Review - Blackheart Knights by Laure Eve

 

 

 Title: Blackheart Knights

Author: Laure Eve

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books

Release Date: 27th April 2021

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 Power always wins.

Imagine Camelot but in Gotham: a city where knights are the celebrities of the day, riding on motorbikes instead of horses and competing in televised fights for fame and money.

Imagine a city where a young, magic-touched bastard astonishes everyone by becoming king - albeit with extreme reluctance - and a girl with a secret past trains to become a knight for the sole purpose of vengeance.

Imagine a city where magic is illegal but everywhere, in its underground bars, its back-alley soothsayers - and in the people who have to hide what they are for fear of being tattooed and persecuted.

Imagine a city where electricity is money, power the only game worth playing, and violence the most fervently worshipped religion.

Welcome to a dark, chaotic, alluring place with a tumultuous history, where dreams come true if you want them hard enough - and are prepared to do some very, very bad things to get them . . .

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Waterstones | Bookshop

 

 

 

My Review:

 *I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Jo Fletcher Books*

It’s London, but not as we know it.

This is a London that has knights that ride on motorbikes and fight in arenas to end disputes.

This London has citizens with illegal magic and a reluctant young king.

This is a London with a young woman willing to do anything to become a knight in order to get revenge.

Welcome to the London of the Blackheart Knights.

Going into this novel, I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy it as I had mixed feelings about another book I’ve read by the same author. However, I liked the premise and so decided to give it a chance.

Art and Red were both interesting protagonists who were similar in some ways but also very different. I liked finding out more about them, but I’m left feeling that I still don’t know Art very well, despite half the book being about him. I also don’t feel that I fully connected with either of them.

The setting was interesting but there could have been more focus on world-building as I’m left with a lot of questions about the world of Blackheart Knights. For example, I would have liked a bit more detail about how Art ruled day-to-day and how the bikes worked.

I liked the idea of knights on motorbikes going around fighting as representatives for other people, and I thought the magic was interesting.

The theme of power was interesting, as was seeing how far Red was willing to go to get her revenge.

The plot was mixed for me. I did enjoy it, but I also got a bit bored once or twice towards the end of the book. There were some things I saw coming, but also some that I didn’t.

It took a while for me to get into the book, which I think was mostly to do with the writing style, which was not one of my favourites.

I really liked the premise for the novel, but for me, it didn’t quite live up to its potential. However, I can see a lot of other people loving this.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.