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A review by loverofromance
Harmony of Fire by Brian Feehan
4.0
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
First Impressions
Harmony of Fire is a book that I have been highly anticipating and it was on the top of my list for 2022 of releases that were coming out. This author “Brian Feehan” is the son of Christine Feehan and Harmony of Fire is his debut novel. I was eagerly ready to read this one but I was a bit nervous as some of the reviews relayed that the first half is a bit slow going with the world-building style that happens. So I half-listened to the first half and then finished up the second half with the ARC that I received. I was impressed with this book and it’s not very often that I enjoy Urban Fantasy (as it tends to never have enough romance for me) but this one was very solid in the romance despite it being only in the second half of the story. I really was fascinated by the writing in the book as its vastly different from his mother and I am really happy about that. You can definitely see his flair and unique writing style and it completely worked for me and man can he write a romance haha
Summary
The story starts out with two main storylines, one that follows our hero, Owen. And the other that follows our heroine, Alice. Owen is the head of his troupe and is a protector and powerful in his own way. He keeps hidden, his power and his capabilities but are determined to keep his group protected no matter what. Then we have Alice, who as a little girl was forced to bond with an evil We. She has been apart from her family most of her life, and a priest has been protecting her and teaching her how to fight and protect herself. She is determined to find the evil We who bonded her so that she can be free of him. When Owen and Alice’s path’s meet in an interesting set of circumstances, Alice is captured by Owen and his people. Owen and Alice begin to build a bond, their chemistry is off the charts, but Owen is determined to win Alice’s trust and find out why she is so determined to kill all We and not just the evil ones. As Alice begins to learn the reality of the We and her relationship with Owen deepens, her true enemy will come to the surface, but only with them all working together can he be defeated and a future be available for Owen and Alice to forge their own path be possible…
What I Loved
There were so many unique aspects of the story that I truly found myself loving in this one. I will be honest if I was just grading the second half, this book would be a five-star read. But as the couple doesn’t even meet till past the 50% mark, it’s a solid 4-star. But I will say that I was impressed with how the romance developed, as it didn’t feel rushed, it felt completely natural in its progression. I adored the way that Alice and Owen interacted and seeing them form their bond. There is some angst, but despite them being a bit enemies to lovers, the angst level wasn’t super strong and I really enjoyed seeing the way that they developed their relationship and that there wasn’t this full-on hate, more like a distrust of each other at first. The world-building that is implemented was strong and does take over quite a bit of the first half, but as this is a UF type of world and the first in a series, that is expected to happen as there are some complexities to this world that is being created and it is good to have that foundation of knowledge going into this series. I really was intrigued by the world-building and the bit of Christian mythology that is portrayed within the story. It was truly fascinating and I can’t wait to see what this author has in store for the readership in future books. There are some unique and fun side characters that we see and I felt that they added a level of charm to the book that really balanced it out. The actual romance that forms between Owen and Alice is on point and the chemistry is steamy, and I was impressed with how it was built within the story. There is a level of playfulness within these more intimate scenes that I adored and was almost infectious and had me wanting more. The story ended with a HFN, with a slight teaser and I am curious to see Owen and Alice’s relationship build more in the next book.
What I Struggled With
I think the biggest aspect is there is a lot of world-building and the couple doesn’t meet until the latter half of the story and I would have liked more couple page time. I understand why it was written in this way but that is just my personal reader preference.
The Narration
I was impressed with the narrator, and this was my first time listening to him. I really felt like he pulled me into the story which is what I needed and I was impressed with his level of personalization of the characters and building upon the dramatic effect in the right moments.
Overall View
I found Harmony of Fire to be a stunning beginning to what is to be sure a fiery series. This book took my breath away, it held a captivating note all throughout the story that will charm and endear its readers and have you yearning for more of this power couple! TRULY AN EXHILARATING READ!
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
First Impressions
Harmony of Fire is a book that I have been highly anticipating and it was on the top of my list for 2022 of releases that were coming out. This author “Brian Feehan” is the son of Christine Feehan and Harmony of Fire is his debut novel. I was eagerly ready to read this one but I was a bit nervous as some of the reviews relayed that the first half is a bit slow going with the world-building style that happens. So I half-listened to the first half and then finished up the second half with the ARC that I received. I was impressed with this book and it’s not very often that I enjoy Urban Fantasy (as it tends to never have enough romance for me) but this one was very solid in the romance despite it being only in the second half of the story. I really was fascinated by the writing in the book as its vastly different from his mother and I am really happy about that. You can definitely see his flair and unique writing style and it completely worked for me and man can he write a romance haha
Summary
The story starts out with two main storylines, one that follows our hero, Owen. And the other that follows our heroine, Alice. Owen is the head of his troupe and is a protector and powerful in his own way. He keeps hidden, his power and his capabilities but are determined to keep his group protected no matter what. Then we have Alice, who as a little girl was forced to bond with an evil We. She has been apart from her family most of her life, and a priest has been protecting her and teaching her how to fight and protect herself. She is determined to find the evil We who bonded her so that she can be free of him. When Owen and Alice’s path’s meet in an interesting set of circumstances, Alice is captured by Owen and his people. Owen and Alice begin to build a bond, their chemistry is off the charts, but Owen is determined to win Alice’s trust and find out why she is so determined to kill all We and not just the evil ones. As Alice begins to learn the reality of the We and her relationship with Owen deepens, her true enemy will come to the surface, but only with them all working together can he be defeated and a future be available for Owen and Alice to forge their own path be possible…
What I Loved
There were so many unique aspects of the story that I truly found myself loving in this one. I will be honest if I was just grading the second half, this book would be a five-star read. But as the couple doesn’t even meet till past the 50% mark, it’s a solid 4-star. But I will say that I was impressed with how the romance developed, as it didn’t feel rushed, it felt completely natural in its progression. I adored the way that Alice and Owen interacted and seeing them form their bond. There is some angst, but despite them being a bit enemies to lovers, the angst level wasn’t super strong and I really enjoyed seeing the way that they developed their relationship and that there wasn’t this full-on hate, more like a distrust of each other at first. The world-building that is implemented was strong and does take over quite a bit of the first half, but as this is a UF type of world and the first in a series, that is expected to happen as there are some complexities to this world that is being created and it is good to have that foundation of knowledge going into this series. I really was intrigued by the world-building and the bit of Christian mythology that is portrayed within the story. It was truly fascinating and I can’t wait to see what this author has in store for the readership in future books. There are some unique and fun side characters that we see and I felt that they added a level of charm to the book that really balanced it out. The actual romance that forms between Owen and Alice is on point and the chemistry is steamy, and I was impressed with how it was built within the story. There is a level of playfulness within these more intimate scenes that I adored and was almost infectious and had me wanting more. The story ended with a HFN, with a slight teaser and I am curious to see Owen and Alice’s relationship build more in the next book.
What I Struggled With
I think the biggest aspect is there is a lot of world-building and the couple doesn’t meet until the latter half of the story and I would have liked more couple page time. I understand why it was written in this way but that is just my personal reader preference.
The Narration
I was impressed with the narrator, and this was my first time listening to him. I really felt like he pulled me into the story which is what I needed and I was impressed with his level of personalization of the characters and building upon the dramatic effect in the right moments.
Overall View
I found Harmony of Fire to be a stunning beginning to what is to be sure a fiery series. This book took my breath away, it held a captivating note all throughout the story that will charm and endear its readers and have you yearning for more of this power couple! TRULY AN EXHILARATING READ!