shan

In a genre saturated with romantasy that lacks nuance and relatability, Penn shines and ups the bar for everyone else in this genre. As much as this book is about an angry woman living her life in the middle of mortals and descended (long lived descendants of gods and mortals), it’s not hard to draw the modern day real-world divide she’s actually writing about. In this way, it’s very reminiscent of Carissa Broadbent’s writing - the well-written narrative, badass morally grey characters, and nuance of a complex there’s-no-right-answer world. There might be villainous characters, but there’s no true villain, and this is a concept that our FMC struggles with throughout the novel.

The way Penn writes her characters, you can *feel* all if the emotions they are feeling, and you’ll go through a rollercoaster of them. I found myself cheering Diem on, and then screaming at her the next second “why would you do that!!!” and wanting to smack her upside the head. She’s brave, smart, and angry. And her anger is so relatable and well written.

Spark of the Everflame is not romance heavy YET, but it’s a wonderful start to one. I fell in love with the MMC and cannot wait to see more of him (and the dragon!) in the later books. I loved how Diem’s arc did not revolve around him, and how she is her own individual with a lot of other, bigger problems at the moment. This is a slooooow burn with angst and not-so-fated mates and I am loving every second of it. There’s mystery that is well built (THAT ENDING 😱) and I also enjoyed the family representation. Diem has a relatively normal family on one side - her dad and her brother. There’s a specific scene where Diem and her father are teasing her younger brother and it was just so normal and fun and real, in a genre where almost everyone is an orphan. But her mom is a different story, and the mystery, tension, intrigue, and fantasy of it all gives readers the best of both worlds.

On the trail a few weeks back in CO.

You know that feeling when your heart starts beating fast and your breath slows? When the smallest details seem to stand out, and couldn’t be more perfect?