“His thumb raked across my lower lip. “I want every breath, every laugh, every tear. Every taste of your mouth, every inch of your skin. I want to kneel at your feet, soaked in the blood of your enemies, then worship your body until you scream my name.” His hands slid to my hips and tugged me closer. “Yes, Diem, I want to serve you—in every way a man can.” I couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.” - Glow of the Everflame.

Where do I even start!! I just finished book 3...and wow!

Diem's constant challenge with her identity, family, and her lover had me on the edge of my seat!

There were a few instances in the books where she stated something might happen, and it did. Which, kind of ruined the surprise of what happened next. But, all in all...it was a great read!

I am excited to see what Penn Cole has in store for book 4!

OMG this series has me in a chokehold now! I found the first book to be a little slow but this one? I couldn’t put it down! The characters are incredible. The worldbuilding is a unique take on common fantasy tropes (courts, mortals vs immortals, earth-based magic, etc). The plot is action-picked and full of twists and secrets and gut-wrenchingly emotional moments. The slow burn is slowwww but I loved it. Luther might be my new fave MMC. Don’t tell Xaden. All in all, highly recommend this series and can’t wait to start the third! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

5⭐️2.5🌶️

Book 2
Romantasy
20yo FMC
Immortals
Class divided
Female rage
🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 normative society
Mysterious history
Class division
Slow burn
Allies to lovers
Rebellion
Beast familiar
Political/court life

I really appreciated the brief recap at the beginning of Glow of the Everflame, especially considering the intense events that immediately follow. Despite the short timeline in each book, so much happens, and I’m happy to report that this book didn’t suffer from the dreaded “second book slump.”

The foreshadowing in this series is fantastic! Cole is a master at world-building and creating tension. The stakes are high, and you can tell this series is crafted with longevity in mind. I’m particularly hoping that in the next book, we get more insight into the magic system—there’s so much potential there.

The FMC (female main character) is frustrating at times, but in a realistic way. Her internal struggle with trust and navigating the treacherous court intrigues feels genuine. She’s clearly out of her element, and her missteps highlight how unfamiliar and uncomfortable deception is to her. While she’s not the sharpest character in the room, her consistency is what makes her relatable. I can see her growth playing out across multiple books, which I’m excited to witness.

As for the MMC (male main character), I like him, though he does come across as a bit of a doormat at the moment. I’m hopeful that his character will evolve, but I’m glad we didn’t get his POV in this book—his simp side would have been more apparent, and I think it would have detracted from my overall impression of him. His motivations for supporting the crown felt a bit flimsy to me. They were well-presented, but I don’t think they landed the way they were intended.

I also found myself a bit disconnected from the second POV introduced in this book. It doesn’t feel like a permanent addition to the story, and it lacks the depth and direction to really pull me in. I’m not sure if it will even continue, but I don’t feel particularly invested in it at this point.

One thing I do love is the animal familiar! It’s always a win in my book when magic and beasts are involved.

And that ending? Intriguing, to say the least! I’m definitely eager to see where things go from here.


Thank you NetGalley and. For an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I’ve said it once, and I will say it again: ROMAN EMPIRE SERIES. The way secrets unraveled in this book constantly leaving me on the edge of my seat. I could not put this book down. Penn Cole is just as talented as SJM and Rebecca Yarros. This is not a series you want to out of reading.

In book two, the new ruler has been selected and is preparing for the challenging. The challenging is where anyone from the 20 houses can challenge the ruler for the crown, and they have to battle to the death. You also get to the challenging, which will leave your head SPINNING.

Tropes: Strong FMC, Slow Burn, Love Triangle, Magic, Royalty, Trials, Cliffhanger, Enemies to Lovers, Found Family

4.5 ⭐️
Glow of the Everflame by Penn Cole.
I loooved this one! This was a unique and interesting fantasy, I could not put it down.
It quickly became of my favorite series. And the twists are absolutely amazing 🤯
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

What a stellar book. This series just keeps getting better with each addition. A most engaging storyline and fabulous world to get lost in.

Unfortunately, I don't think this series is for me. It's just one of those series that on paper works but isn't the best fit. I struggle to connect with Diem but I did enjoy the tension and chemistry between Luther and her. I can totally see why people are eating this series up - the drama is very entertaining.

Thank you so much to Atria books for my ARC <3

3.5/5

Glow of the Everflame is the second book in the Kindred’s Curse series by the extremely talented Penn Cole. Oh my word! This book was amazing! It just kept getting better and better. This book has a little bit of everything: romance, betrayal, survival, and magic to name a few. It alternately had me laughing and crying throughout the whole story. I loved getting to read more of Diem and Luther’s story so much, that I never wanted it to end. This book was absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait to read what happens next for Diem and Luther. Be forewarned that this book ends in a cliffhanger. Just when I felt like I figured out what was going on and what was about to happen, bam the shocking ending happens and I am back to being wonderfully confused. This book is one of my favorite fantasies ever.

My goodness, the tension in this book could set this fictional world ablaze on its own. If you like slow burns, then you’ll love this series.

Luther is your perfect moody/dark MMC. His passion and love for Diem is otherworldly. He’s so down bad for her. And Diem, is finally coming into her own. She’s trying to figure out her place in this world and being torn.

Overall the series is fun, bingeable and swoony. As an avid fantasy reader, I do find it highly predictable and a bit too similar to other popular fantasy books. But the journey is fun and I’m excited to see where Luther and Diem go in the next installment.

Absolutely love coming back to this world. An exciting new adventure for our characters, and more obstacles to be faced.

Imgur link goes to Instagram post scheduled for Jan 20th
Blog post goes live Dec 24th
Amazon and Barnes & Noble Reviews submitted
Youtube review to come

**TL;DR**: Have you ever wanted to shake a main character so badly, but you can’t stop reading because what on earth is going to happen next? Yeah. It’s this book.
**Source**: Thank you so much to the publisher via Netgalley and I have also been following and own these myself!

**Plot**: Starting up right where book one left off we see Diem forced into a new place she never thought she’d be in, and how she wiffle waffles through.
**Characters**: A lot more characters were introduced here and I continued to greatly enjoy all of them.
**Setting**: Compared to the slums of the city in the first the opulence and fancy setting on this one seemed a bit tame?
**Romance**: Oh my GOD the romance in this took so long but by god I hope it sticks.

**Thoughts**:

I say this with love - Diem makes me want to shake her sometimes. Girly would get her backbone in and be ready to fight then she’d either deflate like a balloon or go full Rage Chicken and break everything. That… pretty much sums up Glow and I didn’t hate it?

I am going to not spoil the ending of Spark. Just trust me when I say Diem’s flip flopping is somewhat understandable. The jump in positions she took between the two books would leave anyone with whiplash but it’s sometimes so frustrating to read about. The story moved very quickly, the pacing was kept up even with how thick this book is. I was so emotionally invested I had to put the book down as things (Henri) were making me so angry I couldn’t see straight.

While I still feel like somethings needed to be resolved and *put down* (Henri) in this book, I am still excited to see what happens in book three. Penn Cole loves her a cliffhanger ending so you know Heat of the Everflame is staring at me from my self. If you’re a Romantasy fan, this series is a great one to try.

4 stars out of 5

P.S. I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a character as much as I dislike Henri. No redemption. No flowers. Make him go away.

“Glow of the Everflame” picks up the story after a jaw-dropping cliffhanger at the end of the first book in the series. This story is so good!! It has everything I love in a romantic fantasy. The tension in this slow burn romance is palpable. It was so interesting to see the adjustment to palace life and all those dynamics at play. I love the characters in this story and the found family friendships that are forming. Can’t wait to see how this series continues!

For those who love:
✨Slow Burn Romance
✨Court Intrigue
✨Found Family
✨Dragons!!!
✨Royalty
✨Magic

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

4.5 stars

This book had me screaming and my heart beating so fast... I haven't read a book that gave me such an intense physical reaction in YEARS!!!!

Loved the development of the plot in this one, and how the relationships developed. Would've loved if we could've gotten rid of Henri wayyyy sooner and stuck with our main man.

The friendships and Diem sticking up for the girls in her life was so heartwarming to read, and I loved watching her gain a deeper connection to people and trust them.

If anything happens to Teller and Lily in the future books I may need to fight someone! Those two are just perfect, and Lily reminding Diem that no one ever asked her permission to be protected was so powerful.

Overall, loved loved loved this book and can't wait to read more!!

4.25/5 Stars

I really liked book one in this series but I LOVED this one. I think the first book had to do a lot of world building and setting up a lot of the politics of everything that was going on, which allowed book 2 to build off that and really dive into the action and relationships between the characters. The pacing in this book really picked up compared to book one, and while it still is a slow burn romantically, we get a lot more action and the pacing is done well. I feel like I flew through the book!

I think this series in general is pretty political plot-wise, which I enjoy a lot. It feels like there is always a consistent amount of world building and politics added in, but it’s done in a way that builds with the story and isn’t spoon fed to the reader.

Diem’s character grows so much from book one to book two. Yes, she is still naive (which makes sense given her upbringing) but she was thrown into the wolves in book one and she is figuring out how to play now. While she could annoy me at times in book one, here I felt like her mistakes made sense and we saw a lot of growth overall. I love seeing how far she has come, even with these mistakes that she makes or sometimes questionable judgement calls. She’s relatable in that sense to me, that she isn’t always perfect in what she does and sometimes acts in ways that are impulsive, but it makes sense given her circumstances and what she knows.

And back to the romantic slow burn. Oh my goodness I am feral for this MMC. The banter these two have and the tension between them is killing me. Luther is such a good character and getting added to my list of book boyfriends EASILY. We were also introduced to more side characters in this book and I can see the found family developing, which is one of my favorite tropes!

The ending of this book was killer too - so much excitement and SUCH a cliff hanger to leave us on! I am going to immediately need to add the third book to my kindle because I NEED to know what happens next!

Thank you Atria for a copy of this book!

Holy cow!!! Love this book so much and have been patiently waiting for Diem to accept the realities throughout this whole book only to get smacked with another twist at the end. Can’t wait to read the next book!!

Glow of the Everflame is the second installment in this fantasy series. Definitely read the first book, Spark of the Everflame, first. There are a lot of reviews posted about how awful Diem is, and they are valid. Her personality can be grating, and the lingering romance that felt more by default than about love from the start of Book 1 has long become an insufferable annoyance. Glow is also way too long at about 600 pages and really only one action scene.
And I'm still giving this book a positive review.
Glow is heavy into court politics, found family, loyalty, and self-acceptance. There is a lot of subtle plot development despite the lack of action. The romance is the slowest burn ever, but though Henri is mentioned about a billion times, he is only on page 3-4 times, and for very short moments. Much of Glow is about Diem finding herself, coming to terms with her identity, and learning to accept all parts of herself. I get it. Hopefully Diem continues to learn, embrace her strengths, and grow into a truly admirable FMC in the next book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Artia Books for this ARC to review!

Glow of the Everflame is such a stunning, heartfelt story that hooked me from the very first page! Diem absolutely shines as the heart of this book. Her journey is one of self-discovery, resilience, and embracing her own power, and I couldn’t help but root for her every step of the way. She feels so real—strong yet flawed, with emotions and struggles that really hit home.

The writing is vivid and immersive, bringing Diem’s world to life in such a magical way. The intense emotional moments—felt alive and tangible. I loved how the story explored themes of inner strength and finding light even in the darkest moments.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the digital ARC! Glow of the Everflame is a powerful, beautifully told story. If you love fantasy with a strong emotional core and a heroine who lights up the page, pick this up!

This was great story about Diem coming into her new identity. Do not read this book for romance, there is a kiss maybe, but it's most about the FMC's journey into accepting and getting comfortable in her new life.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC Copy!

All in all I really enjoyed this book. At times I was annoyed with the FMC because she made some dumb decisions and jumped to conclusions when it did not seem appropriate at times and while that did bother me, I could also see how / why she did it.. most of the time. I am invested in the story and cant want to read the next one because that ending left me desperate for the next one like now. Will this be one of my favorite series of all time, doubtful. Will be I continue absolutely.

This book is the second book in the Kindred's Curse series and was a great sequel to the first book. In this book, we got to see more of Diem as she progresses as a new queen and discovers more of her power. The character progression was great but I do wish that she wasn't always making rash decisions. In one part, when <spoiler> Luther volunteers for the challenge, I knew exactly why he did it, and instead of trying to listen to anyone else, she threw a fit and treated him so terribly </spoiler>. However, despite all of this, Diem still works hard to tackle her new found queendom and do what she can do help both sides of her realm, even with all of the obstacles in her way.

Also, the relationship was STILL slowburning and I kept waiting through every chapter for progress to be made with them and for her to finally <spoiler> dump Henri, because she deserved better than that man. I mean, what kind of fiance leaves his woman behind and constantly lies to her and yet it took her this long to even consider dumping him? Crazy.</spoiler>.

Now, there was a specific heartbreak that I should have seen coming, but I didn't and when it happened, I couldn't believe it. It was rough :( since I was hoping for reconnection and now I can only just wonder about what will happen in the next book, especially after that epilogue.

Speaking of that epilogue, it completely came out of the blue for me. I had an idea about a returning character, and wasn't sure how they would do it, but am curious to see how it all ties together, who is working together, and who knew about the different plans. More and more keeps getting unraveled as the books progress and I'm eager to get to the heart of it all.

We are finally one step closer to finding out what happened to Diem's mother, but I can honestly say, that after everything that I've read about her, finding out what happened to her was not high on my priority list.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. I would recommend this whole series every day for the rest of my life