berls's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a great read! I don't know why it took me so long to commit to reading - maybe because it was the last book in the series? I'm giving it 4 stars
Loved - characters, action, suspense. The monsters - especially the lochness monster. Some really heart wrenching moments.
Could have been better - I feel like there were a few points that happened too easily. And I struggle with Mo as a family leader - he just seems to fun and not serious enough with his Hawaiian shirts lol
Loved - characters, action, suspense. The monsters - especially the lochness monster. Some really heart wrenching moments.
Could have been better - I feel like there were a few points that happened too easily. And I struggle with Mo as a family leader - he just seems to fun and not serious enough with his Hawaiian shirts lol
redhairedashreads's review
4.0
4 stars - It was really good
It's been a few weeks since the Tournament of Blades and Lila has discovered part of Victor Draconi’s plot. While she foils part of his plan, things still don’t go smoothly and the war between the Draconi’s and the rest of the Families finally happens.
This was a good ending for the series. Victor’s plan to end the families was interesting and deadly. I really enjoyed watching Lila and Sinclair's foil parts of his plan and irritated him. Lila really utilizes everything she has been taught by her mother and from living on her own in this book. She keeps her friends safe, has multiple backup plans, and her kindness to the monsters comes into play. I have enjoyed Lila’s journey a lot and find this town of magical families to be really interesting, much like Ashland is in the Elemental Assassin series.
This book does have the trope of the chosen one, which I like sometimes. Lila is the only one who can defeat Victor and his magic with her transference ability. I liked seeing Lila finally get revenge against Victor, but I couldn’t see Claudia stepping aside and letting Lila take over the battle. Claudia is an extremely protective mother and leader of the Sinclairs and her having Lila fight Victor instead of herself was a bit unrealistic to her character. That said, I did enjoy the fight and how it played out.
Lila and Devon’s relationship continues to grow in this one. Lila still keeps some barriers up at first but after Victor’s attack she finally admits her feelings. I have really enjoyed their building romance. It was slow paced like a first relationship should be and took time to actually get to know each other. I also liked that it doesn’t overshadow the fight against the Draconi’s but adds a nice break from it.
Overall, this was a great urban fantasy series and a great group of characters. I really enjoyed Lila and the gang’s adventures in defeating a ruthless leader. Also, I loved all the different monsters in this, especially the Lochness. I kind of want more books in this town just so I can see what other kinds of creatures live there.
Trigger Warnings: torture; death; death of a parent mentioned;
ezichinny's review against another edition
4.0
Well Done Jennifer Estep! Well Done! This final book in the trilogy did what many YA trilogies failed to deliver: A Thrilling and Satisfying Conclusion.
This third book started with the head of the Family, Claudia Sinclair and her son Devon, the family Bruiser working with the family bodyguard Lila Merriweather, and Lila’s cousin Deah to foil Victor Draconi’s plot to control the town of Cloudburst Falls. If you read books 1 & 2, you know the significance of this alliance and how it came to be. *Hint* Read this series in order to fully comprehend the minutiae.
The action and power struggle began immediately as the line in the sand was drawn between the Sinclair Family and the Draconi Family with the other families trying to pick the winning side. What I loved most in this story was that Lila and Devon’s romance to a back seat to the family business as it rightfully should have. The Sinclair family was united and focused on the preparation for the Draconi family move, whatever it maybe. While love young love as blossoming, the priority was saving lives.
Lila is one of my favorite YA heroines. She is tough, resilient, smart, noble and resourceful. Now that she found a new home with the Sinclair family, she was putting her life on the line to protect them from the Draconi threat. Devon was brave as was all the supporting casts fighting on the side of good. The author did a fantastic job keeping the story adrenaline-charged and interesting. This was a quick paced story with an engaging plot that flowed and was congruous to the theme started in book 1.
The world building was complex enough without being too dense and boring. The supernatural creatures were different from the norm and there wasn’t too many of them to overwhelm the story. The final showdown allowed Lila to address a wrong committed against her family both from the past and in their current situation. Then ending was well thought out and satisfying.
I highly recommend this series to those readers looking for an entertaining YA urban fantasy with a light romance.
*Special Thanks to Kensington Books via Netgalley for the advance reading copy given in exchange for an honest review
wolfsfan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Ein gelungener Abschluss einer Reihe mit viel Spannung. Die Charaktere sind mir teilweise etwas zu flach geschrieben und könnten noch eine etwas größere Entwicklung durchmachen. Trotzdem finde ich es eine sehr schöne Fantasy-Reihe für Jugendliche.
setaian's review against another edition
3.0
Seems my ratings for these books are going to be inversely proportional to the book's position in the series. Put simply, as the number of books increase, the number of stars decrease.
There is some good in this book...300 people have rated it 4 or 5 Stars and I get it. I understand why they love it.
But it was driving me to distraction. The author often repeats adjectives and adverbs for emphasis. It's her style. It's all about his "green green eyes" or the "cold cold burn" or my "black black heart". Personally I find it annoying but have managed to forgive / ignore it in her Elemental Assassin series. Not so easy to ignore in this book.
Another thing which made me want to bang my head against a wall was that characters would be just about to be attacked by the bad guys and they would launch into these long emotional farewells, or they'd be rescuing friends and rather than getting on with it they'd stop for a chat. I don't mind a chat but seriously there's a time and a place.
And finally, the tone of the book is just too ponderous for the subject matter. Doom, doom doom, gets old quickly. There really needs to be a lightness as a counterpoint, it was there in book one with Lila stealing the Sinclair Family silver, with the tree troll hurling rotten fruit at passers by, and with Lila's red-neck Pixie. It's all but disappeared in this one.
So yeah, Bright Blaze of Magic is a bit of a disappointment. It's OK but a long way from great.
There is some good in this book...300 people have rated it 4 or 5 Stars and I get it. I understand why they love it.
But it was driving me to distraction. The author often repeats adjectives and adverbs for emphasis. It's her style. It's all about his "green green eyes" or the "cold cold burn" or my "black black heart". Personally I find it annoying but have managed to forgive / ignore it in her Elemental Assassin series. Not so easy to ignore in this book.
Another thing which made me want to bang my head against a wall was that characters would be just about to be attacked by the bad guys and they would launch into these long emotional farewells, or they'd be rescuing friends and rather than getting on with it they'd stop for a chat. I don't mind a chat but seriously there's a time and a place.
And finally, the tone of the book is just too ponderous for the subject matter. Doom, doom doom, gets old quickly. There really needs to be a lightness as a counterpoint, it was there in book one with Lila stealing the Sinclair Family silver, with the tree troll hurling rotten fruit at passers by, and with Lila's red-neck Pixie. It's all but disappeared in this one.
So yeah, Bright Blaze of Magic is a bit of a disappointment. It's OK but a long way from great.
audiobookmel's review
4.0
My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.
It is very rare that I think that the last book in a series/trilogy is the best book in the series. I think that the last books must be the hardest for authors to write (or at least that is how it seems to me). I’ve read so many great series that I love only to be disappointed by the last book in the series. It is hard to go out on a high note. That is something that Jennifer Estep pulled off with the Black Blade Trilogy. I thought this was a great ending to Layla’s story.
We’ve known since book one that Victor Draconi has had aspirations to rule all of Cloudburst Falls with all the families swear allegiance to him alone. Well, with only one story left, we also knew he was finally going to make his move in this book. Well, Victor didn’t disappoint. I will admit that this was a far more deadly (but not that gory) of a takeover that I would’ve expected for a YA series (but hey, I was reading Stephen King at twelve, so what am I to say about what should go in a YA novel. I also don’t read a large number of YA, so I’m really not a good judge).
As we’ve watched Layla grow from the independent thief to the leader of the group to help come up with the plan that involves many people to win the day, though she takes most of the danger and responsibility onto her own shoulders. I also love that she spent plenty of time learning more about her mother from Seleste and Claudia. She also learned more about her mother’s relationship with the monsters of Cloudburst Falls.
There is a ton of action in this book as Layla and the gang go from one thing to another to try to save their friends, family and everyone in Cloudburst Falls. I think Layla deserves quite a vacation after this all over. One of my favorite parts is we got a lot of time with Oscar, Layla’s pixie, who has been a favorite character of mine since book one. He reminds me of a redneck version of Jenks from The Hollows series. Oscar’s pet tortoise, Tiny, is adorable, too. I was glad that he had a larger part in this book, since he didn’t have a large roll in book two.
I was very happy with how this all wrapped up. We got time with all the major and even some time with some of the minor players in this series. I think it wrapped up well. If you read other series by Jennifer Estep, you will see some Easter eggs for Karma Girl and Elemental Assassin series. I also can’t talk about an Estep book without mentioning food. She does several great callouts to bacon in this book. Mmmm… Bacon. Never listen to an Estep book if you’re hungry, it will only make it worse. LOL Great series, I recommend you try it, after you’ve eaten something.
Narration
Brittany Pressley has narrated this entire trilogy and has done a wonderful job. She nails all the different voices of all the characters very well. She has to handle both male and female of adults and teenagers and she does it with ease. She does a great job with Oscar and his redneck pixie voice. I know that me and several of my friends prefered to get the audios over the ebooks because of the great narration.
It is very rare that I think that the last book in a series/trilogy is the best book in the series. I think that the last books must be the hardest for authors to write (or at least that is how it seems to me). I’ve read so many great series that I love only to be disappointed by the last book in the series. It is hard to go out on a high note. That is something that Jennifer Estep pulled off with the Black Blade Trilogy. I thought this was a great ending to Layla’s story.
We’ve known since book one that Victor Draconi has had aspirations to rule all of Cloudburst Falls with all the families swear allegiance to him alone. Well, with only one story left, we also knew he was finally going to make his move in this book. Well, Victor didn’t disappoint. I will admit that this was a far more deadly (but not that gory) of a takeover that I would’ve expected for a YA series (but hey, I was reading Stephen King at twelve, so what am I to say about what should go in a YA novel. I also don’t read a large number of YA, so I’m really not a good judge).
As we’ve watched Layla grow from the independent thief to the leader of the group to help come up with the plan that involves many people to win the day, though she takes most of the danger and responsibility onto her own shoulders. I also love that she spent plenty of time learning more about her mother from Seleste and Claudia. She also learned more about her mother’s relationship with the monsters of Cloudburst Falls.
There is a ton of action in this book as Layla and the gang go from one thing to another to try to save their friends, family and everyone in Cloudburst Falls. I think Layla deserves quite a vacation after this all over. One of my favorite parts is we got a lot of time with Oscar, Layla’s pixie, who has been a favorite character of mine since book one. He reminds me of a redneck version of Jenks from The Hollows series. Oscar’s pet tortoise, Tiny, is adorable, too. I was glad that he had a larger part in this book, since he didn’t have a large roll in book two.
I was very happy with how this all wrapped up. We got time with all the major and even some time with some of the minor players in this series. I think it wrapped up well. If you read other series by Jennifer Estep, you will see some Easter eggs for Karma Girl and Elemental Assassin series. I also can’t talk about an Estep book without mentioning food. She does several great callouts to bacon in this book. Mmmm… Bacon. Never listen to an Estep book if you’re hungry, it will only make it worse. LOL Great series, I recommend you try it, after you’ve eaten something.
Narration
Brittany Pressley has narrated this entire trilogy and has done a wonderful job. She nails all the different voices of all the characters very well. She has to handle both male and female of adults and teenagers and she does it with ease. She does a great job with Oscar and his redneck pixie voice. I know that me and several of my friends prefered to get the audios over the ebooks because of the great narration.
lilyelement's review against another edition
4.0
Bright Blaze of Magic is book 3 in the Black Blade series. The series revolves around Lila Merriweather, a thief turned bodyguard for the Sinclair house. The book is set in Cloudburst Falls, which is full of magical beings and monsters. The magic users are broken up into different houses, and our leading lady is in one of the top houses (Sinclair house). There's always been a power struggle between the Sinclair family and the Draconi family (the other top house), but we finally see it come to a head in this installment. Victor Draconi, the leader of the Draconi family, is ready to take over the other houses and the town. He's quite power hungry and has plenty of magic to do as he wants.
Lila knows of his plans and steals the very things he's counting on, the black blades full of stolen magic. The only issue is that Victor Draconi is still quite dangerous even without the blades. And now that things don't go according to plan, he will make everyone pay. I was honestly worried on how the book would turn out. I felt like Victor would wind up killing everyone that stood in his way, and boy there was a high body count already. That being said, this series is mainly about the fighting and plotting and such that goes into an Urban Fantasy book. We do have a tiny bit of romance tossed in, but it's definitely not the main focus of this book and it's very light. I was hoping there would be another few books in the series since I love it so much, but it looks like this is the last one. I'll hope JEstep wants to continue it at a later date. I think that UF fans will love this series and highly suggest it if you haven't read it yet!
Lila knows of his plans and steals the very things he's counting on, the black blades full of stolen magic. The only issue is that Victor Draconi is still quite dangerous even without the blades. And now that things don't go according to plan, he will make everyone pay. I was honestly worried on how the book would turn out. I felt like Victor would wind up killing everyone that stood in his way, and boy there was a high body count already. That being said, this series is mainly about the fighting and plotting and such that goes into an Urban Fantasy book. We do have a tiny bit of romance tossed in, but it's definitely not the main focus of this book and it's very light. I was hoping there would be another few books in the series since I love it so much, but it looks like this is the last one. I'll hope JEstep wants to continue it at a later date. I think that UF fans will love this series and highly suggest it if you haven't read it yet!
wirsindgefangene's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 Sterne
Diese Buchreihe enthält einfach überhaupt keine Überraschungen. Der Schreibstil ist flüssig, die Figuren eher blass, aber wenn man einfach nur eine Geschichte sucht, in der man sich für ein paar Stunden verlieren kann, kann man sich die Bücher mal geben.
Diese Buchreihe enthält einfach überhaupt keine Überraschungen. Der Schreibstil ist flüssig, die Figuren eher blass, aber wenn man einfach nur eine Geschichte sucht, in der man sich für ein paar Stunden verlieren kann, kann man sich die Bücher mal geben.