Rating: 3.5  Stars

Publisher: Self Published

Genre: Romantasy 

Length: 438 Pages

Reviewer: Kazza

Purchase At: amazon

Blurb:

When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn.

In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by their cruel, magical offspring called the Descended, healer Diem Bellator yearns to escape 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 a web of mysteries left behind by her mother.

With the dying King’s handsome yet enigmatic heir watching her every move and a ruthless rebel alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem must 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 epic fantasy romance series that follows feisty heroine Diem Bellator in her fight against oppression, her struggle to survive in a royal palace full of intrigue, and her journey of self-discovery and finding true love. This enemies-to-lovers romantasy features a unique magic system, dragon-like mythical creatures, hilarious banter, mysteries that will leave you theorizing for weeks, and a true slow (slowwwwwww) burn. This book will appeal to fans of plot-heavy, character-driven series such as A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, From Blood and Ash, Gild, Fourth Wing, and The Serpent & the Wings of Night.

Review: 

I want to start out by letting any potential reader know that this is slated as a four (4) book series. The author seems to have been full of gusto, putting out the first three books in 2023, but when I looked at the blurb for book #4 at the end of this book, I noticed it wasn’t out yet. I bought this thinking it was finished. Reviewers have said that publication dates have come and gone for the fourth book, it’s currently slated as a July 2026 release. That’s three years between book #3 and book #4. Super frustrating for readers.

Also, I’m sick of comparisons by authors about their books and already successful books. This is nothing like The Empyrean series. Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm have more complex and deeply interwoven friendships, and one undying love – Xaden and Violet – not a love triangle-esque relationship. It’s also not like The Crowns of Nyaxia series – The Serpent & the Wings of the Night, etc – which is far more bloody. Oraya owns it, even through doubt, and goes for it. She has a range and depth of emotions that Diem does not have.  

My Overall Feelings:

This book is based on a god class structure. There are the Angels Kindred who left their realm and mated humans, and their offspring are the Nephilim Descended. Nine Kindred originally came to Emarion, and with their mortal mates they created their dynasty, or nine realms. Each has it’s own magical elements. Your garden variety mortals that didn’t mate with the Kindred pretty well lucked out as they live in mortal cities in basic to shitty conditions. Some are somewhat better, Diem lives with her mother and stepfather in a somewhat better area. He was a revered warrior in the Emarion Army when he served. Her mother, a much sought after healer who worked with the poor as well as the royal house of Emarion. Until she disappeared. Diem has a younger bother, Teller, who was a character I actually liked throughout. He goes to the (superior) Descended school supposedly because of a deal their mother struck up with the current king. Everyone knows the king’s death is imminent, Prince Luther is favoured to take his place. No matter, there is no mortal who believes they will be better off with Luther, or any other Descended, in power. 

Then there’s Henri. He’s been Diem’s best friend since childhood. Henri wants more, though. Diem knows it and skirts around it. Her mother’s recent disappearance has impacted the whole family. Now is not the time for love. Diem throws herself into healing, especially with the royal house, which her mother had previously forbidden. Seeing as her mother’s gone, Diem tells Maura she wants to work with the Descended. Quietly, she believes she can learn what might have happened to her mother by working closer to them. Diem, like most mortals, has an axe to grind with the Descended. So much so, she throws herself into alliance with people who are questionable. She also believes Prince Luther has something to do with her mother’s disappearance because she inadvertently overheard them discussing something, and he looked angry, the night her mother disappeared.

There are a couple of interactions between Prince Luther and Diem. He acts differently around her than others. Gives her chances where others would be killed. You know he wants her because I’m pretty sure he’s going to be the ongoing MMC but there is a quasi love triangle building – Diem, Henri, Luther – something I hate. 

You can readily work out that Diem is something more than mortal. She’s been taking flameroot for ages to supposedly rid her of her crazy, her “hallucinations” until, in a pique of anger about her mother disappearing, she throws all the flameroot into a lake. Now she has a much louder voice talking to her.  It gives her directions in different situations, like “fight.” She also does some freaky-deaky healing, well above and beyond what a mortal should be able to do. She has different hair and eyes to all the other mortals. Oh, and she disintegrates a wolf. As you do. A woman in Paradise Row, a lower socio-economic part of town, tells Diem things she shouldn’t know but is adamant about. 

As if she’d read my thoughts, the old crone gave me an amused look. “He knows about you, your father. He’s waiting for you.”
“My sire, not my father,” I corrected between clenched teeth. “And he’s dead.”
“Should be. But he’s a survivor.” She chuckled. “Another trait you inherited, I’m guessing.”

Still, it’s nope, not listening. Diem keeps putting everything down to these hallucinations of hers. Luther knows she’s not mortal but he’s shocked when she genuinely has no idea who or what she is. Not that he enlightens her because I’m not sure he knows exactly either. I could be wrong on that last count because we have so little time with him.  

Luther: My god. There’s a world of promise in this Descended “love interest.” I put that in quotations because, you know, I don’t actually know. I’m pretty certain there is going to be a lot I will love about him, but that’s guesswork right now. That will also depend on me buying the next book and I’m right on the fence about that, seeing as there is no fourth book nearly three years down the track. The primary relationship is supposed to be a ‘true slow (slowwwwwww) burn,’ as pulled straight from the blurb, but that would imply there’s a spark. Spark may be in the title but it’s really not within the pages. Luther’s page count is woefully small, his development so miniscule, I felt no smouldering, let alone burning. He isn’t a fully realised character by book’s end.

Diem: She’s annoying and I feel like she’s heading into more aggravating territory. She is so naïve and gullible. Her mother and stepfather have a lot to answer for in regards to that. Look, I liked that she was a healer. She has moments of compassion BUT, and there is a but, she loses sight of that because of Henri and his shitty attitude and the misogynist men he hangs out with in his ridiculous little cult. Do I understand why Henri and Diem do not like the Descended? Hell yes! They can be downright cruel and they’re oppressive. However, the misogynist group that is the Guardians of the Everflame is really no better. Diem was right when she called them a clubhouse, or whatever it was she said, but she listens to them because of Henri and the whole repetitious ‘we’ve been friends since we were young.’ Now, he wants to marry her. They have on-page sex at one point in the book but it felt all kinds of wrong to me. She’s not feeling Henri but, ‘I owe him something.’ No. No, you don’t, gurl!!!! You don’t owe him anything. He’s shifty AF. If some man corralled me with a bunch of other men assisting him, grabbed and ripped my medical bag away from me, carrying on like he did, Henri would be so dead to me. Anyway…. Trying for the Dain Aetos vibe but at least Rebecca Yarros left them as friends and Dain has truly redeeming qualities. Henri, nope. He has none. Also, Vi has self-belief. She also became invested in Xaden as a lover then partner. No tossing up. She knows who she is even when it’s tough. Diem is all over the shot. Once again, that does not make for a good slow burn romance because your intrapersonal relationship starts first then it’s the interpersonal.  

You might think I didn’t enjoy much about Spark of the Everflame. It has promise but it also frustrates. Diem is not someone I love. It’s her voice as the narrator. A big problem when you don’t love that voice. I’m unsure if she’s capable of getting me onside. But there is an addictive quality to the writing and the story being told. I can see why it has over 250,000 ratings on Goodreads. It’s not full of complex world building. That’s a plus for any number of readers, not for me. I love the potential Luther promises, but do I want him with Diem? The book is an easy read. It’s not too long and it’s written in easily digestible language. 

The ending is an easy-out from the author, as far as I’m concerned. I didn’t love how it ended prior to the epilogue let alone that epilogue that is not about either of the MCs. 3.5 Stars!