The second volume of this series is as convincing as the first with a captivating story that is transmitted through a pleasant writing style. Once in your hand, do not put the book aside until you have finished reading it.

Courting Darkness is the second book in the Magesmith series by L.R. Braden. I do recommend reading this series in order to best understand the character and world building.

The paranatural community isn’t done with Alex. She’s been summoned to the fae court, and she's got her hands full trying to prepare. But her date with the fae will have to wait. There’s been a death at the gallery, and the man she hoped would be a part of her future is the prime suspect. Bitter enemies pull her into the middle of a paranatural war for territory that has her dodging police, swords, teeth, and claws—not to mention the truth. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and the less certain she is about the innocence of the one man she wanted to trust. She thought she was done with murder and monsters, but she’ll have to enter the belly of the beast if she hopes to save her friend.

Courting Darkness is a good continuation of the series. It did take me a little while to settle back into Alex's world and remember where we left off, but that is normal in urban fantasy for me. I enjoyed the continued character development for Alex and those closest to her. I thought the newly introduced characters were very well done and helped the story move along and set up plot points for the future rather than feeling like extras tossed in. I thought Alex's struggles to balance wants, needs, safety, and friendship was on point and well handled. The danger was high, but the emotional stakes felt just as high and the physical. I will say that I thought this book would deal more with the fae court than it did, but I enjoyed being surprised a bit with this detour. However, that also made the story feel almost like a side quest. I am eager to read the story arch that I was more expecting- as this book does add some interesting possibilities for complications in the upcoming books. I will definately be continuing this series because I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Courting Darkness is a thoughtful continuation to the series. I think fans of the first book and the genre will really enjoy it.

This is a great sequel to A Drop of Magic, book on in the Magicsmith series. Alex is dealing with more questions as she learns more about her fae heritage and has to deal with a murder where someone close to her is the main suspect. I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to more of Alex's adventures.

#CourtingDarkness #NetGalley

*I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley*

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.

In merely a month Alex’s quiet, solitary lifestyle has been completely eclipsed by the Fae who now share her home; the revelation that she is one of them courtesy of her blood heritage and oh, yes, werewolves are real!

Meanwhile, James her friend/boyfriend has started canceling dates and Alex begins to realise how little she actually knows about his life when she discovers that he canceled their last date because he was being questioned for murder...

Add in the return of some nasty ‘business rivals’ of James’ and Alex’s upcoming visit to her ‘Grandfather’ and her ongoing wellbeing becomes uncertain.

A fast paced story that builds on the first title in the series, with some secrets revealed, this thrilling read required me to start and finish it in one sitting.

Alex is busy preparing for her upcoming appearance at the fae court. Kai is still there as her teacher, and Chase is spending more time in his more human form around her. Alex and James are dating, but he is cancelling a lot of their dates, and is being very mysterious. Alex is pulled into paranormal fights once again when people start disappearing around James.

There is constant action, and while Alex has developed some skills of her own, she is still sadly outmatched by pretty much everybody around her. Luckily, she has some pretty powerful beings on her side, willing to put up with her smart mouth.

I liked it when James turned out to be not-human, because it explained much of his previous behaviour, and makes him a more suitable potential partner for Alex. I still didn’t really feel the love between Alex and James. In this story Alex expressed more of her ambivalent feelings towards James, and the two of them went to extraordinary lengths to save each other. Maybe it was because we only see the story from Alex’s viewpoint, so we are only privy to her thoughts and her interpretations of James’s actions.

In some instances it was a bit annoying to just have Alex’s viewpoint on the story, especially the fighting scenes. Because she is the weakest, she often gets sidelined during the physical fights and usually only wakes up later after all has been said and done. And then her partners in crime don’t want her to know the details of the aftermath, so they keep it to themselves, which means the reader also doesn’t know what happened exactly.
I did enjoy the story overall, and would love to read the next installment.

I also posted this review on Goodreads.

Courting Darkness by L.R. Braden a sequel to A Drop of Magic. This book immediately picks up where the previous one ends and the writing is still great! Alex is Dating James but is James all that he seems? Questions and Secrets come out of the shadows and I still love this series.

This book started slow with Alex prepping for her trip to the fae court. Once the book picks up thought we have murder, a new fae teacher, a new shifter, James's secret, and a dangerous vampire nest.

Overall, I enjoyed the action and can't wait to see how her time in the fae court goes.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.*

2nd book in the series and definitely a good one! This would easily convert well into a TV series as the characters have such great relationship dynamics, you get equal character time, and the story is till evolving. I am looking forward to what is next!

The paranatural community isn’t done with Alex, she’s been summoned to the fae court so she has hands full trying to prepare. But her date with the fae will have to wait. There’s a death at the gallery and James is the prime suspect and bitter enemies pull into a paranatural war for territory that has her dodging police, swords, teeth and claws – not to mention the truth.

Alex is once again caught up in things that she had no clue about in this riveting and exhilarating read. The fascinating alter earth world continues with non-stop thrills, adrenaline pumping action and breath stealing suspense that keeps readers on the edge throughout. With surprising twists, magical battles, plenty of opposition and a spirited and determined Alex whose loyalty can’t be questioned this story has it all including all the turbulent emotions that come with all the excitement that seems determined to turn her life upside down.

The fast paced plots has Alex training and learning how to navigate the fae courts with help from Kai but also from a new fae player that causes a bit of frustration and angst. Then the PTF is gung ho to catch Alex and her fae friends, and Alex learns the big secret that her would be boyfriend has been keeping has put her right smack in a deadly and dangerous grab for territory and a game changing magical artifact. Once this book is begun, readers can’t tear their eyes away as they become one hundred percent immersed in all the excitement of Alex’s life.

Courting Darkness is the second book in the Magicsmith Series. I really enjoyed the first book so I was excited to read this one and it didn’t disappoint. After finding out she is half-fae and a descendant of fae royalty, Alex must now make an appearance at court. Kai is trying to prepare her but she is not a good student. James has not been the best boyfriend and has missed a lot of dates. A woman is found dead in his apartment and he has been accused of murder and drug dealing. Alex doesn’t have time to process all that because she is inundated with fae visitors and her upcoming fae court date is a lot of pressure. Her newly turned werewolf friend talks her into a night on the town and Alex falls prey to the cities demons while the PTF (preternatural task force) has her under surveillance. She has to prepare for court but also stay under the radar of the PTF and help her friends get out of some sticky situations. Alex is growing stronger with each day, thank goodness for fast fae healing or she’d be in trouble. She could stand to be less rude to the ones who are trying to help her. She also makes some really stupid mistakes and drags her friends into some pretty dangerous situations but I still liked the story.. I really liked this and am looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Alex is learning about her mixed heritage and the powers that her fae blood bring. There’s also plenty of danger. Alex risks all to save a friend who rescued her. Then she has to save another. Like I said, there’s plenty of danger and she seems to be in the mix of it all. I enjoyed meeting the various supernatural beings and look forward to joining Alex in her world again soon. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Some spoilers below for the first book in the series.

Alex is a halfling, half-fae in a word where the humans and the fae have just brokered an uneasy peace after a brutal war. She has found out that she is related to one of the Fae Lords and has been summoned to Court to make her curtsey (as it were) where she will be quizzed on fae life and possibly challenged by rival fae. Oh, and added to which she and her friend Sophie were attacked by a werewolf and Sophie is now a werewolf being cared for by the local pack.

I thought all of the above was enough plot for the second book, but no, Alex's sort-of boyfriend Simon has been accused of murdering a young woman in his art gallery and we are suddenly drawn into yet another group of non-humans.

I'll be honest I found all of the different characters a bit confusing - Alex seems to have befriended a member of every single fae species, most of whom hang around her cottage on a regular basis but none really have enough personality to distinguish them from each other.

Alex did have a touch of the TSTLs, when your BFF who has just turned into a werewolf and can't be allowed out unsupervised calls out of the blue and invites you to go clubbing do you think that's normal? If she says her alpha says it's fine do you believe her? Alex does! Also she is consistently rude to the fae sent to teach her what she needs to know about her grandfather's court. Granted Hortense is a snooty entitled woman but does Alex have to behave like a petulant child?

Overall, once the story came together it had all the drama and action that could be required but it felt like too many characters have been introduced too fast and we just need to consolidate the characters and their relationships a bit more.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The paranatural community isn’t done with Alex. She’s been summoned to the fae court, and she's got her hands full trying to prepare. But her date with the fae will have to wait. There’s been a death at the gallery, and the man she hoped would be a part of her future is the prime suspect. Bitter enemies pull her into the middle of a paranatural war for territory that has her dodging police, swords, teeth, and claws—not to mention the truth. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers, and the less certain she is about the innocence of the one man she wanted to trust. She thought she was done with murder and monsters, but she’ll have to enter the belly of the beast if she hopes to save her friend.
This was a pretty good read. I didn’t realize this was a sequel to another book, but it didn’t really deter from the story. I enjoyed the fresh new world this author created as I followed Alex through her own newly discovered life. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

I really liked this book. It was a good sequel to A Drop of Magic. It has lots of action and the characters all work together well to beat the bad guy. It is one of those urban fantasy books that has the epic battles but also quality relationships between characters. Recommend it.

While I like the world and the story, unfortunately I don't love the mc. She is willfully blind and it's driving me crazy. I want to like her, and at times I do, because she can be smart and strong, but she is too old and has seen too much to do the stupid stuff she does. And whi,e I know some of it is to further the plot, find another way for it to happen! I will give this series one more shot, Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

I really liked this book. It's well written, engrossing and entertaining.
I liked the plot, well crafted and sometimes creepy, the interesting world building and the fleshed out cast of characters.
I look forward to reading other books in this series.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Having recently discovered she is half fae, a whole new world has opened up to Alex. Her grandfather is requesting her presence at the fae court, which she wants no part of. Unfortunately, Alex has no choice but to attend so now she is basically being tutored on all things fae. As if she doesn't have enough on her plate, Alex is having boyfriend troubles.

When Alex's boyfriend, James', enemy, Marek, kidnaps her to get back at him, Alex finds herself in a world of hurt. James comes to the rescue, but soon finds himself switching places with Alex as Marek's hostage. Although things are uncertain between Alex and James, she is not about to leave him behind.

COURTING DARKNESS is the second installment in author L.R. Braden's MAGICSMITH series. It didn't take long for me to lose myself in it's compelling storyline. Taking up pretty much where book one, A DROP OF MAGIC, left off, COURTING DARKNESS takes the reader on an exciting adventure. Alex is having fae info hurriedly crammed down her throat for her upcoming presentation at court. On top of that, she's dealing with her new relationship with James and discovering that he's a vampire. Forget James, LOL, I cannot wait to see more of Galen. New characters are introduced that are integral to the plot. Urban fantasy fans are sure to enjoy Alex and her motley crew's escapades.

Courting Darkness is the second installment in author L.R. Braden's The Magicsmith series. The story picks up where A Drop of Magic left off. Protagonist Alex Blackwood is a metalsmith whose works are often inspired by the mood that she is in thanks to her magic. Oh, yes, she's also part fae, but without all the worry about metals burning her like full blooded Fae. Alex's Grandfather gave her a magical boost to her powers, but it also marked her as kin. To make matters worse, she's been summoned to the Court of Enchantment which meets in only a few short weeks!


That means it's time for Alex's life to be turned upside down by Faerie protocol lessons, as well as unwanted guests like Hortense who don't believe Alex has any hope of surviving her visit. Thanks to her roommate and protector Kai, Alex is getting the hang of Fae politics, but she is no where near ready for having everyone in Faerie test her. But, before we get there, Alex first has to deal with her supposed beau, James, and his issues which include being accused of murder and an arrival of a lunatic Vampire Master who intends to bring upheaval to Colorado.

Alex learns that James nemesis, Merak, is in town making his life a living hell. To make matters worse, this antagonist knows that James has feelings for Alex, and he will use her to take down James as well as making Alex's life a living hell. Alex has other worries as well. The ever present Paranatural Task Force, especially Agent O'Connell, is keeping a close eye on Alex as well as Kai. He doesn't trust her...at all. She knows that if it is exposed that she's a hybrid, she will be sent to the Fae reservation.

To matters even more twisted, there's a new governor of Colorado who belongs to a racist group known as Purity. Purity preaches the wholesale eradication of magical beings like Alex and her friends James, Kai, Marc, Kayla, Sarah, Jynx, and Chase. Alex needs to be very careful drawing the wrong kind of attention to her or she won't have to worry about getting read to visit Faerie. My worry is that someone close to Alex, maybe a co-worker, will be the one to spill the beans. But, we shall see! I also worry that this series will drag on past the third installment before Alex ends up in Faerie, but again, we shall see!

A good continuation.

Alex is thrust deeper into the paranormal world. New species and characters are introduced, and we learn a lot more about the fae.

I enjoyed Alex's struggle of reconciling her new paranormal life and friends with her old human normal one. The further she's pushed into the new world, the more she loses from her old. And the secrets keep piling up.

I did not like her boyfriend's secrets, once they were unveiled. I really really hate that cliche. (Not going into detail to avoid spoilers.) But I did appreciate that Alex had appropriate reservations about continuing the relationship for those reasons too. Her reactions felt realistic and logical.

This book had a lot of new ideas and content that kept it as fresh and interesting as the first. It was a great continuation.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book offers a world of action, magic and pain. Alex faces all of them. Always managing to come out alive if battered. What an amazing and often brutal world this author has created. I often got chilled reading the descriptions of events. The initial meeting with Merak and his "throne of bones" will most likely feature in my dreams . Well written, intense and twisted this is a book you will remember.