Burn of the Everflame

Kindred's Curse #4

by Penn Cole

War has overtaken Emarion. In the north, Ophiucae and his army of bloodthirsty mortals seek to eradicate all Descended from the continent. In the south, the Guardians of the Everflame lie in wait, plotting a rebellion generations overdue.

In Lumnos, Realm of Light and Shadow, the Crowns are gathering. Caught between two deadly foes, they must form an unlikely alliance to save their people.

But the Crowns have a secret—and a heart without its mate will burn the world down to fulfill its fate.

Hatred reigns. Hope seems lost. With the future in darkness, can a flame emerge to bring the light?

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Magic

896 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2026

About the author

While my life has taken me through a lot of ups and downs, my love for reading and writing has forever been my true north. I’ve been writing stories since my childhood, filling mountains of notebooks with wild worlds and angsty romances. After a detour as an attorney and small business owner, I am thrilled to finally be pursuing my lifelong dream of becoming an author.

Though I’m a Texas girl born and bred, I currently live in France with my husband, where I can usually be found drinking far too much wine and eating far, far too many pastries.

Reviews

[✨sofia✨]

Edit (September 2026): ITS OUT EVERYONE IM NOT JOKING SHES OUT

~~~~~~~~~~~

Edit (April 2026): (hopefully) FINAL RELEASE DATE EVRYONE!! SEPTEMBER 8 HERE WE COME

~~~~~~~~~~~

Edit (february 2026): so…we no longer have a release date…

~~~~~~~~~~~

Edit (august 2024 or december??): WE HAVE A RELEASE DATE
July 2026 is a long way to go 😭😭

~~~~~~~~~~~

NO WAY YOU LEFT ME ON THAT CLIFFHANGER, MS MA’AM

This better eat and leave zero crumbs!!

[SK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oof that was a lot. Do I think this needed 1000+ pages? Nah, not really. But it does make for an experience. It does make for an immersive read. Like you're living and breathing with these characters and riding the slow burn of love and war with them.

I did enjoy the expansion of the Kindred's lore and getting some backstory to them. The war and the action had vivid, chilling descriptions that gave me goosebumps. I screamed, I cried, I cheered. And that is far more telling than anything. I liked how we're thrown right into the story instead of beating around the bush. The start was intense. A play of emotions and power. Penn Cole really knows how to tug on your emotions with her writing. The middle did slow down a little and stays that way towards the end.

Diem's struggle was realistic even if it was utterly frustrating. There were times she made absolute boss decisions and had her queen moments. But the vulnerability explored was like a bleeding wound being prod. I do think that it became a loop towards the second half and didn't need to be drawn out that much. At that point in the final book, she should have found a more solid footing with herself. There was also a lot of focus on her struggling: with her magic, her relationships, her emotions, her entire being. I feel like she deserved more happy, grounding moments. It became quite depressive.

Luther remains perfect as ever. There's not one flaw in this man. The author wanted to write a fictional man who's devoting in every way possible. He'll give you worship, protection, love, desire, consideration but most of all? He'll give you consistency. From book 1-4, he has never had a moment where he was seemingly off. Everything he does is for his love. And yet, in an attempt to create the perfect book husband, you strip him out of his personality as an individual. Because Taran's question remains unanswered: Who is Luther without Diem? It was unfortunate that we didn't explore that...

Now Ophiucae... Interesting. Very interesting. The morally grey factor he brought to the plot was very appealing and worked in the favor of the narrative. I actually liked him a lot as a villain. To see behind the Forgotten, what made him the way that he is and yet trying to balance it with what he considered justice and fair was very persuasive. I couldn't completely hate him. But I had a hint of sympathy for him 🤷‍♀️


As for the side characters, Teller has my heart. Taran remains my favorite and I knew Aemonn was always interesting. He is very Eris (from ACOTAR) coded. I was also surprised by how much I managed to tolerate Auralie in this one. I was fully prepared to hate her but she does redeem herself.

With that, the biggest weakness was how the romance arc played out between Diem and Luther. It would have made for a five star read if not for the miscommunication trope being shoved into my face. This is a series spanning four books. The first one was roughly 400 pages something, book 2 and 3 were 1000+ again. So when we have this finale. Their slow burn and miscommunication should have resolved by the first 45% of the book. Dragging it out and making repetitive arguments and showing me the same vulnerabilities again and again up to the 70% mark was utterly disappointing.

Not to forget that Luther deserved better, and for once I hoped Diem will make up to him and grovel for him, make him feel cherished. And yet the way that miscommunication resolved... Didn't quite satisfy me. The resolution was avoidance, unrealistic and made no sense cause if Luther was aware of it... Why was there no confrontation? It felt a mockery of the tears I shed from all the unreasonable angst.

The spice was sweet but the relationship was exhausting and not my favorite push and pull. They didn't get enough time to be together. If I look at couples from other books like Rhysand and Feyre; Aelin and Rowan; Poppy and Casteel; Xaden and Violet... They have all shown that being together does not mean your romance ends. Situations still happen. War still comes. But you don't keep miscommunication in the heart of your relationship. It creates an imbalance and a frustrating read for the reader. Diem and Luther as a couple remained with one on the pedestal and other on his knees.

Anyway, moving on to the ending. Oh my gods that was a tough read. Not in a bad way but really impressive. I do think that the author focused more on suffering and emotional arcs rather than proper battle sequences. The high and lows were there, but massively heavy on the lows. I was full on sobbing at the last 15%. I wish certain things hadn't happened and it was painful to get through. But yeah... The epilogue was sweet, wish it had been longer.

It was a bittersweet feeling to close this book. I didn't want to say goodbye especially to Luther after feeling like I lived an eternity with these characters. But yeah... I'm gonna be thinking about it for a long time.


~•~•~
IT'S HEREEEEE
NOBODY TALK TO ME
SANITY HAS LEFT THE CHAT
I'M FINALLY REUNITED WITH MY HUSBAND LUTHERRRR

[levi (starboy) (s.ia)]

Lessgooooooo

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (Semi-Hiatus-attempting return)]

I can no longer edit my original review of this book...25 years later... we have another release date. July 2026.

[kendall]

my bad yall i thought the release date got announced and it was a SPECIAL EDITION 😭😭😭

possibly my most anticipated book of the year i apologize in advance for the person i will become when this book comes out

[Mbhabibti]

Waiting (somewhat) patiently for the release date!

[Alexandria Capp]

Well, I accidentally burned through the first three and now I suppose I will humbly wait for the fourth!

[èvieane]

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ᯓ★ RTC ⁀➷ ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ if you loved this book, just avoid my review....because I am about to make you mad 😭😭😭😭



⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ✿ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ᯓ ✿ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍pre-reading ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ⪼
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ○ started ┆09-September-2026┆

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ⤿ what do you mean 1041 pages?....what do you mean 1041 pages? 🥲 let's hope the editor did a better job with this one because book 3 made me TIRED (I never even wrote that review for it 💀)

[Alya ( 20 comments restriction ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughts
First off, so much for "other books being read alongside this" this consumed my entire existence yesterday lol and I'm not even mad about it, I'm officially a fantasy reader now 😂 still picky af though 😂

I really loved this but I also really wanted it to be five stars since the other three books were 4 stars but unfortunately it didn't quite hit like a 5 star read especially for an ending to the series -- not in a bad way, just the fact that the ending felt somewhat underwhelming and predictable.

The buildup to the ending in this series and the last book was perfection! I was so invested in everything from the tiniest detail, though at times there was more telling than showing but I was entertained so there's that. I think my issue with the ending is that I wanted something more dramatic to happen for how the series was progressing but that may just be a me thing.

The MCs
Diem: God she drove me mad! You can't tell me this is the same FMC we met throughout the 3 books. I felt like she was much weaker in this book and don't get me started on how she treated Luther, the epitome of toxic! I understand she went through something and she's tried to protect him or those around her but girl it gets to a point 😭🤦🏼‍♀️ but she did redeem herself with the way she treated Luther so I shall forgive lol

Luther: Oh my heart 😭 not one flaw in this man's bones 😭 unconditionally loving and devoted to the core; the type of love that breaks and heals a soul in the same breath❤️‍🩹 I genuinely don't think I've ever or will ever read another character like Luther!

Final Thoughts
One thing I will say about this book specifically, it could've or rather should've been two books rather than everything in one book because this was packed some chapters or things that went on felt choppy "just to try n fit everything in" - I don't have an issue reading 1,000 pages but this just had so much going on for one book!

Overall; I'll miss this world so much and I'm glad I picked it up when I did ❤️‍🔥

My Bookstagram

[Jo]

I feel so duped. I wasn’t aware of the crazy delay and started reading the series recently, incorrectly assuming because it had started years ago that it would be finished by now. What an epic disappointment. Lesson learned. I’ll never start a series again without checking the status because it’s such a let down not even having a date to look forward to.

[Shelynn Curry]

“Desire is a pathetic word for what I feel for you. I require you.” - me to this book

[Kaila.Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been conflicted on what to rate this book because it was an epic, satisfying end to the story, but diem will go down in history as one of the most annoying characters to ever exist. At least she was consistent.

This book is very political, and the world didn’t feel nearly as big as it did in book 3. I think this should have been two books. There was so much happening that everything could have used more room and the story could have been built out more instead of everything feeling so dense.

Spoilers…

I think some of the deaths were unnecessary and felt like they were added for shock value rather than because the story actually needed them. Like how poetic would it have been if diems mom sacrafjced herself and that was that

Major spoiler.

I f cling HATE a resurrection.

Diem should have stayed dead. I said what I said.

[Charity (Booktrovert Reader)]

IT IS FINALLY HERE!!!!! Now I have to wait to get my copy in the mail. If it is not fast enough, on to the store I go!

Here are the recaps! Just in case you forgot what happened and don't want to do all the rereads.

SPARK OF THE EVERFLAME ⟫ GLOW OF THE EVERFLAME ⟫ HEAT OF THE EVERFLAME


It is painful to be patient for this be published. Someday. Someday

Connect With Me:

BLOG ⟫ INSTAGRAM ⟫ NEWSLETTER ⟫ PINTEREST ⟫

[Ceacea · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's here! Happy reading to all who partake!

Genre: Romantic Fantasy
⭐️ 5/5
🌶 2.5/5
Cliffhanger: No
Noteworthy: 4th and final book of the series. Multi first-person POV. Content warnings provided. Expected publication date is 9/8/2026.


To start I would like to give a huge thank you to Penn Cole for the gifted eARC. She made more than good on her promise to allow the original ARC readers access to this one. So much love for her!

I know it feels like we've been waiting for this book for forever. Some of us patiently, some less so. But I promise you it is worth your patience. This book delivered pretty much everything I could have wanted. It isn't always pretty because the world itself is ugly most of the time. But the finale will leave you breathless and satisfied.

You can expect very consistent writing of the story and the characters as well as tremendous growth for many. Yes, I know Diem gets a lot of criticism for holding onto her morality and principles throughout the series when it would have been easy to give in. This book gives a perfect final arc for her and you will love her by the end. And Luther, god, one of the best MMCs put to paper. His devotion oozes off the page throughout the entire series. He will always hold a special place in my fantasy romance heart.

Penn has written some of the best side characters in the genre and the supporting cast here gets their time to shine. So good! I may have cried like a baby for 2 straight chapters but I wouldn't change anything in this story. I can't wait for publication so we can all discuss and hug it out together.


****


Done! Yes it was amazing. I cried like a baby. A full on blubbering mess. I'm sad that it's over and can't wait for everyone to read it. I will give a more comprehensive review after I clean my tear riddled contact lenses, stare at a wall for a few hours then hopefully pull myself together.

****

I'm at 90% and feel like I've been hit by a literary bus. I feel exhausted and had to pause to sleep before I could finish it. This is how epic Romantacy is supposed to be written. Now the characters and I are about to drag ourselves over the finish line. Let's go!

****

75% in and I can confirm that Luther Corbois is an MMC without flaws. Not.One.Single.Flaw!

****

At 35% I feel like I need to stop and breathe because everyone has me worn tf out already. And I fear what is coming.

****

Pre-read: I've never been more excited for an ARC in my life! I will be up for air in 2-3 business days. Maybe less if I pound energy drinks.

[cali]

PENN COLE PLEASE RELEASE THIS BOOK I NEED IT TO LIVE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[Taskin⋆彡⭒]

pre-read
࿔‧ ֶָ֢˚˖𐦍˖˚ֶָ֢ ‧࿔
WAITED THREE YEARS FOR THIS BOOK, NO ONE CAN STAWP ME NOW🤸🏽‍♀️

[Nicole Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book directly from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!
IF YOU CONTINUE TO READ IT ANYWAY YOU HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF!!
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Perhaps the hardest books to review aren’t the ones we hate, but the ones we desperately wanted to love.

I’ve been reading and championing this series since Spark of the Everflame was originally indie published. I’ve watched this world grow, fallen in love with these characters, and spent three books completely invested in where Penn was taking them. I genuinely love this series, which makes admitting that Burn of the Everflame didn’t quite land for me incredibly difficult.

More than anything, I wanted this finale to feel epic.

The stakes have never been higher, and yet I often felt strangely removed from them. There was far more telling than showing, particularly during moments that I desperately wanted to experience as they unfolded. I wanted the world to open up around us. I wanted more history, more culture, more understanding of the magic and its boundaries. I wanted battles that put me directly in the chaos alongside these characters rather than learning about so much of the conflict through exposition and summary.

For a story that had become so enormous in scope, the world itself somehow felt smaller than I expected it to in the finale.

By the end, I was left with answers to some long-held questions but considerably less certainty about how everything actually worked.

My greatest disappointment, though, was probably Diem.

I’ve loved watching her grow over the previous three books, and I came into Burn ready to see that growth culminate. I didn’t expect perfection! I wanted to see the woman who had stumbled, learned, lost, loved, and fought her way here finally begin to understand what it meant to be a queen.

Instead, so many of the communication problems that have followed these characters throughout the series remained. There were moments when I desperately wanted someone to challenge Diem and force her to confront what she was doing. Ironically, one of the most satisfying examples came through Symond’s control of Teller and Alixe because, FINALLY, someone was voicing so much of what I had been thinking.

And Luther. Sir. PLEASE.

What surprised me most was how little chemistry I felt between Luther and Diem this time around. And this has absolutely nothing to do with spice; I didn’t need more of it. What I missed was their intimacy. Their tension. Their ability to challenge each other. I wanted conversations that could only happen between two people who know one another this deeply. I wanted Luther to push back when Diem needed it instead of repeatedly allowing things to go unsaid. Their relationship needed emotional friction far more than it needed additional spice.

Even the ending left me conflicted.

The deaths themselves didn’t particularly shock me; in a war of this magnitude, I actually expected to lose a few more major characters. But I struggled with the decision to give Diem a third choice and ultimately allow her to return. I think there was an opportunity for something much more devastating and, for me, much more satisfying: let Diem’s sacrifice stand. Let Luther step forward and finish what they began. Let everything Diem changed continue through the people she affected.

And someday, when Luther’s own story was finished, let her be waiting for him at the Everflame.

THAT would have emotionally destroyed me. And honestly? I wanted this finale to destroy me a little.

I expected Burn to feel like the most expansive and fully realized book of the series. Instead, there were many places where I found myself wishing the story had been given more room to breathe and its biggest moments more time to unfold on the page.

Still, none of this changes how much I have loved this series or how grateful I am to finally have its conclusion. We received answers to questions I’ve carried for years, returned to characters and a world I genuinely adore, and finally got to see how their story ends.

Maybe that’s why this one hurts a little.

I wanted desperately to love Burn of the Everflame. Instead, I simply liked parts of it while mourning the finale I thought the first three books were building toward.

And sometimes three stars is harder to give than one.

★★★☆☆

[Karly Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've officially rated every book in this series 5 stars. SUCH an epic conclusion.

🗓️ eARC Review. Pub Date: September 8, 2026 🗓️
🎁 eARC gifted to me by Atria Books

It's such a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye this world and its characters. This conclusion is everything I could've wanted and more, so I GUESS I'm okay saying goodbye for now (but I wouldn't be mad about a spin off book or series).

I'm glad Penn Cole took the time she needed to finish this series and give it the ending it deserved. I can tell how much thought and care went into every scene within this book—it felt very intention and well thought out. I'm especially referencing the world exploration, magic system expansion, and politics.

I LOVE the characters in this book/series. I’ve forever been a Diem apologist and will continue to be!! 😌 Was she frustrating at times in this book? Duh. HOWEVER, I continue to stand by the fact that her reactions are believable. She's an imperfect person that has been put in an impossible position.

Luther Corbois. No notes. One of the best male main characters I've ever had the pleasure to read about.

The last half hour of this book was straight trauma. I couldn't see past my tears at one point. The way I care SO deeply about these characters just goes to show the magnificent job Penn Cole has done in telling this story.

Do I think the ending of this will be divisive? Yes. I think a lot of people tend not to love that in books. HOWEVER, I think it was very fitting for this story.

I'll never be ready to fully say goodbye to this series, so I'll continue to be insufferable about recommending it to whoever will listen to me. One of my favorite romantasy series of all time.

[kitkat (vacation era ♡︎)]

i’m going to have a grey hair and a beard by the time this actually comes out ✋😭

[Hayley Stevens · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Penn Cole and the entire ARC team for the opportunity to read and review this book early — I really appreciated being included.

With that said, I'm sad to report that I did not love Burn of the Everflame. I'd waited years for this book, and unlike a lot of other reviewers, I came away disappointed. The momentum and excitement that carried books one through three just wasn't matched here.

The most frustrating part was that Diem felt like she'd learned nothing over the course of the first three books. I understand the "bleeding heart" characterization at the core of who she is, but it was pushed to a point that felt illogical and, frankly, exhausting to read. There were definitely strong moments — the final battles were genuinely interesting — but so much of the personal character development felt belabored and repetitive. This book needed significantly more editing; there were so many drawn-out sections that could have been tightened into something more cohesive.

Overall, I'm glad the series is finished, but this installment felt like a miss for me. It's a bit of a bummer to end things on this note, since I still think books one through three are fantastic.

[Silvy (silvylinings) · Rating 5 out of 5]

what an absolute privilege it is to live inside penn’s beautiful, evil genius, brilliantly creative mind for one last ride through the realms of emarion.

this is an ARC review! five million forehead kisses to penn and her team for the opportunity to read an early copy!

brb while i writhe in absolute delighted agony over how beautiful!! and devastating!!!! every!!! single!!! second of this was!!!!! my heart is so full and also so sad!!!! i feel like i’ve been through emotional physical and spiritual WAR and i loved (and wept through) every single page.

if you’re picking up burn, you’ve already traversed the first three books of this series (all of which were life-changingly good), but this conclusion does the story, the characters, and the reader SO much justice that i really don’t know if i can even think of a stronger, more beautiful, or more devastating conclusion to a fantasy series that i've read. THIS WAS A MASTERPIECE.

she’s thick, she’s long, she’s perfect, and she’s genuinely nonstop intensity from start to finish. much like my favorite book boyfriend, luther corbois. 😌

the message threaded through this series — of hope, of change, and of fighting back against the myriad injustices of the world — is never so strongly felt as it is in burn. what a journey. what a message. and most importantly, what a mind, penn!!!!

make sure you have tissues on hand, a friend who’s read it (i volunteer as tribute for any and all emotional damage reactions), and some favorite snacks to keep up your stamina.

i’m genuinely heartbroken to say goodbye to a world and characters that i’ve loved for years now (alexa play right where you left me) but i cannot WAIT to see what penn cooks up next. but for now i'll be rereading this series on repeat g2g sry to my tbr luther is CALLING

[Hannah Fraser · Rating 2 out of 5]

Before reading this final book I would have said this series was easily in my top 3 fantasy series of all time, and this book completely ruined the whole thing for me.

As an author, I’m sure it’s hard to “land the plane” in a way that makes everyone in your audience happy, but it wasn’t even just the ending that I hated, it was the whole thing.

Diem is awful in this book. I was hoping that in this book she grew as a leader, as a queen, as a badass who could get the job done, and she was none of those things. She chooses mercy ad nauseam to the point where you want to DNF. And after 3 books and another 865 pages in this final book you’d think we would look back and get some glowing message about how being merciful is a virtue (lol iykyk) but you’re only left thinking she’s a weak idiot.

She ran from her problems in this book right until the very end. She was a horrible leader. There was a part toward the end in Luther’s POV when he mentions how she was able to get all of Emarion fighting together but most of them were there just to save their own asses, at no point was Diem some fearless leader anyone wanted to follow into battle because they believed in her. And don’t get me started about the moment she released the gryverns from their bonds with her. I almost threw the book. WHAT ARE WE DOING DIEM? Especially at that exact moment she did it!!! But that’s Diem, one stupid, rash decision to the next. Zero character growth over 4 books.

I felt like this book had no big payoffs. The reveal of them being mates? Ruined by how awful she was to Luther the whole book. You felt like she didn’t even deserve him.

The reveal of her new magic at the end was confusing and I still don’t fully understand.

Her losing her magic made no sense to me when Luther didn’t actually kill Ophiucae.

Vance’s death?? SO ANTI-CLIMACTIC!! He was one of the most deplorable characters in this book and deserved a Joffrey from GOT style ending and he ended as a thoughtless zombie who gets stabbed??? LIKE WHAT ARE WE DOING?!

When your FMC gets endlessly betrayed and attacked by her loved ones, her friends, her equals and subjects over and over and over again and continually does nothing about it then you’ve lost the plot.

I’m basically rambling at this point but this book was such a disappointing end to a series I loved. This “I can’t reveal the truth/my love because I’m going to die” trope was something this book beat to death for almost the entire book.

And the different POV’s at the end didn’t do it for me. I also still feel unclear who the person at the end was who gave her the third option and what she had to trade to do it? Maybe it was explained and I was just so tuned out by that point.

This book was infuriating. Unless you love martyrs.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[Booksreadbykatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god. I need 10 business days to recover and to process Burn. This book was beyond worth the wait. The emotional damage. The journey. The healing. UGH. 10/10 no notes. This was the most amazing finale to one of my favorite series, EVER.

[Steph (fallintosteph) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bye

[Karly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly love this series, and it was bittersweet reading that epilogue 😭 like I’m happy but also sad. I have been waiting for this book for years and I truly did enjoy this finale. Over these four books I’ve fallen more and more in love with these characters and the world.

During my reread of the first three books, I did start to understand Diem more and felt I was too harsh. However, this book did reignite my annoyance lol. She was her usual frustrating self and it almost sent me over the edge. She had me wanting to throw my kindle at the wall at times. The lack of communication was repetitive of the events from the last book, and I would’ve wanted her and Luther to learn from their past mistakes not just keep repeating them. Also, i felt the middle portion of this book lulled a bit. Those are my two main issues I had with the book which is why I gave it 4 stars, but other than that I would still recommend this series! Honestly just meeting Luther would be worth it. He is so steadfast and devoted, he is EVERYTHING! He is the definition of I’d burn the world for you & id find you in any life time😭

I was shedding tears at the end of the book too. Sad tears, happy tears... I loved the found family as well. Taran is truly one of my favorite characters. Henri though, yeah still don’t like that guy. Overall, this was a satisfying end to this saga and Im bummed it’s over.


“Because hope isn’t just a spark—it’s a fire. And the flames always win in the end.”

“You have humbled me, Diem. You saw things in me I never saw in myself. Then you gave me a gift: you let me see the you that you show to no one else. And when I look at you, I see the most incredible woman I’ve ever known. I see . . . my heart. Beating outside my chest.”

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really wanted this book to be 5 stars but it just didn’t quite give me that 5 star feeling which is such a shame as i loved heat so so much.

firstly, penn’s writing is incredible, she is so clever and she does an amazing job of linking everything together. the book had me stressed pretty much the entire time, i don’t think we got a moment of peace until about 70% in before it went to shit again 🤣

i also loved some of the character redemption arcs, penn had me feeling sorry for the characters i’m supposed to hate!!

the star of the show: my man luther. he is everything to me. that man is the epitome of devotion and yearning. he is officially number one book HUSBAND (joint with kaan vaegor) and i don’t think he will ever move from there. the pain he went through for the majority of this book was criminal, my heart broke for him. i pretty much highlighted everything that came out of that man’s mouth. after all 4 books, i dont actually feel diem deserves him lmao, he should be with me instead 🤭

”i will never be worthy of her, no man could ever be. but no soul on this earth desires more deeply to deserve her than mine.”

“he’d suffer anything, no matter how painful. that’s how much he loved me.”

i also love the found family so much and they were the highlight of this book. taran and zalaric brought so much light throughout which was such a needed relief. i loved seeing the development of lily and teller too 🥹

however, sadly there were some parts that made it difficult for me to give this the 5 stars i was hoping to give.

i don’t feel like diem really grew following the first 3 books, she still had me rolling my eyes at times and i didn’t understand some of her decisions at all. this girl has been hurt and betrayed by so many people it just didn’t make sense to me that she just kind of let so much of this pass?? i’m not saying she needed to go and kill everyone but certain people were let off far too easily!

also the ending didn’t quite hit for me. don’t get me wrong, i cried, but i actually would have preferred more emotional devastation (im a masochist fr). i won’t go into my reasons too much as i don’t want to spoil anything but yeah, i feel some parts would have hit more emotionally for me personally had they been written differently.

overall though, i still really enjoyed this series and have loved being immersed in this amazing world with these incredible characters and im so sad that it’s over and i wont get to read them for the first time again. i’m so happy i buddy read this with an amazing group of girls where we could all crash out together 🫶🏻

i’ll forever be grateful to penn for introducing me to the incredible man that is luther corbois 🙂‍↕️

[Clarissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

i am so incredibly bitter about this book L O L, welcome to my tedtalk.

this would have been a 2 stars, but i decided to dock a star after i waited 3-years for this. i quite literally was a different person before i read this series, that is how long i waited for this.

i was reading this while working from home (whoops) and i was so bored that i decided to stop reading and do work. do you know how bored i have to be in order to willingly choose to work?

the writing was bland, the descriptions felt lazy and more tell rather than show. the characters drove me insane, in fact the only dynamic that actually interested me was diem and ophiucae, and it wasn't even for the daddy issues of it all. did luther even have a personality trait outside of loving diem and a driving motivation that isn't her? how about the fact that he's half mortal? lets unpack that some more. but no it's "diem would do this. diem wouldn't want me to do this" over and over and OVER. AND, the lack of communication. holy shit. we could have cut this book down in half. luther and diem have no chemistry, i wasn't rooting for them at ALL and their lack of communication wasn't helping.

also there is one spicy scene which the description is actually stomach turning and SJM i forgive you for writing the line about them having sex with the dying and injured in the background because penn cole, why would you write this.

i am MOST bitter about the fact that the ending could have been good, while actively reading the battle + climax i could see myself enjoying it but i wasn't emotionally invested because at this point i stopped caring about the characters. the denouement of the book felt lazy, cowardly on the author's part, and insistent on giving us a HEA. which, i'm sorry but maybe we could learn from veronica roth here.

anyway tldr: wdym you had three years and switched to traditional publishing and it is STILL this bad.

[Sammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically a DNF but I’ve spent enough time reading this whole series that I deserved to count this lol

I want to read this book pre rewrite because I can almost guarantee that it wasn’t this

[Meagan✨]

I need this book immediately….like, yesterday. PLEASE, I’m begging 😭📚

But why is it only 550 pages?? Be serious. This story deserves at least 1,000 pages of emotional damage and plot perfection 🧐

rMy Ratings for The Everflame Series-
Spark- 4.25 Stars
Glow- 5 Stars
Heat- 5 Stars

[🌙henny✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars overall because I really enjoyed the first two books, I liked the third book, but this final one took a lot out of me. It felt like clocking in to work at some parts. It was just so LONG, and the slow burn got dragged out even more, to the point where I was questioning whether this is actually a romantasy.

I think in fantasy books with romance, as soon as the couple gets together, the romance plot takes a nose dive. So I do understand wanting to stretch it out. But this book, AND ALSO BOOK 3, were over a thousand pages each. 35 hours long. And a lot happened, but at the same time it feels like nothing happened.

I think it’s because Diem’s character development was basically nonexistent. It felt like everything was just happening TO her, and she wasn’t learning anything from the experience. She continued to put her own sense of morality above people’s lives that she was responsible for, she refused to do the difficult things that needed to be done, and she didn’t seem to understand how many people were going to die if she didn’t make those tough decisions. So we just watched her essentially condemn thousands of people to death because she was too cowardly to do something that would hurt her.

Luther started out as a delightful simp, but he didn’t really seem to grow as a character either. His entire personality became obsessing over Diem, and he did nothing outside of simping for Diem. And it pissed me off because both of them absolutely refused to communicate with each other about what was going on. We watched Luther almost die because he wanted to keep his wound a secret, and then we watched Diem push Luther away because she didn’t want to hurt him further by getting close to him and then dying. All of this could have been solved by having a conversation. But then there would be no plot.

I did enjoy this series at first, and I did finish it with mostly neutral or positive feelings about it, but I found my enjoyment of these books slowly depleting from about the middle of book three. It just didn’t seem to go anywhere. The couple were still refusing to talk to each other. The main villain kept switching back and forth between two people. And this definitely could have been several hundred pages shorter overall. But Luther remains an incredibly romantic and devoted man who puts real men to shame. Someone said ‘I just looked at my husband in disgust’ and I felt that 🥴

I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t like the end of this series as much as I thought I would, especially since we’ve all been waiting so long for it. But I’m also very relieved to be done with it because it’s consumed my life for the last week and I’m excited to move on to something new. ADHD be like 😅