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A review by egbella
Assassin of Fire and Sacrifice by Mary Mecham
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This might be my favorite Mary Mecham book so far!
Tarquin is the best. Just hands down. I might be biased, since he reminds me a lot of my husband, but regardless, I adored him. The scenes with him in them were my favorites, and I really enjoyed seeing him soften and grow throughout the story.
Speaking of growth, Azora's arc throughout the book was fun to witness too! Her backstory was compelling and sympathetic, and while I usually don't care for self-proclaimed hardened assassins being the "heroes" of a story, this one was well done. I could understand why she was doing what she was, and root for her as she learned better. Her softening was also long-overdue.
The world was more complex than I expected from a fiery, fairy tale romance! I enjoyed all of the details Mecham wove in, particularly around the phoenixes, their healing processes, and small things such as the shoulder tattoos and the wedding traditions. It felt very cohesive and well-thought out. There weren't pages upon pages of history and backstory, but the world was very immersive and provided me enough details to follow along for the most part.
I really appreciated that the romance was clean, with only a select few flirtatious comments that made me sit up a little straighter, wondering if the story was going to go somewhere I wasn't comfortable with. It never did though, and I greatly respect Mecham for that. The characters are married for the majority of the book too, so even touchy topics like sleeping on opposite sides of the same bed weren't anything that made me squirm. Any physical romance was wholesome, sparing, and fit the scene.
And the ending! Wow, that got crazy fast. To my surprise, I wasn't expecting nearly ANY of the twists. Looking back, I see the foreshadows and hints the author threw in now and again, but at the time, I barely caught any of them, and I wouldn't have anticipated the complete truth behind everything. Every time I thought I understood what was going on, something else twisted, and it kept me on my toes! I love when books can do that, as usually I sense plot twists ahead of time.
I think my only qualms with this story were a couple of the very end scenes not making as much sense as I would have liked (though some of it may have gone over my head), and at times I found myself a bit annoyed with the female protagonist and her constant fiery, almost juvenile banter. Overall though, these were fairly minor gripes and not enough to stop me from enjoying this!
This was a super fun read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys clean and engaging fantasy romances, particularly with lots of banter, a protective male protagonist ("touch her and die"), and a unique phoenix world.
CW: death and killing, main characters are hardened assassins, betrayal, several brief kisses, flirtatious dialogue, married characters make several joking comments about wedding night (nothing more happens), and one mention of a low-cut blouse and the main character's curves.
Tarquin is the best. Just hands down. I might be biased, since he reminds me a lot of my husband, but regardless, I adored him. The scenes with him in them were my favorites, and I really enjoyed seeing him soften and grow throughout the story.
Speaking of growth, Azora's arc throughout the book was fun to witness too! Her backstory was compelling and sympathetic, and while I usually don't care for self-proclaimed hardened assassins being the "heroes" of a story, this one was well done. I could understand why she was doing what she was, and root for her as she learned better. Her softening was also long-overdue.
The world was more complex than I expected from a fiery, fairy tale romance! I enjoyed all of the details Mecham wove in, particularly around the phoenixes, their healing processes, and small things such as the shoulder tattoos and the wedding traditions. It felt very cohesive and well-thought out. There weren't pages upon pages of history and backstory, but the world was very immersive and provided me enough details to follow along for the most part.
I really appreciated that the romance was clean, with only a select few flirtatious comments that made me sit up a little straighter, wondering if the story was going to go somewhere I wasn't comfortable with. It never did though, and I greatly respect Mecham for that. The characters are married for the majority of the book too, so even touchy topics like sleeping on opposite sides of the same bed weren't anything that made me squirm. Any physical romance was wholesome, sparing, and fit the scene.
And the ending! Wow, that got crazy fast. To my surprise, I wasn't expecting nearly ANY of the twists. Looking back, I see the foreshadows and hints the author threw in now and again, but at the time, I barely caught any of them, and I wouldn't have anticipated the complete truth behind everything. Every time I thought I understood what was going on, something else twisted, and it kept me on my toes! I love when books can do that, as usually I sense plot twists ahead of time.
I think my only qualms with this story were a couple of the very end scenes not making as much sense as I would have liked (though some of it may have gone over my head), and at times I found myself a bit annoyed with the female protagonist and her constant fiery, almost juvenile banter. Overall though, these were fairly minor gripes and not enough to stop me from enjoying this!
This was a super fun read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys clean and engaging fantasy romances, particularly with lots of banter, a protective male protagonist ("touch her and die"), and a unique phoenix world.
CW: death and killing, main characters are hardened assassins, betrayal, several brief kisses, flirtatious dialogue, married characters make several joking comments about wedding night (nothing more happens), and one mention of a low-cut blouse and the main character's curves.