*MAJOR SPOILERS*

Where do I even start? This book took me completely by surprise. While I absolutely fell in love with Crown of Feathers, I was a bit wary about Heart of Flames because I was told I wouldn’t like the romance that was sort of hinted at between Veronyka and Tristan. And me being super picky when it comes to romance in the first place, I was just as shocked to find out that I didn’t mind it at all and actually ended up shipping them.

I don’t think I have any complaints about this book except for one thing. The use of em-dashes really annoyed me. I noticed it in my reread of Crown of Feathers, but I think in Heart of Flames, it’s used even more. Every paragraph seemed to have one, and it kind of slowed down my reading a bit. I totally understand this is specific to an author’s writing style, but it’s just not something I loved. It didn’t take away from the story that much though, but it was just something I constantly noticed while reading.

Going back to the romance…It wasn’t 100% perfect. And what I mean by that is that some parts did annoy me a little. There is a lot of pining between the two of them, and we end up going the whole “We can’t be together because it’s too dangerous/I’m a danger to you/We need to stay apart and control our emotions otherwise we will all die” drama, BUT it made sense? I’ve read books where this trope was used, and it just didn’t work. It felt like the author didn’t have a real reason for keeping the characters apart or making the whole relationship difficult and not achievable right away. It was used as a “Look at the sexual tension I created but you can’t have it yet haha.” Nicki actually made everything fit. We get a reason behind why it is dangerous, and we really get an insight into what Veronyka is going through and how confused she is and how she doesn’t really understand what she is doing. I also loved one other thing about her and Tristan’s relationship: the communication. I feel like this is something really lacking in YA. We get two people falling for each other, and then they break up because of lack of communication or a secret or lie is revealed and it’s the end of the world. But when Tristan finds out that Veronyka has shadowmagic, he reacts in a way that is understandable, but then he realizes that what he said was wrong and goes to find Vernoyka and apologizes. That is what I want to see more of in books. I don’t want lack of communication as a means to a frustrated, drawn-out “will they, won’t they” relationship. I want people talking and discussing their feelings and working through things instead of ignoring them and running away in anger.

I also want to talk about character development. One of the things I love about this book is the writing style and how much we get to see what is going on in each character’s head. I loved watching Veronyka, Tristan, and Sev grow throughout the book, and while some people might hate the long paragraphs we get of each character struggling and trying to understand themselves and the situation better, I think it’s relatable to a lot of people who do think that way. It’s funny since it was trending on Twitter, but a lot of people do have monologues in their heads and work through everything they go through by talking to themselves. It’s nice to see the thought process going on in a character’s head instead of assuming it’s happened and that’s why they’re choosing to act a certain way.

Sev’s character development was perfection. Seeing him going from a reluctant spy who shied away from a fight, to someone who wanted to sacrifice everything for what he believes to be right and true, and doing it not for others, but for himself was just sdjfsldkfj He is such a good boy and I love him a lot. He’s gone through so much and learned a lot about himself and what he’s capable of. He’s constantly surprising me (and Kade) at his selflessness and his courage and willingness to do what is right. Also everything with Kade was just great. We love slow-burn in this house.

I do want to mention Elliot’s chapters. At first, I was like, why? But honestly, his chapters almost made me cry. We really got to see how helpless Elliot was and how he was only trying to protect his sister. He made a decision that anyone else would have made and then had to pay the price for it. I love love love his relationship with Sparrow and I really hope he doesn’t forget about her now that Riella is back. It was just so sweet, and Sparrow is honestly a treasure. She’s beautiful and kind and clever and exactly what Elliot needed. I almost cried at the end when Elliot is reunited with his sister.

Speaking of sisters…Val. I hated her in the last book, and my hate for her just grew exponentially in this one. I was worried we might be going for a redemption arc and I couldn’t understand how that was possible with everything that had happened in the past, but this book really shows that in some cases you can’t redeem a person; that their actions are too far-gone, their selfishness and obsessiveness, and the darkness inside them is just too much and impossible to change. And I loved that. I want more unforgiveable villains, not redeemable ones. And we get to go on the journey that Veronyka goes on as she realizes this. She does love Val, and it makes sense, because Val was the only family she ever had and it’s hard to not love and care for someone who cared for you, despite all the other horrible and abusive things they’ve done. It’s hard to forget the small kindnesses and sacrifices and it’s hard to stop caring completely. But I love how Veronyka recognizes that it is too late. I also love just being in Val’s mind and seeing her thought process behind everything. She is so manipulative and cunning. She uses everything and anything to get what she wants. She’s such a frustrating character to read about; so entitled and proud and stubborn and heartless. It makes you so angry you want to break something, but I also love feeling these emotions and realizing they come from a character in a book. It’s quite a powerful thing to do with writing, to make your readers feel all of this. We get to understand so much of Val’s perspective in this book and while it doesn’t make her even a little redeemable, it allows us to understand how messed up everything is in her head. It’s creepy, but also really interesting.

Tristan also goes on quite a journey in this book, though I don’t think it lived up to the same extent as Veronyka’s and Sev’s. I still find his relationship with his father to be a little confusing. At some points I get why Cassian acts the way he does. Both Tristan and Veronyka are in such a hurry to move ahead in their training and their responsibilities, when in reality they are kids and don’t know what they’re doing. That being said, they are quite capable, but also a bit too emotional and not that rational at times. But other times, I find Tristan’s excuses for Cassian’s behaviour, or his reaction to situations to show underlying effects of the abuse he’s faced at his father’s hands. It’s not tough-love or his father trying to teach him how to become a good leader, or at least it’s not entirely that. Cassian’s way of raising Tristan wasn’t great and it affected Tristan a lot, and I think in a way it’s almost pushed aside and forgotten because of how good of a commander his father is and what he’s trying to do to protect Pyra and the Pheonix Riders. It’s something I’m interested in seeing more of in the next book though.

The politics and plotting and war tactics in this book made me jump around like a little kid. This is the content I like to see in books. I love the complexities and intricacies, and seeing the different sides and bargaining chips used to get things rolling a certain way. It’s awful and horrifying realizing what Lord Rolan was doing to draw out the Phoenix riders, but at the same time fascinating to see how things like this can happen, and seeing how Commander Cassian counteracts everything. It’s just something the historian in me loves to see in books because it makes everything so much more complicated and detailed and confusing (but in a good way!)

Overall 4.5/5 stars. I’m so, so, so happy. This book was everything and the rollercoaster of emotions I went through was exactly what I wanted.