A Light in the Flame (Flesh and Fire #2 - Book Review)
Sera and Nyktos are back. With an incontrollable passion and distrust in the way, they must still work together to destroy their enemy and save the realms. You’ll find significant action in the book's second half. The plot rises but deflates. That said, there are interesting surprises at the end.
Review
Series: Flesh and Fire
Book: A Light in the Flame (#2)
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
📕Buy link at the end of this post ⤵️
As promised, here’re my thoughts on the sequel of “A Shadow in the Ember,” from Armentrout’s series “Flesh and Fire.”
This second book picked up where the other ended. We know there’s a prophecy and that Seraphena is involved somehow. Poetic as it is, there can be many interpretations to it, and I’m sure you’re trying to piece it all together in your mind, just as our characters are.
“From the desperation of golden crowns and born of mortal flesh, a great primal power rises as the heir to the lands and seas, to the skies and all the realms. A shadow in the ember, a light in the flame, to become a fire in the flesh. When the stars fall from the night, the great mountains crumble into the seas, and old bones raise their swords beside the gods, the false one will be stripped from glory until two born of the same misdeeds, born of the same great and Primal power in the mortal realm. A first daughter, with blood full of fire, fated for the once-promised King. And the second daughter, with blood full of ash and ice, the other half of the future King. Together, they will remake the realms as they usher in the end. And so it will begin with the last Chosen blood spilled, the great conspirator birthed from the flesh and fire of the Primals will awaken as the Harbinger and the Bringer of Death and Destruction to the lands gifted by the gods. Beware, for the end will come from the West to destroy the East and lay waste to all which lies between.”
If you’re familiar with “Blood and Ash” and this series, then I’m sure you’re recognizing some elements, matching characters with pieces of the prophecy. Still, not all is clear yet, and we’ll have to wait for the sequel to both series.
What of Book 2
That said, I’ll be brief. The first 50% of this book was slow paced. Nothing significant happened and it made it difficult to pick it up to continue the reading. After that, things got interesting. We are finally going to witness what we knew was inevitable that had to happen. As you’ve probably read in the book’s description, Sera and Nyktos are trying to stop Kolis from destroying all the realms. Here, the plot is rising toward its climate. It’s getting interesting. But then, the story deflates.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed, like the author had not many pages to try and make everything have sense and wrap it up. However, there were some exciting twists and surprises there. And with the ending, I feel the sequel will start we some more twists or good explanations for why those surprises came to be in this one.
I still struggle sometimes with Seraphena as a character. As much as I’ve compared her to Poppy, her stubbornness borders stupidity. Poppy new when to push, when to be ‘reckless’ and when to step back for her safety, even if she didn’t admit it out loud. Sera, on the other hand, goes against directions, just because. There’s a moment where she says: “I know when to be reserved and not reckless.” Honestly, I don’t agree with her statement. Her reactions sometimes annoyed me a bit because they made her look less smart and more childish—not what you want on a strong female warrior protagonist.
Solving Doubts
In my previous review of “A Shadow in the Ember,” I raised a doubt regarding the relationship between Carsodonia and Lasania. There’s still no map of the whole world in the times of Nyktos and Sera—which I think would be awesome to put everything in place—but here we have a little answer:
"It was far greater than Carsodonia, the capital of Lasania.”
To sum it up…
This book was longer than I wish it to be. There’s still a sense of déjà vu. Nevertheless, I was happy with the surprises by the end even when the moments up to the cliffhanger felt like something was missing. I really enjoy recognizing and learning more about characters I’ve seen mentioned in “Blood and Ash.” As I’ve said before, what appealed to me of this series at the beginning was precisely the possibility to get a better understanding of the world and context from “Blood and Ash.” It’s going to be difficult to wait a whole year for a sequel from either series.
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