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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Audio/ARC Book Review-Harmony of Fire

by | Jul 5, 2022 | Audio Book Reviews, Book Reviews | 5 comments

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

About The Book

The We walk among us–beings who existed long before humans ever did, filled with powerful magic. Owen and Alice are both Etherealist, rare humans born with magic and a target for those We that wish to take it from them. At nine years old and against her will, Alice’s soul was tied to one such powerful and evil We. She escaped and was trained as a weapon so she might one day break the bond and safely return home. Owen is a musician who is trying to outrun his past while keeping those around him safe in an increasingly dangerous world. Only through finding each other do either Alice or Owen have a chance of survival.

My Review

First Impressions

Harmony of Fire is a book that I have been highly anticipating and it was on the top of my list for 2022 of releases that were coming out. This author “Brian Feehan” is the son of Christine Feehan and Harmony of Fire is his debut novel. I was eagerly ready to read this one but I was a bit nervous as some of the reviews relayed that the first half is a bit slow going with the world-building style that happens. So I half-listened to the first half and then finished up the second half with the ARC that I received. I was impressed with this book and it’s not very often that I enjoy Urban Fantasy (as it tends to never have enough romance for me) but this one was very solid in the romance despite it being only in the second half of the story. I really was fascinated by the writing in the book as its vastly different from his mother and I am really happy about that. You can definitely see his flair and unique writing style and it completely worked for me and man can he write a romance haha

Summary

The story starts out with two main storylines, one that follows our hero, Owen. And the other that follows our heroine, Alice. Owen is the head of his troupe and is a protector and powerful in his own way. He keeps hidden, his power and his capabilities but are determined to keep his group protected no matter what. Then we have Alice, who as a little girl was forced to bond with an evil We. She has been apart from her family most of her life, and a priest has been protecting her and teaching her how to fight and protect herself. She is determined to find the evil We who bonded her so that she can be free of him. When Owen and Alice’s path’s meet in an interesting set of circumstances, Alice is captured by Owen and his people. Owen and Alice begin to build a bond, their chemistry is off the charts, but Owen is determined to win Alice’s trust and find out why she is so determined to kill all We and not just the evil ones. As Alice begins to learn the reality of the We and her relationship with Owen deepens, her true enemy will come to the surface, but only with them all working together can he be defeated and a future be available for Owen and Alice to forge their own path be possible…

What I Loved

There were so many unique aspects of the story that I truly found myself loving in this one. I will be honest if I was just grading the second half, this book would be a five-star read. But as the couple doesn’t even meet till past the 50% mark, it’s a solid 4-star. But I will say that I was impressed with how the romance developed, as it didn’t feel rushed, it felt completely natural in its progression. I adored the way that Alice and Owen interacted and seeing them form their bond. There is some angst, but despite them being a bit enemies to lovers, the angst level wasn’t super strong and I really enjoyed seeing the way that they developed their relationship and that there wasn’t this full-on hate, more like a distrust of each other at first. The world-building that is implemented was strong and does take over quite a bit of the first half, but as this is a UF type of world and the first in a series, that is expected to happen as there are some complexities to this world that is being created and it is good to have that foundation of knowledge going into this series. I really was intrigued by the world-building and the bit of Christian mythology that is portrayed within the story. It was truly fascinating and I can’t wait to see what this author has in store for the readership in future books. There are some unique and fun side characters that we see and I felt that they added a level of charm to the book that really balanced it out. The actual romance that forms between Owen and Alice is on point and the chemistry is steamy, and I was impressed with how it was built within the story. There is a level of playfulness within these more intimate scenes that I adored and was almost infectious and had me wanting more. And also there is so much humor in this book that I couldn’t stop laughing in some of the antics between the group, my goodness, I just wasn’t expecting it at all and really entertained and balanced it all out. The story ended with a HFN, with a slight teaser and I am curious to see Owen and Alice’s relationship build more in the next book.

What I Struggled With

I think the biggest aspect is there is a lot of world-building and the couple doesn’t meet until the latter half of the story and I would have liked more couple page time. I understand why it was written in this way but that is just my personal reader preference.

The Narration

I was impressed with the narrator, and this was my first time listening to him. I really felt like he pulled me into the story which is what I needed and I was impressed with his level of personalization of the characters and building upon the dramatic effect in the right moments.

Overall View

I found Harmony of Fire to be a stunning beginning to what is to be sure a fiery series. This book took my breath away, it held a captivating note all throughout the story that will charm and endear its readers and have you yearning for more of this power couple! TRULY AN EXHILARATING READ!

Book Details

Title: Harmony of Fire

Author: Brian Feehan

Genre: Urban Fantasy Romance

Format: Audiobook/eARC

Source: Berkley

Length: 416 Pages

About the Narrators

Will Peters this narrator has no current bio but has done some narrations which you can see HERE

Book Links

Amazon| Barnes & Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| Storygraph| Literal Club| Audible

Book Evaluation

Storytelling Quality: 4.5

Story Itself: 4.25

Character Development: 5

Writing Style: 4

World Building 4.5

Feels + The Romantic Heart 4

Pacing 4

Plot 5

Narration= 4.25

Cover Art 4

Ending 4.5

Book Ratings

Rating of the Book

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Steam Level

Simmering cup of tea—soft warm touches and light intimacy

Warmin’ by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.

So for the steam level, there are only two sex scenes and while they are steamy there isn’t much with the chemistry until the second half of the book which is why I have categorized it this way.

Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.

Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.

About Brian

Brian Feehan is a 2nd generation author, son to #1 New York Times Bestselling author Christine Feehan. He lives in a small coastal town in Mendocino County Ca with his son and the love of his life Michelle. He loves spending time with family, playing tennis, cooking, reading, and of course writing.

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5 Comments

  1. Rachel @Waves of Fiction

    Glad to hear you loved this Renee. I still have the widget so maybe I’ll grab it up. I didn’t know he lives in Mendocino! I love and visit that town often! Small world. 🙂

    Reply
    • Lover of Romance

      that is a small world!!! I think you will really enjoy this one though especially since you like UF. His style is different from his mother and I really liked it. Just know the first half is a lot of world building and they don’t meet until the second half but once they do its amazing!

      Reply
  2. Sophia Rose

    Sounds like knowing what to expect when you went in helped tremendously so you could really enjoy the aspects you love in books.

    Reply
  3. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

    What a unique premise this one has! I don’t read a whole lot of urban fantasy but sometimes they really hit the spot. Like you, I would typically want more romance throughout the whole book, but this still sounds like a solid read!

    Reply

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