Evie Reads

Series Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read Count: xx
Tags: 🦄🙋🏼‍♂️🌎
Series Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
All books are available on Kindle Unlimited

Kindred’s Curse Saga books in order: 

Spark of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Glow of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
_____________________

GAHHHH. I just finished my reread of the first three in this series + my first read of Burn. And WOW. I have thoughts. 

QUICK TAKE 

I loved this series so much. I loved the yearning, the crazy friends, the wild adventure. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves a good found family and a devoted, shadow-powered MMC. 

SPOILER- FREE THOUGHTS

Emarion is an INCREDIBLE world that Penn Cole created. There’s enough world building in these books that it doesn’t feel forced but not too much to the point of needing a reference book for it. I could easily remember how the realm was set up (in a circle) and not need to flip back to the map constantly. That was a genius move on her part. Make it a circle – done. The only issue was remembering where Lumnos (main realm) was in relation to everything else 🙈

Having the magic based on the realm was also genius. It was easy to know who had which magic type, plus the eye color differentiation made it so simple. 

I always find it fascinating how authors decide to introduce the history of whatever world they’re building – whether it’s just through description on the page or from some character having it explained to them, etc. After reading over 100 fantasy/romantasy books, I especially pay attention to this and if it feels repetitive.  This time I really enjoyed that the world was built through a first person narrative as Diem went through her world on Forging Day, and then we learned about it as she did once her world kinda unraveled…a bit 😂

One thing I didn’t love that feels overdone – the constant use of white hair. I was reminding myself the entire time – oh, she’s not a brunette – because she DEFINITELY felt like a brunette to me???  

My favorite part of this story was Diem’s friendships. She got what is called a “found family”. Through certain circumstances, she didn’t have much family throughout the books, but she was able to make some really wonderful new friends that became her family. Eleanor and Taran were my favorite by far. Diem had such an encouraging, life-giving personality towards her people. It was a super fun and important piece of her story to build other people up even while she was struggling. 

Another thing to mention – the spice. In the first two books – top tier. Then it kinda went downhill from there for me. It kinda felt a little forced and just wasn’t my favorite…you’ll see why if you keep reading…

OKAY BUCKLE UP, PEOPLE.
If you haven’t read Burn – go away 😂

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 

I’ve seen a lot of opinions about this series and about the female main character, Diem. Most of those people don’t like Diem. They call her annoying, saying they really like the series and everything about the magic system, the worldbuilding, and the side characters. I, however, do not agree. 

I liked Diem. I didn’t LOOOVE her, but I liked her as the female main character (furthermore known as FMC). There’s a lot of talk about her decision-making being stupid or her personality just overall being terrible. Diem had to overcome A LOT and I think being compassionate towards this as a reader is important when you make judgments about an FMC who is also our narrator for the majority of the series. 

In the beginning, Diem is basically put on drugs that remind me of antidepressants – making you completely numb to everything. Not only that, but she’s told she has a disease that the drug will cure but it’s A LIE. She’s been on it since childhood because she had hallucinations that freaked her out so bad – trauma – and then got put on drugs to stop them, supposedly to fix it. Then she becomes an adult and is told in a super creepy way to stop taking the drug. So – she does. That seems like a super ideal decision to me. She chucks it all in the lake! BOOM. 

And then….all hell breaks loose. 

She realizes she’s been basically dead inside for YEARS. She had this relationship with Henri (who actually DOES suck) that she realizes she doesn’t actually want to be in. What would’ve happened if she never stopped taking the drug? It’s called flameroot. I guess I should just call it that. She starts to be able to feel things again – and she’s angry. 

Then she figures out the flameroot hasn’t been helping her, it’s been HIDING her. She’s not fully mortal like she thought, she’s half Descended. Which is basically like half demi-god. She has powers, she can heal quicker, she’s way stronger than she should be. And NO ONE TOLD HER! For her entire life, this has just been hiding under the surface. Guess how she finds out? It’s not a lovely sit-down conversation with her parents where they hold her hand and take her anger for their lies. Nope. Her mom disappeared without a word and without a trace- so that convo isn’t happening. 

How does she find out? The king dies, so the power in the realm has to transfer somewhere and voila – it goes to HER. 

So now she’s Queen of a realm, doesn’t know she’s actually Descended and has powers she isn’t even aware of and is in a relationship with a mortal who HATES Descended. Like really HATES them. Would you not also be freaking out???

GOSH, this series is so good. 

She is then constantly having to make decisions to help other people and basically save them. But she wasn’t raised to immediately know what to do in dire situations like the Descended with magic are. She was raised to be a MORTAL healer. She knew how to make tough decisions when she didn’t have EMOTIONS. Come on now. 

She’s finally not suppressing her emotions and that’s when her life becomes crazy??? She had SO MUCH trauma. Especially trapped on that dang island. 

The one thing that I will admit pissed me off was how long it took her to realize the godstone (poison that kills Descended) was healed by her blood. I knew that like as soon as she healed Taran. Come ON Diem. 

Anyway, can you tell I liked Diem? 

Now for the important part. LUTHER. 

First of all, I’d like to know how these women write such incredible male main characters (MMCs). Okay, I guess it would just thinking about literally exactly what I’d like in a man and then write it down. But that is way harder than thinking about it. 

Second of all, LUTHER. He is great. Yes. But I will say his undying faithfulness and complete OBSESSION with Diem was honestly annoying to me. In the 4th book – spoiler warning – Diem tells him to basically chill – WHY YOU SO OBSESSED WITH MEEEE –  and to find something to do with himself. But that’s because she knows she’s going to die and doesn’t want his life to be shredded. Which it will anyway, dummy, but that’s cute of you. 

He is told by his goddess to follow Diem and help her be the queen Emarion needs – to save them all. And he does. So I get where that tracks. But he honestly doesn’t have much personality outside of that. “I love Lumnos. I love Diem.” 

When she’s gone, he loses his mind. He acts like a grump and is crazed until he finds her. Which is sweet and all, but what else do you have dude? That’s sad to me. I want my MMCs to be this devoted, sure, but I also want them to have personalities and things they like other than just the FMC. Even just like…drawing. I’m reminding myself as I write this that he definitely did draw – the half-mortal children he saved, because half-mortals were illegal in Emarion. So that’s true, yes. But he stopped saving them once he met Diem and was with her. Why? Why wasn’t he continually devoted to making sure that happened? Yes, it got passed off to someone else, but why wouldn’t he still do that? Or at least have SOMETHING else he’s doing. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

To me, Diem seems really relatable. She’s trying to figure out being a new PERSON after learning her entire life is a lie. She doesn’t understand their world but really tries to as she lives in it and then rules it. Once she finds out she has to die, she spends a lot of time pulling away from people instead of talking about it. This definitely DID frustrate me. I hate the miscommunication trope. “I know this is a problem for everyone but I’m not going to say anything about it because I don’t want anyone else to be upset”. What is that? A martyr? 

Now I’ll say this. I’m a Christian. I love Jesus. If that makes you cringe, sorry not sorry. Hopefully you’ll keep reading. 

So as a Christian, it makes sense to me why Diem is trying to help people like Luther find themselves outside of her before she has to sacrifice herself to save everyone – see why I brought up Jesus? 

This feels very similar to me. She has to be the savior of these people – she has to die so she can kill her evil dad because of some old spell. That sucks. 

But why not include everyone else in this? Why not bond with Luther over having to die or do things with him before you do? WHY PENN COLE WHY

I promise I don’t hate Diem now. 

The best part of this entire series though – definitely the side characters. 

Taran, the jokester with a dark side.
Teller, Diem’s nerdy brother who ends up having a BABY with Luther’s sister. 
Lily, Luther’s cute sister. 
Alixe, the incredible warrior. 
Sorae, the gryvern!!!  

I loved all of these side stories and their fun culmination. 

Diem is a strong, brave, FMC. She does whatever she has to do to protect people – all people. She chooses to show mercy to people who don’t deserve it. She is kind to people, consistently. And she forgives, which takes a special kind of strength. I love characters that are relatable but that are BETTER than I expect them to be. That challenge me as a person, wondering if I would have that kind of attitude after everything she’d been through. Or in my own life- am I using my opportunities to be kind, forgiving, merciful the way I should? 

I don’t just read these books and think “oh what an amazing MMC I wish my husband was like that”. In this case, I don’t wish that at all actually. I’m glad my husband has hobbies 😂

The Kindred’s Curse was a beautiful story. The mate storyline – incredible. I loved the reveal so much. I did somewhat wish it was more dramatic, like Luther saw the mark on Diem in public and we got to see his reaction that way, but I digress. 

This is definitely a top tier read for me. These books are wild, funny, badass and VERY addicting. It took way too long for book 4 to come out!! Now that it has and all the stories have been wrapped up, it feels incredibly sad to let them go. 

Thank you for reading this far!! Next up…the Silversmith + the Incendiary by LJ Claren 🤩