If I’m up late tonight, it’s because I’m reading book 2 of The Whispers in the Shadows series by Kai Jennex and Casey Cross. This morning I finished the first book, Cold Fire, and I’m already deep into Silver Magic, even though I have so much to do today.
Cold Fire was one of those books that I saw recommended several times and somewhat begrudgingly downloaded because it sounded like something I SHOULD like but somehow wasn’t really hooked on. I started reading it once and felt lost on the first or second page and put it down. There was a lot going on. Rereading comfort books was where I was at.
And then I just picked it up one night and pushed through the first two chapters. And I’m so glad I did. The world just opened up. The characters colored themselves in with brilliant strokes of nuance and aching imperfection. I forgot about the promised tropes and was just reading for the story. For days. This book is long! Honestly, the authors could have split this into three books. It has a rhythm and episodic feel to the way the story turns and moves. And move it does.
This is the type of heated, tense slow burn I adore. Where the waiting is purposeful and articulate. Where intimacy and sheet ripping is earned and relished and no choice comes easy. This is fantasy and mixed pantheons (something I adore). Contemporary and historical settings are mixed together. Above, below, and beyond. Yes, time travel is a thing, and it’s not cheap. It comes with a cost.
So many books don’t make the impact they might make because the costs are never brought up for reckoning. Not so with Cold Fire. The authors wrote this with a steady hand, holding the characters together while letting the actual impact of events fall upon them, all while the core strengths of the characters still lead them towards the light of themselves and each other.
The story isn’t finished, for me. I have Silver Magic to finish. And at 1,312 pages, that’s going to take me a couple days.
This was not an ARC copy or an author request. Each Monday I sit down and think about what I want to share, and I just kept thinking about art and art that makes life more beautiful, and Cold Fire rose to the surface. It might have been taking up a good portion of my free thought space lately. No particular reason… lol. I’m going to go read now.
Here’s Kai Jennex’s website: https://kaijennex.ca/ And here’s the Amazon link to Cold Fire: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FXMPMXG8
Ciara Darren 