Review: Dark Heart of Magic by Jennifer Estep

Dark Heart of Magic

Author: Jennifer Estep

Release Date: October 27, 2015

Publisher: Kensington

Black Blade Book #2

ISBN:  1617738263

ISBN13: 9781617738265

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

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...

I really enjoyed book one, COLD BURN OF MAGIC, but DARK HEART OF MAGIC is my fave of the series so far. The characters were stronger, the mystery was intriguing and I really loved the Tournament of Blades aspect and the way it played out.

Lila continues to grow as a character as well as a member of the Sinclair Family. She continues to try and stay in the background as she plans to leave at some point, but the more I see her step into her roll, the more I feel like that is just not in the cards for her. I really enjoyed her detective skills in DARK HEART OF MAGIC. The Tournament of Blades is supposed to be a fun way to entertain the tourists, but someone is determined to get ahead no matter what they have to do or who they have to hurt and kill. Lila definitely has her hands full searching for the culprit.

Some things I feel I can't NOT mention. The Deah twist was a bit of a shocker, but I am actually glad for it. It's one more person that I am positive will be a huge help to Lila when the time comes to finally take down Victor Draconi. The events of DARK HEART OF MAGIC proved that they can work well together. On the romance front. It's in no way in the forefront of the story, but I think the Lila/Devon fans will be excited to see the progression in their relationship. Lila tried really hard to keep him at arms length and squash her feelings for him, but she comes to her senses in the end. I absolutely LOVED that the Pork Pit was mentioned in DARK HEART OF MAGIC. It's so fun when series cross paths with other series, especially when you enjoy both.

There is only one book left for the Black Blade Series and I'm excited to see what Estep does with book three, BRIGHT BLAZE OF MAGIC. Victor is going down!

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.