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Dark Heart of Magic  By  cover art

Dark Heart of Magic

By: Jennifer Estep
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
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Publisher's summary

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....

©2015 Jennifer Estep (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Dark Heart of Magic

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Slow and predictable

Any additional comments?

As I recognise that authors are people and that book preferences are by nature subjective, I will start with the good.

Set in a town dominated by magic and magic monsters, the first two books in the series follow Lila, a former thief and hard luck kid with a mysterious past. Lila makes her way back into the magical society her mother left and starts to uncover her past. Teaming up with the good guys from her adopted clan (her new "besties") she fights the bad guys and is generally a tough chick with the skills and magic to beat anyone and anything. I love a fighting, tough-girl heroine with a sword and as such, the story line (despite being an old tried one) had some promise.

However, in my opinion the promise is let down by the extremely slow pace of the book (I ended up skipping huge chunks cause I just could not be bothered), the predicable plot twists and an dominating, annoying, internal teenage monologue.

The incepted romance in particular is a killer for me. The romantic male lead is such a one dimensional "good guy" he could not be more boring. I could not find it in me to care either way if they got together or not. Added to the general ho-hum of the chemistry between the protagonists, Lila's constant, repeated "I must resist this pull between us, because am afraid to get my heart broken again" monologues caused me to hit the fast forward button more times than I could count.

Like the romantic lead, the baddies and the goodies were in general, so one dimensional I could not find it in me to care one way or another what happened to them.

I got this book (book two in the series) as I am stuck in bed with an injury and I could not be bothered searching for something new, but having soldiered through to the end, I wish I hadn't wasted a credit on it. I listened to the first few books in Elemental Assassin some years ago, and I remember them being better reads (listens).

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lila and more revelations

Definitely one the best YA series I've read this year. The author stepped up her game and took this sequel to the next level. Normally, I would prefer some more romance in sequels, but this story is just strong enough with a romance being up front and center. There were enough subplots that it didn’t even occur to me that Devon and Lila weren’t making moves on each other.

In this book, the Sinclair family was still trying to figure out what was going with Victor Draconi as they knew he was planning something sinister. They decide that the tournament will make them appear as though they weren’t worried, while trying to gather Intel on the Draconi plot.

Lila was still strong and she still loved her bacon. Boy, she is as serious about bacon as Gin is about her chickory coffee. I like that Lila wanted to focus on her job and her own plans, instead of making the easier choice of pursing a relationship with Devon. . But it was clear that she grappled with her feelings for Devon. But Lila and Devon were not the main subject of this book. The mystery was centered on the killing of monsters and people, for an unknown purpose. I enjoyed the sorting out of the mystery as well as a revelation pertaining to Lila’s family. Lila is a likable character and she has some maturity and growth from book 1. She is definitely fitting in with the Sinclairs and she is making smarter decisions now.

I enjoy the narrator. It’s a face paced, action packed story. I finished the book in two days because it was that enjoyable. The author did a great job of setting up book 3 and I can’t wait for Bright Blaze of Magic.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty good second book

The story continues and the relationship stuff too. Builds on the first book and expands the storyline, given more details of the past and how Victor the big bad evil guy of the storyline. There are some good side stories or dialogs that are interesting and help develop the main characters and the story line. They didn't seem to distract from the main storyline.

Overall was a good second book expanding the information from the first book and setting up the third book. The only downside was a number of things were way to prodictible. Good listen, just could have been better.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good follow up to first book

I think I might have liked this book more than the first book, honestly. I thought there was a better storyline in this second book, but do understand the lay out in the first book had to give some background. Just like the first book though, it is pretty predictable. Anyways, I enjoyed listening to this book and will continue with the series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Negative Reviews Are Soooo Wrong!

Based on so many negative reviews I almost didn’t get this book, despite how much I enjoyed the first. I can almost guarantee that If you enjoyed the first you’ll enjoy this one even more. Don’t lose out, it’s a fun listen!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Can’t Do It

I loved the first book, but can’t get through this one. I find it so BORING!!!!!! From the narrators voice, to the tone/pace of the book, the story line, etc... I keep putting the book down, trying to pick it back up again, and putting it back down. I have no interest to finish the rest of the book; I’m done.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A rehash of book 1.

Would you try another book from Jennifer Estep and/or Brittany Pressley?

Yes, I really enjoy Brittany Pressley's narration. I hope this book isn't indicative of Jennifer's other books.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was obvious and expected. It was too close to book 1's ending.

What does Brittany Pressley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her voices are fantastic. She adds depth to the characters that are only available in audio book format.

Could you see Dark Heart of Magic being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great YA read.

I liked the story overall. Good character development as well. I purchased this book for the author not realizing it was YA. I was still quite entertained. I think many YA readers would love this series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Series

Love this new series by Jennifer Estep and feel the story is augmented by B Pressley's naration.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A surprisingly enjoyable story for a YA adventure

This review is written after I finished the third book in the series. So there maybe spoilers. I like finding series’s that are fully developed so I can move through them without waiting half a year or more for the next book. In this one, I purchased the second book before I finished the first and the third when I was half way through the second.

When I acquired the first book in the series I immediately became enthralled by the voice of Brittany Pressley. She created characters you could follow through the intertwining paths of the of each book and flow into the next without being reintroduced to the same character with a slightly different voice.

I went through all three books – a good size for a story ark The series’s is worth the three Credits

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