Tag: bright-blaze-of-magic • BookLikes

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review 2020-05-28 02:47

Bright Blaze of Magic (Black Blade) - Jennifer Estep

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I am so glad that I finally read this book! I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this book near its release date but it fell through the cracks somehow. As more time passed, I realized that I would need to refresh my memory of the first two books in the trilogy before I could review the book properly so I put off reading it. I decided to push this book to the top of my list recently and it was a very good decision. I thoroughly enjoyed my re-read of the first two books in the trilogy and was eager to experience this book for the first time. I really had a good time with this one.

This is a trilogy that really needs to be read in order. Things have been building to the events in this book for the entire trilogy and I was excited to see how things would work out. Victor Draconi has been working towards a plan to eliminate the other Families and take control of everything himself. Lila and the other Sinclairs are aware of his plan and they are working to do whatever they can to stop him.

This story was exciting and there were a few scenes that were incredibly action-packed. There were a few scenes where I was really worried about how things would work out for this group of characters that I have grown to care for and some scenes that broke my heart. I loved the way that the monsters and magical abilities were such a vital part of the story. It was great to see Lila really become a trusted member of the Sinclair Family as they came together with the other Families to fight a common threat.

Brittany Pressley did a fantastic job with the narration once again. I looked forward to putting my headphones on and escaping into Lila's world for a few hours. I really felt like she brought this story to life. She did a fantastic job with all of the character voices and brought a lot of emotion into her reading. I believe that her narration added to my enjoyment of this story.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a wonderful trilogy set in a very interesting world. I had a great time going on this adventure with Lila, Devon, Felix, Oscar, and the rest of the characters. I cannot wait to read more of Jennifer Estep's work.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Kensington Books via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.

Initial Thoughts
I am so glad that I finally read this book! This was a battle that has been brewing for the entire series and I was excited to see the Sinclairs take on the Draconis. There was a lot of excitement and action in this book and some pretty intense scenes. I thought that the characters were at their best in this installment and there were some pretty emotional scenes. I listened to the audiobook and I thought that the narrator did a fabulous job bringing this story to life.

YA paranormal series soon net-galley arc-not-yet-released arcs-to-review

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review 2017-01-05 00:00

Bright Blaze of Magic (Black Blade)

PG's Books

I quite liked this third book in the trilogy and the ending of the story arc started in Cold Burn of Magic. There is plenty of action and adventure going on. The book starts with a big fight seemingly spelling the doom for the Sinclair family but Victor Draconi did not factor Lila and her friends into the equation. Minor spolier alert! One thing I like with this book is that the baddies actually get what they deserve and not a simple quick kill either but a nice showdown where we get to see, or rather read about, his surprise just before the end. I know, I know... I am sucker for happy endings.

The book does not have very many plot twists. A few mishaps are thrown in the way of Lila but generally it is a pretty straightforward adventure leading us to the, not entirely unpredictable, conclusion of the trilogy's overall story arc. As I wrote there is plenty of action and adventure as well as a wee bit of romance. The book pretty much follows the same style as the other two books in the series.

The writing is good in the usual Jennifer Estep style. Although the plot felt a bit more straight lined in this book it was certainly good enough. I quite liked the world building in all three books and the magical and monster filled world that the author have created. It has to be said though that most of the monsters were rather friendly creatures, at least if you paid them their tribute. Something the bad guys were been known not to do of course.

Overall the Black Blade trilogy was an enjoyable and relaxing read bringing me back to the adventure stories I used to read or watch when I was younger. A quite pleasant experience.

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review 2016-08-29 03:28

Review of "Bright Blaze of Magic" (Black Blade, #3) by Jennifer Estep

Debbie's Spurts

Well, mini-review anyway.

This wraps up the trilogy nicely, pretty much as expected. Enjoyed the read well enough but it never really got out of the mafia/mob family turf war territory despite the supernatural / paranormal elements.

Helluva good cover though. Perfect for this book even if not matching still-er, more shadings of covers on rest of series.

Reviews from Spurts

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text 2016-08-28 03:35

Just starting

Debbie's Spurts

And two more came thru library waiting list.

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review 2016-06-13 18:33

a decent conclusion to the series

Rashika, The Book Owl

***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato

It seems like not that long ago when I was turning the last pages of the last book of Mythos Academy and here we are again, another series finished. More characters to say goodbye to. Sadness. Why yes, I am rambling… just a little bit.

So… even though I enjoyed the conclusion, I also think that the Black Blade series doesn’t hold it’s own against the Mythos Academy series. The last book does diverge itself a little bit more from Mythos Academy and doesn’t employ all the same tropes, but the conclusion also lacks an oomph in terms of the villain characterization.

What I mean by this is that the villain is cartoonishly evil.Victor has several trope-y villain monologues and reads more like a cardboard cutout than an actual character. There is no depth to him and I am still not sure what motivated Victor to want to take over all the families besides wanting all the money and control. Yes that is a thing real villains occasionally do but I also want a villain who I can sort of understand. Who isn’t just there as a deus ex machina.

The lack of characterization of the villain ended up bringing down the plot of the book for me. There seemed to be nothing substantial driving the plot forward. So while exciting things were happening, I really wasn’t as captivated by them since there seemed to be no real reason behind them. Sometimes the villain is just a big bad plot moving device but I have come to expect more from Estep.

The romance also fell short in this instalment. While I like the Devon and Lila as characters, their romance feels a little forced? I kept waiting to fall in love with them as a couple and it never happened. All of Estep’s previous series have had more time to develop the romance and I wonder if that plays a part. With only three books, this is the author's shortest series and I imagine there wasn't as much time to develop swoony slow burn romances which were possible in other series.

All that said, I did really enjoy being with these characters again. Lila is pretty kick ass, let’s be honest. I love how she takes control of situations and thinks everything through. She doesn’t halfass things.

There were also some awesome human-monster relationships in the last book that I loved. The monsters in this series are so adorable and I love the way Estep builds them into her world. We don’t get a lot of reasons about why they are there but their presence is essential to the novel and adds so much to the world this book is set in.

Human-human relationships (besides romance) are also exciting! I love Seleste and Lila’s relationship and Lila and Claudia’s relationship. They are, in a sense, mother figures for Lila since she lost her mother but at the same time, their interactions are less ‘parental’ and more familiar. I like that they don’t replace her mother but rather help to give her some guidance when Lila is in tough spots.

This series finale might not have been everything I wanted but it does conclude the series in a satisfying manner. I am happy for all the characters and hope they will have some snuggle time after all the troubles they have been through over the course of the past three books.

To recommend or not to recommend? I recommend the series because it is good brain candy and pretty darn enjoyable. Also, for those of you who haven’t started the series, it’ll be fun to binge read.

Note that I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

mystery young adult Jennifer Estep urban fantasy review magic Action Black Blade bright blaze of magic