While waiting for book 2 to be released, I read the Legends of Thezmarr (LoT) series and while it’s not required, it definitely helped to fill in the gaps. I love Helen’s writing, creativity, and ability to world build. I absolutely loved the wit and determination of the characters. Their friendships continue to evolve and have you anticipating their next move and changes in relationships.

The storyline along with the character development made me want to keep listening to the audiobook arc. It was hard to stop listening (which was the same cause for the first series). I enjoyed the narrators and so love a duet narration.

I appreciate how easy the world building is to picture and follow. While there’s a lot of details and characters, I never left overwhelmed with trying to keep things straight. The characters all have their own personality, problems, skills and sass. I also love the interconnected storylines and a way to stay involved with them as secondary characters between this series and LoT. I will definitely need to re-listen before book 3 comes out and won’t say no to relistening. I think Helen will be an auto buy/listen from here out.

“Thorns and Fire” by Helen Schueler is the second book in the “Ashes of Thezmarr” series. It continues with Wren, the alchemist princess of Delmira, and our beloved Warsword, Torj the Bear Slayer. This is their story. Their dark and tangled past will either save them and the world around them or destroy everything they hold dear. You will love the dual narrators, Matt Haynes and Emilia Bauer. They make the story come alive as they use their voices to give life to the characters.

This book, with the help of Matt and Emilia, deepens the emotional core of the series, leaning into character development, complex relationships, and slow-burning tension. As the middle book in the trilogy, it expands the world behind the scenes while setting the stage for what we know will be an epic finale. And that ending? Perfectly sets the stage for Book 3.

We’re also treated to more of our favorite side characters, Kipp and Cal—whose loyalty, humor, and heartfelt moments continue to shine. Honestly, they steal every scene they're in!

What you will find:
-Ancient magic and lingering curses
-A mysterious villain lurking in the shadows
-Dual POV storytelling
-Magical Wounds (emotional and literal)
-Forced Proximity
-Academic Setting brimming with secrets
-Deep friendships and Found Family

Our Tip: Read (or listen to) the Legends of Thelzmar series first (and the prequel, Slaying the Shadow Prince) to be introduced to all the characters!
Emotional damage: 3/5 💧 (The slow burning tension…)
Spice rating: 4/5 🌶️ (Be aware…this is spicy)
Favorite side character: Kipp (forever and always)
Favorite quote:
‘You’re playing with fire, Embers . . .’ he warned.
‘You’re forgetting how much I like to go up in flames,’ she whispered in his ear.

If you're a romantasy fan, you have to check out Helen Scheurer! Legends of Thezmarr is one of my favorite series and I love this new series as well. Helen does such a great job at balancing plot and spice. I also love a petty FMC so Wren is an ideal FMC for me. This is the second book of a trilogy so I was worried about the cliffhanger at the end but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Also it helps to know the third book will be out before the end of the year!

This series technically stands on it's own but I do recommend reading "Legends of Thezmarr" first because you get a lot more out of these books! They are all on KU!

I don't want to give to much away but if you love enemies to lovers, I highly recommend this. I received an audio ARC of "Thorns & Fire" through NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, this is my honest opinion.

We pick up right where we left off in book one. Wren and Torj are fighting their feelings for each other, each for their own reasons. There’s plenty of forced proximity, which eventually pushes them to confront some of their issues. The overarching world plot continues to develop, and I absolutely love the world Helen has created. She does a fantastic job weaving past stories into the current one. I was so excited to be back in this world, and now I can’t wait for book three!

We pick up right where we left off in book one. Wren and Torj are fighting their feelings for each other, each for their own reasons. There’s plenty of forced proximity, which eventually pushes them to confront some of their issues. The overarching world plot continues to develop, and I absolutely love the world Helen has created. She does a fantastic job weaving past stories into the current one. I was so excited to be back in this world, and now I can’t wait for book three!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook!

Helen Scheuerer has DONE IT AGAIN!! From the plot, to the character development, to the world-building, this book was an incredible journey and a perfect set up for the last book in the series (CRYING cos I don’t want to leave the Midrealms EVER) 😭

Guys, the tension in this book is INSANE. Helen writes tension between characters so damn well, I was ready to scream “DO IT ALREADY!!” The relationship between Torj and Wren is heartwarming and had me begging for more. The YEARNING in this book is next level. Also, the spice?? Holy shit, my jaw was ON THE FLOOR 🥵

I absolutely loved the personal journey Wren went through, and how she has finally coming into her own and realising how powerful she really is. I can’t wait to continue this journey with her!

The narrators did a phenomenal job at capturing the emotional turmoil these characters go through. I’m not usually an audiobook girlie but I really, really loved this! It was so easy to follow along with and a really great listen.

I love Helen Scheuerer’s writing sooo much!! And dare I say I like Wren’s story more than Thea’s. Wren is stubborn but she’s been underestimated her whole life and she is TIRED of it. Her and Torj’s banter was so good, loved it. Although, Torj irritated me to the point I wanted to shake him, NUMEROUS times 😅 I cannot wait to see what happens in Silver & Smoke 🩶

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC of Thorns & Fire.

It was so exciting to be back with Wren and Torj on their journey as we learn more about the new threats to the Midrealms. While Thorns & Fire seemed more character driven than plot driven, I still enjoyed every second. This book leveled up my favorite trope in a way I think other readers will love. I also really enjoyed getting to see more of Thea and Wilder, and of course getting to spend time with Kipp.

The ending of this book left me in a chokehold and I am so excited for what comes next in book 3.

✨𝒜𝑅𝒞 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌✨
📖🎧: Thorns & Fire (The Ashes of Thezmarr, Book 2)
🎙️: Matt Haynes, Emilia Bauer

Conflict within the midrealms rages on and Wren is charged with flexing her alchemy prowess while navigating the politics she thought she left behind.

Torj grapples with the consequences of his decisions and remains steadfast in his endeavor to keep his charge safe, even if it means losing everything.

Can Wren and Torj overcome ancient prophecies, magical forces, and poisonous adversaries at play?

Tropes:
👀 Dual POV
⚔️ Bodyguard
🏫 Academy
🫂 Forced proximity
📍 Hairpin to the throat
🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Found family
⚔️ Brooding hero
🚫 Touch her & 💀
🌶️ Steamy

The narrators transported me straight into midrealms, delivering outstanding performances packed full of emotion. I was captivated by the thrill of the unknown and the constant thrum of danger.

I felt Wren and Torj’s longing, anguish, and echoes of burning desires tangled with regret. The banter and camaraderie among the found family had me grinning and laughing out loud.

Torj has solidified himself as a top tier book boyfriend. Between the sheer devotion and intensity of his love, he had me blushing and kicking my feet throughout the book!

Helen is a master of curing any reading slumps while simultaneously dishing out the biggest book hangovers. Thorns & Fire is no exception. This electrifying sequel brings the heat, heartache, and suspense.

I say with great conviction that Helen wields her words better than any Warsword wields their blade. I cannot wait to see how Wren and Torj’s story concludes in Silver & Smoke!

So grateful to the author, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for the review copies! This is my honest and voluntary review

3.5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC of Thorns and Fire!

The narration for this was excellent. The male narrator was 10/10 and had excellent range for all the different characters. It was effortless to follow along with the story and even higher speeds.

As someone who has invested in 6 books in this world previously, this is probably my least favorite of the series. Wren's character continues to be strong, but we aren't given the same opportunities to see her brains in action. This was a character driven story that focused on the fallout from the gut wrenching end of book 1- however it was mostly a sex fueled book that did not lead to a stronger relationship in my opinion. We also got less of the side characters I adore.

What this book did do very well is set up for a superb book 3 which I can foresee will contain all the action and twists this one lacked.

After how the first book ended, I desperately needed this sequel, so thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook! I genuinely don’t know how I would’ve handled the wait otherwise.

A golden thread bound Wren and Torj, an ancient bond deeper than love, and one that nearly destroyed them. As war looms over Thezmarr, Torj uncovers a dangerous truth about their connection, forcing him to choose between protecting Wren and keeping her trust. At the alchemical academy of Drevenor, Wren struggles to control her growing power and reconcile her legacy as an heir to a lost kingdom. With kingdoms on the brink and their bond unraveling, love may be the most dangerous force of all.

By now, we know Wren and Torj, but somehow it still feels like I’m discovering something new about them in every book. I knew from Blood & Steel that Wren would be my kind of protagonist. She’s smart, crafty, and doesn’t need to swing a sword to be powerful. I absolutely adore her. And Torj? He is so far gone for her. He’s all “let me serve you” and “my wife” (if you know, you know). He kneels, he begs, he yearns, and he takes care of her in such a tender way. Their romance is one of the strongest parts of the book.

I’ll be honest, this book is definitely more character- and romance-driven than plot-heavy. The pacing is slow at times, but I never felt bored. The emotional development and tension between the characters more than carried it. The mystery elements also had me fully invested, even more than the academy setting in book one. These first two books are such a strong foundation, and I can feel the storm coming in book three!

Helen Scheuerer’s character work is truly next level. I loved seeing the return of familiar faces from Blood & Steel, along with the newer characters from book one. Wren finding real female friendship again was such a heartwarming moment for me. There’s a huge range of relationships in this book, and all of them felt vivid, emotional, and real. Somehow, we even got more worldbuilding here, and I honestly didn’t think that was possible. But the scope of this world just keeps growing. Helen Scheuerer, how big is your brain?

And I can’t talk about this book without praising the audiobook. I’m such a sucker for dual narration, and this one was incredible! Matt Haynes as Torj and Emilia Bauer as Wren were absolutely perfect. They captured every emotion so well: Wren’s grief, Torj’s desperation, the intensity of their bond. At times, it felt like I was watching a movie. Their voices brought the story to life in such a vivid, emotional way. I could’ve listened forever.

As for the ending... I was mad at first (I thought I saw where it was going and yelled “no!” in my head), but the twist still surprised me. And the more I sat with it, the more excited I got. It’s the perfect set-up for what’s coming next, and I’m bracing myself for the drama and chaos I just know is about to hit. Absolutely cannot wait for book three!

This book had me in a chokehold from beginning to end. I can't get enough of Wren and Torj. The character development between the two was explored even deeper in Thorns & Fire and their chemistry burned so hot that I needed to fan myself. Helen Scheuerer does such an excellent job in perfectly balancing an engaging and plot driven storyline with a romance for the ages and spice to heat up the room. The romantic elements hold their own and definitely complement the characters, but the plot would be every bit as enjoyable even without the love story. The side characters and found family aspects are also written extraordinarily well and had me completely immersed in the world of Thezmarr. When I pick up a Helen Sheuerer book now, I don't just expect to love it, I KNOW I will.
The audio for the entirely of the Thezmarr world has been wonderful and both narrators really manage to capture the essence of the characters during their performances. Listening to the audiobook really took me straight into Drevenor with Wren and had me utterly captivated until the very last word.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to review the Audiobook ARC for
this book!

I was so happy this book continued right where we left off and we even got some insight to how Torj was feeling after the Iron & Embers cliffhanger.

This book gave angst, yearning, found family and I cannot believe that ending. The soul bond between Wren and Torj was something I enjoyed so much and the banter between them never disappoints right along with the spice, magic and world building.

I was so happy to get more of Wren and her sisters relationship in this story and some more humor from Kip as well. I will definitely be picking up the next book when it releases!

I continue to be in awe of this series, it keeps getting more interesting with each chapter. So much so that I was unable to pause life until it was over. As much as the ending killed me in Iron and Embers, this book revived me. I loved the continuation of problems with the rebellion, figuring out who to trust. learning more about the cast of characters, and of course I was giddy when Wren and Torj finally admitted the truth to themselves and finally started to do things together instead of fight. I was sad this book ended, but at least it was a good ending and not a cliffhanger (I might have screamed if it was). I'm really excited for the next book in this series, I need to know what happens! There's so much chaos, and I love it.

This was a good one! I will admit that the amount of spice lost me a bit with this — I liked the ratio of spice vs plot better in the OG series. This felt a bit overdone with spice in my opinion (personal preference, nothing against the style or anything). I wanted to see more of the character journey here. I loved the ending because I am a huge cheerleader for the FMC of this spin off, I just felt that there could have been MORE pay off with a deeper internal journey throughout. Overall though, I still enjoyed it and the ending is making me so excited for the next one!

The narrators for this audio are phenomenal! They really bring the story alive.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

no middle book slump here!!

I just simply adored this from start to finish. The plot development. The character development. I'm just obsessed with Ember and Torj. I honestly think I enjoyed this book more than book 1? And this ending??? EEEEK. We are in for a RIDE in book 3!

Rating: 4.5 stars

It's official. Helen Scheuerer hates me!

Just kidding, I'm sure she doesn't. She just has a knack for lifting her readers up so high and then devastating them at the very end. But I'm a glutton for punishment so I will come back to her every time lol.

Thorns & Fire picks up directly where Iron and Embers left off. Things are rocky between Torj and Wren. Wren is desperately working on a cure for the Dark Alchemy the enemy is using and the People's Vanguard is getting more and more popular and widespread.

Remember how much of a slow burn Iron and Embers was? That is thrown out the door here in Thorns and Fire. There's loads of spice, maybe too much as I found that the pacing of the book to be a bit slow and the spice thrown in just to fill things in. But that being my only complaint means this is just as good as the first installment. Helen devastates us once again at the very end and I dare say this time it's even worse than in the first book...it was such a gut punch! And I just know that we are going to get so much pain on Torj's end until this farce is untangled. Alchemy is explored even further which I really enjoyed the first book. Kipp is still being a lovable trouble maker. There's this fantastic MY WIFE MY WIFE MY WIFE part that I couldn't get enough of and finally a Queen of Delmira emerges.

I did receive an ALC of this installment and I was so happy to see that Matt Haynes and Emilia Bauer returned as I really enjoyed them the first book. It was dual narration again and the pacing was good, I was able to listen to it just fine at my normal 1.25X speed. Matt and Emilia's voices and accents were pleasing and I thought they fit the characters well.

This book did a really good job of setting up for the finale. I'm so ready to see what happens in Delmira and of course the defeat of the enemy and hopefully the reuniting of our heroes. Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media for blessing me with an ALC and to the author, Helen Scheuerer, for gifting me an eARC!

I really love this series just as much as Legends of Thezmarr. I feel like you get more yearning and tension in this and I love that we always get the whole crew. I really love the full back story between Torj and Wren, their history makes this story that much more intense. Helen’s MMCs are some of my favorite and the side characters add so much to the story. I will always be a Kipp fan.♥️

Both narrators do a great job on the audiobooks. The ending of this book has me so excited and nervous for the next book, what a way to add suspense! I can’t wait to see what’s next!

This was a great follow up to Iron and Embers. I felt a stronger connection to all the characters and really enjoyed the journey this story took us on.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, however I’m still left with so many questions unanswered!!

I also did a partial audio listen and the narrators were great! Thankyou Dreamscape Media!

“If you were my wife’, Torj said, his voice low and rough, ‘I wouldn’t let you go. So that’s what I’m doing.”

“Do you know what it’s like to want someone so badly you can’t breathe?”… “And to know that no matter what, you can have them? They can never be yours?”

“You’re playing with fire, Embers”
“Youre forgetting how much I like to go up in flames”

5⭐️

Oh Midrealms, it’s SO good to be back- and back with an absolute BANG! Sequels are tough but Helen has a magic touch. Thorns & Fire was a masterpiece, and in my opinion, even better than its predecessor. While Iron & Embers set the stage, Thorns & Fire stole the show. Everything I enjoyed about book one (the alchemy, mystery, & emotions) was expanded and delved into deeper in book 2!

I loved that we got more of all our favorite side characters from Thezmarr and more Dessa and Zavier. The moments between Wren and Thea were so touching and powerful- I loved seeing them together in this way. Kipp, my chaotic love, will always be the comedic relief when you need it most and the best side character ever written (I said what I said).

The world building continues to build on the foundation poured in book one. It is wonderfully intricate yet easy to grasp. The action was tense and paced well throughout. The tension, emotion, spice and romance was spectacular. I may be a Wilder girlie, but after this book I carved out space for two warswords in my heart.

Narration: The audiobook was a great way to enjoy this! The dual narration brought both characters to life, and I particularly enjoyed Emilia Bauer’s performance. Her voice fit Wren perfectly and I enjoyed the subtle shifts for Thea, as well as Torj’s voice during Wren’s POVs. I also thought both narrators did an excellent job of narrating the spicy scenes and the action sequences! While I enjoyed Matt Hayne’s performance, I really struggled with the voice he used for Wilder. Overall, the audio was clear, crisp, consistent and well produced! I had no issues following along even with the heavier world building. I would reccomend this on audio!

Overall, I loved this book and could not put it down. I enjoyed book 1, but this took it above and beyond. I cannot wait for what’s next!

Thank you so much to Helen Scheuerer, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ALC of this book. It was my pleasure to read and provide my honest review.