The City Beyond the Stars : 2

Set in a lavish world of sorceresses, alchemists, jinn and flying carpets, this spine-tingling middle-grade sequel to the stellar Kingdom Over the Sea is perfect for fans of Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Sophie Anderson, but more commercial and with an overlap in readership with the Dragon Realm series. Confined to the besieged Settlement, Yara longs to return to Zehaira and free her mother from the alchemists. When she receives a message to find the Official Residence of the Grand High Sorceress, she and her friends go to search for it, convinced that they will also find powerful magic to defeat the alchemists.

Here, Yara and her friends discover storytelling magic – a magic so powerful that it can manipulate time. They also discover a girl, Aaliya Nasrun, claiming to be the sole surviving daughter of the Grand High Sorceress – the sister Yara didn’t know she had. Can the children break the siege on their settlement and take back Zehaira from the alchemists’ rule? And can Yara trust her newfound sister?