Review: Sapphire Flames

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

I'd been attacked by two corpses, saw my teenage crush stab a man in the heart, and then watched him jump out of a three-story window. 

Sapphire Flames is fourth in the Hidden Legacy series, and I will say it's possible to start here. A friend told me to read the novella before this, Diamond Fire, and that helped with giving me a crash course into this urban fantasy world and all the character relationships and dynamics. This takes place in Houston, Texas, but with fantasy elements, and it's obvious the authors have established this world. The fantasy side involves the Arcane realm and the Osiris serum that originally enured people with magical elements and have now been passed on and breed through the families. When two Primes, the strongest magical beings, show-up in three generations, that family can apply to be a House. That is the case for Catalina Baylor's family and with the new House of Baylor designation came a period of grace, where no other Houses could attack them, but that time is up. Even magical beings need their politics and war! With Catalina's sister Nevada (#1 Burn for Me) having married and joined her husband's house, Catalina is now the Head of House Baylor and the leader and protector of her family. 

“Work with me and we'll get this done together,” he said. 

Catalina is a siren prime, which means that she has to consciously contain her magic because when it reaches out to people, the instantly love her, which leads them to become obsessed and eventually want to pull her apart to get pieces of her. While Catalina has her older sister Nevada and younger sister Arabella, grandmother, mother, and cousins who aren't affected by her magic because they already love her, her magic leaves her isolated and not wanting to get too close to anyone. When she was being tested for a Prime, she had to test against Alessandro, a Prime and count of an old, rich Italian family. Catalina had an instant liking to him and when he came to see her after the test, she couldn't believe if he really liked her or if her magic didn't wear off, so she pushed him away. 

This could never happen. He and I could never happen. I was a siren. My magic would turn him into a lovesick zombie. He was an assassin. He killed people for a living. 

With a storyline that has a little continuity from the previous novella I mentioned and took place three years ago, Runa, a Prime who can poison and ended up saving the Baylor family and wedding guests of Nevada from a poisonous cake, comes to Catalina (the Baylor family has an investigation business) to help her solve who killed her mother and sister. It's a case that has people warning Catalina off of it, even by Alessandro who suddenly shows up. The case has Catalina and Alessandro working together and it's clear that Alessandro has feelings for Catalina but that he also is not being honest about who he really is, not the playboy Catalina thought as he kills people with the skill of a very experienced assassin, and what his motivations are. 

I wasn't alone. It didn't undo the weight that settled on my shoulders, but it made it lighter. Alessandro would stay with me. 

As I mentioned, I'm new to the series and world, so I didn't have clear understanding of the magical world, there's all different kinds of Primes, sirens, poison, teleports, and beings that can shift and morph into half-animal half-humans, Catalina has wings that can sprout for instance and her sister Arabella can turn into a huge beast. There were a lot of Baylor family members to keep track of at first too but the story gives ample time to get to know everyone as Catalina works the case. As Catalina investigates further it unravels more and gets more dangerous with powerful magical Houses, political Texas National Assembly, and the dark dangerous secret of the Osiris serum having been stolen and used to illegally create magically warped humans. I liked how the story seemed to build on previous books in the series, bring readers into a new thread, and build over the course of the book. 

Around half-way Catalina and Alessandro start to work together and their relationship starts to build, too. Alessandro's feelings are clear but it's also clear that he's keeping secrets of his own. If you're a reader of the series, you'll know that while some answers are given here, Catalina and Alessandro's story isn't finished in this book. Catalina is now also working as the Deputy Warden of TX under the powerful Linus, who obviously has a big secret involving Catalina, and after being forced to go to her powerful but other grandmother who is jailed, she made a promise that could forever keep her and Alessandro separated. 

This was rich in danger, intrigue, and character relationships, delivering in an urban fantasy setting that bewitched my imagination. I'm definitely continuing on in the series to see what other trials befall Catalina and Alessandro and if they can fend them all off and come together.

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