Back in February, I read and surprisingly enjoyed Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole. Especially the cliffhanger at the end made me curious for the next book in this series, Glow of the Everflame. I decided to pick it up as soon as I could and that was earlier this month. Was I as intrigued as by the first book in this series? Please beware spoilers of said first book in this review!

About the book

Glow Of the Everflame by Penn Cole
Published by Independently published on July 18, 2023
Pages: 594
ISBN: 9798988161738
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantasy
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

An unexpected gift offers the power to change everything. Keeping it could cost Diem her life. 

The threat of war has arrived at Diem’s doorstep, along with a new discovery that could save her people. To use it, she must survive the next thirty days by forming a devil’s bargain with the people she hates most: the royal family of House Corbois.

As she dives into the world of the Descended elite, Diem quickly realizes good and evil aren’t as simple as they seem. Old prejudices are challenged, and new loyalties blur the line between friend and foe.

Meanwhile, her mother is still missing, and the secrets she left behind can no longer be ignored—and neither can the Guardians and their demands. Caught between an old flame and a sizzling new spark, Diem must confront the truth about who she is and what she wants before time runs out.

War is coming, and dangerous enemies wait on all sides—but the most deadly battle Diem faces may be the one for her heart.

Glow of the Everflame is the second book in The Kindred’s Curse Saga, a four-book epic fantasy romance series that follows our fiesty, bad*ss heroine Diem Bellator in her fight against injustice and oppression, her struggle to survive in a royal palace full of betrayal and intrigue, and her journey of self-discovery and finding true love. This slow burn, enemies-to-lovers series is perfect for fans of unique magic systems, dragons and other mythical creatures, angst and romantic tension, and hilarious banter. This book will appeal to fans of plot-heavy, character-driven romantasy such as A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, From Blood and Ash, Gild, Shadow & Bone, and The Serpent & the Wings of Night. 

Content warning (MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS): death, violence, sexual content, swearing. This book contains adult themes and is intended for readers 18+. This book ends in a cliffhanger.

My review

Expectations

Although the previous book in this series wasn’t flawless at all, the positive notes had the upper hand. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the pacing, but the cliffhanger at the end totally made up for it. For Glow of the Everflame, my expectations were a bit higher as I knew what I did and didn’t like in the first book. Furthermore, I expected to get some more information on the politics and on the system of the world this story is set in. I therefore started reading with much anticipation. Fair? Maybe. Are they met? Partially.

Characters

Whereas Spark of the Everflame was really focused on Diem and a little bit on Luther, this second book in the series was focused on both of them. Although we get the entire story from Diem’s POV, we get to know Luther and the entire royal family better. I found it hard to tell all these royals apart, because these families are huge. However, the most important characters – a bit of an inner circle – are elaborated more in depth. I still think we have more to learn about these people though. Unfortunately, I was a bit annoyed by Diem. It’s obvious that she didn’t want to take on the role of queen, but all of a sudden she decides to go for it. Besides this sudden turnaround, I found her character growth lacking. In my opinion, she’s still the same kind of character as we got to know in the first book. I was way more intrigued by the side characters.

Writing

Moreover, this book was much longer than the previous one. The fact that Cole’s writing style is still easy to follow, didn’t change anything. It mainly has to do with the fact that I wasn’t fond of Diem at all. Still, the chapters were of good length. The only thing I missed here was an extra chapter from Luther’s or Teller’s POV, because these would be very interesting.

Plot

The author states that this series is low burn. This instalment in particular seems to be even more slow than the previous book in this series. The story barely moved forward. The focus was more on getting to know the royal family and the challenges Diem was facing. This made this book suffer from second book syndrome for me. There were interesting plot moments, but it was all in all less exciting and intriguing. This made the book therefore feel long to me like I previously said. I was still intrigued, but not as much as I’d hoped and expected. It also took me quite a long while to finish this book and I wasn’t expecting this at all. Again, the final chapter is a cliffhanger and I’m still curious for what’s to come.

Final thoughts

Unfortunately, I enjoyed Glow of the Everflame less than Spark of the Everflame. Even though it’s a direct follow-up, it doesn’t feel like the characters are growing much. The same applies for the storyline, not much is happening in this book. The focus is somewhere else, which is logical regarding the events prior to this story. However, this different focus made this book dragging for me. I’m still curious for Heat of the Everflame and that’s really the curtesy of the cliffhanger in the end. However, I hope that that book will be moving forward finally.