Emerald Blaze by Ilona AndrewsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Intrigue and Magical Mayhem
I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.
This book continues 6 months after the last one in the series. In order to save Alessandro in the last book, Catalina made a deal with her grandmother, Victoria. She was to remain head of her house and not marry a prime and leave for their house the way her elder sister, Nevada, did. She was also expected to visit Victoria to be ‘educated’ on how to lead her house.
In the last six months, Catalina has learnt a lot from her grandmother, and from having her heart broken by Alessandro’s leaving. She’s also been drop-kicked into being a Deputy Warden and having to learn on the job. However, the money from being a Deputy Warden comes in very handy as she tries to keep her family business afloat.
When Catalina is informed she has to take on a murder case, as Deputy Warden, she comes into contact with Alessandro who has been contracted to kill the person who murdered the victim. Linus, the Warden forces Catalina to work with Alessandro and she has to face the fact that she can’t have him because of her grandmother. In his time away Alessandro seems to have changed too and his priorities seem to be to protect her rather than the vengeance that took him away from her previously.
This is quite an intense book. A lot happens plot-wise. We have the murder investigation, the relationship issue and dealing with Victoria and her machinations. Poor Catalina has the weight of the House on her shoulders, along with needing to protect Texas and it’s inhabitants.
I really enjoyed the book and some of the fight scenes were really impressive. I loved the descriptions of the magic and how it is accessed and used by different individuals. This book continues the world-building that has gone before in the series and it makes the world more complete and interesting.
Catalina is a serious young woman who is always putting other people first. She’s highly intelligent but still retains her compassion despite learning to be ruthless when necessary. Every action seems to be about looking after someone else. The rest of the family have all seemed to grow and change, which I like. There isn’t much focus on the family in this book but we still see their development in their interactions with Catalina.
The plot was fast-moving and complex. I dove into the story and didn’t really come up for air very often. There was so much going on that I was always wanting to know what happened next with each strand of the plot, trying to see how it all connected.
I really enjoyed how the story wound up and then was walloped with a hideous cliffhanger in the last few pages of the epilogue. That was not a nice thing to do! I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series.
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