I was generously gifted Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole in a book swap earlier this year, and I have finally dug into it and come out the other side thoroughly pleased. This is a four-book romantasy series that has taken BookTok and Bookstagram by storm, competing with other big name romantasies in both the YA and adult fantasy sphere. What I will say, before I lose the fantasy readers who do not want to follow the bookish social media trends and bandwagons, is that Spark of the Everflame doesn’t feel the same as the others. No ill will or shade to the other romantasy books, but Spark of the Everflame feels polished, its characters compelling and complex – though still flawed and interesting in a very human sense – ad the layers make this more than just another one of those romantasy books.

When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn. In a mortal world colonised by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village. Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind. With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all mortalkind. Spark of the Everflame is the first book in The Kindred’s Curse Saga, a four-book fantasy romance series. This slow burn, enemies-to-lovers epic is perfect for lovers of magic, dragons, angst, and banter and will appeal to fans of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, From Blood and Ash, Gild, and The Serpent & the Wings of Night.

Now, I can’t say whether or not readers of the aforementioned books are indeed going to enjoy Spark of the Everflame, but I can say that having only read A Court of thorns and Roses out of that list, I can be a voice for those who aren’t big into romantasy. As far as fantasy worlds go, Spark of the Everflame is intriguing and has the potential for many interesting developments and opportunities in future instalments. The magic is different from what I have read, yet has that familiarity and understanding to it that makes it a keen point of interest for the series. The world building is equally as intriguing, hinting at locations outside of the immediate setting and providing context and movement seperate to the story’s events to show this is a world that is revolving on its own, not solely around the actions of the main characters.

The romance is that tried and true enemies-to-lovers that don’t really fit the bill of enemies, though with how things have gone in this novel, I am sure that title will be delved into with much relish. I like the enemies-to-lovers trope when they really are enemies, when there is confrontation and conflict between them, and where while they may have been mildly irritated by the other they can be wholeheartedly vexed by each other, yet helplessly feeling things they really don’t want to. I’m excited to see how their relationship develops, how actions and events shape and impact that relationship, and what happens in Glow of the Everflame.

I am genuinely quite keen to see where this series goes. I hope that it lives up to where I am invisioning it heading in, not just because of what I said in the intro, but because I would really love to be able to say that romantasy is for the devote epic fantasy readers too. I want to be able to get to the end of Glow fo the Everflame and Heat of the Everflame and hold onto this sentiment. I see so much potential in this series and I cannot wait to see what unfolds.