Review originally posted in May of 2017 at Fiction Vixen by Angela & Jen.

White Hot by Ilona Andrews
Hidden Legacy #2
Fantasy Romance
Originally published May 30, 2017 by Avon

To say we were excited about this book is a bit of an understatement.  We love us some Ilona Andrews.  BURN FOR ME was one of our favorite books in 2014.  Mad Rogan was quite the polarizing hero and Nevada is a great, steadfast heroine — a lot like Kate, if you think about it.

Angela: I seem to fall in love with everything Ilona Andrews writes, without exception. The first time I picked up BURN FOR ME (and I say first time because I’ve reread this one over and over) I was enchanted. Partly because it had all the wit, balls to the wall super-amped  up magical excitement and pure awesomeness that I’ve come to expect from this husband and wife writing duo, but also because it is based in Houston and I LIVE HERE. Which means I knew exactly where all the scenes took place, I could picture the car chases on freeway overpasses in my mind, it was easy to envision Mad Rogan and Nevada driving around the city looking for their enemies. How cool is that?

Jen:  Well, I will admit, without shame, I read/listened to BURN FOR ME no less than five times waiting for White Hot.  It never got old.  The minute WHITE HOT hit my kindle it was all I could do to not dive straight in.  So many questions, would they be answered in White Hot or not until book 3?  Who was the big bad guy in all of this?  How did Rogan’s cousin get involved?  What would happen between Nevada and Rogan?  Would they ever be on equal footing considering their power disparity?

PLOT

Angela: Hmmmm. Well… How to get into the plot without actually giving away any huge spoilers? Hmmm… There’s a lot going on; Nevada taking on a new job and trying to figure out who killed her client’s wife, Nevada getting caught up again with Connor Rogan, Rogan and Nevada realizing their investigation is much, much bigger than they thought and it all stems back to the events in book one. Oh, yeah and there is love and sexy times and Rogan throwing cars at people and a cute little girl who’s best friend is a Doberman and well, more of Nevada’s family who are the bestest of the best.

Basically, that’s all I’m giving you. But, what I will say is that despite all the magical goings-on and fight scenes and bullets flying and whatnot, there is an intricate plot, which carries into book three (yes, I’ve read WILDFIRE and get ready for even more badassery) and I had to go back and read all three books in a row to really grasp what was going on. The magical community in Houston is pretty much like any other body of powerful people who want to stay on top and think they should make decisions for everybody else. They are just more dangerous.

Jen:  Ha, ha.  You really think we are going to reveal much of it?  Not likely.  Like most Ilona Andrews books’ you need to read it to find out what is happening.  I will say while some questions were answered, as soon as I finished WHITE HOT, I was texting Angela wanting to know her thoughts on some things.  The big bad isn’t really answered.  I finished White Hot seriously pondering who could be behind everything that is happening and in awe of what I was reading.

Enter my lair, said the dragon. I have shiny treasure for you to play with, I’ll keep you warm and safe, and if it suits my purpose, I’ll chain you to the floor and kill your client by throwing quarters at him with my magic.

Rogan’s cousin still has a part in the book and she pulls a move that is completely awful. I was appalled by what she did.

The end…..oh my goodness.  The end.  Knock me over with a feather.  Crazy stuff.  Don’t you want to go read the book now?

ROGAN AND NEVADA

Jen:  What a couple.  Seriously.  I admire Nevada for her approach with Rogan.  She wanted to keep everything on even ground which is so difficult considering the power he holds.  He tries to steamroll her several times and pulls some moves that had me rolling my eyes.  Such an alpha-male, that one is.  And my goodness, where is my ice water and fan?  These two burn the pages up.  Burn them.

“And now that I’m conveniently here, you decide to give it another shot. Is there a shortage of attractive women in your life, Connor?”
“There is a shortage of you in my life,” he said.

Oh, well.  Ok.  Sigh.

Like I mentioned above, Nevada reminds me of Kate in so many ways.  They are both principled and honest.  They hold tightly to their integrity even in the face of adversity and their strong male counterparts.

Angela: Nevada is such an alpha female, I love her. Rogan scares the crap out of her in book one, because let’s face it he can hurl chunks of buildings at people and flatten them like a pancake if he wants to. He’s also grumpy and gruff and views the general public as either allies or enemies, black or white, good or bad. But man, his protective streak for her is a mile wide. The stuff he does in the name of protecting her and her family WAS crazy and over the line, which is why he needs someone like Nevada Baylor to push him back and tell him to stop.

Also, I love their banter and flirting.

“Yes, I wanted to skip the bullshit.”
“So what happened? You changed your mind and now you want the bullshit?”
Rogan’s phone chimed. “Yes, I want your bullshit.”
“Well, you don’t get to have any of my bullshit. I’m keeping it.” Okay, and that didn’t sound childish. Not at all.
“Why not?”
“Because you call it bullshit.”

As Nevada’s powers are getting stronger and she’s learning how to channel them, it’s Rogan who always has her back and takes pride in how much of a badass she’s becoming.

I’d never felt so alone in my whole life.
Rogan stepped between me and them, his eyes full of something. Whatever it was — pride? Admiration? Love?– I held on to it like it was a lifeline. He understood. At some point in his life he had stood just like that, while people stared at him in horror, and he must’ve felt alone, because now he was here, and he was shielding me from their judgement.
“You’re amazing.” Connor Rogan said and smiled.

I love Ilona Andrews pairings. Their alpha couples make me smile, because while each are powerful and dangerous in their own right, they also have vulnerabilities and weaknesses and need each other to fill those holes.

EVERYTHING ELSE AND FINAL THOUGHTS

Angela:  Having already read this book twice, and finished the final book in the series WILDFIRE, I can honestly say that this will be one of those series that I turn to often when I need a good comfort read. Every time I open one of Ilona Andrews’ books I am absolutely blown away by their talent. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is that makes their books so much better than anyone else’s in this genre. Is it the way they write their fight scenes? Is it their alpha pairings? Is it because I always end up caring about their secondary characters almost as much as their main characters? The dialogue? All of that? Everything?

I hope this series goes on and on and on. Just like with Kate Daniels and the Innkeeper Chronicles, I’m so in love with the secondary characters that I need for them to have books in their POVs. With the release of Wildfire coming at the end of July, you guys should expect more gushing and fangirling. Final Grade-A

Favorite Quote:

I was in love with Connor Rogan. And he was in love with me.

Jen:  Everything else would be the secondary characters, for me.  Nevada’s family is flat out awesome.  Each of them has a strength and it is showcased well in WHITE HOT.  I would love to see them have their own books.  After Hugh, of course.  And George/Jack too.  Possibly after Derek.  I’ve gone off track.

I cannot wait until this comes out on audio so I can read it again.  And then again.  I know it is set for a three book series but so many things can still be done with these characters, at least I hope.  This grade is not even in question.  Final grade- A

Favorite Quote:

Suddenly the past two months of normal life tore apart, like fragile paper, and I was right back next to Rogan, about to charge into a fight. And it felt right.