The Heartstone Blade

The Dark Ability #2

by D.K. Holmberg

Blacksmith. Thief. Murderer. After killing one of the Elvraeth to save his friends, Rsiran finds a measure of peace, but fears that it will be short lived. When attacked using knives he forged, he is pulled into a struggle that he wants nothing to do with. Worse, friends have secrets they do not share, secrets that could place both he and Jessa in danger. Finding answers sends him Sliding throughout the city and beyond, testing his ability all while trying to understand the secret of the alloy that might be the key to their safety. When someone close to him is harmed, he must discover the extent he will go for his friends, and realizes that he might truly have darkness within him. But that darkness may be all that separates he and his friends from an even greater threat.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, High Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Audiobook, Adventure

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 16, 2016

Reviews

[James Harwood-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

so great

Cursed with an power of the darkest kind. Drawn into a struggle he never wanted to be part of. His mastery of his ability is growing. Woe to those who cross him.
What an incredible find this series has been! An ominous plot full of mystery, magic & politics. Great action & characters. Another 5 star for me.

[Arnaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good second volume

But a bit slower than volume 1 if anything :-) Still enjoyed it a lot, and the character of Rsiran evolves enough that it kept this second opus quite interesting. Still many questions unanswered but I'm hopeful to see them answered in the next few volumes. Great read all around!

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Does Rsiran ever stop holding (and squeezing) Jessa's hand?

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was the same thing that the one before, the diference? out mc know how to move, but he makes interesting discoveries and gets a little scheming in him, then again, skipped the stupid and nonsensical parts, and still managed to understand how it all worked out... seriusly, i expected to have to suffer a lot, instead i just jumped ahead.

[Calum Comrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good carry on to the first book if you liked that worth reading this.

[Belnal · Rating 2 out of 5]

If possible, I would've given 1,5 stars. To say I didn't like it is too much but I don't think it was ok either.

This second book was really annoying. The first book was nice but had some defaults for me. The second had lost the novelty and everything I disliked in the first book is still there.

First, there is a lot of incredibly useless repetitions : between the cats and the girl sniffing her flower, it just kills the rythm and my motivation each time.

Then, the heroes are just impossible to like. Rsiran is always complaining and taking stupid decisions and the rest of the cast are just completely hollow...

Finally, the story feels really uninspired, it sometimes felt like I was reading the first book again. Having the previous enemy alive without good reason felt really as if the author was lacking inspiration for a new antagonist. If at least he was a good villain, it could be ok but he is as hollow as the rest of the cast.

There is some foreshadowing of bigger events at the end but that's far from being enough to convince me to read the next book.

[Timothy Skilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find this a frustrating review to write. Let's start with the good stuff. The author has successfully built an intriguing and unique fantasy world, full of potential. The characters are decent, the plot is good, if a bit predictable. For the most part, no serious problems with spelling. Now the problems. The story is poorly edited. There are some pretty good sections, but they are constantly interrupted by weird phrasings that break the flow and require the reader to go back and carefully parse the material to make sure that he or she understands what is being said. There is also a lot of repetitive re-statement of thoughts or feelings that have already been made clear. There are a few non-sequitur moments and a few story threads that detract from the overall story. While the characters are decent, their motivations are often obscure and even a bit ridiculous. Lastly, the characters don't really evolve much and neither do their relationships.In summary, I like the story, but there are a lot of small flaws that decrease the pleasure of the experience.

[Sabrina Sellers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost as good as the first one. Not quite as finished, leaves you hanging a little, but our blacksmith hero is still going strong and still taking care of his friends. Lest this sounds too mundane for you, there are still some abilities like Sliding (teleportation), mind-reading, seeing into the future, etc. And the ruling elite are still causing problems. There's murder and other dangers, and sailing ships and double-crosses. There's a lot of action. The author is very descriptive, for instance, when our hero Slides to the forest outside the city I can practically smell the pine. I just love this series so far, and I'm looking forward to number 3.

[Pauline Haney Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Ability by D.K. Holmburg

Book # 2 of 7 in the Dark Ability series
In the setting of "The Shadow Accords" I love D. K. Bombings world and characters. This is a great story lots of action, characters with doubts , fear and struggles overcoming overwhelming odds. This is what would be called clean for those that don't care for the more adult content, while being great for young teen readers and adults as well.

[Ryan Mangrum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring. i struggled to finish this book. NOTHING happens for the vast majority of the book. Rsiran goes to his forge, he goes to the bar, he talks to his new girlfriend, he questions and doubts himself. He questions the little conspiracy he found in the last book and how involved his new friends are in that conspiracy and how. He doesn't actually DO anything. Things don't get interesting until the last 10% of the book.

[MGB · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rsiran wrestles a lot with what's going on in his head. The reader will too, as that's the only way to get into the story. The "How does he resolve things" will draw you in. The slog to get there makes you wonder why you bothered. The Dark Abilities have some interesting points, learning and listening to metal and alloys, I don't know - but is essential to the way this story is told.

Story does need a final cleanup pass.

[Connie Fogg-Bouchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

smelting the ore

Rsiran is finding that his friends are not always telling him the truth. in fact, a lot of times they aren't telling him anything at all. with his growing abilities in working the lorcith and Sliding, Rsiran is having to discover most things on his own. well, sometimes. Jesse is there, too. until she is not.

[Suki Rickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2

Book 2 was well done. It worked into the plot and developed the characters more throughout the story. It took longer than what I would have liked, but was overall a fun book to read. On to book 3.

[Philip Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading

Another book in the series enjoyed reading as much as the first one . Off to get the next love kindle unlimited and reading this series will get me past the half way point of this year's good reads reading challenge goal of 120 books.

[Kristie Clarkson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Completely engrossing! I simply couldn't put it down! DO Holmberg is a very talented writer who weaves a spell with his story that compelled to just keep reading and Ben you're finished with one story you're immediately looking for the next!

[Levia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always learning and growing

I like that he's telling those keeping secrets from him that it's enough. Della is more than I imagined and I absolutely can't wait to see where this goes. I expected more of the heartstone given the title, but this was still a good ending.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rsiran is caught up in political games. The royal he thought he had killed might not be dead. And so it goes.
Lots of development for the main character but not so much for the supporting cast. Plenty of action and I enjoyed it as much as the first volume

[Andrew Malczewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

picks up rith where the first left off, the intrigue grows!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one slowed down a bit. But still pretty fun.

[Unbestechlich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where is the boy???

[Godiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as exciting as the first book, but I'm hooked on the story.

[Sebi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is really good. The only problem ist that the maincharacter has the logical abilities of a 5 yo.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

You certainly didn’t disappoint me. This second book was as exciting as the first and now I have ordered the next. Awesome adventure.

[Ryan Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It was a bit slow through the middle of the book, but then it picked up toward the end, and it has me excited to read the rest of the series.

Rating: 8.5/10

[Jill Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

I loved this book even more than the first book and can’t wait to read the third in the series. I love the main character and how his ability increases with each book.

[Cindy Jeffers]

Very good read. Now getting ready to read the 3rd in the Series (The Tower of Venass). If you like Syfy, this series is full of action. The story draws you in - at least, it did me. Enjoy.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series as a whole. Good, clean content and interesting developments to the main character and his group of friends.

[No Name · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is really good. The only problem ist that the maincharacter has the logical abilities of a 5 yo.

[Sally Antoinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great twist to this story!

This just got even more complicated and interesting! All over our smith and his unusual abilities. Now what could possibly go wrong?

[Melissa Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dark Ability #2

I liked the first book it set everyone up and the second book further explained more of the plot. I am waiting eagerly for the next book in the series