Magic Heist
Mary Karlik
(Fairy Trafficking #2)
Published by: Ink Monster LLC
Publication date: July 9th 2019
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Layla rescued fairies that had been kidnapped and brought the human world. But now they can’t find their way back to the magic realm and time is running out.
Layla is a powerful fairy with magical ability that stretches beyond throwing spells. But with all that power, she still doesn’t know how to get over one-hundred fairies back to the magic realm. With their magic gone, the rescued fairies have no immunity to protect them from the toxins of the human world, and they’re slowly dying.
To find the path home, Layla knows she must team up with the one man who can make her insides quiver with an accidental brush of his fingertips. The same man who’s alter ego dragon is the natural predator of fairies. The man she knows will give his life to keep the fairies safe—Scotland’s finest Specialist Crime Division leader, Ian Cameron.
Ian has only been a dragon shifter for a few days. He struggles to control the dragon spirit locked inside his human form, doesn’t know what magical powers he may or may not have, and has never been to a magical world. But none of those things frighten him as much as the little spark that ignites in his soul when the half – human fairy is around.
But this little fairy is no Tinkerbell. She is brave, powerful, and can wield a sword like a medieval knight.
With growing feelings toward Layla, he couldn’t refuse to help her get the fairies back to the magic realm if he wanted to. The problem is the dragon who lives inside him would like nothing more than to feed his appetite with all of those little fairies—especially the half human one who killed its leader.
“Mary Karlik, is truly a hidden gem of a writer.” – I Am the Bookworm

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My Review

Magic Heist picks up where Magic Harvest left off. If you haven't read book one, you may want to do so before trying to tackle book two. Otherwise, a lot of the events may be hard to keep up with. 

Also, my review may be kind of spoiler-y if you haven't read book one. 

***

Layla, Ian, and the others are back to try and help the fairies they rescued get back to the magic realm, especially now that none of them have magic. Unfortunately, finding the portal to get them back home is proving to be difficult. Add in some nasty dragons, as well as a few other not-so-nice characters, and the gang has their work cut out for them. 

Layla is struggling to deal with the fact that fairies are still being trafficked. Ian is struggling with the dragon spirit inside him. And new secrets about Ian's family may just be too much for them to handle.

I thought the sequel was pretty decent. There's a lot more going on in this one, and at times it was a little hard to keep up with. The characters bounce from one location to the next, and it is definitely a bit of a whirlwind. 

I enjoyed the introduction of Hamish and Maeban (I think that's how his name was spelled). They were both two new, intriguing characters, and I hope there's more of them in book three. I am also still holding out hope that we get more backstory on Layla and her human side. Who was her father? Is he still alive? And I'm going to hope for more interesting details about Ian and Layla's new twist to their relationship. I won't spoil this, but Ian can now do something he wasn't able to before, and because he's part dragon, I'm curious to know if that affects Layla in any way.

While I did like the story, it didn't have the same excitement or intensity for me as the first book did. Magic Heist may have been a little darker, but I didn't really connect with it in the same way I did with Magic Harvest. That's probably just me, though. I thought it was a little rushed in some spots, and it just didn't light that spark in me the same way book one did. But I would still recommend it to fans of YA fantasy, and fans of the first book.

I'm giving it 3.5 stars.

Author Bio:
Mary Karlik has always been a dreamer. When she was a teen, she read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and then sat in every wardrobe in her Nanna's home, trying to open the door to Narnia. She didn't find it, but she did discover her voice as an author: one filled with her young adult self, and grounded in her roots as a Texan and her Scottish heritage, nourished by obscure Scottish folklore.

You can find her Texas roots in her YA contemporary romance Hickville series , which has been described as "100% solid storytelling," and begins with Welcome to Hickville High, a "lovely story about growing up."

She digs deep into her Scottish roots - there is magic there, she just knows it - for the forthcoming YA epic fantasy Fairy Trafficking series, beginning with Magic Harvest.

She makes her home in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo mountains of Northern New Mexico where she is a certified professional ski instructor, but she also loves visiting Scotland where she is currently studying Scottish Gaelic at the University of Highlands and Islands in Skye. Mary also earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, has a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University, and is a Registered Nurse.

Mary currently serves as the President of the Young Adult Chapter of Romance Writers of America and looks forward to raising a glass or two of gin and tonic with her fellow writers every year at RWA's national convention.

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