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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
I received an e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Review and general flailing can be found on *Milky Way of Books*
So here I am after having finished reading Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff and I get the amazing notification that I got approved for SAPPHIRE FLAMES! *cue the fireworks*. I was emotionally drained and yet I scrambled my remaining brain cells and from excitement, I decided to read the ARC.
I finished it in one day.
I am not ok.
Let's take it from the start. Three years have passed since the ending of the original trilogy. Nevada and Rogan have left for Spain and Catalina along with the rest of their family are expecting danger as their trial period as a new-formed House is ending. That means that they have to state their alliances and that other Houses in Houston will try to destroy them.
As Catalina tries to weave through responsibilities, budget issues and a case that will prove to be even more difficult, that's when Alessandro appears! Oh my gorgeous Italian, who jumps through windows James Bond-style and also has quite the wicked humor and sarcasm! I enjoyed Catalina and Alessandro together as they try to solve the case and weave through both the upstate politics and the dark tunnels of assassins and magic.
I seriously didn't expect some scenes while others proved some theories which I had read about on Ilona Andrew's blog. Especially the one with the math; that was one hell of a scary, movie worth amazing scene! On the other hand, some may express...displeasure that Rogan and Nevada are not mentioned much or they don't make an appearance. And that's fine.
Sapphire Flames begins a new tale with old and new characters together and as the first books go, the authors must present said characters from their own point of views with their own fears, love, and secrets. I am sure that the next book will definitely have a scene where Alessandro and Rogan meet. I dread to see what will happen. Also, Catalina's power is amazing and beautiful, being a Siren gives her the power to seduce, beguile people and yet she is very down to earth and fears that Alessandro won't love her truly back.
I cried in the epilogue. I really did because I knew that the game has just started, the real villain is hiding among the heroes and that Catalina made a deal she will not get out of it easily. I want Alessandro and Catalina together, I hope Runa and Burn will also become a couple, that Arabella will get her own story and that Augustine Montgomery will stop being such a cold marble statue and find his own love in the books...or in his own series.
It's advisable to read the Hidden Legacy series first and then dive into this one when it will be released. Now I have to wait for 2020! I don't know how I will survive....
So here I am after having finished reading Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff and I get the amazing notification that I got approved for SAPPHIRE FLAMES! *cue the fireworks*. I was emotionally drained and yet I scrambled my remaining brain cells and from excitement, I decided to read the ARC.
I finished it in one day.
I am not ok.
Let's take it from the start. Three years have passed since the ending of the original trilogy. Nevada and Rogan have left for Spain and Catalina along with the rest of their family are expecting danger as their trial period as a new-formed House is ending. That means that they have to state their alliances and that other Houses in Houston will try to destroy them.
As Catalina tries to weave through responsibilities, budget issues and a case that will prove to be even more difficult, that's when Alessandro appears! Oh my gorgeous Italian, who jumps through windows James Bond-style and also has quite the wicked humor and sarcasm! I enjoyed Catalina and Alessandro together as they try to solve the case and weave through both the upstate politics and the dark tunnels of assassins and magic.
I seriously didn't expect some scenes while others proved some theories which I had read about on Ilona Andrew's blog. Especially the one with the math; that was one hell of a scary, movie worth amazing scene! On the other hand, some may express...displeasure that Rogan and Nevada are not mentioned much or they don't make an appearance. And that's fine.
Sapphire Flames begins a new tale with old and new characters together and as the first books go, the authors must present said characters from their own point of views with their own fears, love, and secrets. I am sure that the next book will definitely have a scene where Alessandro and Rogan meet. I dread to see what will happen. Also, Catalina's power is amazing and beautiful, being a Siren gives her the power to seduce, beguile people and yet she is very down to earth and fears that Alessandro won't love her truly back.
I cried in the epilogue. I really did because I knew that the game has just started, the real villain is hiding among the heroes and that Catalina made a deal she will not get out of it easily. I want Alessandro and Catalina together, I hope Runa and Burn will also become a couple, that Arabella will get her own story and that Augustine Montgomery will stop being such a cold marble statue and find his own love in the books...or in his own series.
It's advisable to read the Hidden Legacy series first and then dive into this one when it will be released. Now I have to wait for 2020! I don't know how I will survive....
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm hooked. I like Catalina better than Nevada, and Alessandro better than Rogan. This is the superior couple, and they're not even a couple yet, because of Reasons.
Yeah, sometimes it felt a little juvenile in comparison, but Catalina is still having her coming-of-age arc that started in Diamond Fire. A large part of this plot is her growing up, in the sense of accepting her responsibilities. The central conflict of her possible romance with Alessandro is, in fact, those responsibilities. If sometimes her internal narrative sounds a little like adult authors trying too hard to sound like a teenager, I can forgive that in this case.
Alessandro is a witty and flirtatious playboy one second and a stone cold badass the next. There's another conflict for you--who is he, really? What's his deal? We know why Catalina doesn't think a relationship between them would work, despite wanting one anyway. But Alessandro appears to feel the same way, even while we only get the barest hint of his reasons for that assessment. It's vaguely tragic and maybe a little hammy, but then, so is he, with his "Instagram" persona. I still adore him.
I like the new direction the main plot is taking re: Catalina's involvement in the larger magical society, I thought that was interesting. The revelation of a certain someone's secret authority explains a lot, though still leaves me with some questions about the conspiracy that we apparently put to bed after the first three books--I'm not convinced there's not more going on, still, given the suspicions I had then, and "Caesar's" identity still hasn't been settled. I haven't forgotten about that loose end!
Happy to see the next book is out, sad to see book 6 isn't expected until much later this year, because I'm sure I'm going to want it the second I'm finished with book 5.
Yeah, sometimes it felt a little juvenile in comparison, but Catalina is still having her coming-of-age arc that started in Diamond Fire. A large part of this plot is her growing up, in the sense of accepting her responsibilities. The central conflict of her possible romance with Alessandro is, in fact, those responsibilities. If sometimes her internal narrative sounds a little like adult authors trying too hard to sound like a teenager, I can forgive that in this case.
Alessandro is a witty and flirtatious playboy one second and a stone cold badass the next. There's another conflict for you--who is he, really? What's his deal? We know why Catalina doesn't think a relationship between them would work, despite wanting one anyway. But Alessandro appears to feel the same way, even while we only get the barest hint of his reasons for that assessment. It's vaguely tragic and maybe a little hammy, but then, so is he, with his "Instagram" persona. I still adore him.
I like the new direction the main plot is taking re: Catalina's involvement in the larger magical society, I thought that was interesting. The revelation of a certain someone's secret authority explains a lot, though still leaves me with some questions about the conspiracy that we apparently put to bed after the first three books--I'm not convinced there's not more going on, still, given the suspicions I had then, and "Caesar's" identity still hasn't been settled. I haven't forgotten about that loose end!
Happy to see the next book is out, sad to see book 6 isn't expected until much later this year, because I'm sure I'm going to want it the second I'm finished with book 5.
I absolutely loved the first three Hidden Legacy novels and was excited for a bit of spinoff/continuation. It was full of adventure with another Baylor sister, but I thought it lacked in the romance. I just didn’t feel invested or full of angst like I was watching Nevada and Mad Rogan deal with each other. It also felt very much like a YA novel. The first three weren’t super raunchy, but despite the lack of details, there was still that tension between the characters, whereas Catalina felt more immature and her love interest was a sort of schoolgirl crush. Maybe I just didn’t like Alessandro. I don’t know. It was good and I’ll probably read the rest, but I’ll just expect Hidden Legacy Lite or Hidden Legacy Junior for the next few installments.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
One of the best books I've read so far this year! This one finally got me out of my slump and had my husband side-eyeing me while I giggled to myself listening to the audiobook. Okay, so it was more like random hysterical laughter. Whatevs. It was funny.
It's been a while since I thoroughly enjoyed a book. And I just can't wait until the next in the series. Thankfully I did not judge a book by its despicable cover and managed to get through the initial sluggishness of [b:Magic Bites|38619|Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331612872l/38619._SY75_.jpg|38381]. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have developed such a fondness for [a:Ilona Andrews|21748|Ilona Andrews|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219436898p2/21748.jpg] and stumbled upon [b:Burn for Me|20705702|Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1396368355l/20705702._SY75_.jpg|40025563], the series that began this spin-off. I truly believe this series could be better than it's predecessor, but highly recommend you start there.
Now I must start The Edge Series, with [b:On the Edge|6329547|On the Edge (The Edge, #1)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1307445575l/6329547._SY75_.jpg|6515186], just to tie me over until next year when the next Hidden Legacy book is released. Not sure how great On the Edge will be since, based off the Kate Daniels series, the husband & wife duo have improved their writing over the years, but it was... uh.. not so great in the early years.
Oh, well. Might get into [b:Iron and Magic|35126152|Iron and Magic (The Iron Covenant, #1)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525921420l/35126152._SY75_.jpg|56444518] if I can't get into this one.
It's been a while since I thoroughly enjoyed a book. And I just can't wait until the next in the series. Thankfully I did not judge a book by its despicable cover and managed to get through the initial sluggishness of [b:Magic Bites|38619|Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, #1)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331612872l/38619._SY75_.jpg|38381]. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have developed such a fondness for [a:Ilona Andrews|21748|Ilona Andrews|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219436898p2/21748.jpg] and stumbled upon [b:Burn for Me|20705702|Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy, #1)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1396368355l/20705702._SY75_.jpg|40025563], the series that began this spin-off. I truly believe this series could be better than it's predecessor, but highly recommend you start there.
Now I must start The Edge Series, with [b:On the Edge|6329547|On the Edge (The Edge, #1)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1307445575l/6329547._SY75_.jpg|6515186], just to tie me over until next year when the next Hidden Legacy book is released. Not sure how great On the Edge will be since, based off the Kate Daniels series, the husband & wife duo have improved their writing over the years, but it was... uh.. not so great in the early years.
Oh, well. Might get into [b:Iron and Magic|35126152|Iron and Magic (The Iron Covenant, #1)|Ilona Andrews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525921420l/35126152._SY75_.jpg|56444518] if I can't get into this one.
Catalina is now head of House Baylor and their 3 year grace period from direct attack by Houston's other Houses ends in a few days. The family business is still struggling, and Catalina is determined to keep the family safe and help the business thrive. When a friend's mother and sister are murdered, against all advice, Catalina and House Baylor take on the case. Once again we have a thriller full of action and magic as another member of House of Baylor comes into her own. Along the way her teenage crush, that italian stallion mage Alessandro, shows up at a critical moment, and the two join forces to bring justice and once again save Houston. Of course there are sparks and heat and chemistry but there are hurdles, so many hurdles, before this couple can come together.
I can't wait for the next in series!
I also read the various short stories available on the website that provide some additioanl details and scenes and perspectives and are so entertaining.
I can't wait for the next in series!
I also read the various short stories available on the website that provide some additioanl details and scenes and perspectives and are so entertaining.
I wasn’t fond of the shift in characters with Sapphire Flames, and I didn’t like the explanation around Nevada’s and Rogan’s absence throughout this book. Catalina was an ok character, but the plot seemed a but muddled, and I wasn’t a fan of her incessant adoration of Alessandro. This series seems to be moving in more of a romance direction, and I’m not sure I’ll continue with the next book.
This feels like a stronger start to the second trilogy in this series, and I definitely enjoyed it more than the first trilogy. With less need to build the world from scratch, more time is spent on developing the characters and plot. Also, you don't have , which is hard for anyone to come back from...
Spoiler
the hero kidnapping and forcibly confining the heroine
The switch to another main character didn't went well