This second book in the Court of the Marr duology picks up right where Flame and Sparrow left off, and I enjoyed reuniting with the characters, particularly Moth! As someone who experiences anxiety, I appreciated the anxiety rep with Karys and how she is able to come into her own despite it.

Thank you to S.M. Gaither and team for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

There is so much to love about this book that I'm having a hard time figuring out where to start. So if I just ramble, bear with me. I have a lot of feelings... 

I feel like this is ultimately the story of Karys learning who she was meant to be. All of her experiences, mistakes, loves, losses, etc. have set her on the path, and we're going on this adventure with her. It was a beautiful adventure full of healing and self-discovery. Her OCD and anxious traits were there throughout her journey, and I loved seeing that rep. 

Then we have Dravyn. The most supportive and compassionate God who wouldn't bat an eye at handing Karys the matches to burn the world down. He was always there to stand beside her rather than fight her battles for her, and I absolutely love that partnership. He is the ultimate, perfect book boyfriend. 

And those side characters! Mairu and Valas were always down for the shenanigans. And Moth! The most adorable little animal sidekick ever! I'll never get enough of this world and all of these amazing characters. This duology is simply incredible! 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝒶𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑔𝑜𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑒𝓇𝒸𝓎.”

I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Dravyn, Karys, & Co., but it had to be done 😭

It was so nice to be reunited with all of my favorite Middle Gods and Goddesses (and Moth, that delightful little menace)…if you ignore the impending doom hanging over everyone. Flame & Sparrow left off with the velkyn, Marr, and humans on the brink of a major showdown. Even though Karys barely has a grasp on her new godly powers, she is determined to put herself in harm’s way to try and smooth things over. Aka she stressed me the hell out the entire time!

Dravyn is feeling equal parts miserable and elated these days. He’s so happy to have his Wildfire by his side, but he’s struggling with the ghosts of his past and the pressure to make a decision about the mortal realm. He remains a god-tier (pun intended) Book Boyfriend for me. The way he advocates, supports, and loves Karys is everything. 

Valas, Mairu, and Moth continue to be delightful. Andrel continues to be the fucking WORST. Chaos reigns supreme in both realms. The last few chapters of this book took me on a rollercoaster I barely survived, but I had a wonderful time. I miss my friends already ♥️

“𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔.”

I am so sad that this duology is over, but wow, what a great ending to a great fantasy. Thank you, S.M. Gaither, for sending me this ARC.

I fell in love with Dravyn and Karys, and continued to do so as their story continued. There is so much love and passion put into this story. Both Karys and Dravyn continue to grow more comfortable in their own skin, and together as a unit, as well as encouraging each other to be who they see each other as. We get to see a lot of sibling relationship healing as well, which added a fantastic dynamic to the story. It constantly reminds us that Dravyn and Karys are kind of at opposite sides of this war that is brewing among the elves and humans. I loved how everything resolved, and I especially loved the epilogue. This is definitely a must read for those who love fantasy, with some romance added in.

I still need to find me my own Moth. Let me know if you see one ;)

Firstly, thank you so much to SM Gaither for the opportunity to read another book as an ARC.


I’ve attempted to write this review several times now, come back and forth trying to put how it made me feel into a cohesive review.

But, honestly, all I keep coming back to is that I LOVED every page. SM knows how to write phenomenal, relatable and well researched characters. The portrayal of the anxiety and OCD aspects of Karys were so accurately written, and it is honestly refreshing to see this shown in books. 

Dravyn is single-handedly redeeming blonde men, and I love that for him. 

Just, read this duology. It’s fantastic 

This is the second book of the Flame and Sparrow duology and part of the Court of the Marr series. Tropes include fire daddy, touch her and die, found family, he’d burn the world for her, burnt cinnamon roll God and cute mythical creatures. This is a darker fantasy romance so please review the content warnings. 

The Lovely: I loved the characters (main and side) and their relationships. My favorite side character is still Valas - he’s funny but caring and protective too. The relationship between the main characters is beautiful and emotional, and their banter made me smile on more than one occasion. They seem so connected and wanting to care for each other. 

The Mundane: I honestly struggled with the ending. It felt quite abrupt given the build up and I was expecting more. There also wasn’t great clarity about Karys’s future or her relationship with the MMC. I was thinking there would be a final chapter between the two of them but really it was just a page or two and their status was ambiguous. There was a bonus epilogue dropped by the author that will go in the final book, which I did read, but it didn’t really provide that closing I was expecting between the main characters. 

Rating: 4/5 Stars 3/5 Flames 

Recommendation: I received an advance review copy, and am leaving this review voluntarily. Despite my struggle with the ending I really enjoyed the duology as a whole. I loved the journey Karys went on over the course of the books and her relationship with the MMC changed over time. The plot line was just busy enough to be engaging but not overwhelming. If you like fantasy romance with Gods, elves, humans and cute magical creatures, you might like this duology. 

Thank you to the author for providing me with e-ARC of the book. I am choosing to leave a review, and all my thoughts are my own honest ones.

My rating is closer to about 4.5.

I cannot stress how SM Gaither has managed to capture my heart with this duology. The world building , the cast of characters, and development of the story were done so well. The politics of the world were so complex and it demonstrated the intricacies of war, rebellion, and the fight for peace. This was my first series by this author and I have already bought books in her other series.

Karys was such a real character and I adore her to bits. She has continuously been put in these impossible situations and to see her struggle yet arrive on top is beautiful. The author does an absolutely stunning job depicting mental health, overthinking, trauma, and effects of abuse via her character. The growth that she has experienced throughout this duology is unmatched. She's flawed and makes mistakes, but continuously pushes through for a brighter tomorrow. I am so proud of her forging her own path after all that she has endured.


Dravyn ughhh my love. This man never fails to have me perpetually on the floor with his mannerisms, acts of service, support, and overall love for Karys. Dravyn outside of his role as love interest is such an incredibly complex character who too must bear the weight of bloody pasts and haunting memories. This poor man was STRESSED this whole book and thus I was as well because he deserves the world. Despite his divine being element, this man is such a gentle caring giant that only threatens to burn it all down when his beloved Karys is in any danger or disrespected.


The romance in this was everything to me. The first book deals a lot with these two fighting their undeniable connection due to their positions on opposing sides, but here we see them hold strong as a power couple in the face of that. Dravyn and Karys demonstrate healthy communication, devotion, and PASSION. These two are soulmates on such an undeniable level. Their moments of intimacy whether small or on the more erotic side never failed to have me sobbing over its beauty. These two are a team and that united front is crucial to their success against the chaos.


The side characters were everything and thus they collectively make the found family aspect of the book so heart warming. Moth my precious baby was definitely the show stealer and we should expect nothing less from our energetic fiery fur ball. I found myself so charmed by him and the people need Moth plushies immediately. 

This story is most definitely one of my favorites of all time and it will be held close to my heart. I am so happy that we see Dravyn and Karys have their proper ending, but sad to let them go. I could stay with them forever.

The vibes of this book are all about LOVE, hope, forgiveness, second chances. 

As a close of a duology this wrapped up all the pieces that we needed into one happy bow. 

There is some SPICE THO MY FRIENDS!! 🥵 🔥 🔥 🌶️🌶️!!! Hooooo-eeeeee! *fans face *

I love the way the mental health representation is portrayed by SM Gaither in her books. She writes fmcs who are fierce WITH their MH rep. And the mmcs are also MH diverse and accepting of MH as we all should be. 

My favourite characters continue to be Valas and Moth, but the secondary characters really do step forward some. And we see some more of at least 1 new character too. 

In terms of pacing, there’s more things to learn at the beginning so there’s a slow-medium pacing there, but the medium-fast pacing picks up the further in you read, so don’t be surprised when you’re all of a sudden done! 

I already loved sunrise and sunset but I will forever look at them and think of this series now. ❤️ 

I was honoured to receive this book as an ARC and this is my honest review. 

Karys has now ascended and been given powers of a goddess, and is trying to learn her new powers while also trying to find her sister, who may still be alive and try to find a way to stop the elves and humans from destroying each other and their world. 

So so gooooood. There are happy parts, sad parts, heartbreaking parts, emotional parts, steamy romantical parts 😏, and just all around good parts. 

This was such a good follow up to the first book. Karys learning about her new abilities, but also having to learn about herself again, and to learn to accept WHO she is rather than WHAT she is. And maybe accept who her sister might be. 

The journey Karys and Dravyn both took for their siblings was very moving. I have siblings and I loved seeing these two reach out to their siblings and slowly start to repair relationships that were broken. It was very touching and was something I just loved in this follow up! 

I never really felt the romance, it was never that believable to me, but I do love how well Karys and Dravyn work as a team and I adore the found family we have between them and Valas and Mairu! Seriously one of the best found families! And I’ll never get tired of Valas and his sass 😉 

Some things happened in here that made me very very sad, but made for a more realistic setting, especially that ending. 

I will say the ending seemed a tad bit anticlimactic, and I don’t fully understand what exactly happened or why, but still a different ending from the norm, which I always love! 

I now need to read the other series set in this world. I’m a bit behind 😅😆

I received a gifted e-arc to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.