Review: Cold Burn of Magic (Black Blade #1) by Jennifer Estep

Title: Cold Burn of Magic

Series: Black Blade #1

Author: Jennifer Estep

Genre: YA, urban fantasy

Publication date: April 2015

Published by: Kensington

Source: From publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis:

There Be Monsters Here...

It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America." Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power.

I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick.

But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend's pawn shop, and I have to make a call--get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn't. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I'm stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I'm going to end up just like her...

My rating: ★★★★★
So, I'll admit that at first I was a bit hesitant about this book. Don't get me wrong, I love Jennifer Estep's other books--Mythos Academy is one of my favorite series! But I think the thing that may have put me off a little was the whole mobster, "Families" thing. I am pretty sure this stemmed from the season nine episode on Supernatural called Bloodlines, which was actually very similar to this. That episode sounded very interesting--a town ran by "Families" of monsters, shifters, werewolves, all sorts of creatures previously seen on the show. Anyway, this episode left much to be desired. Loving Supernatural as much as I do, this was a total disappointment.

At the time I didn't know this episode was this sort of pilot that was supposed to lead into a Supernatural spin-off series called Bloodlines, but I can see why that ended up not happening.

So that's why I was just the tiniest bit hesitant with the whole mob thing--I hadn't had a great experience with it in the past. But I should've known better, Cold Burn of Magic was absolutely amazing! I mean, hello! This is Jennifer Estep! After delving into three of her series (Mythos Academy, Elemental Assassin, and this one), I am convinced anything she writes will be pure gold!

So, like in the Supernatural, as I was previously describing, in Cold Burn of Magic we have this "magical" town that is run by mobster Families that are actually magical, each wielding different and amazing supernatural abilities (called Talents). Unlike the Bloodlines though, this story was very intriguing and very well done!

We have Lila, who actually has some pretty awesome powers herself, but she herself was never a fan of any of the Families. And then, one day, she saves the life of this boy who just happens to be the son of the head of one of the most powerful Families in the town! Not given much choice, she later becomes the bodyguard of said boy, Devon, because apparently someone seems to be after him. Luckily for him, Lila is extremely good at her job, but the more time she spends with Devon, the more she seems to be falling for him. Trouble follows Devon at every turn, but can Lila's badass skills and Talents keep both her and Devon alive? Or will she end up just like her mother?

First of all, Lila has awesome powers! I always love how in all of Jennifer Estep's books there is always really cool supernatural abilities! And Lila herself--loved her! She is a strong female lead who can really kick ass! Always love that in a main character! And Devon... *swoon* Really loved him as well! There were just many great characters in this book that Lila never thought she'd be friends with in a million years.

Cold Burn of Magic had a lot of emotion and was packed full of action, just how I like it! I did, however, figure out who the Big Bad was ahead of time =/ But overall, I really loved it! This world was just so amazing and interesting! Oh! Which reminds me, there was actually a shout out to all her other series:

"We moved around a lot during the fall and winter. Ashland, Bigtime, Cypress Mountain." -Lila

That's where the Elemental Assassin series (which I read after finishing this book), Bigtime series (actually haven't read this one yet), and the Mythos Academy series take place! SO cool! It kinda makes me wonder if they all coexist in one same universe... Hmm...

Anyway, I really can't wait to come back to this world and read more of this brand new, amazing series!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! :)