Heart of Flames

December 15, 2019
As war threatens on the horizon, Phoenix Rider Veronyka fights to control her magic and learn the truth about her identity in this second installment of Pau Preto's (Crown of Feathers, 2019) fantasy series. Power hungry Lord Rolan sends soldiers into Pyra to provoke the Phoenix Riders into battle and force the Golden Empire's Grand Council into declaring war. Now reunited with her phoenix and no longer in disguise, Veronyka hopes to prove herself a Master Rider and join the action. In the midst of her training, Veronyka strains to control her shadow magic, a secret power that gives her a mental link to Val, the reincarnation of the ruthless Ashfire queen. Shutting down her magic is the only way Veronyka knows to protect herself, but opening her mind may be the path to learning about her past. Slow-burning romance simmers between two pairings, one of which is a same-gender relationship between two boys. Historical documents between chapters expand on the world and create suspenseful foreshadowing. However, the continued cisnormativity throughout the book detracts from the otherwise high quality of the prose, deeply developed world, page-turning plot, and thrilling, cliffhanger ending. Veronyka has golden-brown skin, and Rolan is white. A fiery sequel that yearns for more. (Fantasy. 12-18)

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December 15, 2019
Grades 9-12 Veronyka, a fierce phoenix rider, has been revealed as a girl, but she is miraculously allowed to remain at the male-only Eyrie training camp. Being the only female phoenix rider is hard enough, but she's also dealing with a smoldering attraction to Master Rider Tristan, and shadow magic that seems to make her telepathic when she doesn't keep her guard up. Meanwhile, Avalkyra, a mysterious figure also able to ride phoenixes and command shadow magic, tells a tale rooted in the history of the Ashfire clan. How she, Veronyka, and Veronyka's estranged sister, Val, all fit together remains unclear, but as details are revealed, the already elaborate story becomes more twisted. As in the first book, Crown of Feathers (2019), this novel has multiple narrators: Veronyka, of course, but also Tristan and Sev from the previous outing and new characters Avalkyra and Elliot. There's a lot going on in this sequel, and it's no quick read, so be sure to have the first on hand for the most dedicated fantasy readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)