From the Shelf: The Apprentice (The Black Mage #2)

Title: The Apprentice (The Black Mage #2)

Author: Rachel E. Carter

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Date read: September 16, 2015
Dawn Rates: ★★★★★ (5/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

She survived a trial year at the Academy, but that was just the easy part…

Now sixteen-year-old Ryiah is an apprentice in Combat, her school’s most notorious faction of magic. When she finishes she will be a mage, but in order to do so she has to survive four years with a training master she hates and her old nemesis, Priscilla. To make matters worse the unwanted attraction Ry feels for her sometimes-friend-sometimes-rival Prince Darren is at an all time high –even though he is betrothed to the very girl she can’t stand.

Really, the only bright spot to Ryiah’s new life is the time she spends with her friends, including an older apprentice named Ian, who she finds herself thinking about quite often.

Just when things start to get comfortable they take a turn for the worse. An apprentice is killed in a rebel attack and several mages end up dead. Unwittingly, the apprentices find themselves in the midst of a budding unrest between Jerar and its northern neighbor, Caltoth. For Ryiah the impending conflict means many things, but as her apprenticeship draws to a close she finds her biggest problem at home.

Unfortunately for her, Darren’s not going anywhere.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

Black Mage series: First Year

The adventure continues...

The last cliffhanger was the reason for my conflicted feelings. One was that I was happy Ryiah defied the rules and became the 6th black mage apprentice for that year and other because it ended so soon. It ended tastefully but it was the reason I wanted more. Well, come on....that's why its called a cliffhanger right?

Their second year came in with Ryiah being frenemies with Darren. Darren, the non-heir who was once her love interest and now resigned to being her frenemy due to the fact that he was betrothed to Priscilla. Their year passes by both smoothly and rocky at the same time. There was one part where Ryiah officially got together with Ian (yep, that guy from the solstice ball) who became her friend then her love interest. But even though I know she has feelings for Ian, I can't help thinking of her using him as a way to get back at Darren. I mean, Ian is such a good friend and would do anything for her but her heart was not wholly into it and because of that I wanted to strangle her. Seriously, Ryiah was just using a good person to get back at Darren....someone who isn't sure is for her.

There were many complications in this second novel. Number one is their mentor Byron who has this annoying prejudice against females rising up to their true potential. Really that annoyed me so much I wanted to gather all my powers and blast him to smithereens. Ella and Alex are now in such good terms...amen to that. I loved the battle at Ferren's Keep and love Commander Nyx. I just hope I could see her more in the third book. I also wish that Commander Nyx would kill Darren's older brother...but that is just wishful thinking of course. 

Just when I thought I saw it all in the first book, the second installment in the series hooked me in. There were too many sub-plots and twists that this was an ultimate page turner. I wanted more! Especially because of that cliffhanger. And of course my favorite scene at the end (or was that a chapter?). That was such an amazing twist that it had me grinning all throughout. The Black Mage was such a tease.

My favorite line?

Pine, cloves and cinnamon.

Home.

How could I have forgotten?

Darren was home.

I can't wait for the third book.

Till the next read...