A review by calicoreadstoomuch
Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole

emotional hopeful sad fast-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? No

5.0

*** I have received a digital ARC from the author in exchange for my honest review***

Blurb:
When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn.

In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village.

Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.

With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.

Review:

Where do I start other than to say immediately pre-order from your local indie or bookshop.org because this series is guaranteed to be a new favorite.

My intrigue was sparked when I saw the aesthetic reels posted by Penn. Then I saw  it recommended for fans of ACOTAR and that was all she wrote. After devouring this book in all of a few hours, I will say if you were a fan of Crescent City, Diem will win your heart just as Bryce has. 

I finished CC mere weeks ago and was on a pretty intense book hangover thinking I’d just gotten myself out of a slump to fall back in but Spark of the Everflame has pulled me out and I want more of these realms ASAP (thankfully Book 2 release is coming July 18 and also available for pre-order).

Although I get the comparison to ACOTAR (for which I am also a big fan of) I have to say the writing and plot are so far beyond ACOTAR that those who didn’t care for that series will fall for this one as it’s everything we expected from ACOTAR and didn’t quite get.

Pen’s writing is perfect. Her story structure and word choices made the story flow so quickly all while keeping you enthralled and at times at the edge needing to know the secrets being kept from Diem.

The anticipation of the romance is moving at a natural pace, neither too quickly nor what I would necessarily call too much of a slow burn; more so just the right pacing. 

I find myself rooting so hard for Diem and Prince Luther, while my understanding for Henri remains, I realized quite fast that he was not going to be favorite of mine and I found myself yelling at Diem when she was trying to force herself to return Henri’s desire to be together. His motives seem far more self serving to his own losses than the losses of the mortals as a whole people. And without giving spoilers to anything, Henri isn’t going to be happy at all when he learns Diem’s secret.

Although there are a couple of spicy scenes this isn’t smut filled so for those who prefer closed door, those pages can easily be skipped without missing anything of importance.

I keep coming back to Diem and how much I am loving her character and how I cannot wait to see her on page development over the course of the next books in the series. She is epitome of badass female and as Prince Luther pointed out “not scared of anything”.

The magic system isn’t yet the largest point in the story and I anticipate as we learn more about Diem’s past and her linage, we will learn more of the magic. 

I cannot wait to see all of the sure to be delicious fan art and any special editions I will be clamoring to get my hands on for my special book shelves.

It is hard to believe this is a debut for Penn Cole. She is now on my quite short list of auto buy authors. She literally could write a travel guide and I’m purchasing without a second thought.

If you love a lush world without too much crazy world building, a story that is character and plot focused without being info dumpy in the slightest, a full fantasy story unfolding before you on less than 450 pages- this is the read for you. And thankfully there is no waiting years for additional books as it appears within months of Book 1s release we will have Book 2 and Book 3 (ultimately I believe this will be a 4 book series).
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