Name:Iron & Embers
Series: The Ashes of Thezmarr #1
Author: Helen Scheuerer
Publisher: Tor Bramble
Format: Kindle
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Noted Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Hidden Identities, Forced Proximity
Steam or Spice: Spice
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
Alchemist. Poisoner. Storm wielder.
Wren Embervale, alchemist-turned assassin, finds solace in only one seeking vengeance for the death of her friends. The wars of the past may be over, but her thirst for revenge is far from quenched.
For years, she has been content with her poisons and potions for company, but when an unknown form of alchemy is used to attack a king of the midrealms, Wren’s time in the shadows comes to an end. She’s offered a place at the ancient alchemy academy of Drevenor to find a cure to the dark magic threatening the kingdoms. To win her spot, she must conquer the Gauntlet – a gruelling series of deadly trials that could cost her sanity, or her life.
More is at play than sabotage from fellow competitors. Magic wielders are being targeted and Wren becomes tangled in a dangerous web of deception and bloodshed that puts the entire realm at risk.
But the biggest threat of all might come from the man assigned to protect her – Torj Elderbrock, the silver-haired war hero who has hated her since she assassinated his last charge. Their shared history ignites a simmering tension that threatens to consume them both.
Peace is fragile, trust is scarce and enemies lurk around every corner . . . Will love heal all wounds – or will it be the most lethal poison of all?
Review:
Iron & Embers has checked off a square on my BINGO board – stayed up late to finish! Although Iron & Embers is book one of it’s own series, it is a sequel series to The Legends of Thezmarr (an absolute GOD-TIER series that you should definitely read first as this book spoils elements of that series, obviously) and so there will likely be spoilers for Legends in the review below.
Did I stay up till 3:30am to finish this book? Yes, I did. Was I okay when I finished? No. No I was not. What the fuck happened Helen!! You promised us!! And then you did that!! I was absolutely not okay. I can’t even say why because I don’t want to spoil any element of this book!!
Compared to Blood & Steel, I felt Iron & Embers took a little longer to get going! I didn’t mind (and still don’t mind), as I feel like the slower pace at the start kind of reflected the time. This land is still recovering from the Shadow War that took place at the end of The Legends of Thezmarr (Shadow & Storms) and so it felt natural that things were a little slower… Yes, there are still dangers and monsters and the warswords are absolutely still busy but it’s not all out WAR you know?
We follow two characters who were mostly side characters in Legends (but they were both well loved!) and there are even more side characters returning! The characters we follow are Wren and Torj – Wren being Thea’s younger sister and Torj aka the Bear Slayer, Wilder’s Warsword colleague? Friend? Definitely friend by the end of the series.
Wren was an apprentice to a Master Alchemist in Legends, but has a new persona in Ashes… the Poisoner… Wren going off the deep end was both unexpected and expected. Expected because the end of Legends definitely suggests that she is going to go on a journey taking justice into her own hands in order to get revenge (though she doesn’t say revenge) on people responsible for the Shadow War. What I hadn’t expected was for her to become so distant to characters that I loved and that she loved! But it did mean we got to go on a journey with her as she relearns to let her previous friends back in… I loved it.
Torj… I want to have words with this man!! I both love him and hate him (similar to how I felt about Wilder…) and I am so grateful that we aren’t going to have to wait too long for the second book in this series because I don’t think my heart could handle it… And as a personal thank you to Helen, thank you for giving us more Kipp and Cal, because I was not ready to say goodbye to the best found family I think I’ve ever read!
I loved the plot, I am absolutely hooked and I need answers! I was not sure where this book was going initially, I was along for the ride and having a good time… but then there were drops and hints and I started to realise that Helen is about to take us on one hell of a journey again!! I’m very glad I did not have much of a break between Legends and Ashes, but if you finished Legends a bit ago, I hope you enjoy diving back into this world! And if you haven’t read Legends yet, read it so you can read Iron & Embers!!
“The art of poisoning is often attributed to womenfolk. A weapon for the weak against the strong. Or so they believe”
Reading With Tyler 
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