Week 23 Reviews: Amari and the Night Brothers, Amari and the Great Game

From Goodreads:

Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can't understand why it's not a bigger deal. Why isn't his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal?

Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother's old closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew. He's left her a nomination for a summer tryout at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari is certain the answer to finding out what happened to him lies somewhere inside, if only she can get her head around the idea of mermaids, dwarves, yetis and magicians all being real things, something she has to instantly confront when she is given a weredragon as a roommate.

Amari must compete against some of the nation's wealthiest kids—who've known about the supernatural world their whole lives and are able to easily answer questions like which two Great Beasts reside in the Atlantic Ocean and how old is Merlin? Just getting around the Bureau is a lesson alone for Amari with signs like 'Department of Hidden Places this way, or is it?' If that all wasn't enough, every Bureau trainee has a talent enhanced to supernatural levels to help them do their jobs – but Amari is given an illegal ability. As if she needed something else to make her stand out.

With an evil magican threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn't pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton. 

From Goodreads:

Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this magical second book in the New York Times and Indie bestselling Supernatural Investigations trilogy—perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor.

After finding her brother and saving the entire supernatural world, Amari Peters is convinced her first full summer as a Junior Agent will be a breeze.

But between the fearsome new Head Minister's strict anti-magician agenda, fierce Junior Agent rivalries, and her brother Quinton's curse steadily worsening, Amari's plate is full. So when the secretive League of Magicians offers her a chance to stand up for magiciankind as its new leader, she declines. She's got enough to worry about!

But her refusal allows someone else to step forward, a magician with dangerous plans for the League. This challenge sparks the start of the Great Game, a competition to decide who will become the Night Brothers' successor and determine the future of magiciankind.

The Great Game is both mysterious and deadly, but among the winner's magical rewards is Quinton's last hope—so how can Amari refuse?

My Review:
These were both really great books! I wasn't planning on ever reading them because I've only recently dipped my toe into middle grade since I left its target audience. But I found Amari and the Night Brothers at a book sale, and then I remembered that Great Game had been up on Edelweiss. So I had to read the both of them, now that I am dipping my toe in, because I heard great things! 

I loved Amari's story, she's smart, but she has it rough, with her mom being a single parent, and they're not well off. And her beloved brother is missing. Then she gets the chance to see the world that he's a part of, and it was so great! 

The world of this magic, with the Bureau, was just so fascinating. The different gifts and abilities, the different creatures, and all the creativity was just amazing! And the part that Amari plays, well, it's made worse by her gift, that she's a Magician. 

There's a conversation to be had, about the parallels about how Amari was treated as a Magician, to how Black people are treated. It's unfair and it's unjust, to fight against something that shouldn't even exist, for rights that they should already have. 

Both of these books were great adventures, learning about the world and training to be a junior agent, participating in the Great Game. There's also an element of mystery, about who is helping the Night Brother. And oh, were those endings action packed! And Great Game was even worse, since this is apparently a trilogy, and it ended on a cliffhanger! Bah! 

These were so great, and I can't wait for book 3! I need to know what's going to happen next! 

Author: B.B. Alston
Series: Supernatural Investigations #1, 2
Read: June 4th, 4th, 2022
Source: Bought, Edelweiss
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Books! And Amari and the Night Brothers is a DAC Book, and Amari and the Great Game is a Sophomore Challenge Book! 
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: January 19th 2021

Expected Publication: August 30th 2022

Amari and the Night Brothers:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Amari and the Great Game:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars