Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The second romantic fantasy in Rocha's Bound to Fire and Steel series (after Consort of Fire) is every bit as successful at combining luxurious sensuality with high-stakes drama as its precursor. Dragon god Ash is finally free to settle down with his consort, Sachielle, and her lover Zanya, the embodied representatives of the Everlasting Dream and the Endless Void, respectively. While Zanya has begun to get a handle on her new powers, Sachielle has yet to fully manifest hers, which makes it all the more dangerous when she is kidnapped by the Betrayer--a rogue god and Ash's brother--and kept prisoner in his lands. Sachielle must use her cunning to undermine the Betrayer, while Ash and Zanya can only hope she discovers her power in time to save herself. The thrilling training and battle scenes are interspersed with moments of magic-infused eroticism. Readers will be excited to see where Rocha takes the series next. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary. (Aug.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two women discover the extent of their newfound powers. Sachielle, the daughter of a king, grew up betrothed to the dragon god, Ash. In the first book of this series, Consort of Fire (2023), Sachi and her handmaiden, Zanya, attempted to assassinate Ash, but instead the three fell in love. Sachi and Zanya discovered that they're not regular human women but are themselves gods. Sachi is the goddess of creation, which manifests in dreams, while Zanya is the goddess of destruction, which is known as the endless void. Now Sachi and Zanya struggle to understand and control their new powers. Zanya's warrior skills are underdeveloped; she has heightened strength and reflexes and can transport herself through shadows, but she's vulnerable to her emotions. Zanya forgets all her training if she thinks Sachi or Ash is under attack. Sachi learns that, in the dreamscape, she can travel through time and space, talking to people both living and dead. On one of Sachi's trips through the dreamscape, she's captured by Ash's archnemesis, his brother, Sorin, the Betrayer. Thousands of years ago, a battle between Ash and Sorin almost destroyed the Earth. Sorin retreated and created his own empire, a vicious mirror of Ash's, including a twisted court of evil demigods. While trapped in Sorin's realm, Sachi is determined to learn the source of Sorin's malevolent power while Ash and Zanya work to attack his stronghold from the outside. While the first book in the series developed the romance among the three lovers, this installment prioritizes a tale of war. Sachi, Zanya, and other women lead the fight, with Ash deferring to their skills and judgment as they marshal the forces needed to defeat Sorin in battle. It's satisfying to see strong women at the forefront of the story, but the book could also serve as a cautionary tale about the difficulties of balancing plot and character development in a romantasy. Fantasy and the fight against evil take the pole position in this sequel, leaving the romance plot a distant second. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
