Monday, January 20, 2020

Review - Sapphire Flames

Title:   Sapphire Flames
Author:   Ilona Andrews
Series:   Hidden Legacy #4
Genre:   Urban Fantasy
Publisher:   Avon
Format:   Audiobook
No. of Pages:   400
Date of Publication:   August 27, 2019
My Rating:   4 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews comes an enthralling new trilogy set in the Hidden Legacy world, where magic means power, and family bloodlines are the new currency of society…

In a world where magic is the key to power and wealth, Catalina Baylor is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, and the Head of her House. Catalina has always been afraid to use her unique powers, but when her friend’s mother and sister are murdered, Catalina risks her reputation and safety to unravel the mystery.

But behind the scenes powerful forces are at work, and one of them is Alessandro Sagredo, the Italian Prime who was once Catalina’s teenage crush. Dangerous and unpredictable, Alessandro’s true motives are unclear, but he’s drawn to Catalina like a moth to a flame.


To help her friend, Catalina must test the limits of her extraordinary powers, but doing so may cost her both her House–and her heart. 


MY THOUGHTS:

The torch is passed to Catalina Baylor, who actually gets her own trilogy, and Sapphire Flames in the next book of the Hidden Legacy series. As I read the first three books in the series, I learned that the books are part of an urban fantasy series where at one time they received a special serum, and as it passed through the blood of the family, they were given magic powers. They had unique skills and lived among regular people and were a law of their own, with a system of laws and actions. As he description says, magic is key.

Catalina is a Prime, and ranks highest as a magic user, and is the Head of her House - again, from the description - and her unique skills kept her in the background. Catalina has the skills to make everyone like her, and thus is able to use her powers to get any information she wants.

Saddened and infuriated by the death of her friend's mother and sister, Catalina steps into her powers and vows to do whatever she can to find out why. In so doing she runs headlong into a man who she once had a crush on, Alessandro Sagredo, who is an Italian Prime. Against her better judgment, Catalina is forced to trust him. Shockingly, Alessandro is immune to Catalina's powers - but not to their shared attraction.

If Catalina gets things wrong she can lose not only her place as Prime of her House, but her family - and what she vowed never to give away - her heart. After all, how could she ever truly know if any man could love her for herself and not be swayed by her magic powers?

I love spending time in this world. In my mind, Catalina had a lot to live up to because in the first three books in the series, I was enamored by Nevada, her older sister, and her endeavors. Could Catalina and her trials - and love - match up in this series by Ilona Andrews? Yes, indeed, she did. I was swiftly carried away by Catalina, all of the magic, the battles, the challenges, the danger, and the inevitable love story. 

I had the extra bonus of listening to this as an audiobook narrated by Emily Rankin. She is an excellent narrator and captured the voices, action and emotion of a well-written story. Urban fantasy is not ordinarily a genre I read, but with such skill (yes, using the word again in this review) that the pair of authors that make up the name Ilona Andrews was the best way for me to be introduced to the genre. 

I did miss Nevada and Mad Rogan in this story and I would have loved seeing them interact with Catalina. Other than that minor disappointment, I was well pleased with this addition to the series and will definitely be following the series as the next two books are released.

The first three books are Burn for Me, White Hot and Diamond Fire (my combined review can be found here as a Series Review.)  There were also a couple of novellas, and the next book in the series is entitled Emerald Blaze, due for publication in August, and the series will conclude in 2021. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

“Ilona Andrews” is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)

Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Texas with their two children and many dogs and cats.

They have co-authored four NYT and USAT bestselling series, the #1 NYT bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels, rustic fantasy of the Edge, paranormal romance of Hidden Legacy, and Innkeeper Chronicles, which they post as a free weekly serial. For complete list of their books, fun extras, and Innkeeper installments, please visit their website at Ilona-andrews.com.

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9 comments:

  1. I am glad to see you enjoyed Catalina's story. I love this series.

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  2. Urban Fantasy isn't my thing but I am glad you enjoyed it.

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  3. I haven’t read anything by Ilona Andrews. One of these days I need to! Thanks for the reminder!

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  4. I cannot imagine the complications of writing a book with my husband - they are an exceptionally brave couple ;)

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  5. have not read urban fantasies at all.. sounds interesting.. and a husband-wife team writing :)

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  6. Glad you enjoy it. Thank you for sharing

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  7. Not a series I'm familiar with. Great review.

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