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A review by bribreez
Glow of the Everflame by Penn Cole
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5⭐️
*Thank you to Atria and Penn Cole for sending me an ARC, I truly appreciate it!
Diem’s story was just beginning, and with the cliffhanger, and jaw dropping revelation of Diem’s life, everything changed. The last time we saw Diem, she was faced with a new daunting challenge one that would require her to be among the Descended, and ultimately be something she never imagined for herself. With politics, secrets, and trying to navigate the Descended court life, Diem was playing catch up to her new role, but she also has the grumpy Prince, Luther to guide her through it. With even more magic, plot twists, a bit of that enemies to lovers dynamic between Diem and Luther, there was more to learn in this fantasy written by, Penn Cole.
This time around, there wasn’t just one threat, it was multiple and it came in different forms or shall we say, different ways. For Diem, she was in a position of power that honestly I’m sure she never saw coming for her, but nonetheless, it changed her life, and those around her. This story not only showed Diem taking on a new role, but with the royal Descended some in favor of Diem and others not so much. There was plenty of politics that Diem needed to learn about in order to play the game she was now a part of. Although, by having people like Luther, his cousins, Taran and Eleanor, they also proved to be helpful allies who Diem had in her corner. This book in particular had court intrigue, political aspects, dynamics in power, and overall for Diem trying to survive.
I’ll admit, it took a bit to get back in the swing of things with this sequel to the first book, but thankfully I was able find my way. Similarly to the first book, this story had a lot of new characters and plot elements to introduce. Aside from the political aspects, there was still plenty of Diem and Luther moments that I was savoring whenever it came across the pages! The tension between Luther and Diem was present as per usual, but even when they were back to kind of being enemies (I say that lightly), there was a new side to their dynamic. Luther had always been the grumpy, stoic Prince, but in this book in particular I got to see a bit more of him, and even some rare vulnerable moments of him. There was plenty of slow burn romance in this book, and my goodness any time I saw so much as an interaction between Diem and Luther I enjoyed, but once again the things Luther said to Diem literally raised my standards even more in that I wish a man like Luther would tell all those wonderful things.
“Yes, Diem, I want to serve you—in every way a man can.”
AHHHHHH SO PERFECT! And that is just one of a couple quotes that I absolutely LOVED!
Overall, this was another great book in Diem’s story filled with political intrigue, magic, a bit of slow burn romance, found family, and action. While the beginning felt a little slow in pacing, it did gradually start to pick up once I keep reading on, and more things started to come up with Diem, Luther, etc. There was still some distrust with Diem towards Luther, but nonetheless that man was resolute in showing Diem he was devoted to protecting her in any way possible, pledging his loyalty and… ahem AFFECTION FOR HER! Any time Luther came across in the pages, I was waiting for some iconic quotes from him, and OH BOY HE DELIVERED YET AGAIN! While this series isn’t super heavy on the romance, I do appreciate the build up between Diem and Luther’s relationship. From book one to this book, Luther and Diem had made strong strides from enemies to friends, to trusting each other wholeheartedly, and basically I’m assuming they’re in their lovers phase now! Aside from loving Luther and Diem together, there was a lot Diem had to tackle in this story from gaining new power, trying to outsmart the other Houses, and the politics that went with it too. There was also some found family moments which I really do think helped in Diem’s character growth as well since she was able to not only form new friendships, but also see that not every Descended was inherently bad. Once it got towards the ending, my goodness things did get out of control! That cliffhanger was ILLEGAL! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND AHHHH I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOWWWW! (Sigh) I’m going to need a moment to collect myself after that ending. Highly recommend this book (and series) if you’re looking for a fantasy book with found family, political intrigue, action, magic, slow burn romance, and a dash of enemies to lovers.
*Thank you to Atria and Penn Cole for sending me an ARC, I truly appreciate it!
Diem’s story was just beginning, and with the cliffhanger, and jaw dropping revelation of Diem’s life, everything changed. The last time we saw Diem, she was faced with a new daunting challenge one that would require her to be among the Descended, and ultimately be something she never imagined for herself. With politics, secrets, and trying to navigate the Descended court life, Diem was playing catch up to her new role, but she also has the grumpy Prince, Luther to guide her through it. With even more magic, plot twists, a bit of that enemies to lovers dynamic between Diem and Luther, there was more to learn in this fantasy written by, Penn Cole.
This time around, there wasn’t just one threat, it was multiple and it came in different forms or shall we say, different ways. For Diem, she was in a position of power that honestly I’m sure she never saw coming for her, but nonetheless, it changed her life, and those around her. This story not only showed Diem taking on a new role, but with the royal Descended some in favor of Diem and others not so much. There was plenty of politics that Diem needed to learn about in order to play the game she was now a part of. Although, by having people like Luther, his cousins, Taran and Eleanor, they also proved to be helpful allies who Diem had in her corner. This book in particular had court intrigue, political aspects, dynamics in power, and overall for Diem trying to survive.
I’ll admit, it took a bit to get back in the swing of things with this sequel to the first book, but thankfully I was able find my way. Similarly to the first book, this story had a lot of new characters and plot elements to introduce. Aside from the political aspects, there was still plenty of Diem and Luther moments that I was savoring whenever it came across the pages! The tension between Luther and Diem was present as per usual, but even when they were back to kind of being enemies (I say that lightly), there was a new side to their dynamic. Luther had always been the grumpy, stoic Prince, but in this book in particular I got to see a bit more of him, and even some rare vulnerable moments of him. There was plenty of slow burn romance in this book, and my goodness any time I saw so much as an interaction between Diem and Luther I enjoyed, but once again the things Luther said to Diem literally raised my standards even more in that I wish a man like Luther would tell all those wonderful things.
“Yes, Diem, I want to serve you—in every way a man can.”
AHHHHHH SO PERFECT! And that is just one of a couple quotes that I absolutely LOVED!
Overall, this was another great book in Diem’s story filled with political intrigue, magic, a bit of slow burn romance, found family, and action. While the beginning felt a little slow in pacing, it did gradually start to pick up once I keep reading on, and more things started to come up with Diem, Luther, etc. There was still some distrust with Diem towards Luther, but nonetheless that man was resolute in showing Diem he was devoted to protecting her in any way possible, pledging his loyalty and… ahem AFFECTION FOR HER! Any time Luther came across in the pages, I was waiting for some iconic quotes from him, and OH BOY HE DELIVERED YET AGAIN! While this series isn’t super heavy on the romance, I do appreciate the build up between Diem and Luther’s relationship. From book one to this book, Luther and Diem had made strong strides from enemies to friends, to trusting each other wholeheartedly, and basically I’m assuming they’re in their lovers phase now! Aside from loving Luther and Diem together, there was a lot Diem had to tackle in this story from gaining new power, trying to outsmart the other Houses, and the politics that went with it too. There was also some found family moments which I really do think helped in Diem’s character growth as well since she was able to not only form new friendships, but also see that not every Descended was inherently bad. Once it got towards the ending, my goodness things did get out of control! That cliffhanger was ILLEGAL! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AND AHHHH I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOWWWW! (Sigh) I’m going to need a moment to collect myself after that ending. Highly recommend this book (and series) if you’re looking for a fantasy book with found family, political intrigue, action, magic, slow burn romance, and a dash of enemies to lovers.