White HotThis series is a prime example for one of the major rules that applies to book buying: Don’t judge a book based on its cover (or publisher).

If you’re already a fan of Ilona Andrews’ other books, there’s absolutely no reason that you won’t also enjoy this series. The romance is there to support and enhance the conflict between the two heroes, and everything is set against a backdrop of amazing urban fantasy world-building. 

This book builds upon the plot of the first in the trilogy, Burn for Me, by showing how the events there are part of a larger conflict developing in the city of Houston among the powerful magical Houses. Nevada is thrust into the midst of things when she’s hired by a grieving widower (who quietly becomes my favorite supporting character in the novel). She reluctantly winds up with Connor “Mad” Rogan as a partner, and their sexual tension is just this side of cliche to make this reluctant romance fan become invested rather than rolling her eyes a lot.

We also learn more about Nevada’s family, both the characters and their history. One of Andrews’ major strengths as an author is creating heroes who don’t exist in a vacuum. They have a support system (and potential source of additional conflict) that highlights fantastic character interaction and drama. I’m excited to see how the Baylor family develops in the climax of this trilogy, almost as much as I’m excited to see the major overarching conflict resolve.

It may look like a typical paranormal romance on the outside, but this trilogy is epic urban fantasy with strong characters and relationships that just sometimes happen to have sexy bits. I eagerly away the conclusion, Wildfire, in August.

Rating: 5 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.

Currently reading: Nevermore (Supernatural #1) by Keith R.A. DeCandido