Tori Eldridge

Lily Wong—a Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja—has more trouble than she was bargaining for when controlling grandparents arrive in Los Angeles from Hong Kong at the same time she goes undercover in the dangerous world of youth sex trafficking. As she hunts for a kidnapped prostitution victim, a missing high school girl, and a sociopathic trafficker, the surviving members of a murderous street gang hunt for her. Life would be easier if Lily knew who to trust. But when victims are villains, villains are victims, and even family is plotting against her, easy is not an option. All Lily can do is follow the trail wherever it leads: through a high school campus polarized by racial tension or the secret back rooms of a barber/tattoo/brothel or the soul-crushing stretch of Long Beach Boulevard known as The Blade. She relies on her ninja skills to deceive and infiltrate, rescue and kill—whatever is necessary to free the girls from their literal and figurative slavery. If only those same skills could keep Lily’s conniving grandparents from hijacking her future.

The Ninja's Blade

A dark, gritty sequel about a vigilante killer

 is the second book in this series about a modern-day vigilante who helps women escape abusive situations while also looking for her sister’s murderer. It had been a while since I’d read the first book, and I couldn’t remember why I hadn’t continued with the series sooner. I love martial arts and mysteries, so this has a lot going for it. Once I started, I had the suspicion that I’d delayed because the story is a bit dark and dreary.

This sequel felt darker than the first book. I am not sure if that is due to the time between reading the first and second books dulling my memory of the violence or if it really was darker. Much of the story focused on Lily’s PTSD from past traumas and her denial about having PTSD. It was frustrating and a bit depressing. Adding to that, was that both Lily and readers are left with the inevitable feeling that any attempt to stop violence is just a drop in the ocean.

There was also a lot of tough content. Although the fight scenes were action-packed and accurately written in terms of martial arts, they were fairly graphic. There is no sugarcoating the fact that Lily kills people. This installment in the series focuses on sex trafficking with gangs – particularly trafficking of minors. Things are not glossed over, so check the content warnings.

To keep things from getting too dark, there is Lily’s relationship with her family, her budding love interest, and some scrumptious descriptions of food. Although, considering that 

 was fairly dark, some of those scenes felt almost too light by comparison. Nevertheless, Lily’s cultural background and family dynamics enhance the story.

I still plan on continuing with the series, but I will need another break before I read the next book.

Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars

Colleen

A dark, gritty sequel about a vigilante killer


The Ninja’s Blade is the second book in this series about a modern-day vigilante who helps women escape abusive situations while also looking for her sister’s murderer. It had been a while since I’d read the first book, and I couldn’t remember why I hadn’t continued with the series sooner. I love martial arts and mysteries, so this has a lot going for it. Once I started, I had the suspicion that I’d delayed because the story is a bit dark and dreary.

This sequel felt darker than the first book. I am not sure if that is due to the time between reading the first and second books dulling my memory of the violence or if it really was darker. Much of the story focused on Lily’s PTSD from past traumas and her denial about having PTSD. It was frustrating and a bit depressing. Adding to that, was that both Lily and readers are left with the inevitable feeling that any attempt to stop violence is just a drop in the ocean.

There was also a lot of tough content. Although the fight scenes were action-packed and accurately written in terms of martial arts, they were fairly graphic. There is no sugarcoating the fact that Lily kills people. This installment in the series focuses on sex trafficking with gangs – particularly trafficking of minors. Things are not glossed over, so check the content warnings.

To keep things from getting too dark, there is Lily’s relationship with her family, her budding love interest, and some scrumptious descriptions of food. Although, considering that The Ninja’s Blade was fairly dark, some of those scenes felt almost too light by comparison. Nevertheless, Lily’s cultural background and family dynamics enhance the story.

I still plan on continuing with the series, but I will need another break before I read the next book.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

The Ninja's Blade

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