5 stars for Burn for Me (Hidden Legacy book 1) by Ilona Andrews.
It has never been easy to be patient, especially when it comes down to procrastinating reading – urban fantasy – book series written by my favourite authors. Erm-hem… Actually, I thought I am doing pretty well, considering that I have managed to delay reading book 1 Burn for Me in this brand new series, Hidden Legacy, for over a year such that it is essentially considered a new series no longer.
You see, happiness for me is (1) finding the first good book in a series and knowing there are more to follow. I am already familiar with author Ilona Andrews’s writings, so no issue there; I have full-fledged confidence in reading good stories coming from this husband and wife tag team. (2) finishing a phenomenal book and having another great one to move on to. And that is my reason for waiting book 2 out. Every so often, I will convince myself to postpone my reading until the complete series or at least two of the books are released. This way, I can minimise the hangover and helpless feeling of not being able to proceed with the next book in-line when I know what I have finished with is only one out of many to come in the series.
Much as I will have liked to wait until the digital and/or dead tree version of book 2 is available before I commence on this series, I ask myself “what the heck” when I realise that the book release date has been pushed back to May 2017 which is like another one and a half years’ time from now. So, I decide that the waiting is done. Yea, I like that.
Because I have access to only this book 1, I want to slowly savour the story while it last, to prolong my enjoyment factor of impersonating – no matter how short-lived – the first person narrator, a 25-year old Nevada Baylor, in this magically created world of fantasy; so much so that I find myself reading and re-reading the same sentence a couple of times and flipping the pages back and forth. Suffice to say, I manage to outlast my stay in Burn for You and hopefully can keep my passion aflame White Hot for the next instalment.
In this newly created world of Hidden Legacy, the author presents various schools of magic users. Just to name a few, we have pyrokinetics who manipulate fire; aquakinetics who manipulate water; enerkinetics who manipulate raw magical energy; aerokinetics who manipulate wind; telekinetics who manipulate and move things.
Taking a step further, these magic users are grouped into five ranks: minor, average, notable, significant and prime. Though one palm a many categories, the real ones to watch out for are the Primes; top-notch magic users with godlike powers who inherit magic talents from their parents and in all likelihood will pass it on to their children. Depending on their specialties, these Primes, especially heir Primes, are expected to attend the right schools, land the right jobs, marry the right persons and produce preferably the right number of gifted offspring. In other words, these Primes live not for themselves but for their families’ needs.
In a world where lineage is everything and magic dictates everything, the protagonist, Nevada Baylor, is practically nobody. With no wealth, no power, no genetic pedigree to flaunt, Nevada quietly runs Baylor Investigative Agency, a small, family-owned business that has been sold to House Montgomery with a 30-year repayment mortgage term.
Then one day, as a subsidiary of Montgomery International Investigation owned by House Montgomery, Nevada is charged with a deadly assignment, one which she cannot reject, but to accept is to seek an early death. And that is when things start to get really interesting and exciting for Nevada is actually gifted with a rare and valuable magical talent. Using this third rarest magic talent, one which is highly sought after by many, Nevada proceeds to complete her lethal mission while at the same time does her utmost to stay alive. In the midst of it all, Nevada crosses path with Connor, a Prime who in all earnestness, has earned the nickname of “Mad” Rogan. Yes, expect lots of sparks and stars.
One can tell from the writing the sheer amount of effort the author has put in to produce an impressively well thought-out plot, one that is built on the grounds of magic and magic users and covers almost every loophole possible. Well, a good plot alone is never enough. Obviously, the author knows this and circumvents it by topping the storyline with exceptionally well crafted characters detailed with good historical background and in-depth personalities to match. The end result? A totally absorbing urban fantasy world packed with fast-paced actions and sprinkled with just the right dose of sizzling romance.
Publisher: Avon; Reissue edition
Publication date: 28 Oct 2014
*** Favourite quote ***
The heavens opened, and the realization fell out and hit me on the head.
~ Burn for Me
Ilona Andrews
@}--->>--->>-----
Nevada Baylor is faced with the most challenging case of her detective career—a suicide mission to bring in a suspect in a volatile situation. Nevada isn’t sure she has the chops. Her quarry is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, who can set anyone and anything on fire.
Then she’s kidnapped by Connor “Mad” Rogan—a darkly tempting billionaire with equally devastating powers. Torn between wanting to run and wanting to surrender to their overwhelming attraction, Nevada must join forces with Rogan to stay alive.
Rogan’s after the same target, so he needs Nevada. But she’s getting under his skin, making him care about someone other than himself for a change. And, as Rogan has learned, love can be as perilous as death, especially in the magic world.
*Blurb from author's website*
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