more magic than she had ever dreamed.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to read this book. It had been years since Sorcerer to the Crown came out, and while I liked it a lot, I didn’t remember much about it. I certainly didn’t remember a story that needed to be continued into this sequel. This is very possibly because the sequel isn’t really a sequel. It’s a related story that takes place in the same world several years later. It’s completely standalone. I considered going back to reread Sorcerer first, and in the end, decided not to because of my recently reading slump. I didn’t need to. Nothing was difficult to follow, and the primary characters were new to this book. I was hooked right away, and I think I actually enjoyed this one more than Sorcerer, particularly because there was so much more exploration of non-British magic/culture.

As usual, Jenny Sterlin did a fabulous job reading the audio, which helped me to engage with the story more than I think I would have in my current mind-frame. I don’t know how well the story will stick with me longer term, but it was a fun, quick listen and I’m glad that I gave it a chance.