A Light in the Flame by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Flesh & Fire #2
Published by Blue Box Press on 15 November 2022
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Pages: 570
Format: eBook
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The only one who can save Sera now is the one she spent her life planning to kill.
The truth about Sera’s plan is out, shattering the fragile trust forged between her and Nyktos. Surrounded by those distrustful of her, all Sera has is her duty. She will do anything to end Kolis, the false King of Gods, and his tyrannical rule of Iliseeum, thus stopping the threat he poses to the mortal realm. Nyktos has a plan, though, and as they work together, the last thing they need is the undeniable, scorching passion that continues to ignite between them. Sera cannot afford to fall for the tortured Primal, not when a life no longer bound to a destiny she never wanted is more attainable than ever. But memories of their shared pleasure and unrivaled desire are a siren’s call impossible to resist. And as Sera begins to realize that she wants to be more than a Consort in name only, the danger surrounding them intensifies. The attacks on the Shadowlands are increasing, and when Kolis summons them to Court, a whole new risk becomes apparent. The Primal power of Life is growing inside her, pushing her closer to the end of her Culling. And without Nyktos’s love—an emotion he’s incapable of feeling—she won’t survive her Ascension. That is if she even makes it to her Ascension and Kolis doesn’t get to her first. Because time is running out. For both her and the realms.

Scroll to the end for a tl;dr summary.

POV – First Person; Seraphena (FMC)
Ending – Cliffhanger

I was definitely a little scared to start A Light in the Flame for several reasons:
1) it had been so long since I read Flesh and Fire book 1, A Shadow in the Ember,
2) I didn’t have the patience for a re-read of ASITE, and
3) the Flesh & Fire and Blood & Ash series are so similar with a lot of moving parts, I was sure I was setting myself up for a bad reading experience.

Still, I took a chance and I’m happy to report that it paid off. A Light in the Flame by Jennifer L. Armentrout was such a good read and the best way to start off the new year.

Pace

Learn from my mistakes. I would 100% recommend a re-read of A Shadow in the Ember before you start A Light in the Flame because, I’m not going to lie, I was a bit confused for maybe the first 10%. So for me, the beginning was a bit slow (only because it took me a while to catch up) but I thought that Jennifer spaced out the big action scenes with enough hints, foreshadowing, and romance sprinkled throughout which kept the pace flowing well. I thought it read like a much shorter book instead of it’s thick, 570-page length. There were some scenes where I thought, “Interesting but is this really relevant?”, only for everything to be tied together nicely later in the book.

Characters

I love Sera and there were definitely times in the first half of the book where I wanted to give her a good shake but those moments only made her personal revelations, and the decisions that stemmed from those revelations, that much more satisfying. By the end of A Light in the Flame, she becomes a slightly more mature and healthy of herself… well… until the ending but no spoilers!

Nyktos…. there are no words. Jennifer gives us a deeper look into Nyktos’s character and his past which really helps to define what drives and motivates him throughout the story.

But, out of everyone, I think Nektas might my current fave from A Light in the Flame. There’s still so much mystery surrounding Nektas and Jennifer kept dropping subtle nudges and facts about him and his past. I can’t resist a good enigmatic man – especially one that can turn into a dragon. I’m very excited about his role in the next book.

Tropes

• 
  Arranged Marriage/Marriage of Convenience
• 
  Hidden/Secret Ability
• 
  Royalty/Court Intrigue
• 
  Prophecy
• 
  Forced Proximity, One Bed & One Horse
• 
  Other Woman/Man/Love Interest Drama
• 
  Dark Secrets
• 
  Kidnapping
• 
  Magic
• 
  Vampires (vampire-like beings), Gods/Goddesses, Humans, Shifters

Is A Light in the Flame Spicy?

Jennifer L. Armentrout is very, very good at threading steamy tension and explicit, spicy scenes into her stories and A Light in the Flame is no exception. Nyktos and Sera’s romance, and subsequent explicit scenes, are inherent to the plot of the story and vice versa; meaning, without their intense and passionate relationship, the other elements of the story would collapse. I would rate it at about a 3 out of 5 because, while the book contained quite a few excellent explicit scenes and tension, there was also an equal focus on the political machinations, world-building, and magic-system.

My Thoughts

I’m a big, big fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s writing style, characters, and stories so I had high expectations for A Light in the Flame and they were well met! I think Nyktos and Sera are excellent examples of complementary main characters and, while the intricate world and magic takes a bit of brain power to comprehend, it really satisfies all my high fantasy romance requirements. The adult romance is well balanced and connected to the overall plot and didn’t feel like it was included just to be labeled ‘spicy’ or as an afterthought. There was a marked growth of the characters, both separately and as a couple, which was very satisfying. In my opinion, there’s nothing more disappointing than a character not learning from their mistakes or questioning their own thoughts/actions – it’s one of my big pet peeves.

I can’t for more of Nyktos, Sera and the gang in the next Flesh & Fire book AND I’m excited to see how the revelations in A Light in the Flame will be referenced in the next Blood & Ash book.

tl;dr – a review in 5 points

• 
  Excellent, top-notch character development
• 
  Equal parts thrilling plot & spicy romance
• 
  SO many juicy revelations/loose ends drawing closer
• 
  Cliffhanger (!!!) ending
• 
  Read A Shadow in the Ember before you start A Light in the Flame