Review: Heart of Flames by Nicki Pau Preto

Heart of Flames by Nicki Pau Preto

Publisher & Release Date: Simon Pulse, February 2020

Type: YA Fantasy

Series: Crown of Feathers Book #2

Summary: Veronyka, Tristan, and Sev must stop the advancing empire from destroying the Phoenix Riders in this fiery sequel to Crown of Feathers, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake calls “absolutely unforgettable!”

The world is balanced on the edge of a knife, and war is almost certain between the empire and the Phoenix Riders.

Veronyka finally got her wish to join the Riders, but while she’s supposed to be in training, all she really wants to do is fly out to defend the villages of Pyra from the advancing empire. Tristan has been promoted to Master Rider, but he has very different ideas about the best way to protect their people than his father, the commander. Sev has been sent to spy on the empire, but maintaining his cover may force him to fight on the wrong side of the war. And Veronyka’s sister, Val, is determined to regain the empire she lost—even if it means inciting the war herself.

As tensions reach a boiling point, the characters all find themselves drawn together into a fight that will shape the course of the empire—and determine the future of the Phoenix Riders. Each must decide how far they’re willing to go—and what they’re willing to lose in the process.

My Review: 

Holy Phoenix Fire! This book. THIS BOOOOOK!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed Nicki Pau Preto's debut novel Crown of Feathers, so much so that I begged to be on the street team so that I could help promote it! In the last several months I have helped an amazing team of readers spread the word about CoF and its sequel, Heart of Flames.

A little part of me was afraid that I had possibly worked HoF up in my head though because of my involvement on the street team,but no. It deserves all the hype and more!! This book is a spectacular example of High Fantasy at its best. Nicki Pau Preto knows exactly how to keep readers engaged and on the edge of their seats, this reader included! This is quite the feat seeing as HoF is over 600 pages long. But while reading it didn't feel like it was a long book (except when I fell asleep reading and it fell on my face). The story moved at a good pace, with the exact right amount of action and romance and background detail. I will be the first to admit that the first book was a tad dense at times with history, but it was absolutely needed then to get readers fully immersed in this world. The build up from the first book was so helpful going into this one because I understood this place Nicki had created in such a way that I was eager to learn more. Now the history became utterly fascinating and I couldn't help but see how relevant it was and how it all tied the plot together.

One of the coolest things about Heart of Flames is that it is almost like you're reading several books at once and yet they all fit perfectly. Nicki has weaved these intricate tales in such a way that it is mindboggling that she hasn't lost track of them nor has she let the reader lose them, which is incredible. This book has five different character perspectives in the regular chapters. Then there are the documents scattered throughout that are also telling us a unique tale that will be (I'm hoping) important to the third book. I love these because it makes the whole thing feel real. Like these are real people, not just characters. They have birth certificates, and wrote letters to family, and have family trees! It is astounding the amount of relevant details that were added (shout out to Nicki's editor who just kept saying “give me more!” Bless you for letting Nicki do what she wanted!) And then there are the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter that is in itself another story. I don't think I could ever get tired of reading these books because of the high level of world building. If I had my say these books would be studied in writing classes as a prime example of the craft!

I mentioned the five different POVs! Oh gosh, these characters are almost like friends to me at this point. I bleed when they do, I laugh along, I feel their heartbreaks and triumphs. I get incredibly stressed when reading the plot because of how it is written in the different POVs so sometimes the reader knows more than the characters do and I wish I could WARN them. Twists and turns and betrayals riddle this book and I care SO MUCH. It is rare for me to be invested in plot but these stakes are high. Nothing feels out of place or forced. It all just flows so nicely along. Nicki is a master planner.

My all time favorite thing about Heart of Flames though, and what drew me to the books originally is the Phoenixes. I work with birds so to read a book that focuses on animals makes my rehabber heart very happy. Throughout this book the plot allowed for more time with the phoenxies and I loved it. I love how they are written with such big personalities. I love that they love their riders so much. I love that they play and interact with each other. I love that they have ATTITUDES. Xephyra and Rex are my favorite characters and I am jealous that I don't get to have my own giant flaming bird with a beak the size of my head!

Have I convinced you yet to go out and read these? I hope so because Nicki is writing book three now and she has left a lot of readers just begging for more.

~Laura!