Rising Fire by Terri Brisbin (Stone Circles #1)
Released: March 3, 2015
Paranormal Romance
Signet
Reviewed by May
Lovely and innocent Brienne of Yester has always been able to manipulate fire, but when her powers suddenly surge, the simple life she once knew explodes.
Handsome, fearless, and commanding William de Brus has been summoned by the king to investigate a nobleman rumored to have powers linked to the fabled fire goddess. When he chances upon Brienne, his desire for her is immediate. But as his mystical quest unfolds, William realizes that she is at the center of it—for Brienne possesses the very power he has been sent to vanquish….
This is the first book in a new romance/fantasy series. Based on how this story was told and hints given I believe we will see a new struggle and couple featured in each series, and that the past featured characters will show up and assist as it goes along. This is a really smart way to write a series such as this because it will keep each book strong and interesting on its own but weave together a very strong overall story.
This story begins in the year 1286 in Scotland, and is told from a number of viewpoints. From the villain’s plot to our characters discovering their powers and purpose in the world there is a lot going on and the change of narration was well done to keep things moving along but with a clear view for me to easily follow.
Brienne’s true father is only just recently known to her, and he is conspiring with a goddess to bring chaos and death to this world. When she stumbles across William de Brus the pair is immediately attracted to each other, but they each have not only a journey together but their own individual discoveries that need to be made.
She is already his weakness. Their connection is only beginning, and yet it is nearly unbreakable. I had no idea it could happen so quickly.”
“Nor I,” he said. None of the priests understood it, nor would they, until all the pieces stood together in plain sight like a puzzle needing to be solved.
The villain is well done – he wasn’t just talk at every turn he was proving himself both determined to his cause and a formidable opponent as well. So often authors pull back where they shouldn’t with a character like this and it was good to see Lord Hugh be terrifying and truly capable of evil. It made him seem all the more threatening – and the story that much more interesting.
Now this plot is not a particularly unique idea – an ancient evil, prophecies, unsuspecting individuals finding great power and battling evil together – but this story was well done. There is a lot going on but it is managed well, and considering the subject and scope of the story the balance between character development, plot action, and romance was excellent.
If you’re looking for a new fantasy series set in ye olde Scotland and with a wide cast of characters but a clear romance/happy as pending apocalypse can be for now focus then you might like this. The natural and instinctive way these characters learn their abilities, and the well-developed characters worked really well for me.
Grade: A
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