Tag Archive | The Black Blade Series

REVIEW: Bright Blaze of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Bright Blaze of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Series: Black Blade #3

Read: April 8 – 21, 2016

Format: ARC Ebook (Kindle)

My Book Rating: 5 Stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy

 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

I. LOVE. Jennifer Estep’s Black Blade series. Love it. I mean, look at this cover? See how amazing it is? The book inside is just as amazing!

Lila lives in Cloudburst Falls, a town in Virginia where monsters roam free, and the whole city is run by The Families (they’re like mob families, but they’re not all bad). Those in the families also possess varying degrees of various magical powers; enhanced strength or speed, the ability to see in the dark, or if you’re Lila, Transference: the ability to take others magic into herself and use it to enhance her own strength, speed, etc.

Lila is also a thief, but she’s a good person. She’s joined up with the Sinclair family and is acting as bodyguard to Devon, son of the head of the family, Claudia.

This book is the third in the series, and while I felt that book 2 could have been read without reading book 1, I don’t think that’s the case with book 3. There is so much that happens in those first two books that the reader won’t get the full enjoyment without reading the previous books .(Or at least book 2.) This book brings the overall story arc to an end, but also leaves the door open for more books should the author choose to write them. (I hope she does!)

Lila has a lot of history with The Families. Years ago her mother fled from them for her own safety. Upon her death, Lila stuck around town, hell bent on someday getting revenge and taking down the man who killed her, Victor Draconi.

This book starts out with a bang. Lila, Devon, and their friend Felix are on a mission to steal from Victor. The next day, all hell breaks loose. Seriously, this book did not waste time with unnecessary set up, we’re thrown right into the thick of things.

I loved the relationship development between Lila and Devon in this book. I also warmed up a little more to Claudia, who I was on the fence about before.

The action in this book is awesome. Some of the movement descriptions were quite repetitive, but that’s probably true to life. If it works, keep doing it, right? And there was no shortage of fighting.

My favorite character, hands down, is the Lochness who lives under the Lochness Bridge. I love that Lila treats the monsters with respect, paying the Lochness his toll and the tree trolls their chocolate bars. The monsters have played an important role in the previous books, and that’s the same here too.

I love this entire series. I recommend it for those who like fast paced, action filled clean YA stories. (There’s kissing, but that’s it. And it’s minimal. It probably could stand for more kissing! There’s plenty of violence, but nothing too graphic.)

Go now and read this series. Seriously. Bright Blaze of Magic releases Tuesday April 26, 2016. That gives you a few days to binge read the first two book!

REVIEW: Dark Heart of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Dark Heart of Magic by Jennifer Estep

(The Black Blade, Book 2)

 

Read: September 2015

Format: ARC Ebook (Kindle)

My Book Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Urban Fantasy YA

 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

When I requested to read and review Dark Heart of Magic from NetGalley, I didn’t realize it was the second book in a series. I actually didn’t realize until partway through the book!

I do recommend starting with book one, because I’m pretty sure this one is full of book one spoilers. Even without starting at the beginning this was highly enjoyable and I was not lost.

Lila is a thief and makes no excuses for it. She’s a strong female lead and absolutely entertaining to read about. Lila also a person of magic in a very unique town. Set at the base of Cloudburst Mountain, Cloudburst Falls is full of magic and monsters, and the ruling families (mobs) have taken full advantage, turning their little town into a tourist trap. People come from all over to see the monsters that live in the parks, petting zoos, forests, and on the mountain.

Lila works for the Sinclair Family as bodyguard to their leaders son, Devon. There’s obvious chemistry between the two, but Lila is all business. She’s doing her job as a means to an end — revenge on the Draconis family, those responsible for the murder of her mother.

Trying to blend in and stay invisible (she’s a thief, remember?) becomes very difficult, however, when Lila is entered into the summer Tournament of Blades, an annual battle of magic among the families, and fodder for the tourists. And, it seems as though someone is out to get Lila.

There’s magic and mystery, action and romance. And, though I figured out who was behind it all before the characters did, I enjoyed every second. So much so, that soon after, I one-clicked book one for my Kindle!

As a fan of The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, I think other fans of that series will love Jennifer Estep’s series. While in TMI the magic is kept hidden from the normal humans, in DHoM the magic is flaunted and used as a source of income. The magic system is pretty cool as well, with everyone who has magic having some variation of strength, speed or senses as well as some level of power – minor, moderate, or major. Some powers are more rare and desired than others. Some are more of a curse than a blessing as well, we learn in this story.

The end of the book was a satisfying conclusion to this story arc, yet it left me thirsting for more of Lila, Devon, and the rest of their crew.

Dark Heart of Magic is available from Kensington Books on October 27, 2015. Until then, you can check out book one, Cold Burn of Magic. (Book three, Bright Blaze of Magic will be available May 2016.)