Huh.  Read this on my kindle and posted several quotes and updates to goodreads for later inclusion in this review -- none of which show there.  Oh well, one less thing to use goodreads for.  May as well disconnect it from my Paperwhite.

That aside, a good book that could have been better if more monsters and  magicks. and less family (think "mafia") plotting.  Somewhat as expected (middle book of series) because there's more backstory on people, developing relationships and eventually even the discovery of exactly what big bad villain is plotting.  Way more people are let in on her "secret" including by her personally -- which was weird because she and others have been spending so much time (and so many chapters) hiding it.  

And early on a really weird mention of Devon's supposedly deceased Daddy being in Lawrence's sword as if the first book had already revealed that.  Could be my old lady memory, but all I remember first book saying about his Daddy was that he was dead.  No mention of being reincarnated as/into Lawrence's sword.  That's one status update I wish goodreads hadn't destroyed because I quoted the exact passage *shrugs* -- if I can ever track it down in quotes or updates I'll update this review to add it.  Just the one mention but could prove pivotal to the series grand finale.

These are coming soon from my public library ebook hold/waitlist.  Itching to read.

The first book was a bit better in my opinion.

This felt like a lot of the same old.

It is a VERY CLEAN romance. With a lot of repetitions.

And I think we can safely say, that we got what a great guy Devon was, like, maybe after the 15th time it was thrown in our faces?

It was boring mostly.

The mystery plot was very very thin, and made little Miss Badass Spy/Thief/Swordfighter look quite ridiculous. As it was so very obvious.

Dark Heart of Magic, the second book in the exciting Black Blade trilogy, opens with narrator Lila Merriweather and good friends Devon and Felix (all of the Sinclair Family) discovering that something has the tree trolls agitated. Although this is an intriguing mystery, it must be put aside because of the annual Tournament of Blades, a competition that pits the best youth fighters from each Family against one another in a 3-day event. Lila and Devon are two of the many selected to represent the Sinclair family, just as the usual suspects (along with some new ones) are also selected to represent each of his/her Family. Unfortunately, things start to go wrong at the tournament, resulting in injured and dead competitors, and it’s up to Lila to figure out who’s behind the attacks.

Unlike its predecessor, Dark Heart of Magic has no need for extensive world-building; therefore, the story takes off right from the get go. I was completely engrossed as the story unfolded, and I found that the additional characters framed the tale perfectly. We learned so much more about not only Lila’s heritage, but what brought the current warring situation to a head. I appreciated that each character is multi-faceted, although the antagonist, Victor Draconi, is just downright evil. 

As much as I love her, I was a bit frustrated with Lila this time around. It took her way too long to put together all of the pieces of the puzzle and make connections that were pretty obvious. Lila’s constant “it’s on the edge of my memory” bit was annoying, as was the fact that one of the bad guys basically had to spell out to Lila what was happening and why. But maybe I’m just a super-sleuth. haha.

Once again, narrator Brittany Presley does an excellent job of capturing each character’s persona within the context of their voices. I can tell the personalities and corresponding moods of each just by listening to her performance. She continues to capture both the youth and life experiences of the each of the primary characters.

Overall, I enjoyed this Dark Heart of Magic. I liked the standalone story of the Tournament of Blades and how it brought out each character’s personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. I also liked Lila discovering more about her heritage and finding unexpected surprises. Finally, I really adored the progression of the feelings between Lila and Devon. While the book is the middle of a trilogy, it shines as a standout while setting up the final battle. I am expecting big things from Lila, and cannot wait to see where this all goes!

Story: B+ 

Narration: A-

Note: I received an audiobook copy of this title as a gift from the author.

Lila has been part of the Sinclair family for several weeks now. Her job is to protect Devin, the family bruiser and the son of the head of the family. As she acclimates to being part of the family and not sneaking around as a thief, the Summer tournament comes up and she has been, unbeknownst to her, entered into the tournament. On top of that, she is trying to figure out who is killing all of the tree trolls.

I really enjoyed this second book in the series, following Lila as she learns more about herself and about her mother’s seemingly mysterious life. She also is slowly learning to trust and open herself up to several people.

I highly recommend to anyone that likes this author and the urban fantasy genre.

**I received an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review