Burn of the Everflame is here and one of my favorite series of all time is now complete! The epic conclusion of Kindred's Curse Saga both broke me and healed me. Penn Cole is truly a masterful writer. The enemies-to-lovers slow burn romance, the themes of rising from the ashes, of becoming the person you’re meant to be, of sacrificing yourself for those you love… the series will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, and by the end, you will feel born again like the phoenix.
I’m going to do a four part book review - one for each book. But be warned, this review has lots of SPOILERS, so if you haven't read the books and don't want to be spoiled, then stop now! If you want to dive into the world and spiral with me, then please continue.
Spark of the Everflame (book 1 of Kindred’s Curse Saga) gives us ALL the world building and begins with Diem Bellator, a mortal healer like her mother, living in Mortal City within the realm of Lumnos on the continent of Emarion. There are nine realms of Emarion:
- Lumnos - realm of light and shadow
- Sophos, realm of thought and spark
- Fortos, realm of force and valor
- Faunos, realm of beast and brute
- Arboros, realm of root and thorn
- Ignios, realm of sand and flame
- Meros, realm of sea and sky
- Montios, realm of stone and ice
- Umbros, realm of mind and secret
Emarion is occupied by mortals, who worship the Old Gods, and Descended (magic wielders), who are descended from and worship the Kindred, who took over Emarion centuries ago after their home was destroyed, tearing down the Everflame tree.
“According to the old mortal religion, all life began as sparks from the Everflame that fell to the earth as glowing seeds. At death, those found worthy by the Old Gods would be placed among its burning branches, where their earthly bodies would turn to ash but their souls would remain forever warmed by the Undying Fire. Those found unworthy were doomed to an eternity in a cold hell encased in ice, far from the Everflame’s redeeming heat.”
A mortal rebel group called the Guardians of the Everflame has risen to fight back against the Descended and end their oppression against mortals. You can spot them by their tattoos of a vine-encircled flaming tree. Diem gets brought into the group by her best friend turned lover, Henri. There are lots of signs he’s not End Game, but we must suffer through Diem’s torn emotions between her childhood friend and the man he’s becoming. Diem’s position as healer makes her useful to the Guardians as a spy inside the palace.
Diem was raised by mortals Auralie and Andrei Bellator. Her mom is a healer and her father (though not by birth; she is told her birth father died before she was born) is a commander in the Descended army. Her mom has been missing since the day of the blood sun when she spied her talking to a Descended, who she later finds out is Prince Luther. They were arguing, and she threatened to reveal his secret. But what is this secret? (You find out later!) As Diem flees, she runs into a mysterious old woman who tells her that her birth father is still alive, calls her "daughter of the forgotten" and that she should stop taking the flameroot powder her mother made her take every day growing up for a childhood illness. After her mom goes missing, Diem does stop taking the flameroot and takes over her duties at the palace, which starts off a chain reaction of events, especially since she crosses paths with the handsome yet insufferable Prince Luther Corbois.
Diem and Luther clash at every opportunity. They are from two different worlds, after all. Diem enjoys being a healer, but she wants to do more to make the world a better place for mortals. She doesn’t agree with some of the tactics the Guardians are employing, so this causes much friction between her and Henri.
When Diem is at the palace, she meets one of my most favorite characters in the series, Sorae, a gryvern that is part dragon, part lion and part eagle. She is bound to protect the Lumnos crown, she loves apples, and she knows there is something special about Diem. Smart girl!
When Diem is sent to treat the sickly king, there is a delicious scene where she is intimately frisked for weapons by Prince Luther. You can just feel the enemies-to-lovers energy. She ends up in a room alone with the dying king who, previously comatose, suddenly wakes and tells her “They told me you would come for me… I am not afraid, Devourer of Crowns. Ravager of Realms. Herald of Vengeance.” So many mysterious prophesies you will try to piece together, but it will all come together beautifully by the end of Burn. Take notes!
Because of Diem’s spywork for the Guardians, they attack the armory, causing it to collapse. She rushes in, knowing it’s her fault there are people dying and volunteers to squeeze into the narrow space to check for survivors. Luther tries to stop her. He should know better. But it results in one of my favorite lines that I turned into a bookmark: “If you ever call me fragile again, I’ll slice your precious royal balls off and shove them down your throat.” And Luther’s lips twitch. He loves it, and so do I! The badass FMC goes into the armory and saves Perthe, who later becomes her most loyal guard. Fun fact: at my local markets, I’ve gotten many people to read this series when they simply see that bookmark and say “wow, that sounds like a book I need to read!” And I always reply, “yes, yes you do.”
Since stopping the flameroot, Diem starts hearing voices in her head telling her to “fight.” By the end of the book, the demanding voice tells her “free me, Daughter of the Forgotten.” She surrenders to the voice, explodes in magic, and as the king has finally died, Diem ends up with the crown of Lumnos illuminated above her head. Gasp! A mortal has inherited the crown! But this is just the beginning…
As Diem finds herself infiltrating the Descended world, she must navigate politics, growing unrest from the mortals, worry over her missing mother, a mysterious prophesy and the slowest of slow burns between her and Luther.
I inhaled this book and was ready to jump straight into the second. It laid such great groundwork for the rest of the series. But I’ve heard from a lot of people that they don’t like Diem; that she’s irritating. She definitely makes some poor choices (Henri), and she’s slow to make the right ones (Luther). But isn’t that what we all do? We hesitate in the face of difficult decisions, so it just feels real and relatable to me. She’s being pulled in so many directions and has so much on her plate, I don’t fault her for not always knowing what to do. But she’s feisty, stubborn as hell, and fiercely protective of her loved ones. Plus, if she was a perfect FMC from the beginning, wouldn’t it be boring?
Stay tuned for part two: Glow of the Everflame.