Heat of the Everflame, the third in the Kindred’s Curse saga by Penn Cole, has internal and external conflicts at a boiling point, relationships bending and breaking while others firge stronger bonds and more intimate connections, and the answers are emerging from the woodwork as the series heads to its final chapter. With the size of Heat of the Everflame, I was expecting a little more from it, but what did we get from this mammoth of a read?

As I am sure you realise, this review will contain spoilers for the Kindred’s Curse saga, including Spark of the Everflame and Glow of the Everflame as well as this novel, Heat of the Everflame. If you have not yet read the series, please skip this review. If you think you might get around to it and want to stay as far as details about the books as possible, then I suggest you click off also.

The war has begun. Both sides demand Diem’s allegiance—or her death. After her disastrous coronation, Diem finds herself at the centre of the conflict between the Descended and the Guardians. With her newfound friends and the man she’s falling for on one side, and the mortals she has vowed to protect on the other, Diem must walk a careful line to save the people she loves… even from each other. The mystery of her unusual heritage begins to unravel, sending Diem and Luther on an unexpected journey across the realms. The answers may hold the key to winning the war, but finding them will require her to face painful truths about her mother, her bloodline, and her fate. Meanwhile, the Crowns have set Diem in their sights. Some could be her greatest allies—while others want her dead. To end their oppressive reign, Diem must sort friend from foe and risk it all to build an army of her own. But a powerful figure in the north has plans that could change everything.

I liked the venturing into other realms in Heat of the Everflame as we get to not only see the way others fit in their communities in Emarion, but we also get to see more magic mechanics and general sentiments and structures in the realms. Lumnos has been fun to get to learn about, but it was definitely time to expand out and get a look into the other realms. I also quite liked the political layers and muddy interactions and relationships between the Crowns and advisors. Seeing how they each work and where their allegiances and motives lie, especially in regards to the big development and revelation that finally comes to light (though let’s be honest, a lot of us saw this coming from the second book at least, if not the first) is what makes the story interesting for me. I like the complexity of it, and the history of the empire and what occurred coming to the surface is a detail that I wish had a little more page time, and the visiting time to so of these realms came across so rushed and more like last-minute add ins than a well balanced inclusion to the story.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that I don’t like Diem as a character very much given her naive, closed minded perspective so predominantly in display. I have been wanting more character development from her but there isn’t a lot of that at all, if any. She always seems to realise things too late, and it is getting to the point where I have to focus on other characters to get through the chapters. I want more maturity from her, but she seems stuck in the past and unable to see things on a grand scale, which is especially important as a queen and with the threat hanging over them all. I wanted to like her, but she comes across as childish to me most of the time and it really is her advisors and the other crowns that make this story engaging and interesting.

There are some things that are foreshadowed really well, like the interaction after entering Ignios, but there are others that are much more obvious yet go right over Diem’s head. I find it funny at times when the other characters get annoyed with her because of her ignorance of narrow-mindedness because it shows how much growing up she has to do. Overall, Heat of the Everflame and the series in general is carried by the other characters like Luther, Taran, Alixe, Teller, the Umbros Queen, and so on. It could be a really great book in a really interesting series, but it falls flat to me and the main character leans more juviline and ignorant in her perspective than I can stomach comfortably.

I really am hoping for the best with the final book in the series, Burn of the Everflame. As of writing this review, there is no release date published, but I think the long pause between books will be much needed for me as I can brush the not so favourable parts of the series to the back of my mind. The magic system is so intriguing and the finale will have some amazing moments, I am sure, but I just need the book to hit hard overall and redeem the Kindred’s Curse saga for me just a little in the process.