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I received this e-book from NetGalley and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: 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 Draconic 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…
Nothing makes me happier than when the second book in a series is even better than the first, as is the case with this second book in the Black Blades series.
Lila is trying to balance her growing feelings for Devon Sinclair with her responsibilities as his bodyguard. Once again there’s no love triangles and little romantic drama, although Devon is becoming slightly frustrated with Lila keeping him at arms length. Their relationship takes a much welcome turn by the end of the book though.
What I really loved in this story is how Lila’s gone from being pretty much a loner to being surrounded by friends she can rely on. She’s still a kick-ass heroine, but she’s one who knows her weaknesses and has no problem accepting help from her friends.
There are two storylines happening here. One involves the Tournament of Blades which is a little derivative of what’s been depicted in other YA books like The Hunger Games, but these are less bloody and there’s a lower body count. Jennifer Estep puts her own spin on them so they still made for exciting reading. The other storyline focuses on the big villain of the series, Victor, and what his endgame is. When the big reveal comes it’s not a big shock, but it’s a nice set-up for the next book.
Dark Heart of Magic is a fantastic urban fantasy that will appeal to YAs and adults. The author continues with her wonderful world-building, and includes plenty of suspense, romance, and humor. I’m eagerly anticipating Bright Blaze of Magic which is coming out in April 2016.
4.5 that’s a really good rating Kim and a great review.
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Thanks Vinnie!
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Its an absolute pleasure to read your blog Kim.
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You’re way too good to me.😊🙋🏻
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It’s all the truth Kim.
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😊😊😊😊
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Kim, I love Jennifer Estep. Is she obsessed with the character’s eye colors in this series? 😜
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I know eye colors are mentioned but I don’t remember getting the sense of it being over the top. I’ve only read her YA books, but someday I have to get around to her Elemental Assassin series.
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I really enjoy the Elemental Assassin series. One of the few things that I complained about was the obsession with eye color. One of the male characters has violet eyes and she waxes poetic about it a few too many times. Another has gold eyes to the MCs gray. She used the phrase “gray on gold” about 1000 times.
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I hate it when authors do that!
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Oh wow, I’m so excited you loved this second book so much! I have the first book in my kindle, so now I have to move it up on my to-read list. Thank you!! 🙌😀
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I hope you like these Jen! If you do, she’s written another YA series called The Mythos Academy, which is really good, and she has an adult series called The Elemental Assassin which I haven’t read yer but I’ve heard good things about.
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Me too! Ah, thank you for the information! Checking out her other books on Goodreads now. =D
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