Title: Dark Heart of Magic
Author: Jennifer Estep
Series: Black Blade #2
Pages: 330
This book picks up shortly after the events in the previous book. Lila and the Sinclairs are participating in the Tournament of Blades which is a weeklong tournament to showcase their skills between the families.
This was a great continuation of this series. The Tournament of Blades was very action packed and made the story go by very quickly. Lila is finally accepting that she is no longer alone and actually is seeing the Sinclairs as her family now. She also realizes that just because she hates Victor Draconis, doesn’t mean that all Draconis are the same. I really enjoyed seeing Leila grow up and learn to rely on others. She also learns more about her mother in this and there were some revelations that I wasn’t expecting.
Devon and Lila’s relationship progresses in this one. I didn’t love how Lila kept pushing him away but she got there in the end. Devon really is a kind and protective guy who doesn’t give up on Lila even though she puts up walls. I really like that their relationship is pretty drama free, which I feel is rare for a young adult book, so hopefully I will enjoy the continuation of their relationship.
The Tournament plot really was an interesting whodunit. While I did guess the perpetrator fairly early in the story, I still enjoyed the whole playthrough of the reveal and take down. It was a great battle and a great showcase of Talents. This was a solid installation to the trilogy and really does a great job at progressing the story and showing character growth. I can’t wait to see how this story ends.
Also, I still love Oscar so much.
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Previous books and reviews for the series:
Red-Haired Ash Reads 