Kami, a novice fire sorceress, never wanted to fight. She already lost her mother, the great fire sorceress Arkemi, to the forces of darkness. While the world sees a fallen hero, Kami is riddled with regret and bitterness—struggling to understand what she died for.

Well done sapphic fantasy romance. I really enjoyed it.

I would like to thank Keri Moore and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!

Though I truly did like the portrayal of friendships and how important they were to the story, that felt to be the brightest highlight of the book. There was a large amount of info dumping in the book I thought may have been better served in an index or opening coda to the book (which might have also worked to ease in the casual mention of clothes looking Victorian), and I felt as if the protag took a while to get to what we all knew was coming.

I think also the emphasis on virginity had some odd tones to it, and certainly interesting reactions. I did appreciate the content warnings!

I think too after it was revealed a character was reincarnated into a body with different attributes, there was an interesting difference: protag might refer to the person with one set of pronouns out loud at some points, but in her head and by the narrative, the same pronouns were used. Moreover, it was a clear antagonist who would misgender (?) said character. I did appreciate that it felt clear which pronouns to use, as they were the main pronouns throughout!

Definitely an interesting book, but I think that it could use some polish. 3/5 stars!

This book was right up my alley! I didn’t get to finish it in time, however I do plan on buying the book and finishing it to give a proper review in the future. I will make an updated review when I am able to buy the physical copy!

So I had no preconcieved notions when going into this book and that being said I was pleasently surprised with the pace and story line. I do wish there would have been a trigger warning, I was not expecting the assualt when it happened and then it really soured the feeling of the book and I had to take a break.

Kami is such a great herion and her insecurities make her even more loveable and relateable.

I went through many emotions regarding the Aradia which was unexpected. There were some points I was rooting for her and wanting her to succeed and then there were other times I didn't like her at all. That kind of bipolar swing for a character doesn't normally happen for me so it was really great.

The are shifting points of view, which I am very accustom to in my novels I enjoy, however this one was a little difficult sometimes to follow whose perspective we were seeing.

Be prepared, this gets long. I always say it’s a good thing that a book leaves you with this many thoughts rather than not!

To start off with, I’d like to say that this book was not a negative experience for me. There are some things I’m going to be critical about, but I’d like to acknowledge that first and say I’m not trying to be negative for the sake of being negative – I think the book had good bones and I’d like to offer criticisms in the spirit of ways to improve, from my perspective as a reader, because I think this story has potential. Thank you to Netgalley and Tethys Night Sky Publishing for access to the ebook! I'm giving it a 3.5/5 stars.

The premise of the novel is especially interesting to those familiar with vampire romance and books you might describe as bodice rippers. A powerful fire sorceress pitted against an alluring, sarcastic vampire vixen! In addition, when I downloaded the book, there was a content warning on the Netgalley page. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised by any of the content. I’m guessing some of the reviewers who were taken off guard by the content in the book might have gotten access to it before the warning was posted on the website. However, I do not have any problem with that type of content in fiction, so it didn’t bother me to see it in the book; though I am mildly critical of how some of it was handled (which I’ll explain later). I also don’t have a problem with the virginity element as some other readers seem to (after all, if you’ve read vampire fiction, you’ve probably come across this trope before), because to me it’s simply an element that can be handled either well or poorly, and the execution hung somewhere in the middle for me. Kami shows pushback against the sexism in her world, but I think her character needs some strengthening for this to be satisfying. Since this series seems like it might go a dark romance direction, my suggestion 1) would be to add a content page at the start of each book much the way Katee Robert does. While I acknowledge that as a reader you are taking your own risks when you read books for what type of content you might see (after all, an author couldn’t possibly predict everything that may bother someone and think to warn for it) content-warning style pages are becoming increasingly popular – particularly amongst the “monster romance” crowd – and it’s a nice courtesy to offer your readers that shows you’re thinking about them and want them to enjoy themselves and know what they’re getting into.

On to my first criticism. While I was interested in the main character and her relationship with the antagonist, I was at times distracted by some things in the writing style. I wouldn’t say it’s bad, just that it needs refined. Some factors like overly explanatory thoughts from the main character that explain something about the situation, her powers, or the way things in her world works, the lengthy descriptions of people and clothes, the info-dumping about the world setting, etc., feel like things that should have been culled in the first draft. Some phrasing was simply a little awkward, for example: “Kami’s eyes widened as she was shocked by the result.” These are things I think many writers might fall into but improve upon with drafts. Like I said, however, I think this story has good bones and I would love to see a second edition printed (with this beautiful cover!) after a rewrite and deep look-over from an editor worth their salt that will assist with the rewrite process rather than simply catch typos (of which there were also a few, but not enough to bother me). There were also some elements that felt out of place. I could see what the author was trying to do with the semi-modern steampunk influence on a fantasy setting. There are fictional worlds that include those elements that I love (for example, the Rune Factory video game setting, where airships fly over lands full of magic and monsters, or movies like Howl’s Moving Castle). However, I found something lacking in the integration in this novel. It felt like the worldbuilding just wasn’t expanded enough for the inclusion of these tech elements to fully make sense. For example, I feel as though it would have no impact on the book at all if Kami went to shop at a normal “fantasy” general store, if the fences around Alice’s house were simply large and instilled with some sort of magical or rune barrier, and if the mechanical unicorns were regular horses or some sort of fantasy breed. So, my suggestion number 2) would be to work to expand more naturally on the worldbuilding (avoiding info-dumps), and ways to integrate these techy elements in a manner that make them necessary for the story - *or* to remove those elements and make this a full-on fantasy novel. In all honesty, I kind of wasn’t paying attention to those elements, so I personally would probably enjoy this more as a regular old fantasy novel. That is only my personal vibe, though, and I’ll try to keep an open mind for book 2 if things like this continue to be featured. Basically: either remove those elements, or go absolutely all-in!

Another thing I’d like to touch on is immersion. At times, the way the characters behaved felt as though they needed to be fleshed out. Some of the modern lingo like “legit,” “dollars,” or even this longer quote, “The attire of their world was a melting pot between gothic steampunk, Victorian, and modern eras. A dress like hers was by no means viewed as antiquated." (Chapter 3) pulled me out of the reading and felt out of place. At times, certain characters spoke in such a casual, modern way it kind of made me laugh, such as the Mayor’s dogged cursing. Making the dialogue more unique to each individual and giving them some oomph behind their characters would be my suggestion 3). Give us a reason *why* an aggressive character is acting the way they are, some depth and reasoning. They can feel a bit like a background NPC otherwise, rather than a vivid cast.

(Some spoilers in this paragraph). Now then, the part of the story I enjoyed the most was Kami and Aradia’s relationship. Who isn’t a sucker for enemies-to-lovers? They were genuinely so engaging, and it was entertaining to watch them verbally and physically spar and pit themselves against each other. Their chemistry and sexual tension were titillating, and I always love a good fire and ice motif. They were set up to be the central point of interest in the series – which is also why I was mildly frustrated with the way some of the second act of the novel unfolded. The book is portrayed as a sapphic romance story, so it was frustrating to see so much of Kami’s focus devoted to Skye, who is not only a man, but a man that needs to deal with his internalized sexism and tried to perpetuate violence against Kami herself. That isn’t to say a romance between a character like Kami and Skye couldn’t be written well, but this book just didn’t feel like the setting for it, and the way their relationship escalated felt unrealistic. I consider myself able to suspend my disbelief for a lot when I read fantasy romances, but characterization still needs to make sense for me within its own context. I saw no reason for Kami and Skye to go from animosity to catching feelings for each other because they held hands during a battle. I didn’t see the internal growth from Skye to make evident that he had changed from the man who tried to force himself on Kami to a proper comrade. Nor did I see any characterization to make sense why Kami was so aggrieved over deceiving Skye that she needed to weep over it. Like I said, I’m not necessarily against a romance between characters where consent has been contested; I’ve read bodice rippers and dubious consent before; however, in this case, all this plot line really accomplished was frustrating me because it was detracting from Kami and Aradia, who didn’t feel as though they got enough “screen time”. The build-up at the end felt like it pulled the rug out from under me. Instead of their grand confrontation, we got Kami chasing down Skye and Aradia sort of just...vanishing. I was expecting a showdown full of tension to top off the first volume, to cement them as rivals, one that left me shivering for more to happen between those two. Unfortunately, it let me down a bit. It also felt like Kami got stuck in a feedback loop at some point. She would meet Aradia, let her in, then curse and spit at her and demand she leave without hearing what she was saying, without anything new to spice it up. It got the slightest bit tedious, and I wished there was more internal dialogue given to Kami thinking over her evident desire for the other woman and struggling with her morality and wants. Now, I realize this paragraph may sound harsh, but I share this in hopes that the second volume will deliver on all the hopes I and other readers have. Aradia and Kami were compelling enough that I’ll be reading the second book, and I really hope their story improves and gets even more complicated and compelling! I’m also not against Kami having a secondary possible love interest to add even more tension – but I really wish it were Alice, not Skye. That would have been far more interesting! The childhood best friend versus the villain – that would keep me guessing constantly. I’m hoping Alice shows up in book 2. The book teased at an attraction between Kami and Alice, but didn’t really go anywhere with it.

On the note of Aradia (another slight spoiler in this paragraph), I was really interested when I found out that she was a man in her previous life. I feel like this could possibly be really fun trans/nonbinary representation. I was a little suspicious when she kept speaking as though being a man were her “true self,” and having a woman’s form was merely a disguise or deception. I’m really hoping Aradia stays Aradia in book 2, and she doesn’t simply transition into being the ice prince and never goes back, leaving her “womanhood disguise” behind. I would love for this romance to keep that sapphic element, as I feel like it would almost be sort of deceptive if it doesn’t, given the marketing. I would love to see Kami go on a self-realizing journey in book 2, learn to unlock her full power, accept herself, overcome her internalized lesbophobia and realize she can love and be loved by a woman and that she can, most importantly in a spicy romance series, desire and be desired by a woman.

Overall, I feel positive coming out of this reading because there were things I enjoyed. I really want to see more of Kami and Aradia. I fell in love with Aradia instantly and “Why don’t you go on and set this whole place on fire. I’ll lie here and burn with it” is going to live rent-free in my head. Some of her lines are simply iconic. I LOVE love-interests like Aradia. I enjoy slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romances, and this story has the potential to deliver bigtime. There were things that could be improved and hopefully will be as the world expands in the second book, such as finer points of writing style and characterization; I’m definitely not saying you can’t include male characters in a story like this, but I’m also hoping the women get more focus and more character growth. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of the series and maybe that this book will be revisited in the future!