Dark Heart of Magic (Black Blade #2) by Jennifer Estep
{Details} eARC, 368 pages. Published October 27th 2015 by KensingtonSomething 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... (Blurb via Goodreads)
{Rating} 4/5 - I really liked it!
{Review}
Another winner from Jennifer Estep. Though the mystery wasn't such a mystery - it was pretty obvious - there were a few curveballs, one HUGE - but the competition was exciting and I loved seeing Lila's evolution.
Lila's back! She still loves bacon, has a smart mouth, finds trouble wherever she goes and hasn't met a challenge she won't face. I liked her from the beginning but I like even more who she has become after joining the Sinclair Family, learned more about her family, and allowed herself to love and be loved.
As to the other characters:
Deah. We're supposed to be sympathetic towards her, or at least pity her, but I really can't stand her. Even seeing more/deeper into her, her home life and upbringing, it only made me dislike her more. We're supposed to see her kick ass side - and she does have one, I'll give her that - but only because of her magic. She's just so... spineless. I saw maybe a glimmer of a decent person in there but she's got a long way to go.
Devon. Love him. He just keeps getting more awesome. He's fierce, gentle, protective, thoughtful, generous. He gently but firmly pursues Lila, never pressuring her, but always showing her how he cares with his words and how he treats her, not to mention letting what her soul sight shows her. Lila is still stubborn, afraid of getting hurt and losing yet another person yet in his own way he's just as stubborn as he is.
Victor. With every encounter he just gets creepier and crazier. We know he was up to something and thanks to Lila's super thief skills we find out that it's just as terrible as Victor is.
I can't wait to see what happens in Bright Blaze of Magic, the conclusion to the Black Blade series.
