
Magpie Windwitch, granddaughter of the West Wind, is a fierce faerie hunter in a world where the past is all but forgotten. Of all her kindred, she’s the only one defending the legacy of the faeries who ended the Demon Wars twenty-five thousand years ago—including Magpie’s hero, Bellatrix, the champion of the king of the Djinn. For humans have begun to unleash the demons from their bottle prisons, and Magpie is intent on hunting them down.
But when the ancient Blackbringer is released into the world, Magpie knows that she’s onto much more than a normal demon—and that if she can’t catch it, the consequences will be much more dire. She tracks it into the enchanted forest of Dreamdark, a place of dangerous magic and immense power. But as she uncovers more secrets and learns the true nature of the creature she’s hunting, she begins to wonder if there is any hope of keeping the world from unraveling completely—and catching the Blackbringer in time.
Blackbringer is an amazing book. Laini Taylor spins a complex tale which surprised me at every turn, with an intricate, magnificent plot which never seems to slow down. Magpie is a brilliant character who I absolutely love, and her quest is full of nonstop action and long-covered secrets. Not only that, but the world feels completely real and engrossing, in a way which few worlds are. This is a book for fans of the complexity of Seraphina, The Ruby Key, and Shadow and Bone.
Although there wasn’t much violence and no romance, I recommend this book for ages ten and up; there were some things which could be frightening to younger readers, and the plot was complex at a level you usually only get in young adult, to a point which might actually be hard to follow! But older readers may enjoy this book even more than younger ones, simply because of the brilliant multilayered plot. For kids 11+ who love fantasy, brilliant plots, and well-developed worlds, I would highly recommend Blackbringer.