#fyren

Author: Brigitte Knightley

Series: Dearly Beloathed Duet

Genre: Adult Romantasy

Publisher: Orbit UK.

Release Date: 08/07/2025

Rating: 5/5 🌟

Synopsis:

Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, is in dire need of healing. Naturally – such is the grim comedy of fate – the only healer who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim, preeminent scientist, bastion of moral good, and member of an enemy Order.

Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick – so desperate that, when Osric bribes her to help him, she accepts, even if she detests him and everything he stands for.

A forced collaboration ensues: the brilliant Woman in STEM is coerced into working with the PhD in Murders, much to Aurienne’s disgust. As Osric and Aurienne work together to heal his illness and investigate the mysterious reoccurrence of a deadly pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction, which only fuels the heat between them.

Review:

tw//: murder, violence, sexual content, child death.

i loved this book. duh, obviously! you saw the five star rating above! but, i’m reiterating it loudly cuz i actually did. as a dramione reader, since this book was announced, i knew i was gonna like it and give it probably a three+ star rating! i didn’t know that i was gonna love it this much tho!

aurienne is a type A lovable firecracker and osric is a self absorbed jokester with questionable morals. and somehow they banter their way from strangers serving in opposing Orders to reluctant doctor/patient to begrudging co-workers to somewhat friendly acquaintances with an annoying persistant *crush* (it’s actually love not a crush) on each other … wow, they didn’t become lovers!!? yes, dear reader! this book actually *did the thing* and followed on its tagline of “a slow-burn enemies to lovers” meaning the enemies are going through the different stages before reaching the lovers destination!

as an english major who sat for a whole semester listening to lecturer drone on and on about the “ye olden” kingdoms of the british isles, i’m quite delighted that the author chose an alternate version of that U.K. as the setting for this novel. the adventures our protagonists go on throughout the land were very reminiscent of the astérix et obélix cartoon adventures which i remember liking as a child. and the magic system reminded me so much of fairy tail which i adore!!!

the plot essentially is: in a world, where magic (seith) exists, eight orders formed over the years to teach a select few how to use it for a variety of purposes. some orders are good (bright paths) and some are bad-really bad- (dusken paths). an assassin (osric) that belong to an order where they execute their weak, finds out he’s loosing his seith due to a recent combat injury (shit!💀). now he has to beseech with one of the healing order’s top healers to dig up an old paper she presented at a conference years ago, which hypothesise that there is a way to reverse “seith rot” via the “ye olden ways” of using magic! this top healer (aurienne) refuses immediately on principle but acquiesces when osric offers to fund the healan order’s efforts to develop a vaccine against the pox virus that’s reeking havoc on vagrant children. from then on, their adventures begin and all seems hopeless for a while there for osric’s sake. then, the haelan order HQ gets attacked and kingdom higher-ups start asking around about who is this generous anonymous donor!! oooh, something is amiss!

yeah, this novel was fun, funny, and adventurous. and i enjoyed it immensely. i can’t wait for its sequel! also, i listened to the audiobook and the narrators did a phenomenal work, so you definitely need to check it out!

ps. bear in mind, this novel is just part one, and it ends on a cliffhanger in the middle of some exciting events!

The Deadlands, filled with raiders who were too afraid to get closer to Veilcrest, or creatures that wished to run from such a place and find some shelter between the unknown and the land of the dragons. Blackrock, filled with sulfer, volcanoes, dragons of every color that had resigned themselves to such a place – this is where Vaeros went often. He'd fly, release the spell of invisibility, until he was free.

They'd collared him like a pet, flattened islands, villages, with the sound of a screeching dragon and blood soaked jaws. It was who he truly was, had never denied what a beast he was, but dragons could never be pushed to such a base definition and subjugation. It was he who they would fear again.

Dragons were magic made flesh.

The Steel dragon vied to become more independent, more mature, more capable, and more grown. But for all of her half-hearted efforts, as that had been the most effort she had made to improve herself, she was still young and in need of guidance. The sense of pride she had felt in herself for assisting with the rescue of those marooned across the Queenset Isles and beyond was dashed almost as soon as she landed back in Haven. She had revealed her truest self to Lyklor, yet for another reason he recoiled from her. 

Her romance with the daemonfey had been a fledgling thing, but it had not been fleeting. It had snuck up on her despite the veneer she had built around herself in the hopes of keeping all others at an arm’s length. It was easier to be seen as charming but vapid, as lovely but shallow. Lyklor saw past it, navigated around it, and had made small concessions that just as slowly allowed him to be known. And then, from how Talisa saw things, he pulled the rug out from under her. The rejection seared like a brand in the back of her mind, a glowing, iron-hot warning: not good enough, not worth the effort of making an attempt, and not worth the potential of pain. 

Solon was, of course, the first person she intentionally sought out on the matter. Solon had gotten her through many things, though usually she silently shifted the expectation of handling much of anything onto their plate. This bruising of the heart she dealt with was something she likely could have hidden from him. It was something they never needed to know about. But despite her pride and shame on the matter, she found herself desperate for their perspective and wisdom–and whatever dramatic speech she might have to endure to receive them. 

She found Solon in Avalon, not that they made themself difficult for her to find, and she made no attempt to conceal the heaviness of emotions on her face as she approached them. “I need to talk to you,” she told him. But she knew their mind had been occupied with the recovery of Avalon’s hier. Solon’s attentiveness was just another reminder that things were changing, another threat suggesting she might soon be left behind. She swallowed the idea like a bitter pill and did not vocalize it to them. “Whenever you have time.”

These past weeks Elris had done more walking than in the whole twenty years since his incident. He thought he'd be able to grit his teeth and bear the pain, but even with his cane at his side the irritation to his injury was to grate. Finding a perch to rest upon he had set his cane down within arms reach. Normally no one was interested in the cane, most didn’t stare due to their own discomfort with his injury but this man an elvhen he hadn’t seen before, he couldn't tell if it was his leg or cane the other had their eyes locked in on. “May I help you?” It was rather unfriendly for the elvhen but Elris alway got defensive when it came to his injury.

Freydis had not seen Fyren since Aventia, but it did not mean they had not crossed her mind several times since. In the healer’s tent months prior she had thought him strange and theatrical, though she had appreciated that he laughed at her terrible joke. At the time, she had chalked it up to some sort of tincture or potion meant to ease the pain of deep bruising and cracked ribs. With what she had learned since, she was not so convinced. Now, many of the things they said made much more sense: their claim of eating those who lacked a sense of humor, their statement that they were from a time and place different than present day. There was always a chance she was wrong–it would be far from the first time–but she was curious enough to risk thoroughly embarrassing herself to find out.  She found him by chance against the backdrop of the bay’s deep blue waters. There were not many out on this path that twined along the coastline removed from the larger crowds the festivities attracted. It was quieter here, which felt natural given the path only led to one particular monument. After all Fyren had said of his drive and motivation it probably shouldn’t have surprised her to see him headed this way. But she was grateful for the timing. “How have you found yourself occupying your time since Aventia fell?” Freydis asked, keeping pace at this side. She recalled their discussion on interests. “Come across any interesting gems as of late? Or tell any particularly good jokes?” A point was made to ask the final question in draconic.

Aershaa - Fyren