Title: A Fire Endless
Series: Elements of Cadence
Author: Rebecca Ross
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: December 6th 2022
Pages: 494
Source: Illumicrate purchased special edition
Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰
CAWPILE: 9.00/10
Synopsis
East and West. Humans and Spirits. Breccans and Tamerlaines. The Isle of Cadence has always held itself and its residents in a tenuous balance. But now Bane, the spirit of the North Wind, has pushed everyone and everything in his path off-kilter in a bid to claim dominion over all.
In the West, Adaira struggles to adjust to the more brutal, bitter ways of life among the Breccans. Striving to find her place in the clan, she swiftly realizes that it just might be the last role she desires to hold. And while magic blooms effortlessly for the Breccans in the west, the spirits continue to suffer beneath Bane’s harsh power, felt in every gust of wind.
In the East, Jack is adrift without Adaira until he sings to the ember-weak fire spirits, acquiring a dangerous mission he never expected. One that is destined to lead him westward. Likewise, Torin and Sidra are consumed by a new mystery as sickness spreads first amongst the crops, and then to the people of the Tamerlaine clan. While Sidra desperately searches for a cure, Torin dares to strike a bargain with the spirits—a precarious folly anytime, but especially now as the days grow darker.
With the island falling further out of balance, humans and spirits alike will need to join together to face Bane, and Jack’s gift with the harp will be called upon once more. Yet no one can challenge the North Wind without paying a terrible price, and the sacrifice required this time may be more than Jack, Adaira, Torin, and Sidra can bear to pay.
Review
Now, I completely fell head over heels in love with the first book in this duology, A River Enchanted, last year after receiving it in an illumicrate box. You can check out my previous review of River on my blog here (https://www.fictionalmusings.com/post/review-a-river-enchanted). So I was desperately awaiting the sequel, and what a sequel it is.
I mentioned in my last review the genius of Ross’ setting, how she makes it feel alive and this was only heightened in the sequel, especially with the contrasts we see between the East and the West. I think Ross does a really good job at making the two sides of the isle feel separate from one another and different, but ultimately there’s this element of an underlying unitedness as it was one isle previously. It’s a delicate balance but one that is done exceptionally well.
Another thing I loved was diving more into the politics of it all, from the Lairds of the East and West, to the Thanes in the West, to the politics in the world of the Spirits. I found it fascinating because there were definitely similarites but there were also enough differences to make each feel unique. Without going into too much detail, exploring the politics of the Spirits was so intriguing to me and I really enjoyed it, and I loved each new Spirit that we met.
“She wrestled with her fear until she let go of the soil and stared at her dirt-streaked hand. She could almost hear Torin’s voice, whispering into her hair. ‘Rise, my love. Rise’”
One thing I truly found myself loving in the sequel was the character development. I adored the characters and their relationships in the previous novel, but Ross manages to elevate them in the follow up. One thing I found interesting was the elements of isolation, we see each character isolated at some point throughout the novel and it means that we really get to see their inner monologue, the reflections they have and their inner struggles which I adored. But then when that isolation ends, we see how it has impacted on their relationships and how even those have strengthened, which I just loved. As I said in my previous review, the way she writes relationships I just cannot get enough of, they feel so real and tender and fragile but in a good way. As a writer it is something I can only aspire to, Ross has a real talent here and I am in awe.
Although Sidra is without a doubt my favourite character of the series, I really found myself drawn to Torin in this book. For me he was the character with the most development, and I really enjoyed following him on that journey because it was so moving and I was rooting for him so much, I truly feel that from first meeting him in River, to the end of his arc in Fire he is almost unrecognisable but in a good way and I adore that.
For me, the book was paced perfectly, a hard feat when the characters are so isolated and there is so much travel and exploration involved but I did struggle to put it down. I think in total I read it in three sessions, and as it reached the end it was honestly impossible to put down. I think the only reason I didn’t cry (and trust me - I was close) was because I was so desperate to read the next pages that I forced the tears down.
I could honestly talk about this book for hours, but unfortunately with the books I love my thoughts tend to be incoherent so this is as much as I will subject you to, but if you love it please rave about it with me! And if you haven’t read the series I would highly recommend it, as would Luna (my cat) who seems to love it as much as I do. I am so excited to make my way through her backlog and read Divine Rivals!
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