Title: Cold Burn of Magic
Author: Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Kenginston Books
Number of Pages: 368
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Young Adult
Source: My Copy
Blurb:
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. .
Review:
I adored this book. It's the first Urban Fantasy I've read in a super long time and Jennifer Estep did not disappoint. A Cold Burn of Magic is full of action and mystery and you just never know what will happen next. I loved the world building, although to me it was awfully similar to the world found in the Elemental Assassin books. I kept expecting Gin or Finn to pop out any minute! That was really the only flaw, if you could call it that in the whole book.
I enjoyed that while Lila is stubborn, she slowly grows and can see reason-I hate it when characters are too stubborn for their own good. I also found myself torn between loving and hating the love interest in the book-Devon. I just didn't understand what Lila saw in him or why everyone loved him so much...but this is Urban Fantasy and romance is always secondary and slow to build, so I can't wait to see how it plays out!
All in all Estep has created another fantastical world that I can't wait to lose myself in. I can't wait for the next book.
