Heartland is the second book in the Codex of Souls series by author Mark Teppo. It starts off soon after the events in Lightbreaker. The scene switches though from Seattle to the country of France where the most powerful magic users are based. The leader of La Societe Lumineuse has just died and without a successor; it is a free-for-all grab for power.

It has been five years since Markham’s duel with a fellow magic user that left him for dead. He must use all his wits and magical power to solve the mystery of why the leader gave him all his power before he died. Markham still has the Chorus that allows him to add souls to a chain which he can use as a magical weapon.

There is a lot more action in Heartland than Lightbreaker. We are also introduced to a slew of new characters with the book taking place in Paris. Marielle is Markham’s former lover and daughter of the leader that just died. They still have strong feelings for each other, and Marielle has thought Markham dead for these last five years. Markham and Marielle get the majority of page time in book two. We get more of Markham’s history in Heartland than we did in Lightbreaker.

The series has one of the best concepts of magic in this genre. According to the author, this is a planned 10-book series. I find the story fast-paced with plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested. It’s darker than most other urban fantasy series out there and you also may not always like the lead character of Markham. I’ve really enjoyed the first two books in the series and highly recommend you read them.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Night Shade Books; 1St Edition edition (January 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597801550
• ISBN-13: 978-1597801553

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Books in the Codex of Souls series in the order they should be read:
Lightbreaker
Heartland