enemies to lovers

Review: Spark of the Everflame (Kindred’s Curse #1) by Penn Cole

~ megs14malloy

Spark of the Everflame (Kindred's Curse, #1)Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Spark of the Everflame is the 1st-book in the Kindred’s Curse series by Penn Cole, and I feel like I’m the last person in our world to read it. I’ve been missing out.

This novel follows Diem Bellator, whose mother, a well-known healer, has gone missing. Diem, already primed to step into her mother’s footsteps, ends up taking over some of her healer responsibilities, which includes entrance to the royal palace to aide some of the descended.

The descendeds are the upper echelon citizens of this world. They’re actual descendants of the Gods and Diem, and the rest of her mortal peers, are basically treated like disposable garbage by these upper classes.

Her entrance into the palace opens up Diem’s eyes to a whole new world and perspective that she’s never considered before. She’s also constantly watched by the dying King’s handsome nephew, Luther.

Diem feels torn, with a mortal alliance recruiting her to their ranks, and with her new found friendships without the descended class, she just wants to do the right thing. She wants to protect her family, and life in general.

Why did I wait so long to read this!? My best friend read it years ago and raved about. I kept meaning to pick it up, but just didn’t. Admittedly, it’s a little outside my comfort zone, but I am so happy I finally picked it up.

I was completely invested, and the ending!?

I didn’t see where this was going at all. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not a well-versed Romantasy Reader, or what, but I was not expecting the path that it seems Diem’s character is about to take.

I knew nothing about this going in, but I think I may have enjoyed it all the more because of that. I think Cole did a fantastic job of laying out the structure and politics of this whole world. There was a lot to learn, but it didn’t feel info-dumpy. It all felt very natural.

I’m so excited to continue on with this series and find out what’s going to happen for all of these great characters. I appreciated the slow burn of the Romance and the fact that right now there just seems to be a lot of pining, and will they/won’t they energy.


It surprised me how invested I got in this story. I’m super excited to continue on with the series, and am hoping to do so as soon as possible.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me a copy to read and review. I’m so sorry it took me so long to get to this one. Nevertheless, it was worth the wait; so good!

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Review: Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1) by Rebecca Ross

~ megs14malloy

Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment, #1)Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Divine Rivals is set in a world where long-sleeping Gods are now at war. Iris Winnow’s brother has been pulled into the fight, leaving for the frontline. His absence from their household has left a huge hole, one Iris isn’t sure her mother will ever crawl out of.

Iris misses him so much, but she tries to continue on the best she can. She’s currently fighting to secure a promotion at her work at the Oath Gazette, which would secure her a columnist position.

Her biggest competition, or should we say rival, for the position is her annoying and handsomely-roguish coworker, Roman Kitt. The sparks are flying around the workroom anytime they’re in each other’s orbit.

For reasons I will not go into here, outside of work, a magical connection involving typewritten letters, begins between Iris and Roman. One that starts to stir unexpected feelings within them, and they don’t know who they’re having this connection with. At least not initially…

As the pair are pushed out of their comfort zones and more towards the war zone, magical typewriters in tow, will they be able to withstand all the new challenges they must face? And will their bond grow stronger, or shatter like the world as they know it threatens to do?

I really enjoyed this and am so glad I finally picked it up. This is my 1st-novel by Rebecca Ross, and I’m super excited to pick up more. I love how real life the world she created feels, yet it had just the right amount of fantastical elements for my tastes.

I also loved the journey that our MCs went on in their relationship. They are both extremely likable and loved the dynamic and chemistry between them.

I will admit that the history behind the Gods and all the rest of that aspect of the story have completely left my brain. I did read this in September, and am just getting around to writing my review now, so you’ll have to forgive me for that.

But what I do remember well is how much I liked Iris and Roman. I’m looking forward to the next book, because I need to know where the story goes from here. They’ve left me wanting more.

I’m sure all the Gods stuff will come back to me…

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Review: War (The Four Horseman #2) by Laura Thalassa

~ megs14malloy

War (The Four Horsemen, #2)War by Laura Thalassa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

War is the 2nd-installment to Laura Thalassa’s Romantasy series, The Four Horsemen. I read the 1st-book, Pestilence, in late-2024 and I didn’t hate it.

This is not a genre I have a lot of experience in, so perhaps it requires a bit more explanation as to why I would randomly be picking up this older series now.

Last year after I read Kaylie Smith’s Phantasma, I had a moment where I was considering becoming a Romantasy-Girlie, so of course, I bought a bunch of books I knew nothing about to fit that new personality.

During that frenzy of fiscal irresponsibility, I bought this entire series for no reason. After reading Pestilence though, I knew I wanted to continue. Good news!

It was interesting, and though often repetitive, it did keep me engaged. I liked that the story was set in an apocalyptic world and how Pestilence wasn’t really a human being. LOL — that seems so strange to say.

War is set after the events in Pestilence, and has no real connection to that story other than the fact that War is Pestilence’s ‘brother’, and Pestilence is briefly referred to a couple of times.

I ended up enjoying this one quite a bit more than that 1st-book. I don’t know why exactly I enjoyed this so much, I don’t know what that says about me, but I did and I’m not gonna lie about it.

Maybe it’s because it sort of reads like a piece of Khal Drogo fanfic, and I would never, ever turn that down.

We each like what we like. The end. I’m accepting no further questions on that at this time.

I also enjoyed the setting of this one a lot. It was set in the Middle East and Northern Africa, whereas Pestilence was set in North America. I thought it made sense for the author to jump locations, since this is a world-wide event, so it would make sense to give stories from around the world.

I’m not commenting on Thalassa’s representations of those places, just the idea of making it a globe-spanning series. I’m interested to see where the next 2-books are set.

There is a lot more action in this one, with hard-fought battle scenes, hand-to-hand combat moments and intense interactions. I loved both of the MCs, Miriam and War, and enjoyed watching their relationship develop.

War was much more appealing to me than Pestilence, so that definitely boosted my enjoyment level as well. Pestilence felt a little clueless and bumbling, whereas War gives very confident, powerful, Alpha Male vibes.

There were times I questioned Miriam’s choices, but she was certainly in a tough spot. What would you do to survive the apocalypse, you know?

I also really enjoyed the conclusion. I think the author wrapped it up in a satisfying way. I walk away from this, happy that I made the time for it.

I will be continuing with the series, though I’m not sure how long it will take me to get to the next book. I am very interested to learn more about it though. Wondering what Famine’s personality will be like…

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