A Reader's Guide to Books and Reviews

Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J. Tuli

Series:
The Nightfire Quartet #1

Genre:
Enemies to Lovers, Romance, Fantasy, Romantasy, New Adult, Netgalley, Book Series, Adult, Mythology, Magical Realism, Monsters, Steamy Romance, Spicy Romance, Vampires, Asian Literature, Third Person Point of View, Paranormal, Suspense, Indian Mythology, Quartet, PoC Author

Publication Date:
September 15, 2023

Pages Numbers:
379

Read Date:
August 16th, 2023

Date Finished:
August 18th, 2023

Rating:
3/5

Blurb:

A city of magic. A passion born in dreams. A secret that will set their world aflame.

Packed with enemies-to-lovers tension, heart-pounding action and devastating twists, The Nightfire Quartet is an epic fantasy romance that begins with a slow burn and builds in intensity. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout and Carissa Broadbent.

For years, Zarya has been trapped in a gilded prison. Her magic is forbidden, a dangerous secret—though nobody will explain why. Now she is ready to break free and find the truth.

Escaping to the dazzling city of Dharati, Zarya discovers a new world of enchantment and intrigue. With the help of seductive, blood-drinking rakshasa and magic-weaving Aazheri sorcerers, she searches for answers.

But the city is under siege. Every night, dark creatures attack. And since Zarya’s arrival they are growing stronger. To protect her new home, Zarya joins the fight.

As she battles on the walls and hunts through libraries for clues about her gifts, Zarya’s dreams are haunted by a mysterious stranger. Powerful, arrogant and handsome, Rabin sees through her secrets and ignites a desire she cannot resist. But can he be trusted?

When darkness threatens to overwhelm Dharati, Zarya is faced with a deadly choice. Will revealing her magic save the city? Or destroy everything she loves?

Enter a glittering new world inspired by Indian mythology and prepare to discover your new obsession.

Review:

When it comes to rating this book, I am uncertain where I could rank this book when it comes to the first in a series. The potential is there with a promising premise. A young woman never allowed past a magical barrier. Forced to remain within, she has no idea of what the world outside is like. That is until Row leaves and the barrier falls. Seeing this as her one and only chance of escape, Zarya takes it. But when Aarav finds her and wants to drag her back, a convenient cast of male characters shows up. Our female lead helps them and she is given the chance to see a city from inside of its walls. But with secrets of her past hidden and the city on the verge of collapse, Zayra has to find the answers and protect the world she has come to love.

I want to say I liked Zarya's character in the beginning, but I would be lying. There was nothing about her character that I found appealing. I saw her bratty and sometimes ungrateful. Her character lacked depth, connection, and any likable substance that I felt the near necessity of ending the novel, but I wanted to press on and see how this entire plotline played out. There were other characters. Other players out in this new world could be promising. There were secrets and reasonings behind Row's need to protect Zarya's life from the rest of the world.

So you're getting married," Zayra said, something prickly loosening in her chest.

This felt quite convenient. A plot device created by the author to prevent any of the readers from investing in a possible potential relationship that could suggest a romantic link between Zayra and Vikram. And while that was what had possibly happened to many of the readers, this did not endure any connection I felt for Rabin. He had come in just in glimpses and thus I did not feel it was substantial enough to make him a player in the game for Zayra's heart. To the author, she might have seen this as a literary technique to control the relationships that seemed to be already established by Zayra and Vikram by not only introducing a sudden marriage but also allowing Rabin to enter without having to challenge Vikram and making it a love triangle.

The lack of chemistry between Zayra and Rabin could be chalked up to the fact there interactions are few and wide. As far as the reader can be made to believe, there was nothing happening between them. So, this potential relationship seemed to lack the necessary formula that would give the relationship its needed chemistry that the reader could feel when the two finally managed to finally meet. It was not there at all.

Fire. Water. Air. Earth. Spirit. Five. She had all five of them.

All five of these sudden abilities remind me of a cartoon that used to be popular on Nick, Avatar: The Last Airbender. The only difference is that these abilities were quick to appear in our female lead's hands while Aang worked hard to make them appear. Many female leads in the fantasy romance genre have become into their powers quite easily without having to really work on them to appear. While we do see Zayra trying to work with her magic, it did not feel as it should be. I would have liked to see her work with what she had to harness the abilities allotted to her. This would have made things a lot more believable.

Final Thought:

As I reiterate my thoughts on the book, I also want the readers to form their own opinions on the book. I believe that any first book in a series opens the door to a world yet to be uncovered. There will be some inconsistencies in the novel, but all those have been a bit miner which I am sure will be explained within the next books to come.

Similar Books:

Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn
Making Her Theirs by Lily Manning
The Stars are Dying by Chloe C. Peñaranda


*Disclaimer: Thank you to the author, her publishers, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions of this review are mine and mine alone.