Black Heart Blooming

Phoenix Immortal #3

by Alexa Piper

He looked fierce now. Had since I'd mentioned occasionally dying. To be…cherished like that. To have someone who cared about my deaths, it…it had been a very long time.

Cursed with immortality, the man known as the Black Shuck by some, as Bennet by others, has resigned himself to a lonely, endless existence. Long days are interspersed with death, dying, and the odd assassin job.

During one of these jobs, he dies and comes back to life in front of very human and very innocent Amory, who is both fascinating and enchanting. Through his courting, Bennet finds himself enjoying his existence for the first time in a long time. He will do anything to protect Amory, will die and live for this human who has captured his immortal heart.

Yet, the self-doubt Bennet hides behind a confident mask plagues him, and beings from the supernatural world he is a part of target Amory to target him. Bennet knows what he wants, but will all the skills he learned over hundreds of years be enough to keep Amory?

This book covers some of the events that occur in Moonlight Cherries. While this is the third book in a series, it can be read before books one and two as an alternative entry point. Given the character telling the story is an immortal assassin, some readers my find this book too dark.

Black Heart Blooming contains mentions of suicide, suicidal ideation and thoughts, self-harm, violence, murder, and abuse. Conversion therapy and homophobia are mentioned.

Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Magic, Witches, Werewolves, Vampires, Urban Fantasy

412 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2023

About the author

Alexa Piper writes steamy romance that ranges from light to dark, from straight to queer. She’s also a coffee addict. Alexa loves writing stories that make her readers laugh and fall in love with the characters in them.
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Reviews

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read and loved the first 2 Phoenix Immortal books, I was delighted when Alexa said she wanted to write a book from Soyer's POV.
You can read Black Heart Blooming as an introduction to the series instead of Moonlight Cherries with no issues.
The great thing about this series is the descriptive writing. Soyer is less interested in the details than Amory, though, and there is more of everything in this book. Through the first 2 books, Amory, and the reader, are spoonfed information about the wider world that the book inhabits. Here, this is not the case. Soyer goes about investigating the void, a witch, and trying to woo Amory by using pawns. He also has a go at saving kids, and is just rudely-charming - it's a skill only he has.
Soyer was a delight to spend time with

[Flick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow… words cannot express how much I loved this!

This was amazing. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this series until I found Black Heart but I am so excited to read the other two books because this world is amazing! I loved the that this manages to have a dark feeling whilst actually being incredibly sweet. Yes, Soyer is a dangerous assassin who is part of the supernatural world. He kills and has an attitude born of literally hundreds of lifetimes worth of disappointment in people. However, he’s also unbelievably sweet and whilst he’s not ‘good’ in the conventional sense of the word I think he is what good means at its core - I he’s not senselessly cruel, he cares for the vulnerable, he hurts for those who have to die despite it not being fair or right, he does hard things even when it hurts him and he is devoted to those he cares about (even if he won’t always admit he cares about them). He fits with Amory because Amory is simply the more open and gentle version of himself. Thy are like two halves to a whole, Soyer’s half may be draped in darkness but it doesn’t change who he is and Amory is the lighter half that reminds him that the world isn’t entirely darkness. I could wax poetic about these two for days but I’ll just say this is a book that you need to read. It’s beautiful and sweet and gentle and has a little action, but most of all it’s genuinely, truly, enjoyable watching Soyer and Amory find their way to each other.

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexa Piper apparently thought this series was over and then Soyer, aka Bennet, aka Black Shuck started talking to her about wanting his own book about what happened with Amory. I’ve heard other authors say that they felt like the characters were driving the story and it means to me that the author knows their characterss really well. If this book is any indication, Ms. Piper knows her world and characters extremely well because right from the start this volume seemed to sound like Soyer to me. It was a gorgeous read and even though a lot of it covers events that are in the other books, this sheds such a different light on things that I was never bored. Soyer is such a larger than life type of character that she could easily have gone into caricature territory or simply written a typical Phoenix character but she adds so much more to it that this immortal just jumped off the page and into my mind and has stayed there. I applaud Ms. Piper for this book.


I got a copy of this book from the author and this is my honest review

[Raven and Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story absolutely blew me away! The author has created such an original world with this series. I am not 100% sure that I understand it all yet but I still have two more books to read. Yes this is book 3 but I was unfamiliar with the series and was told this book is an alternate starting point for the series. Oh believe me, I will be reading the first two books! I fell in love with Soyer and Amory. These characters! Ah! I almost hate the author right now for giving me a new obsession. Soyer is the name Amory gives him and what he strives to be. He is The Black Shuck, the dark omen, the bringer of death. Bennett is what we know him by in the beginning. Please be aware of triggers. This is a dark book. Bennett is an assassin after all. But he does have a soft and good heart, even though he wants to deny it. All the stars for this story!!!! Just superb storytelling and certainly worth a read!!!

[Erin McArdle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about a world building explosion! Soyer tells Amory he's going to slowly be introduced to the supernatural world so to not be overwhelmed, but not until reading this do you really understand how much is being held back.

Truly a delight to see more of the Phoenix Immortal world, how it operates and who else is in it.
And while there are some questions answered about Soyer, there are still a fair amount of mysteries.

It was lovely to see Amory from Soyer's perspective and how he was a jolt to Soyer's system. We get a few new scenes between them, like between the first and second date when Soyer came to the diner. But seeing what Soyer gets up to while away from Amory, and it was a lot, makes this a worthy addition to the series and no simple slapdash 'here is the exact same you got before but from the other POV.'

[Demetra Roussakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this is book 3 in the series, it can be read as the first before Moonlight Cherries. Told in Soyer/Bennett/ Black Shuck’s point of view, it tells the story of how Soyer becomes an immortal Phoenix assassin. When he met Amory, he is fascinated by him and starts to woo him. Love the world building and looking forward to reading more of this world. It is truly amazing.

[DLB2572 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A New POV

I thoroughly enjoyed reading books one and two of this series. Now to get book three in Soyer's POV has me hooked all over again. I can see myself going back to read the previous books again.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion

[Katriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting to love this as much as I loved Moonlight Cherries, but unfortunately I just couldn't get into this book! And I tried to just keep reading, and to continue on and that at some point I'd get into it but unfortunately that didn't happen! I know it's probably just a me thing, but I couldn't connect with Amory, his point of view just felt a bit off to me? And I can't really go into further detail about that cause I don't know how to explain it.

Other than the fact I just couldn't become immersed in the story. I think the writing was decent, we got to see moments from Moonlight Cherries from Amory's point of view. Even though I couldn't get into this story, doesn't mean you will have the same issue. This can be read as a prequel to Moonlight Cherries, or can be read after it. Honestly as someone who has read the series in order, I would recommend reading this first then Moonlight Cherries. Just because I think that's what contributed to me not being able to fully enjoy this book. I just couldn't wrap my mind around going back to the beginning after reading what had happened already.

[author_books_friends · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Heart Blooming (Phoenix Immortal Book 3)

This story is Black Shuck (Soyer) point of view.
We find out what he was doing when he wasn't with Armory and the reason for things that were happening.
His desire to keep Armory safe, and watch him interact with his friends while at work.
If you liked Moonlight Cherries and Moonlight Phoenixes you'll love this book.
Highly recommend this book

[David Wickham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is basically the first book told from Soyer's point of view so we get a lot more detail on what he does exactly. I found this to be really interesting since the first two books are from Amory's POA. It fills in a lot of the missing details from the first book like Soyer's mission to kill a witch who popped up on his and the vampires' radar.

My only issue is that the author didn't give us more of Soyer alone. We got all the interaction with Amory in the first two books. Why rehash those parts? I still highly recommend this despite that.

[Cynthia M Brow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Heart Blooming is the 3rd book in the Phoenix Immortal series. This book is told Soyer's from point of view. It can be read before Moonlight Cherries as covers some of the things in that book. Because this book is from Soyer's point of view it is darker than the other books. I really enjoyed getting a look at the world that Soyer comes from. I love watching how Amory changes Soyer's perspective. I truly appreciated getting to know more about Black Shuck. I would definitely recommend this book and series.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Heart Blooming is a companion book to Moonlight Cherries, giving us everything we already know and more but from Soyer's perspective. Because Soyer's life has been tortuous immortality and brutality, this book is darker than the other two in the series. But it is satisfying to get much more of a look into the hidden mystical world that the Black Shuck belongs to. And while it was clear that Soyer was all in on Amory from the start, we get to see how much Amory is bringing Soyer to life and giving him something to live for. But also giving Soyer something he fears to lose - a state he has not felt in a very long time.

[SophiaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

So lovely reading Soyer's POV, knowing what went on behind the scenes so to speak. It was familiar and different at the same time. Being in his head when asking Amory out, just before their first kiss and especially during their first meet was just amazing. I felt as though I got to know both characters from a whole different angle, and I suppose that was the point of this story.

I only have to say that I loved it as much because I've read the previous two books and already got to know them and their story. I don't know if someone who reads it as a stand-alone will get the full grasp and picture of what they are together and the world they live in. I don't know if the book has the same "arc" and story-development that a "whole and rounded" book would have alone. I'm not sure that it had this clear cut direction and flow the other two have. Amory is such a big part this one too, but it somehow didn't feel like he was supposed to. It felt as though the book should be more about Soyer's quests he had all around the city, chasing down baddies and shady characters.
Soyer's character-development over all was visible and satisfying. I loved getting a deeper understanding of how his mind worked and how deep his feelings for Amory went. It was also fun to see how he made all those small things happen that seemed to appear magically in Amory's books (like the reservation in the fancy restaurant, how Soyer was preparing the special dinner, how he found out where Amory worked, all those cabs magically appearing at the right time).

Somehow I also am so happy while simultaneously being a little sad. I loved Soyer's POV, but it was also somewhat mysterious only being in Amory's head and being dazzled by Soyer's "mindreading abilities".

[Joanne Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Amazing couldn't put it down, I have had very little sleep because I just couldn't stop reading. I definitely recommend this series .

[Dirty Little Secret Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is Black Shuck (Soyer) point of view.
We find out what he was doing when he wasn't with Armory and the reason for things that were happening.
His desire to keep Armory safe, and watch him interact with his friends while at work.
If you liked Moonlight Cherries and Moonlight Phoenixes you'll love this book.
Highly recommend this book!

~ Diana

[Jacqueleen the Reading Queen♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This moment, it was the last possible moment for me to choose. I could be with him, or I could abandon him, push him away, and end this."


When Alexa Piper announced that Black Heart Blooming was going to be a companion novel to Moonlight Cherries, but entirely from Soyer's POV, I may have made an undignified scream of excitement. I had somewhat recently been introduced to the series from two of my bookish friends, and Soyer was definitely an MC whose head I had wanted to get inside from the first moment we had met him. I had wondered while reading how much Soyer had hidden from sweet Amory and I was right in my instinct that there had been much. All with good intentions mostly, but some from the more selfish place in his heart that had feared the worst - Losing the one person who had enchanted Soyer in all his lonely years of existence.

I loved knowing how much Soyer adored Amory, even more so than he spoke in words. I also enjoyed finally being privy to the things that happened when he wasn't spending time with his lover. He was the Black Shuck. He was feared, but he was also secretly kind in his own way, though he was loathe for others to know it apart from Amory. He had felt the spark just as Amory did from their beginning and it was so interesting seeing the way his mind worked. How he processed his growing and surprising feelings for the human man.

"On his skin, on his chest, there lived a firebird, not a copy of my own, but mine. I knew the truth of it in my bones...We were one, linked through magic that bound our hearts, unintended, but true. A curse turned into wonder. Hope, for once, had won."

I'm glad this isn't the end for these two. Amory and Soyer are such a wonderful couple to read about. I still have many questions about their world, but some were answered in Black Heart Blooming. One question that I definitely know the answer is that these two were meant to be together and I look forward to more of them to come.

[DMCechak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Heart Blooming - The Beginning

‘I lifted the hand I was still holding to my lips, kissing his knuckles. I meant it to show respect, adoration. Those two things I could easily give him. He breathed in, a heavy breath, the kind of breath people often took in the darkness. I looked at his shadowed features, not lowering his hand. “May I kiss your lips?” I felt the tremor run through his body before I saw his head bob, granting me permission. What I really wanted was to pounce, devour, have him, here and now.’

Alexa Piper’s Black Heart Blooming shares Soyer’s story, which parallels Amory’s in Moonlight Cherries and Moonlight Phoenixes, all part of the fabulous Phoenix Immortal fantasy series.

We become deeply rooted in Soyer’s psyche as his emotions are tweaked, something that rarely happens after centuries of life and death, by the sweet young man who finds himself on a subway with a dying Soyer. Allowing himself to become fascinated with the waiter from the Moonlight Cafe, Soyer’s intricate world of paranormal beings is ultimately changed, as secrets are revealed and dangerous beings are challenging what little emotional and physical peace he finds being with Amory.

Loyalty and desire are paramount to keeping Amory safe, and the Black Shuck will burn down the world to save his love.

[GB DiGregorio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely “Wow”!

I read “Moonlight Cherries” first and loved it. I began reading Book 2 and somehow came across the information for this book. Learning Book 3 is Soyer’s POV of “Moonlight Cherries”, I stopped Book 2 and began Book 3.

I really enjoy dual POV stories and missed it when I read Book 1. So knowing Book 3 would fill in what was going on with Soyer during Book 1, I jumped at Book 3. It was wonderful! I felt like Book 3 filled in, with a rich tapestry of details, from Book 1. Yes, there is some dialogue and events repeated from Book 1, but we’re learning the other side of the story, and it’s so impressive. I mean, seriously, what talent the author has to have in order successfully write Book 3 as an extension of Book 1 AND get the events to synch up so perfectly!

I LOVE the universe the author has created. I’d recommend reading “Moonlight Cherries” first and then jump right to Book 3; “Black Heart Blooming”. If you love supernatural stories or human/supernatural relationship stories, you won’t be disappointed. I promise!!!

Now back to Book 2!

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing

I’ve read books before from the other POV of a romantic partnership and in my experience, they tend to range from vaguely disappointing to a shameless rip-off.

This book blows all that right out of the water. It’s as if you fell in love with a richly beautiful painting and then realized it was not actually a 2D representation on canvas but was really physically three-dimensional, full of details and harmonies that only become apparent as you shifted from side to side.

_Black Heart Blooming_ does more than tell Amory and Soyer’s story from Soyer’s perspective. It gives a larger context to the supernatural world Amory is only just discovering. It not only fills in Soyer’s activities when he must be apart from Amory but gives us, the reader, a much greater understanding of Soyer as a person and why Amory means so much to him.

I now want this same kind of experience for the second book, _Moonlight Phoenixes_. I’d buy that in a heartbeat. I’m not holding my breath but one can dream, right?

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is third in a series and I haven`t read the previous books, but I`m going to after I met all this crew. Alexa Piper says you can start with the story from this book and it`s true, I never had the feeling I was missing anything.
Soyer is an assasin feared in the paranormal community, Amory is a waiter with a very normal, boring life.
They meet when Soyer is fulfilling a contract and Soyer feels enchanted by Amory.
After that Soyer decides to court Amory and watching his efforts it`s a delight.
Alexa Piper weaves a wonderful tale, full of magic and interesting characters, I found myself searching for other characters books, original in how she presents magic users and the source of all paranormal beings...
This is a lengthy book, but I read it really fast and now I`m going onto Moonlight Cherries to see another outlook in this interesting world.

[MM Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you start to read Black Heart Blooming, just be ready to be engrossed in this amazing love story of Soyer and Amory, and be late for school/work/life because you wouldn't want to this book down.

The author, Alexa Piper, who happens to be one of my top favorites of the favorites - so full disclosure - has never written a bad story. I love all of her stories. And I love all of her main characters, including side and minor characters.

Black Heart Blooming has everything that makes a story riveting. I enjoy the age gap, virgin, grumpy/sunshine, bad/good guy, bad/good or innocent tropes. So for me, Black Heart Blooming was just perfect.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goddess Bless, what a world A.P. continues to build in the latest Phoenix Immortal. We get Soyer’s POV in the days leading up to Moonlight Cherries and then during Moonlight Cherries. We get so much more of why Soyer is who he is, his “friends”, and his thoughts, his emotions as he falls for our sweet Amory. It’s the perfect counterbalance to M.C. I like how Alexa weighs certain events differently from Soyer’s POV vs Amory’s POV. Ooh, and more info on Ben and Rae! Of course, sexy times with such wonderful consent. Is there such a thing as consent porn, because it is sexy in this world! I can’t wait for more Moonlight Diner!

[Juniper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in the series, but can be enjoyed both after or prior to previous works. I think this one is my favorite so far– it’s a bit darker, offers a different perspective, and allows you to see a truly fascinating world through a truly fascinating character’s eyes. Soyer has depth and layers and his feelings for Amory are transformative in some really interesting ways– they’re a compelling pairing, to say the least. The world building and character development are so on point here– this, like the other books in the series, is well worth a read.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Scatteredashes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read Moonlight Cherries and had no idea what to expect when I delved into Black Heart Blooming. It really took me a while to warm up to Soyer even though I was intrigued by the world. It was a bit difficult to understand exactly what the Pawns were until he finally describes them to Amory. Overall the pace was fairly steady and I felt like we really got to seem the subtle changes Soyer goes through after he meets Amory. It's a pretty slow burn of a story and Soyer totally takes his time making a move. Amory is pretty skittish to start, so his old fashioned approach does seem to be the best. I am interested in reading Moonlight Cherries now to see everything from Amory's POV.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY!! I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS BOOK, AND IT IS BEYOND BEAUTIFUL! I was so EXCITED to hear that Soyer was getting his own book and to be able to see his world more indepth, see his thoughts more, and see how he felt for Amory the first time they met .Oh chef kiss, fantastic! This is truly an unbelievable story, and I just absolutely adored it so much! This author did a fantastic job!! This will definitely be a reread for me for sure, just like book 1 in this series Moonlight Cherries.

[K-Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very clever way to bring us back to events with Bennet and Amory and experience it all through Bennet's eyes. His true thoughts and desires are expressed here in a way we could not hear them before. We are able to now connect with Bennet on a whole new level. I enjoyed that he remained a bit more of a mystery in the first books, but this was such an exciting version of the story through his eyes. I was so happy to see how much Bennet was focused on all things Amory and that in his way he adored him.

[Chappy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the 2 first books so I jumped at the chance to get into Soyer's head...he's so mysterious and snarky. We see the darker side of his job as an assassin; as he usually tries to shield Amory for the gory stuff. The witches are the real bad guys in this series and they are responsible for everyone that is cursed or made into a pawn.
I'd love to get more Soyer/Amory...the werewolf Ben and the demon Rae need stories please, Alexa :D

[Belinda Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved being able to learn more about Soyer from the horse's mouth as it were.
Getting to understand his thoughts and reasoning was awesome.
His love for Amory is immense and knows no bounds.
There's also lots of growth and development from both of them.
Amazing world building and wonderful characters that have endeared themselves to me.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

I would’ve preferred a continuation of the story, but a mix of old and new from Soyer’s perspective was nice. Interesting to see what was happening that we didn’t get to read previously - the black shuck has more to him than we got to know. Also… usb 3 mirco-b? lol I’ll miss these two, and will definitely come back for a fourth book (or more).

[Marlene Trabal Lebrón · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely love this series

Soyer’s viewpoint definitely added a lot to their story. I really hope to see dial viewpoints from him and Amory in future books.