As soon as I finished White Hot, Ilona Andrews’ second book in their Hidden Legacy Series, I immediately bought the third book, Wildfire (2017), and started to read it. At this point I was hooked and wasn’t about to rest until there was nothing else for me to read. To be honest, I read the second and third book so close together that I have a hard time telling them apart. I remember a lot of what happened in both books, just not what happened in each book.
Anyway, the protagonist of The Hidden Legacy series is Nevada Baylor. She lives in Houston, where magic is a common reality, and those with magical powers also control the world. Primes are those with the most magical power. Nevada is a private investigator with the magical talent of knowing when someone is lying. In the first two books, she works with the billionaire Prime known as “Mad” Rogan on a couple of very difficult cases. By the second book, Nevada and Rogan have also come together romantically, an inevitability considering how they got along.
Now in the third book, Nevada is really discovering how powerful she is. In fact, she has realized that she’s an unregistered Prime. She doesn’t know where it came from, but she has incredibly powerful magic that she’s just beginning to learn to control. Rogan understands more than anyone about what it’s like to be used for your powers, and he doesn’t want Nevada to be made vulnerable because of hers. The mysteries from the first two books come to a point when Rogan’s ex-fiance’s husband disappears. Later, she and her children are attacked in their home. Rogan takes them under his wing as Nevada and Rogan try to figure out where her husband is.
Nevada and Rogan’s relationship is under pressure from a number of sides. First, Rogan’s ex-fiance is always in the way and wants to get back with him. I really appreciated that Rogan’s love for Nevada is never questioned by the reader or Nevada, despite his exes best attempts. Another pressure comes from society now that Nevada is beginning to be recognized as a truly powerful magician. Primes must marry other Primes, but they must also marry Primes whose magic is compatible with theirs. The goal is to have children as powerful or more powerful than themselves. Nevada and Rogan’s power is incompatible, and the question of what that means for them often goes unspoken between them. Despite these problems, their relationship stays strong. The one thing I like most about them is that, as Nevada becomes more powerful, people begin to react to her differently. Rogan understands what it feels to be isolated and feared because of your abilities. It binds them together.
Another aspect of these books that I really liked, but haven’t had much time to discuss in my reviews is Nevada’s family. They are the motivation for most of her actions, and I thought Andrews did a great job of using these characters to fill out the book and humanize Nevada. As the books progress we learn more about them and their powers, and the idea of them as a house really comes together. I really enjoyed this series, and I feel like there’s room for some more books about the Baylor family.
You can find all of my reviews on my blog.