Book Review: A Kingdom of Fire & Fate

Last year I read and really enjoyed the A Kingdom of Stars & Shadows trilogy by Holly Renee. A few months ago she came out with a fourth book, A Kingdom of Fire & Fate, which is sort of a spinoff standalone that follows Thalia and Sorin who are good friends with Evren and Adara and were side characters in the original trilogy.

Thalia is Starblessed like Adara and had also been abused by the fae king and prince like Adara in the past before being saved by the Blood Kingdom and Evren. Sorin is the Captain of the Guard for the Blood Kingdom and he and Thalia have been good friends (and in love with each other) for a long time. Although they both are attracted to one another and have feelings for each other, they haven’t gotten together because they are still coping with the loss of their good friend, Jorah, who had also had feelings for Thalia.

When they learn that that there are rumors that the human king, Henrik, is working with the fae king they want to learn more. Then, it is announced that Henrik is looking for a Starblessed bride and that he is holding a competition for Starblessed women to compete for his hand in marriage. Thalia thinks she is the right person to go and infiltrate the competition since she is Starblessed and if she gets close enough to Henrik she can find out what is going on with the fae king. Of course, Sorin will not let her go alone so he convinces Evren to let him go too as a liaison for the Blood Kingdom.

Will Thalia succeed in getting King Henrik to reveal what’s going on between his kingdom and the fae kingdom? Will Sorin and Thalia be able to resist the pull they feel towards one another?

I enjoyed this book, but I did think that not a lot was going on until the last 25% or so of the book. Despite that, it is a quick read and I loved being back in this world and reunited with Thalia and Sorin (and Evren and Adara). It is a slow burn with lots of tension, but once the spice hits it hits!

Read this if you want a spicy fantasy romance with the slow burn and friends to lovers tropes.

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