Adult Fantasy, NA Romance, New Adult Fantasy, Reviews, Smutty

Book Review: A Light in the Flame (Flesh & Fire #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Goodreads Summary:

The truth about Sera’s plan is out, shattering the fragile trust forged between her and Nyktos. Surrounded by those distrustful of her, all Sera has is her duty. She will do anything to end Kolis, the false King of Gods, and his tyrannical rule of Iliseeum, thus stopping the threat he poses to the mortal realm.

Nyktos has a plan, though, and as they work together, the last thing they need is the undeniable, scorching passion that continues to ignite between them. Sera cannot afford to fall for the tortured Primal, not when a life no longer bound to a destiny she never wanted is more attainable than ever. But memories of their shared pleasure and unrivaled desire are a siren’s call impossible to resist.

And as Sera begins to realize that she wants to be more than a Consort in name only, the danger surrounding them intensifies. The attacks on the Shadowlands are increasing, and when Kolis summons them to Court, a whole new risk becomes apparent. The Primal power of Life is growing inside her, pushing her closer to the end of her Culling. And without Nyktos’s love—an emotion he’s incapable of feeling—she won’t survive her Ascension. That is if she even makes it to her Ascension and Kolis doesn’t get to her first. Because time is running out. For both her and the realms.

Review:

The cliffhanger at the end of A Shadow in the Ember (ASITE) had me reeling, trying to connect all of the dots between what we learned in that book and what we have learned so far in the Blood & Ash series. Some of you (or most likely most of you) will know that the Flesh & Fire series is a prequel to the Blood & Ash Series. That saying, this has definitely filled in some knowledge gaps, but at the same time brought up a lot of questions that remain unanswered.

A Light in the Flame (ALITF) starts off right where we were left off at the end of ASITE. We learn more about the prophecy and the consequences of both Sera’s and Nyktos’ actions. To be truthful, this entire book had me holding my breath, waiting for the next big reveal to drop. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and seemed to not give me a moment of rest. There were some moments when things slowed down a bit, but overall it was an anxiety-ridden ride that I loved.

I do want to address that some have an issue with JLA’s writing style and her storytelling. If you are that person who has not liked her past books and are holding out to see if this will be the one that gets you to love her, then I suggest not to read this one either. I myself am a fan and do acknowledge a few issues with her writing style at times, but overall I enjoy her stories and the way she writes them. I throughly enjoy her novels and this is one I devoured within a span of a few days.

ALITF did not disappoint and was a solid second book in the Flesh & Fire prequel series of the FBAA universe. If you’ve enjoyed the FBAA series, I believe you will also enjoy this book. You may even be like me and be more Team Daddy Nyktos than Team Casteel (but we still love him dearly).

Rating: 5 out of 5

Editor Letter

New Year, Same Me

Hello. Veronica Here.

Did your jaw drop to see a post from The Talking Bookworm? Mine did as well and I am the one writing this.

I am the classic example of letting life get too busy, but in the stillness that we inherited in 2020 and now that has come with us into 2021, I’ve decided to start posting again.

Yes, I still read on my spare time, but it is nowhere in the numbers it used to be. I don’t read 100+ books a year. More like 15-20 on average in the last couple of years. Lots of rereads which is now leading me into discovering lots of new gems that were published in the last couple of years that I have been MIA.

I started the year with a ACOTAR re-read as “A Court of Silver Flames” comes out in February. I am currently on ACOWAR, a hundred pages from the end.

I guess a new thing about me is that I’ve gotten into video games. While I can’t call myself a gamer since I only play on the Nintendo Switch, Animal Crossing and Legend of Zelda: Breathe of the Wild were my top games for 2020. I am currently playing Octopath Traveler.

2021 was supposed to be my big 3-0 year. I had plans to do a lot of things… but alas… the world had other plans.

You can expect to start seeing more from me in the coming months. I may review some old favorites again, or some new stuff. We shall see.

I hope everyone is being safe and well. It is important to be mind and body healthy during these trying times.