Once the flames are ignited . . .

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family’s fortune decimated and forced her to wed London’s most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity . . .

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it’s selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can’t help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn’t felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

Sample

My Thoughts

Can you say historical, paranormal, gothic, romantic suspense, thrilling, funny, magic, sexy and sexual tension in one word? Yes, FIRELIGHT.

These novels weren’t even on my radar, but after reading a review of Moonglow, (book # 2 in the series) I decided to give this novel a shot, and oh boy! I’m so glad I did.

Set in Victorian England,  from the strong characters to the familiar, yet unique plot, this book was a treat from beginning to end,

So you think you have heard it all before; a masked hero, a heroine of incomparable beauty, an arranged marriage and a romance story……Ah! But not so fast, because Kristen Callihan has created a world that will not only pull you in, but will have you captivated with her originality and clever cocktail of genres.

Beautifully crafted, the main character’s love story will have to survive their differences, secrets and their share of enemies, all while the sexual tension heats up to scorching degrees (my cup of tea), to the hardcore romance listener this might be a little bit of a turnoff, as it takes a while in the story before these two get hot and heavy, and the murder plot seems to take time away from the romance, but for me, it was paced perfectly.

 The battle to save each others souls brings the romance to the front and unfolds a beautiful love story.

The magic and paranormal elements are nicely blended to give the novel, yet another feeling that accompanied by the darkness and suspense  takes the novel up a notch from your regular paranormal or historical romance.

To top it all, Ms. Callihan also managed to create credible and exciting secondary characters that will have you downloading the next novel within minutes of the conclusion of Firelight…Yes, It’s that good!

I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this novel, and how highly I recommend it to any fan of the paranormal or historical romance genre, including urban fantasy.

  3.97  ·  rating details  ·  1,399 ratings  ·  460 reviews on Goodreads 

Great reviews:

 Red Hot Books 

The book Nympho

The Author

Kristen Callihan

Narration

OK, so after all that enthusiasm, why isn’t it 5 stars? Well, it comes down to the narration.

First I like to give you my opinion of what I thought was excellent from Moira Quirk (new- to- me narrator), and that was her interpretation of Miranda, the ambiance of the novel and her ability to connect you to the characters and the world in general.

Her clear British accent – I always have to say that, because there are some British narrators that frankly, lose me with their pronunciations, but I digress, I have no problems at all with her accent, in fact, it was perfect to bring this world to life.

My complaint comes from the times I found her  a bit monotone, and it distracted me a little bit, nevertheless the story comes on top in spite of it.

Sometimes it takes the first book to get used to a narrator’s style – if the readings were competent enough and by all means that was the case here.

Her male voices were just OK, not deep enough for my taste, but a very nice effort to make the distinction in the manner they were delivered.

All in all, I would give 4 stars to her performance,  I’m looking forward to having a better listening experience with Moonglow.

Voices behind the books

Moira Quirk