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Dragon Born mage Sera Dering was sentenced to death before she was even born. Condemned as an abomination by the world’s supernatural council, she has escaped her fate for twenty-four years by pretending to be human.

Until now.

When the council finds out Sera has been hiding her magic, they’re determined to find out why. They send her to New York City to compete in the Magic Games, a series of trials designed to break a mage’s mind and crack her secrets.

And the fighting pit is only one of her worries. An old enemy is stalking Sera from the shadows, preparing to make his next move. To survive the week, Sera has to trust dragon shifter Kai, the world’s most powerful mage—even knowing he has his own plans for her.

Magic Games is the second book in the Dragon Born Serafina urban fantasy series.

The Dragon Born Series The Dragon Born Serafina and Dragon Born Alexandria sister series can be read independently or together. Suggested reading order: Mercenary Magic (Dragon Born Serafina, Book 1) Magic Edge (Dragon Born Alexandria, Book 1) Magic Games (Dragon Born Serafina, Book 2) Blood Magic (Dragon Born Alexandria, Book 2) ~ coming soon! And more books coming later...

318 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2015

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533 people want to read

About the author

Ella Summers

66 books1,426 followers
Ella Summers has been writing stories for as long as she could read; she's been coming up with tall tales even longer than that. One of her early year masterpieces was a story about a pigtailed princess and her dragon sidekick. Nowadays, she still writes fantasy. She likes books with layered plots, lots of action and adventure, and a touch of romance. When she is not busy writing or spending time with her two young children, she makes the world safe by fighting robots.

Originally from the U.S., Ella currently resides in Switzerland. She is the author of Sorcery and Science, a fantasy adventure series set in a world splintered by magic and technology.

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5 stars
1,303 (39%)
4 stars
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3 stars
610 (18%)
2 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
Profile Image for Angela (Angel's Book Nook).
1,672 reviews972 followers
June 13, 2019
Magic Games is book two in the Dragon Born Serafina series by Ella Summers.

I like the concept of the powerful Dragon Born. I just wish more was explained on what they are and can do. Why are they put to death? etc…

We get a few twits and surprises in Magic Games, but I feel the story isn't progressing enough. It could be; because I'm not reading the Dragon Born Alexandria alongside this one. The series co-inside.

Magic Games is a little more fast-paced then Mercenary Magic. Here we focus on the magic games which are a sequence of battles designed to crack a mage, but we don’t get an explanation of what it’s designed to crack. Her mind? Her magic? What?

Kai and Sera are not yet in a relationship, but it’s heading that way. By the end they are together. He’s helping her out and waiting for her to share her secret. I liked that Sera has a talk with her sister Alex. It gives you a little insight into what’s going on inside Sera’s mind. Then we have the ever impending secret and will it come out. It’s still safe; except from an ancient mage and his gang of bad guys.

I will say that this series reminds me of her Legion of Angels series, but instead of Angel’s we get magic and mages.

Magic Games was a fun read. I enjoyed and now onto the next.

Rated: 3.5 Stars

angelsgp-seethisreview-blure
Profile Image for Rose.
61 reviews
September 21, 2016
I really like the concept behind this series, which focuses on mercenary Sera Dering, hiding her true heritage as one of the powerful Dragon Born. But the Magic Games had really little to keep me invested in the story.
When I read the first book the thing I loved most about it was the unique worldspace that Summers' created, where mediating supernatural was commonplace in the streets of San Francisco. But this instalment although more fast-paced that the Mercenary Magic, had very little development of the world and the characters.
The plot lacks subtlety with fights that don't progress the story and main characters that lack depth. Because of this, I didn't really feel devoted to what was happening and I barely flinched when a character was hurt.

But that being said, I still think this book series has a lot of potential I mean vampires attack in high-end clothing shops and Sera's boyfriend is a powerful CEO, who can turn into a dragon! But I also think that I would have liked it a lot more if characters and their world was expanded upon, so that the reader doesn't have to suddenly jump from one scene to the next.

Nonetheless,a decent read that combines the best parts of romance and paranormals.
Profile Image for Graylark.
1,020 reviews42 followers
April 14, 2018
Still a good read.

Small peeves:
- Why bother fading to black for sex scenes when there’s plenty of innuendo and sexual tension before and after? It’s also weird that decapitation and gore is ok for the presumably YA audience the author is attempting to include, but sex is not.
- It’s “ogling him”, not “ogling at him”. The “ogling at” phrase was repeated so many times in this book as well as the next one that I’m reading now that I’ve started cringing every time I see it.
- It would have been nice if the author explained what, exactly was supposed to be cracked in the heroine early on. Her will? Her mind? Her control over her magic? Reading over and over about how she was going to be cracked by the Games was frustrating as it wasn't explained what exactly was to be cracked about her. I think a brief explanatory phrase only came near the end or in the next book.
Profile Image for Mo.
350 reviews25 followers
December 24, 2015
This book is definitely an improvement over book one in terms of pace. Again, I'm not liking Sera. I'm glad there was a conversation between her and Alex when she was experiencing doubts about her feelings for Kai. The Magic Games aren't exciting for me so far. Finn makes me laugh (not good in a villian).

(12/24/15) Alden IS an interesting character. I want to know more about his motivations other than delusions of grandeur. The Kai/Sera consummation was anticlimactic. I expected a little bit more than ehhhh, let's go. Naomi & Riley together would be an interesting pairing. I'm not sure when book 3 is coming out. I'm also not sure I'm going to return to this series.
Overall, it's a fairly decent read. I wanted to fall in love with this world, but didn't. Sera is a major stumbling block for me. Had I been invested in her character, I would be more enthusiastic. As it is, I'm not. Happy reading!
Profile Image for C.S. Wilde.
Author 18 books108 followers
June 22, 2016
A fantastic sequel to Mercenary Magic, Magic Games takes us on a wild ride through Sera's new challenges. Filled with loads of Kai+ Sera scenes (yay!) and the kick-ass action expected from this series, Magic Games delivers so much and more. Reading this book on the edge of my seat kind of paints the right picture.
I'm absolutely loving where this story is going and can't wait to read the third installment!
618 reviews16 followers
December 4, 2015
Serafina is Dragon Born; something that carries an automatic death sentence as the Magic Council has declared that these very powerful individuals are an abomination. So she and her twin sister, both working as mercenaries, have kept their magic hidden. But in order to save lives, she had to use a great deal of it and now she must be tested, as every other mage does, in the Magic Games where what she could be exposed and put her brother and sister at risk. To make matters more awkward she and Kai, a powerful dragon shifter who is on the Magic Council, are attracted to each other and he’s coaching her for her tests.

I find it cool that the twin sisters each have their own series and yet what takes place in each affects the other. You get plenty of action, sexual tension, a romance and a mystery. Sera is definitely a kick butt, sarcastic and strong-willed heroine who is also very vulnerable when it comes to a relationship and her belief in controlling her magic.

There is a small similarity to Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series in that each of the twins works for a mercenary guild and fights monsters with a sword in a world with a lot of magic. That’s pretty much where the similarities end as even though there are shifters and vampires, using magic is much bigger in this world.

I’m enjoying the series and like Kai more in this second book.
Profile Image for Ms. Cyn.
1,544 reviews
June 3, 2017
Predicted

Some important things occur this time around and I predicted some of them but not all. The sex scene was a tease so not a lot of detail, but learning about the voice in Sera's head was very interesting. A few things were a shock which is always nice. I think the only thing I would like to know more about is her sister.
795 reviews4 followers
December 22, 2015
Too short I want more

Serafina is still trying to hide the fact she is Dragon born. In the meantime Kai and Serafina are getting closer to one another. It is an exciting fast read, I am looking forward to the next book.
Profile Image for Book Chomper.
147 reviews23 followers
June 22, 2020
I'm a sucker for characters who have to fight gladiatorial style games - especially when magic is in the mix and someone more powerful is rigging the bouts.
Plenty of action, tension, a few laughs and the romance is still more of a tease than a reality.

Again, this author does not seem to be taking herself too seriously, and I was in serious need of a light escapist read, so this hit my sweet spot. The books are a little like candy floss though - not very filling. They do need more substance, the book is short, and am not sure if I am really getting much bang for my buck.
Profile Image for Deborah.
285 reviews5 followers
December 30, 2021
Sera is definitely my favorite twin. The plot was a lot better and more flushed out than the last book. There are moments of unnecessary conversations that could be cut down (a lot of conversations tend to be very circular with Sera's sass), but otherwise I enjoyed the book.
Overall
Plot: 3 stars
World building: 3 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Profile Image for Mariana.
67 reviews15 followers
August 26, 2017
I decided to end this story with this book. I really liked Kai and even Sera, but the story itself didn't get any reactions from me. It seemed super similar to the Angel books of Ella, but instead of angels this one was about magic and mages....
Profile Image for John Piper.
1,055 reviews18 followers
June 7, 2016
This series reminds me a lot of the Kate Daniels series. Sera is a great character, and I like how the author has written a series for her sister Alex and now for her partner in crime Naomi! I can't wait to see where the series goes!
Profile Image for Paula Genereau.
3,077 reviews39 followers
July 20, 2016
Serafina still keeps being a dragon a secret. In the meantime her and Kai become closer.

Such a good fast read. Can't wait to start book 3
Profile Image for Megan.
3,608 reviews45 followers
March 24, 2017
So I'm trying to read these books in a somewhat order. This can be found on Ella Summer's website under Dragon born (Its towards the bottom of the webpage), for my sake I'm going to include this intro from now on with Ella's books for this series (Although maybe this would be worth the books being linked on Goodreads...) I'm also just for the sake of too long a review hiding it under spoiler tags.

Ella's website for anyone that wants it

Nice book, I was on the edge of my seat hoping they wouldn't find out her secret.
I'm looking forward to the next one.
36 reviews
August 23, 2021
First book was also not that great, but still it got me curious for the next book. But unfortunately it didn’t improve. It’s not bad, but there are multiple things why it doesn’t work for. The magic is all over the place for me, there are monsters, hybrids, fairies, mages, vampires etc. I feel like it’s everywhere and then apparently there are also just humans. It’s a bit chaotic for me.
I just don’t really feel it between the hero and heroine. They’re nice together, although their conversations are always similar (she’s being smart all the time and he responds to that - so it does get boring).

Then the story. The idea of the trials was nice. But for me the first (and easiest one) was the most exciting. The ones after that which were supposed to be more difficult went quite easy.
And this supermage that appears, it was a bit too much. Although I do get that you need a strong adversary, aa the Heroine is also supposed to be very strong and hard to defeat. But maybe if everything was just a bit toned down it would be more believable.

I might pick it up again in the future as it’s a quick read and I do love the legions of angels series by the same writer. But for now I’m not going to read further
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Theresa.
4,112 reviews16 followers
April 8, 2022
Back to Sera, now in NYC. The council has discovered she has magic and have insisted she test her powers at the Magic Games. Kai is sponsoring and training her, but she’s determined to win without using her magic to keep them from discovering what she is. Not easy when she’s falling for Kai who’s on the council, plus worry about blood-orb controlled vampires from Europe and that Kai’s cousin, Finn and her former co-worker, Cutler are both stalking her.

Exciting, well-thought-out story with refreshing, charming humor. Couple of questions though. Why was Kai at a different location when he was supposed to be waiting for Sera to come out of the locker room? And shouldn’t Kai be ‘tapping’ info into his phone instead of ‘swiping’?

Footnote: 1) I like having the story arc split between two characters at different locations in the same time frame in two different series. It’s interesting and it works.

Fave scenes: Sera giving Kai a tissue, the head guard’s bet, Sera’s phone exploding and Sera telling Dal to use the extinguisher.

Profile Image for EmmaMay.
211 reviews5 followers
June 19, 2017
On the whole this was a cute read - the games and Sera's bouts are fun and interesting. Her increasing / undeniable attraction to Kai is simmering along nicely. There appear to an array of worthy bad guys circling (though it's never really explained why Finn is continuing to be obsessed with Sera)
I did have a couple of niggly issues with this read - if Sera said it once she said it a hundred times - that the Games Master wishes to crack her open - this got a little boring. Yes, you're in the Games, no way out, quit the whining and get on with it already.
And my second problem - Sera and Kai do the deed - but the author didn't write the scene - just told us that it happened - I'm sorry but that's a complete cop-out. This is a pnr - and the r stands for romance - so write the damn sex scene already.
So this was an okay read - but it could have... should have been a five star read.
Profile Image for Spinneretta.
2,853 reviews20 followers
August 30, 2021
Good

Book three of the compiled dragon born series, and book two of Sera’s story, finds Sera in New York and ready to undergo the magic trials.
Between fighting in the trials, Sera finds herself (and her dragon shifting beau Kai) fighting vampires, who are under the control of the blood orb. If that isn’t enough, she seems to have picked up a stalker…
Sera and Kai will have to work together and fight against the odds to find out just who is behind it all.

Another great addition to the series, with plenty of pulse pounding action, and magic trials destined to drive our heroine to her limits.
It’s all good though, Sera learns a lot more about herself, and her relationship with Kai makes some huge progress in this engaging urban fantasy series.

Recommended for those who love magical adventures with a hint of romance.
500 reviews8 followers
September 1, 2017
Dragon Born #3, Serafina,#2

Hard to get entirely accurate when a book is simultaneously #3 and #2 in two related series, but it was NOT hard to enjoy reading this book. Serafina is a hard headed, independent, wise cracking, monster killing, magical woman, and as might be imagined, gets into crazy situations. The only thing that I did not like in the book is that the ancient menace seemed to pop out of nowhere, without an introduction. That, though, is a minor quibble.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AS BOTH AN INDIVIDUAL BOOK AND AS A SERIES!!
Profile Image for Deb Barringer.
590 reviews4 followers
November 6, 2018
Magic Games is the best Dragon Born book yet! Full of magic and mayhem, it will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The magic games really test Sera's ability to best her opponents while keeping her Dragon Born secret safe. The storyline remains fast-paced and unique, filled with twists and turns, danger, intrigue and romance. The characters are well developed and endearing. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series brings!
Profile Image for Dallass.
2,233 reviews
February 29, 2020
Shades of Magic Strikes.

Okay, it’s late at night but I had to finish this. Thankfully it’s not long,although it managed to pack in a lot of action and furthered the ongoing plot quite a bit, so... yah? The characters are becoming more settled, and there is one character in particular that has been hiding a secret that I didn’t see coming.

If you like the Kate Daniels series, or the Hidden Legacy trilogy by Ilona Andrews, then I think you’ll enjoy this.

3.5 stars ⭐️
Profile Image for Alastar.
510 reviews
August 17, 2018
Ehh

I found parts of this book either hard to read or just plain annoying. Listening to her whine about why she can't love anyone or that she is an abomination. After awhile you just get sock of hearing it. Of course this seems to be the authors way of writing because I have encountered it in other books of hers I have read. I may or may not read the next one.
Profile Image for Colourful Kenyan.
355 reviews20 followers
January 29, 2019
I loved seeing the battle of wits in this book and the general way that the the book was heading.It was like a roller coaster of emotions. every minute into the pages the more I thoroughly enjoyed the events and loved it.Their relationship was growing and I liked that. Sera felt too stubborn for my taste.
Profile Image for Bookaholic.abby.
214 reviews8 followers
May 17, 2022
Really annoying banter between the main character and the love interest. Just sounds like two immature teenagers talking to each other even though the characters are supposed to be adults. Couldn't get through a couple of pages without cringing at the dialogs.

This book has terrible descriptions of the settings and kind of feels like you're in a blank space all of the time.
Profile Image for Barbara Sykeshaha.
98 reviews2 followers
December 31, 2017
Loved this book. Bring on the next please.

There hasn't been a single book written by Ella Summers that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. Do read the books in the order Ms Summers recommends. Ladies who are strong with a sense of humor, dashes of romance strung here and there.
Profile Image for Dawn Gee.
2,985 reviews11 followers
January 14, 2018
Action packed series

Sera is put to the test in the Magic Games, even more so than Kai even expected. Kai comes through for Sera in a big way. There are a couple of twists in the book. Sera i don't know how much longer Sera can keep her secret from Kai.
Profile Image for Britan.
264 reviews7 followers
April 27, 2018
Good book

This book followed sera and Kai as sera fought in the magic games. A few sinister plots were discovered and some interesting things are going to happen in the next book. I will be reading the next book
Profile Image for charles.
240 reviews
June 20, 2020
Survival games

Sera has her hands full defending herself in the Council's games while trying to keep her secrets. Her opponents inside and outside the ring are formidable. She's opening to her magic to survive and ends up with Kai to boot.
171 reviews
July 22, 2020
Am a relative new fan but a solid one now

This writer is just awesomeness. Living the storyline’s and characters that seem to somehow hold a little bit of humanity with realness to the scenarios in a magical world. Great writing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews

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