#Spark of the Everflame

[taragreenfield]

I've been reading quite a lot of romantasy lately and I have to say I'm tired of the way authors pretend the whole world is revolving around their FMC. She spent chapters upo chapters talking about her feelings, yet never stops to think how her actions affect other people. She lies and hides her secrets, yet feels "betrayed" and outraged when somebody does the same to her. She can't be bothered to help someone because it's hard/scary/makes her step out of the comfort zone, yet raises a huge stink when someone refuses to help her. She doesn't like to be dismissed and ignored, yet when someone says things she doesn't want to hear, she just sticks her fingers into her ears and stomps her feet like a little child. She can be rude and aggressive and walk around stabbing people right and left, and it's fine because she's "traumatized" or something, but if someone hurts her feelings - they are obviously evil horrible monsters.

Yes, I know; the main character should have flaws; they don't have to be a perfectly likeable, always nice and correct person or become such in the end. The problem is that the narrative tries to pretend those flaws aren't there. They never face the consequences of their actions. If such a heroine is called out on her BS - it's either done to show how horribly unfair another character is to her, or it is forgotten in five minutes. Let her be wrong about something and either acknowledge the damage she's done or have the other characters react accordingly, i.e., refusing to forgive her and trust her again, without constantly excusing everything she does.

[sthenoaloraquest]

Glow of the Everflame Chapter 1 & 2 Spoilers

I'm really excited to see how her powers transform 😆. It's weird that she can't feel/touch the crown.

Teller really had to "walk her off the ledge".

Honey Luther already knows 😂

Oh no. Don't give me the "Oh gods, Henri." He's got to go. I see him running out on you in the future. Henri is not going to stick around for your hardships.

Luther, buddy, one horse? 😏

[myownbookcloset]

Spark of the everflame

Penn Cole

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

♀️ Diem ♂️ Luther

Quote: "Don’t choose a mediocre life for a mediocre man. Go be exceptional. If he’s worth it, he won’t judge you. And if he’s really the one, he’ll come along for the ride"

Own ✅

[skyler-reads28]

not enough people are talking about Penn Cole’s, Kindred’s Curse series and it’s driving me crazy.

I need people to talk to about it! I need fanart!

If you like fantasy, slow burn romance, magic, gods, etc give it a try! It genuinely surprised me and now I can’t put them down.

[shopofstars]

why dont people talk about the kindred’s curse saga? WHY???

[fiveflatcutie]

i knew i just have to share this for all the girlies out there! 📣

[romanticatheartt]

Now that I'm free from university (not completely free... but yeah)

[oh-my-wolfstar]

how the fuck is there NOTHING on Ao3 about The Kindred’s Curse Saga? It’s a decently pollute series with three books and yet there’s not a single fic

[taragreenfield]

Some people like complaining that romance readers (they usually mean women, of course) prefer to see "bad guys", morally questionable or outright villainous men, as love interests in fiction and lamenting that nobody appreciates a good, simple, safe guy as a romantic option for their fictional heroine of choice. Some of them even start the whole moral panic out of it. "Women are doing witchcraft again don't appreciate healthy relationships! They are gonna emulate that toxic dynamic in real life because their feeble feminine brains can't tell the difference between fiction and reality!" And while the simple preference for a more complicated, tenser, angstier relationship dynamic is absolutely valid, I feel like there is another reason for that rejection of a seemingly "healthier" option that often gets overlooked.

The question is: is the "good guy" actually good? What makes him so? When authors want to show that a character is evil, they often go great lengths for that (and often overdo it) by making said character engage in multiple mustache-twirling, cartoonishly evil acts: killing bunches of people, eating children for breakfast, kicking cute little puppies, insulting innocent old ladies and so on. Some especially preachy authors who consider their readers idiots would also repeat in every chapter, "That guy is evil! Evil! Remember? Did I mention he's evil? Yet no one ever puts even a fraction of that effort into showing the goodness of their supposed "heroes". We are expected to believe they are good mostly because they do not commit the aforementioned "evil" deeds, and that should be enough. Spoiler: it's not. Your "good guy" has been the closest friend of the FMC since forever? Great, show that their friendship is important for them and they actually know and understand each other better than anyone else. Because if it's a misunderstanding after misunderstanding between them, it's kinda hard to believe. He's a "safer" option? Sure, show that he actually gives her safety and comfort and she feels at peace with him. He's supportive and is always there for her? Great, show how they trust each other and feel happy and fulfilled in each other's company. Most importantly, instead of having him stick to the FMC's side like a barnacle, give him a life of his own. Principles, convictions, ideals, noble goals, actual good deeds that prove that he's indeed kind/brave/loyal/caring (not only about the FMC). Instead, we often get either a cardboard character with the personality of a toothpick and the romantic potential of an unseasoned chicken breast; or even worse, a toxic, selfish idiot whose assholery is never addressed because he's supposed to be good. And there is nothing more frustrating than the character who is painted as good and righteous, when you clearly can see they are not. No wonder nobody wants to read such romance.

[sthenoaloraquest]

Spoilers Glow of the Everflame Chapters 11-23

Henri?! You think you can pull a knife? On her?! That's a noob move. 😮‍💨

Luther I'm so glad you nipped those allegations real quick.

"But rest assured, my Queen, when I do kiss you, there will be no confusion. You will know that I have claimed you and I won't have any desire to deny it." All of me flushed. I swallowed. I hadn't missed his choice of words. Not if I kiss you. Not in the rare and unlikely event I kiss you. When I kiss you.

I was hoping Sorae and Diem would be able to mentally communicate, but I like how they can feel each other's emotions. I hope Diem will get the collar off her at some point.

Diem power seems insane!

Diem sweetie, WE DO NOT MAKE UNBREAKABLE VOWS WITH SHADY MOTHERFCKERS WITHOUT LUTHER. I love you, but damn is this going to bite us in the ass. 😂

Taran's twin brother 🙃. I don't even want to remember his name, and I hope he dies soon.

So far, my favorite cousin is Taran, then Eleanor.

I get that the Challenge is to the death with magic, but is it like magical tasks that will kill you or just fight to the death? I need to be patient but I have questions.

Luther, sir, it is hot in here! 🥵 Diem, please ditch henri soon.

Aawwweee them dancing 🥹

[books-and-strawberry-tea]

Hey lovely I was wondering if you ended up reading Spark of the Everflame yet? I remember you mentioning wanting to read it.

I’m trying to decide if I should get it or not?

@fundamentalcherrytree

[chelsea-lat3ly]

[inlovewithquotes]

It's never the enemy who attacks outright who will strike your killing blow, he'd taught me. It's the one who hides in the shadows and waits. The one who strikes when you've finally looked away. Those are the true predators to fear.

-Spark Of The Everflame

[wereallbooked]

Our January Wrap Ups!

In January, M read 17 books (everyone say thank you throne of glass) and H read 12! We read books like Onyx Storm, The Courting of Bristol Keats, Spark of the Everflame, The Ministry of Time, and Love, Theoretically.

Our Thoughts below the cut: (spoiler free until the very end, and only minor spoilers there!)

H’s reads:

The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson: For some reason, the first 100-or so pages of this book felt WEIRD to me. I can't quite put my finger on why, but it was one of those reads where enough is off to make you hyper-vigilant about everything else in the book, and it killed my vibe...until we entered the second act. THEN, it ate and left almost no crumbs. (maybe 2 crumbs?) I really loved Tyghan. I REALLY loved Tyghan's connection to Bristol's lore (iykyk) and I thought the use of dual POV here was an excellent way to differentiate it from the romantasy market at large. 3.75⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood (M also read this, but she didn't want to count it. I am all about that Goodreads challenge): I don't know why, but I spent this entire read picturing Liam Mairi from Fourth Wing as the MMC, which probably added at least a star to my rating. Oops? I know a lot of people thought this man was creepy for his little photography habit, and I think in real life I would also be bothered. However, he is a man written by Ali Hazelwood, soooooooooo. 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flawless by Elsie Silver: When I read this bad boy, it was baby's first cowboy romance! M actually gave this to me for Christmas because I made one too many "we should try a cowboy romance" jokes. While reading, I alternated between intense joy and wondering who Rhett voted for. I think the fact that he was Canadian helped. A little. As I have gone on to read more from this series, however, the things that bothered me about Rhett are only intensified by reading about his brothers (latent misogyny, anyone? a smidge? a hint?). I DID have fun, though, which is what matters in a book like this. I was a big fan of the whipped cream shenanigans. I am also a milk hater, so that didn't bother me too much. 3.75⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hopeless by Elsie Silver: Here's my beef with this one: If you promise me a book about a virgin with a big age gap, I expect a book about a virgin with a big age gap. I feel like Elsie could have committed to the bit a bit more? She gave Bailey a funny mix of sexual promiscuity and innocence, which is FINE, but wasn't what I was expecting. Further, she seemed to shy away from the age gap a bit by making Bailey more "mature". I felt like she could have just....not? If you pick up the fourteen year age gap romance book and get offended by the fourteen year age gap...that's on you. I don't think THAT's the audience Elsie needed to cater to here, but that's just me. 2.75 ⭐️⭐️

Andromeda by Therese Bohman: I contain multitudes! The first half of this novel was really lovely. I really enjoyed the FMC’s (I believe her name is sophie? but we find that out on page 100 or something) voice and description of things. It felt almost Sally Rooney esque, and I am a huge Sally Rooney fan. And then, we got to Gunnar’s POV. I didn’t vibe with Gunnar. I probably should have anticipated this. There are few old men I do vibe with. However, Gunnar killed the novel for me. I got this from BOTM, and they advertised it as exploring themes of modernity. It DOES do this, however, the novels view on modernity and my view on modernity do not mesh. 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Favorites by Layne Fargo: This was my other BOTM pick this month! Again, I really liked the first half. It’s a Wuthering Heights retelling and the first half is much more loyal to the original story. The feeling of knowing tragedy is at the door but not being able to break through the pages and warn the characters was awful. I recommend! However, the late second and third acts diverge from the original novel, and in order to do so, fundamentally alter Heath (Heathcliff)’s character. This is all to say, I wish Heath was a worse guy overall. I get WHY he isn’t, though, especially after looking into Fargo’s backlog after finishing. Still, I was really disappointed with the novel’s end. 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Homeseeking by Karissa Chen: I really put off starting this one because I was intimidated by it. I don’t know WHY I was intimidated, but it was my BOTM pick for December, and then I let it languish on my shelves for weeks. I should NOT have waited!! It was a beautiful story with beautiful prose. I loved the excavations of Chinese history, the elevation of lesser known consequences of the Cultural Revolution, and the examination of the Chinese-American identity. GREAT stuff. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: This was my THIRD read. Originally, I gave fourth wing 4 stars, then 4.5 on my first re read, but this read pushed it back down to 4. The Empyrean series is my current fixation. I had no choice in the matter. My main blog is a fourth wing fanfiction blog. Violet and Xaden are verrrryyy important to me. However, the prose in fourth wing is so incredibly clunky. I get terminal red pen brain when reading. I thought a LOT about V and X’s chemistry while reading this time around (for fic reasons, LOL) and their big moments in the first half of the story arc didn’t eat like usual. The insta-lust wasn’t as bad as I remember it being, but then Violet didn’t really seem like she liked him ?? as much as usual anyway. HOWEVER, the second half of the book is where I USUALLY gripe about their development (re: all the actual relationship building happening off screen, what do they talk about, does xaden have a hobby) and on this read I actually caught a lot more of the minor references that show them falling in love! Casualty of the chaotic prose: it’s hard to catch a lot of the one-line mentions. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros: This book is my baby and I love her. She’s the only girl in the world to me. I heard Lexi on Fantasy Fangirls describe Iron Flame as a transition book, and at first, I didn’t agree with this assessment. However, when I thought about it further, I think that’s why I love it so much. When I first read IF, my life was in a transitory period, and I also felt like my whole world had been turned upside down. A lot of people say X and V are annoying here. I, again, disagree. I raise you this: they’re just like me for real. Both of them and the way they react to things are EXACTLY what I would do. Maybe this is problematic, but I do NOT care. The problems I have with FW do all still exist in this one, but they don’t bother me. I don’t have red pen brain here. 6 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (read twice. in a row. back to back.): This is our book club read, so we’ll have a separate post for her! However, I will say that my first read was NOT great. I care about these books (see reviews 8 and 9, LMAO) and I was wayyyy too invested in certain theories going the way I wanted (re: Halden and Xaden, specifically). I was so anxious that Xaden was going to do something drastic based on the way he was acting that the entire first read was a 12 hour anxiety attack. I originally rated the book 4 stars, and then, I was minding my own business a few hours after finishing. The ending crossed my mind, and I burst into tears. Repeatedly. At length. So then, I made it a 5 star! On my re read, I was experienced a LOT more of that five star feeling, until the last 100 pages or so when I once again succumbed to dread. A lot of the popular critiques of this book aren’t things I “agree” with. I didn’t expect “good” world building after books one and two, for example. The prose is what it is. But! More on that later. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood: Ali’s best work? Dare I say? I ADORED this. Elsie is so me coded it felt like Dr. Hazelwood was in my walls. I LOVED how Jack handled her issues. I really enjoyed the sex. Ali is always so freaking funny. This has me cackling. This has me crying. Incredible. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

M’s reads:

*spoiler free until the end*

1. Kindred's Curse Saga

- Spark of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Glow of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Heat of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️

honestly was really excited to read this series bc i wanted to listen to ffg deep dives. i liked the first book well enough and i really liked the premise that the main character is a healer. the second book was good too i thought, and i was really propelled through the series because each book ends on a massive cliffhanger and i couldn't stand it. but then by the third book idk it all became too much - too much going on - too many bad decisions made by the fmc.

2. ACOSF ⭐️⭐️⭐️

love love the series but this was probably my least favorite book out of them all. it felt too long and honestly they fucked too much for me girl pls 😭😭😭 loved the sisterhood developed with nesta, gywn, and emerie and also her own sisters. as per my goodreads 3 stars for the plot and 5 for the sisterhood

3. A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston ⭐️⭐️⭐️

really wanted to like this one because who doesn't like a book written about a book? but i just couldn't vibe with the fmc and mmc and i couldn't with how it ended.

4. Ready or Not by Cara Bastone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

okay actually kinda throughly enjoyed this one and it was really fun and super sweet. loved the mmc and the overall nyc vibes. every character was quirky and unique and the situation was kinda insane which i lived for. i would read this again for a spark of joy.

5. All of TOG ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

no words. best series i've ever read idk why i didn't read tog sooner i was so missing out. every book was good in its own way. you didn't ask but here is my ranking of books in the series.

heir of fire

kingdom of ash

throne of glass

crown of midnight

empire of storms

assassins blade

tower of dawn

queen of shadows

*i have more comments on this series in the spoilers section*

6. Onyx Storm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

most anticipated read fr. enjoyed it. loved the world building and xaden and violet in this. violet was truly girlbossing it up. ALSO loved ridoc in this he has my whole heart. I feel like we got to love all the side characters a bit more here so that made my soul happy. not sure where to rank it in terms of fourth wing and iron flame. i feel like i should have reread fw and if before this but i was too busy girlbossing it up with tog.

1. The Ministry of Time ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

was really not into it in the beginning probably because i haven't read lit fic in a while, but it def grew on me and the commentaries about being mixed race really hit home for me here 💔. def reccomend this to ur wasian besties because i almost cried.

8. Tethered ⭐️⭐️

this is your sign not to read books you see on tiktok because i was like oooh ahhh vampires i LOVE a vampire. not saying i don't love this vampire, but i couldn't get into it just based on the way the book was written and there's so many more books in the series i just knew i couldn't keep going through it. if you want a trashy wattpad vibe book (sorry if u love this book and i just called is trashy but its trashy in a good 2000s britney spears) kinda way.

**spoilers**

- kindreds curse saga: okay so my main qualm with this whole series is that by the third book the way the fmc acts just became too much and it's as if she's having no self-growth at all. like sorry for throwing tomatoes but she kept making decision after decision that led them running on their asses elsewhere. and it just never ended. ALSO i just couldn't with them fucking in the library after they fought a battle and then getting caught. PLS a library. anyways. also another comment is that i was really wanting to read this series because she was a healer but then turns out she doesn't even want to be a healer so i felt a bit sad about that in my soul.

- TOG: i have so many thoughts on this series my life is geneuinly changed thank you parents for buying me the box set for christmas because i could reread these books forever. what truly amazed me about these books were that characters i kinda disliked or hated (cough cough chaol) i truly came to love and understand by the end of the series which is so hard to do as an author i think. like i went from hatimg chaol in queen of shadows to feeling so sorry for him in tower of dawn. not that its not fucked up what he did to aelin and nehemiah but like you really get to empathize with him and his sitaution. and manon too! i didn't really like reading her parts at first but then i loved her by the end. and also i wasnt sure how to feel about rowan in heir of fire bc i already knew he was endgame but now i also love love rowan so much its like he's the perfect balance for aelin. also cannot express my love for the fmc that is calaena / aelin like she is amazing in every way possible.

[bookishbanterwithmandz]

Absolutely loving The kindreds curse series. A little over halfway done with the 3rd book in the series and I’ll be sad to put this series down until the last one comes out.

The cruel prince is next on my reading list though ❤️