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The Lure of Fire

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Upon turning twenty-one, I reached the required age. The magic number that would grant me entry to the hallowed gates of the Academy of Elements where I would learn to control my gift as a waterborne fae.
Six arduous months of relentless training and exhaustive studies awaited, all in preparation for the impending battle with power-hungry humans and their ongoing century-old war.
Little did I know, my life would irrevocably change the moment I crossed the academy's threshold. Now I’m drowning in lies and burning with a passion for a man I can’t deny.
Everything I thought I knew about who I was, and what is expected of me, unveils a life I never dreamed. Setting me on a path of destiny and adventure beyond my wildest dreams, sealing my fate with the last person I expected.

Mythical Guardians are just that, mythical... or are they?

228 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2024

7 people are currently reading
31 people want to read

About the author

Chloe O'Connor

5 books13 followers
Chloe was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1994.
She is a wife to Tom & a wonderful mother to 2 little boys, Edward & Harry.


Chloe's passion for writing has always been with her; throughout school, she would ace English & storytelling.
It wasn't until she became a book blogger for authors back in 2015/2016 that she discovered her own characters, begging for their story to be told.
The Precious Trilogy was born in 2016 and was published a year later.
C. Renee pen name is home to her romance stories.
Genres will include suspense, contemporary, historical, murder mystery, etc.


Chloe O'Connor pen name was born in 2024. Writing her first fantasy, she knew it was like coming home. Fantasy will always have Chloe's heart, and writing the magical worlds will be her number 1 passion.

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5 stars
11 (28%)
4 stars
10 (25%)
3 stars
4 (10%)
2 stars
4 (10%)
1 star
10 (25%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Elanah Harding.
7 reviews1 follower
May 10, 2024
While the story line of the book had a lot of promise, it fell a little bit short in execution. The storyline felt rushed and disjointed, leaving behind unresolved plot holes, and barely explored character relationships.

Additionally, there were many events that could have been expanded upon but were instead skipped over, and the abundance of tropes lacked the necessary depth.

With more attention to detail and care, the material could have easily been split into two or three separate books, allowing for a more thorough exploration of its potential.

Lastly, while critique is important, it's essential to acknowledge the effort and courage it takes to write and release a book. Despite its flaws, the author should be commended for her dedication and creativity in bringing a story to life.
Profile Image for Sara.
8 reviews
May 18, 2024
One star for the cover. It’s super pretty.😻
One star for having the guts to publish a story that hasn’t been edited or fleshed out before being thrown onto Amazon and released into the wild like some feral rabid dog. That takes some balls 🎾

Could not get into the story.
The characters all sounded exactly that same. Cardboard cut outs with no emotions and stilted dialogue.

And the whole turning 21 and going to magic school being grouped into courts depending on their magic abilities, it’s all bordering closely on plagiarism of some very popular YA novels. There’s nothing original about this.

The major issue for me was the obvious lack of editing and the glaring plot holes and inconsistencies.

I have an idea that this was written by a very young first time author who hasn’t had life experiences or experience with sexual relationships/ or any adult relationship for that matter. It’s all immature writing and dialogue, and frankly, a godawful mess.

Rikie and Rakie ? Who come up with these names? My two year old could come up with better names than this. I’ve heard better names on Bluey. This is an adult romantic fantasy and the authors says yes rikie and Rakie are perfect.🤣🤦🏾‍♀️

Aisling / Ash I didn’t feel anything for this character, and that dream orgasm scene and aftermath, and the way she thought and spoke in the sex scenes - I cringed so hard 🤮
Fade to black would have done wonders for this book.

I can’t remember all the characters names and there were so many of them, all with weird as fuck names.

This was supposed to be romantic fantasy but there was no world building. The entire book took place in a colourless flat world where there should have been descriptions of sights, sounds, touch, and emotion. There was so much potential to utilise a larger/wider vocabulary and the author chose the most basic, boring bland ways to express everything.

The cliffhanger ending is abrupt and makes no sense.
It’s obviously there to force you to buy book 2.

God I hate wasting my time on badly written books but it makes me appreciate those brilliant ones.

Profile Image for Cassie De La Roche.
13 reviews
April 16, 2024
Spice rating 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5
Overall Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Was it perfect? No. Was it fun? Absolutely!

This book was so fast paced but boy was there a lot packed into it!
Enemies to lovers
Dragons
School for gifted
Forced marriage
Elemental magic
Friendships
Spice
Bonded mates
And so much more….

The plot in this story was absolutely amazing and I love the concept of the book but I really wanted more! The book is only 218 pages but it absolutely could be a 500-700 page book if it went into more detail and description of the characters and the places. The plot and characters were so good they deserved more “fluff” in my opinion.

A lot of plot holes to be filled but I’m hoping that will happen in the next book (and not to mention the cliff hanger 😱😱)
Profile Image for Penny Robinson.
25 reviews
April 16, 2024
"Sweetheart, should you be here?"
Should she, indeed? Definitely not. But we'd expect no less from this FMC.
Aisling(Ash) is a young, fae woman with a plan to make it through academy and eventually join her brother in the war. She brings with her a semi-salty disposition and set of elemental skills that speak of her heritage. And, of course, those plans are going to be irrecoverably challenged!
I very much enjoyed reading this adventure. It's a fast-paced, quick read that would appeal to fans of books like Fourth Wing. I feel like this first book is definitely our preparation for the series. The calm before the storm, so to speak. The scene has been set, the elemental magic has been refined, beasts awoken and the relationship footings established.
I would've enjoyed more literary devices to show me the world/settings in a more descriptive manner. There were times when I couldn't quite visualise the scene.
But, alas, this book has left me absolutely wanting more. There is huge potential for so many aspects of the world to link back in with each other so I look forward to finding out how the author will engage these. I need to know what happens next! I eagerly await the next in the series.
Rating: 3.5-4 stars
Spice: 2 stars
Profile Image for Nasthaa.
26 reviews
September 19, 2025
I'm a big romantasy fan, so of course I'm comparing to the likes of Sarah J. Maas' ACOTAR/ToG and Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing, but the writing felt very juvenile, with a lot of explanations which felt like the author was telling me something which just was merely pointing out a fact without there being any point to actually telling me.

Mentions spring and night court - the book is literally about elements and elemental magic - have elemental courts rather than seasonal courts?! Zero need to copy someone else's ideas.

The pacing was really strange, there was next to no character depth to the point I didn't care about any of them. It also felt very disjointed, like the author had an idea mid-writing, chucked it in on a whim, and moved on.
Apparently this book is completely unedited, and it really shows. This story had/has SO much potential to be really great, but it fell so short. DNF at 20%.

If you want a story about elemental magic, read Unbound by Penelope Bloom instead.
Profile Image for Phylicia.
639 reviews11 followers
April 13, 2024
“Let’s see what you’ve got, Fireball.”
4⭐️ I really enjoyed this book. I loved the flow, great pacing, and thoroughly entertaining. Love that it’s straight into the academy life it got me interested instantly. It’s such an interesting world and the concepts are great.
The MMC’s are super intense alpha mode with a sprinkle of touch her end be ended vibes which I was here for. Ash meets them with her headstrong sass and skills though, it’s a great match up.
So much action and intriguing storyline, I just wanted to know more about the world and her family straight up. Loved the short sharp chapters!
There is some really cute side characters that are fun and really enjoyable. The spice is also sweet! Can’t wait for book 2!
Profile Image for Hilma.
608 reviews
April 15, 2024
The Lure of Fire by Chloe O’Connor is a captivating story about Fae, magic, and a love story in a magical academy. That all was what interested me in reading this book. Now that I have read it, I can say I really enjoyed it a lot.

The writing style is fast paced with short chapters and the worldbuilding is very interesting and magical. I loved the different magical elements. And the FMC character is just great: she is headstrong and holds her own against the alpha MMCs. Her nickname Fireball is really apt. Some of the side characters are really cute. The plot is intriguing and there is a lot of action.

I am looking forward to reading the sequel.
Profile Image for Katherine Pogatshnik.
84 reviews4 followers
April 19, 2024
The world that Chloe O'Connor has begun to create is intriguing. The characters, use of magic, politics, all have extreme potential. The part where this book falls short for me is the pacing. It is extremely rushed and disjointed at times. Leaving the characters jagged in their growth.

Does this book have the potential to be amazing? Yes. It just isn't there yet for me. Maybe book two will bring more consistency to the characters and the passing of time/events.
Profile Image for Evelin.
8 reviews1 follower
April 16, 2024
LOVE IT!

I honestly couldn’t put this book down when I first started reading it! The way that everything plays out and it keeps wanting you to know what happens next, always reeling you back in with it’s mystery moments that keep you thinking what’s actually going happening. I can’t wait for the next book! I love it and I would definitely recommend to everyone to read!
Profile Image for Essiery.
215 reviews5 followers
April 18, 2024
From the moment I picked it up it dragged me in. The story is sooo good, I couldn'tput it down. I loved the characters and the world. If you love academy books, this one is a must. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Profile Image for Shana Roszko.
291 reviews12 followers
April 15, 2024
A fast paced captivating story. Really liked all the characters and the different elements. I like that each person can use their element differently.
Profile Image for Ashley  Walton.
42 reviews
April 16, 2024
Such a good book. Loved the fantasy and story!! The characters were easy to follow and it had just the right amount of spice! Can’t wait for the next book!!!
32 reviews
March 21, 2025
Fast paced, kind of fourth wing meets ACOTAR meets avatar the last air bender vibes. Over all liked it and can't wait for book 2
Profile Image for Joey.
311 reviews6 followers
September 16, 2025
Whoever allowed this to be published and turned into a physical book has clearly lost the plot.
What in the teenage wattpad assignment was this utter garbage?
I'm sorry, but I spent more time laughing at it than enjoying any part of it.

The book is riddled with terrible grammar and punctuation, stunted dialogue and cliche characters with the most ridiculous names.
The story really needed to be fleshed out; it's incredibly rushed, almost as if the wrong manuscript was published by mistake.

Girl, you need an editor that isn't afraid to tell you that your story is crap and needs a lot of fixing, especially when the hardcover copy of this book is going for $80AUD!
Profile Image for Aussieindiereads.
112 reviews12 followers
April 6, 2025
"When did you become so wise?"
"When I started to... to fall for you."

if you are a lover of fantasy with mystery, power, romance, and elemental magic, this book is for you.

The Lure of Fire is book 1 in the Elemental Series and starts with Aisling starting at the Fighting Academy and finding out her true powers as she progresses through the 6 month battle to pass to get to the front line to be with her brother. But as Aisling connects with people and her powers, there seems to be more behind Aisling powers, with a mysterious voice and secrets that seem to start being uncovered.

I can't wait to dive into book 2 when it is released.
Profile Image for Axli.
133 reviews6 followers
May 9, 2024
A daring fantasy adventure with a cliffhanger.. damn! This was an enjoyable read and I can’t wait to see where it goes in book 2 💕
Profile Image for Shianne.
74 reviews2 followers
December 17, 2025
I really like the world Chloe O'Connor is starting to build—there’s so much potential in the characters, the magic system, and the politics. But the pacing just doesn’t work for me. It feels rushed and sometimes jarring, which makes the character growth feel choppy. Could this series become amazing? Definitely. It’s just not quite there yet, in my opinion. Maybe book two will smooth out the timeline and give the characters more room to grow. Definitely intrigued to continue the series to find out more
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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