4 ⭐ CW: bullying 

Amari and the Great Game by B.B. Alston is book two in the Supernatural Investigations series. This was a great second book! I'm loving all the world building and the expanding cast of characters. 

We follow up with Amari at the start of summer when she learns her best friend Elsie will be going to school in a different country, so this is their last summer at the Bureau summer camp. The summer isn't off to a great start, but then a time freeze happens at the Supernatural Congress, and the acting Prime Minister is blaming magicians and other Unwanteds. Amari and her friends try to solve the mystery and prove that not all magicians are bad. Meanwhile, Amari also has to deal with the League of Magicians trying to get her to become their leader. 

Amari gets wrapped up in the dangerous Great Game against Dylan Van Helsing in order to win the crown and become the league's leader. All this while still worried about her brother's curse and how other Unwanteds are being treated in the world. This story continues themes on oppression and judging people for just being who they are. There are such strong friendships in this, and it's super heart warming. 

The end had me right on the edge! It's a good thing the third book just came out, because I need to know what happens next. Elsie must be protected at all costs. Also, I want Jayden's ability so bad! 

But when is the third book coming out?! Enjoyed this read aloud with my 11 year old daughter after we soared through the first one. Good plot twists, kept us guessing what would happen next. Awesome world BB Alston has created, can’t wait for more!

Excuse you B.B. Alston but August is REALLY far away and I need this book right now please and thank you. 

Okay but seriously WHAT A SEQUEL! I love Amari and this works so so much. I'm so happy that there will be more to come. 

The ending perfectly set up for book three. And by the way LETS TALK ABOUT THAT ENDING.

When Dillon had his evil memories taken away and he looked at Amari with so much love and clarity only for it to be RIPPED AWAY. I might never recover.

And mind you I was CRYING MY ASS OFF AT

QUINTON. Oh my goodness am I happy that Anari has her big brother back. I'm so excited to see more from him in book three.

I love this series. It is a fun and easy to get into this book. I found that the plot did a really good job of tackling serious topics in a way that a younger audience can understand and relate to. This book in particular the topics racism, having friends move away and feeling alone in the world.
I think these topics are handled well in such a vibrant and exciting universe without taking away from the topics.
Beyond the topic of the book I found the overall story to feel like it has middle book syndrome as it does a lot of setup for the next book's plot. Whilst this is not bac it did feel like there was nothing that was really accomplished in this book. The loses out weighed the wins in this book. 
In saying this I am super excited to read the next book in the series when it comes out.

“At være god er et valg, Amari. Og det er et, du skal træffe igen og igen. Uanset hvor svært det bliver. Uanset hvor fristende det er at lade mørket vinde.”

I had a hard time putting the book down, I was captured by the story and wanted to know what would happend next. I liked the political elements that were added to the story. The story was full of unexpected plottwists I did not see come, and I look forward to read the next book in the series. 

Warning: deportation, racism, bullying, police brutallty, manipulation, hate crime, disown, war, death, torture. 

Advarsel: tvunget udsmidning, racisme, mobning, politi brutalitet, manipulation, hadforbrydelse, slået af hånden, krig, død, tortur.

I devoured this book in about two days. I just couldn’t put it down. The story was exciting and suspenseful. There were a lot of moving parts and I was invested in each one of them. Though I do wish more time was spent on the games. Those scenes went by in a flash. 

I found myself getting frustrated with the characters at some points, but reminded myself that  this is written for a younger audience. Their decisions aren’t meant to match my expectations. 

There were a lot of ending left open here. I’m highly anticipating the next book, but I’m a bit anxious about how everything will wrap up.