Spark of the Everflame
By: Penn Cole
Format: Kindle
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
**My review below may contain spoilers.**
Good Reads Summary
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.
Spark of the Everflame is the first book in The Kindred’s Curse Saga, a four-book fantasy romance series. This slow burn, enemies-to-lovers epic is perfect for lovers of magic, dragons, angst, and banter and will appeal to fans of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, From Blood and Ash, Gild, and The Serpent & the Wings of Night.
Positives:
Negatives:
- Badass FMC: I love Diem. She’s complex. The story is from her POV and we have a front row seat to her internal struggles. She isn’t perfect. She debates with herself over the right thing to do, she has regrets following her actions, and she reflects on her own imperfections. She’s reckless, but not overly so. For those of you who liked the Throne of Glass series, she reminds me a lot of Aelin (who is one of my favorite FMC of any of books I’ve read).
- Side Characters: The side characters have a good amount of complexity on their own. I found myself loving then hating many of the side characters. From Diem’s childhood best friend/current love, Henri, to the dark, brooding, mysterious prince of Lumnos, Luther. I found myself pulling for them one chapter, then hoping Diem ditches them the next. I felt the same way about her family. Her stepdad trained her to fight and is supportive one second, then restrictive the next. Her mother is secretive, but strong. Chef’s kiss to all the characters.
- World: The world and the kingdoms in this story are creative. I love how each kingdom has different types of magic, and I enjoyed reading about the dynamic and background of the descended versus the mortals.
- Predictable at Times: Many of the twists I saw coming early in the book. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved reading about them, but it’s nice to be surprised on occasion.
- Slow Plot: The plot of this book felt drawn out. I know that it is the first book in the series, and was mainly focused on setting up the story and the world, so I’m very excited to read the next book.
Review Synopsis
This has potential to become one of my new favorite series. World building and character development is to be expected in the first book of a romantasy series, and I’m so excited to read the next book in the series to really get into the action. I loved Diem as a FMC. Her character is realistic, both witnessing her internal struggles and self-doubt, as well as how she learned to fight (sometimes FMC are just good fighters for no reason). I think the world is unique, each kingdom having different types of magic that are tied to the land was interesting to read about and I can’t wait to see how it comes into play in future books.
One of my favorite parts of the book was all the different characters. Each character is interesting. There’s the dark, brooding prince (hello, shadow daddy???), the current friend/love interest, Henri (giving me Tamlin vibes if I’m being honest), the goofy and supportive younger brother, and the complicated, mysterious, but loving parents.
I did see many of the twists coming, but there was enough mystery and questions to keep me hooked and reading. Overall, I highly recommend this book and am anxious to jump into the next one.
Below is an affiliate link to Amazon if you are interested in reading Spark of the Everflame, leave a comment to let me know what you think if you give it a try!
Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/45DDsM7