Well, everyone was right. This was great, and the marketing/art department at Avon should be shamed heavily for the way they did this book and this entire series dirty*. I imagine there are many, many readers who would enjoy this book, and presumably the rest of the series, if the covers weren’t a) heinously misrepresenting the contents of the story, and b) butt ugly and embarrassing. I was one of those readers! And then people whose tastes I trust kept pushing them on me until I was like FINE I WILL DO IT and now I’m super into it and I will be promptly reading the other two books in this first trilogy.
*ETA 8/30: The Andrews announced earlier this week that the books are getting new covers in 2024! I have already pre-ordered and then I will dump the offensively ugly copies like hot cakes.
This book in a nutshell: In a world where magical powers were awakened in the late 1800s, Nevada Baylor and her small family owned investigative agency are strong-armed by their parent company into taking on an impossible task: Bringing back fugitive Adam Pierce, a powerful pyrokinetic, alive and into the welcoming arms (cough) of his family. There is a non-zero chance that Nevada will be killed, and taking Pierce down without killing him seems almost as likely to happen. The infamous Mad Rogan (a war veteran who has extremely powerful magic) is also after Pierce because he used Rogan’s cousin as an accomplice when robbing a bank, and a security guard was killed in the process (they torched the bank). Mad Rogan is powerful and arrogant and Nevada doesn’t want to be anywhere in his vicinity, but having him on her team in this significantly increases her chance of success, so she goes along.
So this was marketed as a paranormal romance. First, not paranormal, second, not really a romance? There is no HEA (yet). The main arc will involve them eventually getting together, obviously, but the majority of this book is spent on actual plotty plot and magical worldbuilding shenanigans. The authors take their time building up Nevada’s family and backstory, and though we end the book with Rogan wanting to be with her REAL BAD, she doesn’t want any part of it, despite being incredibly attracted to him. The scene where she tells him no was so satisfying. She basically tells him no because he’s a bad person and she can’t trust him, and it was so great. I’m hoping some of it eventually sinks into his thick little brain, but for now I’m happy with what the authors have done.
Alphaholes are really, really not my thing. I do not get the attraction AT ALL or why these authors keep writing about them, but when it’s this well done I can’t really complain. It’s well-written, even if it’s not something I can understand emotionally. I want Rogan to calm the fuck down and become a human person with empathy. If that doesn’t happen I might get mad. But for now, I will continue. I really have no complaints about the plot or the worldbuilding or the magic system. I found all of that super intriguing, and I really, really liked Nevada and her family. They felt so real and lived in, and they grounded the story in a very nice way that it very much needed. The conflict in the book was scary and had stakes, but the resolution didn’t feel cheap. I’m interested to see who is behind all the stuff that is happening, and what their long game will be (and how Rogan and Nevada will obviously be foiling it).
Definitely recommend this one, yes for you! Despite the terrible cover. You like romantic suspense? You like cool magic? This will probably be a book for you.
I’m sorry, I can’t get over this. The entire point of a book cover is to make people want to read it, so why exactly would you make ones that are actively repugnant to modern sensibilities, and in reference to the second two books, frankly insulting? Avon deserved to lose the Andrews as writers. Long may they do their thing in peace!
