A FIRE ENDLESS by Rebecca Ross – double review!

The stunning sequel to A River Enchanted finds the human and faerie realms threatened by an immortal enemy whose defeat can only come through fire, song, and heartrending sacrifice.

East and west. Humans and spirits.

The tenuous balance of the Isle of Cadence is under threat from Bane, the spirit of the north wind.

In the west, Adaira struggles to find her place. And, though magic blooms there, the spirits suffer beneath Bane’s harsh power, felt in every gust of wind.

In the east, Jack Tamerlaine is adrift without Adaira, until he acquires a mission destined to lead him back to her. But among the Tamerlaines sickness is spreading and Torin desperately strikes a bargain with the spirits – a folly at any time.

With their very land at risk, all will need to join together to confront Bane. Yet none can challenge the north wind without paying a terrible price, and the sacrifice required may be more than they can bear…

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Title : A Fire Endless
Author : Rebecca Ross
Series : Elements of Cadance (book two)
Format : Hardcover / eBook (overdrive)
Page Count : 512
Genre : Fantasy
Publisher : Harper Voyager
Release Date : December 8, 2022

Reviewer : Micky / Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★.5 / ★ ★ ★ .5

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Micky’s 4.5 star review

Headlines:
Sweeping storyline
Clan battles
Family

Having liked book one but not loved it, A Fire Endless pretty much added a 100 x boost to my interest in this world, the characters and the story. I got swept up straight away with Cadance and the clans with my love for Adaira, Sidra, Jack and Torin increasing. I said when I read book one that it gave me vibes from Marillier’s Sevenwaters tales and that remained true.

There was so much to this second installment of the tale and the storyline was strong, complex and magical. I really enjoyed how the fae-folk (spirit) realm crossed over with the human realm and how those fae-folk characters came into more focus. Kae and Hap were particular favourites. In terms of my favourite human characters all the kudos has to go to the women of this piece, namely Sidra who I adored and Adaira whose strength and leadership was epic.

The story of the blight, the Breccon clan and life in that castle was just gripping. The story was told in such a personal way, through the eyes of characters readers already care about, that the pages just flew by even though there were a lot of pages.

The sense of family in this book is so prominent; blood and found. That’s the overwhelming feeling I’m left with at the end. I feel so satisfied about the duology overall and I recommend to all my fantasy reading friends.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and InstaBook Tours for the review copy.

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Hollis’ 3.5 star review

I definitely thought this finale was going to supersede my love for book one in this series but unfortunately the ending took a bit of the wind out of my sails and I can’t quite round up on this one. But almost everything up until the 70% mark was really doing it for me.

I said in my review for book one that I had hoped for more of the clans, which I thought would be an easy ask knowing we’d be on the other side of the island and the conflict, and I mean.. we did a little? But honestly, other than the woad/tattoos and the different living conditions for each side of the island, these clans didn’t feel any different. Beyond the fluffier vs harder characteristics. I wish I had felt a more real difference between them that set them apart. Something that would’ve made the likelihood of these two sides ever coming together, could the clan line and conflict with the spirits be solved, more of an uncertainty.

And my other ask was more romance and that, at least, we did get. Once our silly couples were reunited. Because yes we had not just one separation but two! But it did add to the strength of these characters as individuals which, oh, hey, I forgot to mention how surprising (and refreshing! but also can we n o r m a l i z e this more so I can stop being surprised by the refreshingness?) it was to have lairds and leaders and captains be women. We love to see it. Especially when there’s nothing noteworthy about it; Ross never made a fuss, her characters never made a fuss, but I am now making a fuss — in a good way.

So, again, yes, I had a good time. My vengeance-filled heart wishes the remaining villains of this piece got their comeuppance, but no they get to walk free and continue to be assholes (probably) because the good guys are too good, but other than the ending, that’s really my only complaint. I did see the big reveal coming a miiiiile away but I wasn’t mad about it because I did think it was a clever part of the story. And I did enjoy spending time in this world. I will definitely be picking up Ross’ other series, though I do hope that pairing spends a little more time as enemies than this one did.

If you’re looking for something that feels like a fairytale, with a Scottish/Celtic setting, a strong romance element, a magical riddle to solve, and more, I would definitely suggest you give this fantasy duology a go.