Goldenfire

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for giving this book to review.

Goldenfire is a really good sequel set a couple years after Darkhaven, which left me on the edge of my seat as there was so much going on, lots of POV and a real page turner. There is action, romance and well written three dimensional characters with their own strength and flaws. I found the alchemy in this story interesting. However, while there were a lot of twists I guessed the assassin much easier than I did the mystery in the previous books.

Ayla is more confident in this book but does keep judging herself compared to her father and his rule, and she therefore has to shoulder a lot of the responsibility of ruling. Tomas is still loyal and determined but we also see him as a clever leader even though he does not see this as he has lots of insecurities about himself. I really like how mature and realistic Ayla and Tomas relationship is and shows they love each other while they still argue.

There are so many characters in this book, with people from the last book, Elisse and Sorrow, as well as the new Helm recruits like Ree, Zander and Penn. I was annoyed with Serenna’s character as in the last book she was willing to consider leaving being a priestess for Myrren but not for her own child, I felt that really did not fit her character.

I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to more novels in this world. I would recommend Goldenfire to fans of the first book Darkhaven.