Firewatcher

by Beth Carlberg

The dead speak through flame, and Aunna can hear them. The first woman Firewatcher in generations, Aunna pays a brutal price for her magic, scars on her body and marks on her soul. But she made a to tell the grieving what they most need to hear, no matter the cost. Then Yuniedra arrives. Sharp-tongued and perceptive, the witch sees all of Aunna's scars and doesn't look away. Together they build something Aunna never garden rows and gossip-loving fires, protective charms and late-night tea.

Then The Temnylf Come. Silver-eyed and feral, they crawl from the dark woods with unhinged jaws and an insatiable hunger for the magic buried in human bones. As the mountains grow dark and the fires whisper of impossible choices, Aunna must decide how much she is willing to burn, and whether the life she and Yuniedra have built is something she can sacrifice on the pyre of her vows. Some prices, once paid, can never be undone.

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 18, 2026

About the author

Beth Carlberg has a passion for both the spine-tingling and the magical. When not conjuring dark fantasies or chilling horror, she can be found hiking, attending Swedish metal concerts, or collecting bones. She reads too many books simultaneously, and draws inspiration from poetry, non-fiction, mythology, and Weird medical history. She currently is trying to find a rib cage to mount on her wall.

Reviews

[Laura Vignals · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.75/5 ⭐
This one came incredibly close to five stars.
The premise alone fascinated me: Aunna is a Firewatcher who can hear the dead speaking through flames, but using that magic comes at a physical and emotional cost. Then Yuniedra enters her life, and their relationship develops against a much darker supernatural threat.

The atmosphere is BEAUTIFUL.

There is something simultaneously comforting and unsettling about the way fire is used throughout the story. It can mean warmth, communication and home, but also pain, sacrifice and destruction. That contrast gave the book such a distinctive identity.
But what really got me was Aunna and Yuniedra.

I loved the quieter moments between them just as much as the fantasy elements. Their developing relationship provides warmth in a story that can become genuinely dark, and those smaller moments of intimacy made me care much more about what they stood to lose.
And then there are the Temnylf. The supernatural threat adds a much more disturbing edge than I initially anticipated, especially because of their hunger for the magic contained in human bones.

My only real reservation is that I wanted a little more room for certain elements to breathe. At around 260–280 pages, this isn't an enormous fantasy novel, and there were places where I would happily have spent another fifty pages with these characters.
Beautiful, eerie, emotional and memorable.

[LezLibros · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a surprise! I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. The premise of a “firewatcher” sounded interesting, but this book is so much more! A story about purpose, commitment, love, and sacrifice. I thought the world building was absolutely phenomenal… the dark woods, the frigid winters, the crunch of dead leaves. There is so much revealed in the little details of this story, and I was hooked from the first chapter. All the characters were written so well, and they were so varied. I found Aunna to be a wonderfully well balanced MC, and her devotion to her “witch” was both beautiful and heartbreaking. The loss and pain that Aunna has to endure as a Firewatcher is palpable, and the whole story I was just hoping that the fire price she has to pay would be worth it. This book is dark but also filled with hope, and I really enjoyed getting lost in Aunna’s world for a while.

[Steph MichMo · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy horror and the not-so-pretty side of using magic, this book is for you. Aunna is our FMC and she has the ability of Firewatching which allows her to see glimpses into people’s lives after they have passed (many have skeletons in their closet). And she does not stumble into this role either. The Fire chooses her whether she likes it or not.

Carlberg explores the scars that magic leaves behind, and also how much magic is too much? What will you pay in order to use it? There’s always a cost. Additionally, the writing is so descriptive and lyrical. The story is beautiful from start to end and PERFECT for this fall season.

Can’t wait to see what other stories Carlberg writes since this is a standalone.

[six · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received as an ARC on NetGalley

This had me hooked from the start. The story telling is rich and vibrant, the characters are beautifully written and it's an interest take on magic and how it effects us. It's a darker tale, showing us the darker side of the consequences of matic on ourselves and those we love and it's a concept I thoroughly loved.

I would have given this 5 stars but I honestly felt like there was so much more room for expansion - more lore, more world building and time with the characters. It skipped a lot I felt could have been expanded on. I could have easily spent a lot more hours enveloped in this world.

[D Dyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arc received through Netgalley, opinions my own.
Tragic, often dark and complex. This has quite a slow start, but is beautifully told and the way that magic functions in this world, shifting in its operations from place to place and largely not fully understood even by its practitioners but never unrelentingly posited is fascinating if not ever entirely explained. I honestly did not know what to expect in reading most of this, but the journey was quite compelling. While it did not end where I thought I don’t know that any other ending would have been as satisfying.

[Cage · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books offers a unique world and an interesting magic system. The world Aunna lives in, however, is quite emotionally heavy and unforgiving. Its mysteries are cruel and greedy, and Aunna is simply trying her best to survive it. She tries to both cherish and create her happiness even when hope seems fleeting. The first third of the book took a while to pick up for me - the world is complex, the storytelling is rich.

*An arc for an honest review*