Early Review: A Light in the Flame (Flesh and Fire #2)

A Light in the Flame (Flesh and Fire #2)
By Jennifer L Armentrout

Published By: Blue Box Press
Publication Date: November 15, 2022
Date Read: October 25, 2022
Genre: Adult – Fantasy Romance
Source: eARC from Jennifer L Armentrout
Format: E-Book
Pages: 608

From Goodreads:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes book two in her Flesh and Fire series…

The only one who can save Sera now is the one she spent her life planning to kill.

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.

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES, A SHADOW IN THE EMBER, WILL BE PRESENT IN THIS REVIEW. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST BOOK!

“It is not only the fucking embers that are important, Sera. You.”

Holy! Fucking! Shit! I honestly do not know what to say other than that. I knew this book would be good, I mean it is JLA after all… but I wasn’t expecting it be such a moving and powerful book. A Light in the Flame is possibly her best book to date, and I seriously cannot wait for everyone to read this phenomenal book! It was everything I was hoping for and more. I laughed, I cried, I fell even more in love, I cried, I was hanging on to the edge of my seat… oh and did I mention I cried?

A Light in the Flame picks up where A Shadow in the Ember left off, with Sera reeling after Nyktos’ discovery that she was planning to kill him all along. Add that tension to the fact that the Embers of Life inside of her are slowly killing her, they need to find a way to remove them before Sera succumbs to their power. Honestly this entire book was a fast-paced and action-packed story and I loved it so much. Sometimes with Romantasy books I do feel like the plot takes a bit of a backseat for the romance, and while there is plenty of romance in this book, that is just not the case. It was so action packed and I adored every single moment of it.

This is without a doubt one of the most emotional of Jennifer’s books. While there is a big focus on the plot, one thing I adored about this book is that it is deep dive into mental health as well. We see a much more vulnerable side to Sera and I adored it. Sera had anxiety and the way Jen tackled this throughout the book was just utterly perfect. As someone who suffers from anxiety myself, I can’t tell you how much this book means to me for the utterly perfect portrayal of this sometimes debilitating disorder. Jen really put so much of my experiences into words and I can’t thank her enough for this raw and realistic look at what living with anxiety can be like. I found it just so emotional and it was just utterly perfect!

I know I say this with every Jennifer L Armentrout book, but this is without a doubt my favourite and her best work yet. I honestly don’t know how she does it. We all know it will end up okay, because it’s a prequel series but I was still screaming TELL ME THIS WILL END UP OKAY! This entire book is an emotional rollercoaster, one you want to be on. I love that she made me feel every single emotion that the characters were feeling. And I’m sorry to all you Cas and Poppy stans, but Nyktos and Sera are without a doubt my favourites (as they were in ASITE). I just adore everything about them. This book is filled with twists and turns that I couldn’t guess, which is an immediate plus for me. I just adored everything about this book.

If you’re looking for a new series to dive into, I cannot recommend this one enough. It is utter perfection. I have been left reeling dying to get my hands on the next book to find out how everything plays out. Jennifer is an absolute writing genius, and I will forever fangirl over everything she writes. A Light in the Flame had everything, dragons, action, spice, romance, and such a powerful and important look into mental health, and how it’s okay not to be okay. This is her best work to date and you do not want to miss it! It is… in a word… perfection!

“Love makes anything possible. Makes anyone capable of the unexpected.”

Follow K-Books on WordPress.com