Dark Heart of Magic (Black Blade #2)
Author: Jennifer Estep
Release Date: October 27th 2015
Publisher: Kensington
Rating: 5 Stars!
Synopsis:
Something Wicked This Way Comes...
As a thief, I stick to the shadows as much as possible. But when the head of the Sinclair Family picks me to compete in the Tournament of Blades, there's no escaping the spotlight—or the danger.
Even though he's my competition, Devon Sinclair thinks I have the best shot at winning what's supposed to be a friendly contest. But when the competitors start having mysterious "accidents," it looks like someone will do anything to win—no matter who they hurt.
As if I didn't have enough to worry about, mobster Victor Draconi is plotting against Devon and the rest of my friends, and someone's going around Cloudburst Falls murdering monsters. One thing's for sure. Sometimes, humans can be more monstrous than anything else...
Dark Heart of Magic is
the riveting second book in a magnificent young adult paranormal/urban fantasy
series that will leave readers begging for more. The book continues to follow our
main character, Lila, as she lives her version of a normal life in
Cloudburst Falls - dubbed the "most magical place in America." Lila is still a fantastic main character for the series. She's tough, smart, strong, determined, and isn't afraid to do what needs to be done. She's also a Magick - a person with
magical abilities - but keeps this information as secret as
possible. The story is told from Lila's point of view, which (if
you've read any of my other reviews) I think is the best writing style.
The reader gets to really connect with Lila right from the start of the book. We
get to see things happen from her perspective and are privy to her
innermost thoughts, dreams, fears, memories, and doubts - and so much more.
Since the story is being told by Lila, the tone of the book is more
conversational and personal than any other point of view allows. It makes the
reader feel like a part of the story - either like Lila's telling the
story to them or if they were right there alongside her while it
happened. None of the other POVs offers this kind of connection with the narrator or the ability to completely immerse
yourself into the story - which is one of several reasons why it's my
favorite.
I had somewhat high hopes and
expectations for this book before I even started it because of how much I adored the first book in the series. Some series can start off really strong and then go downhill really fast after that. I'll just
say that what I thought were high expectations and hopes turned out to
be nothing compared to the mesmerizing story inside those pages. I
can honestly say that I loved every single thing about this book - which
is really rare for me! Each aspect of the book was fantastic, and when
you combined them into the novel - it was nothing short of phenomenal.
One
of the best parts of this book (and series) is the world building, hands down.
The author created such a diverse and unique setting for the story to
take place in that I didn't want to leave it. In Lila's world, there are
regular people along with Magicks, actual monsters, and rival Families
fighting each other for control over the city. Each of these categories
of characters are different from one another for varying reasons. The
Magicks are people with magical abilities called Talents; the Families
are rival mob families who are fighting with one another to take over
the city; and the monsters - well, there are a ton of them - and each
has it's own distinct features and behaviors. I absolutely loved
learning everything I could about each type of monster, the different
kinds of people, and the Families that I could. I loved that the city
didn't hide the fact that there were literal monsters there. All of the intricate details the
author included made this world really come to life for me and I can't
wait for the next book to release so I can revisit it. There's so much to learn about the city, the people,
the history of the Families, the various monsters, etc., and I really
hope that we get to continue to learn even more with each installment.
Being the second book
in a series, we've already had the chance to get to know all of the various characters and the world building - and getting a good feel for how everything is going
to work together.
By mixing together all of the various aspects I've described, we get to
know Lila's character even deeper, experience more of her world, and learn a ton about the things that go on in Lila's world - from the Families to the Tournament of Blades - and everything in between. It all perfectly sets the stage for the rest of the series - including the
plot - and I think that the author did a phenomenal job of deepening our knowledge of several important characters and relationships, along with continuing to create a larger plot line that will
continue to carry through to at least the next installment, if not further. The way
she wrote it was seamless and the reader doesn't even catch on to what
all is happening while they're reading. I was so swept up in the story
and immersed in Lila's world that I was only vaguely aware of these
things going on in the back of my mind. I honestly don't think it
could've been done better. The entire book was fast-paced with vivid
imagery and detailed descriptions that had me feeling like I was
right there while it was all happening. Every aspect flowed
together effortlessly - add in the fast pace and the vivid world
building - and the reader will be devouring each page to see what's
going to happen next. It was another quick read for me, much like the first book, which bummed me out - but only because I didn't want it to end. I seriously can't recommend this
book highly enough! Readers who have experienced the author's writing
before know that this is going to be an incredible series. To those of
you who are new to her works, like I was, all I can say is that it will
suck you in right from the beginning and then proceed to blow your mind -
in the best way possible. There are so many genres mixed into the novel
that there's bound to be a bit of something for everyone to enjoy. If you haven't started this series yet - DO IT. NOW. If you've read the first book, then you already know what I've been talking about and should already be reading this one - and if you're not, DO IT. NOW. I swear you won't be disappointed.
Follow the Dark Heart Of Magic by Jennifer Estep Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.
Jennifer Estep is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
Her Elemental Assassin series follows the life and times of Gin “the Spider” Blanco, a barbecue restaurant owner who also happens to be an assassin with magical control over the elements of Ice and Stone.
The Mythos Academy series focuses on Gwen Frost, a 17-year-old Gypsy girl who has the ability to know an object’s history just by touching it. She studies at Mythos Academy, a school for the descendants of ancient warriors.
Her Bigtime paranormal romance books feature sexy superheroes, evil ubervillains, and smart, sassy gals looking for love.
Estep’s new Black Blade series is about 17-year-old thief Lila Merriweather, who has a Talent for sight, along with the ability to take magic others used against her to boost her own powers. She tries not to get involved with the Families who control much of the town, but ends up in the middle of a potential turf war.
Win (1) of (3) print copies of Dark Heart of Magic (US only)
Win a $10 Amazon gift card (INT)
The covers are superb & this sounds like such a great read.
ReplyDeletei love to read those books. is it available to online?
ReplyDeleteVeritable Laminate Flooring Discounts
i will share it to my friends and relatives its a must read books
ReplyDeleteHeard about Top Austin Tow Truck