Wildfire

"Things will never be the same if we do this."

Nevada and her family's decision will forever thrust the Baylors into a world they've skirted. But, as we've seen throughout the previous books, Nevada continues to grow into her own - learning more about her magic, how to control it and how to deal with those who threaten her or her family. Connor has struggles of his own. He knows the way to Nevada's heart is through mutual trust and respect. As much as he wants to protect her from the world, he knows that would push her away and, in the midst of this big change in their lives, weaken her in the eyes of others.

"You're my Connor. I'm not sharing."

And, that's only a small portion of the stories that are so carefully and perfectly woven throughout this trilogy. The authors are two of the best when it comes to creating worlds, characters and plots that lead readers to become completely immersed, emotionally invested, and entirely love struck.

Ilona has repeatedly said if these three books have high enough sales there may be more books. If I were wealthy enough, I'd buy their entire inventory to ensure that definitely happens. The final line in the book

"We both do hate to be bored." (Linus to Victoria Tremaine, Nevada's grandmother)

Linus made a similar statement when talking to Nevada. He's "... the former Speaker of the Assembly that ruled the magical families of Texas" and one of Nevada's witnesses for the House trials. He's working with Victoria?!?!?

caused a lightbulb to go off and it's only one of the reasons I want more! There's so much more to be told in this world, so please buy, read and review so the authors and their publishers know we all want more!

So, so, so, so good.

I love the relationships - not just between Nevada and Rogan (which, yum), but also between all the secondary characters.

I loved the introduction to Victoria Tremaine, and getting to really see who she is.

I love that she's not just a simple, black-and-white, evil figure... though seriously, she's evil. She's complex. Would burn anything at the altar of her family and its survival. It makes her interesting, and also ... well, it would be a very small step for Rogan or Nevada to become her. You can see that, and it ups the stakes for their choices so dramatically. Rule 3. So incredibly important.

I loved the trials. I loved (and hated) Rynda (useless bitch) and the Sherwoods. I loved the Keeper and Michael.

As for Caesar...

Linus Duncan. I mean, his last line -

"You like to do things that make life interesting. We both do so hate to be bored."

- that's pretty much what Duncan said to Nevada about helping her as a witness. And his entire interaction with her has been about entertainment - he's always watching and quietly laughing. Additionally... when Team Caesar showed up at her meet with Victoria, well, Linus Duncan set that meet up. Really, no one else knew - there wasn't even time for her to notify Rogan - so that's pretty strong evidence that he directed the bad guys to their meeting, where he knew she'd be vulnerable. And in that context, it is kind of surprising that Victoria was even talking with him at the end - she broke ties with Team Caesar and the Conspiracy when they showed up to take Nevada, claiming that it was "for the cause" and she would understand. But maybe, given that she is in prison, she had her powers restrained or something.

So good that I'm now jumping back to the first book to re-read the series, because I'm just not ready to quit this world.

Also, this better not be the end. There's so much more to do in this world, with Nevada and Rogan, and the conspiracy. Nothing is over. I need mooooooore!

Re-read July 2017

I've re-read the whole series, and I'm still just not ready to be done. *frown*

Okay, so let's talk about the threads that are left over, for (hopefully) future books.

1. Caesar

Seems likely that it is Linus Duncan, as I said in the original review. IA are just too clever to have that repetition in phrasing be an error. But it sets up a curious question: the goals of New Rome seem to be directly opposite what we were told Linus Duncan was trying to do when he was head of the Assembly - he wanted to put the Houses in check, whereas New Rome wants the Houses to rule completely, unhindered by law.

Now, certainly, it is possible something happened to change his perspective. But what if ... he's just playing a long, drawn-out double-cross? He couldn't go through the Assembly to create restrictions on the Houses, so instead he's going to show the world what unrestricted power looks like, so the Houses are slapped down. I mean, let's look at what New Rome has actually accomplished thus far. They've brought down arrogant Primes and families that thought they were above the law - Pierce, Charles, Howling, Harcourt, Sturm ... between the last 3 books, these Houses have taken very public damage, and are probably pretty fucked, in terms of their power base. What's funny is, these Houses (given their ego) were probably originally opposed to Linus Duncan in the Assembly - his plan to curb the power of the Houses would have been unpalatable to them - and so them falling down publicly definitely benefits Linus Duncan's original cause. Given the evil plot to burn down Houston, and then the evil plot to assassinate an anti-House Senator, and then the evil plot to have some super-storm apocalypse destroy Houston ... anti-House sentiment has to be running pretty high. This all benefits Duncan's original goal greatly, and basically means everything New Rome has tried to do has backfired.

That doesn't mean that Duncan isn't ruthless. Caesar did seem to want Rogan (and Nevada) dead - that plan to display their bodies in

White Hot, as if to tell people "ha, look what we did to your strongest hero... now imagine what we can do to you!" was pretty clearly not fake. But let's look at this with a little bit clearer perspective. What would have been the result of that? Howling and Charles clearly thought it would cow the opposition. But an experienced battle commander like Duncan... I think he would know that martyrs often

inspire resistance. It was, I think, yet another plan of his designed to backfire.

Anyway, it's a theory that excites me, because it explains why, if he is Caesar, he would seem to be working towards a totally different end now.

2. The Keeper is owed a favor.

Now, I thought the Keeper was a pretty cool guy. But it makes me nervous that Victoria was adamant that Nevada not make that deal (even though it would have meant Victoria's death), and even Silent Michael spoke up to tell her that she had made a mistake, when she did take the deal. Rogan didn't seem thrilled either. And this is a pretty big favor - he spared a life, at Nevada's request. Will he demand a life in return?

3. Alessandro Sagredo

It was cute watching Catalina freak out about him, and him smile at her so charmingly. But why was he able to shrug off her power after a moment? The only ones we've seen do that are Catalina's family, and we were told that was because they already loved her, which makes them immune. So ... does Alessandro have a thing for Catalina? Hmmmmm...

4. Rogan's mother

I can't help feeling like there's something there. Why has she totally withdrawn? It's odd.

5. Nevada needs some training.

I have to say, I think it's awesome that she seems to intuitively tap into her deeper abilities - the Tremaine wave, the hex breaking. Intuition and instinct ... there's been some indication (scientifically) that those things are also in our DNA - that "junk DNA" ... the stuff that doesn't have any purpose scientists can understand directly - and so I feel like I totally buy that she can be guided by her intuition and instinct. That said, Nevada needs to play serious catch-up, and not just in circle chalking. It seems like there are a lot more active uses of her power than pretty much anyone realizes - Victoria seemed to be using it like some kind of mental blade, outright killing people - and Nevada needs to learn. Will she go to Grandmother Victoria for lessons? I think she will. I think she cautiously trusts that Victoria will help her, because family is Victoria's top priority.

Pretty sure the lessons will suck, though. She doesn't strike me as a patient teacher.

6. What happens when two Heads of House marry?

Are they still heads of separate Houses? Or does, like, one join the other's house, and someone else becomes a head? Or do they combine houses, like House Baylor-Rogan? I get this isn't a critical point (particularly because Connor and Nevada don't seem to care - they love each other, and will let the pieces fall as they may), but I'm just curious. I mean, will children be members of House Baylor or House Rogan?

7. Is Augustine Montgomery just off sulking somewhere?

Because Nevada was right about how scary her grandmother is, as was proved when Victoria noted the hex he had, and turned around and left?

8. Who is the Animator House that is working with New Rome?

I think they are the only active conspirators that we haven't caught - we saw them in the first book, when the Prime fought Rogan, to get the artifact piece. And then we had the three constructs at Sturm's place ... as we were told, they had to have been created by a Prime, though now they could be piloted by Average or above. We had to have 3 animators there in that fight, to work the 3 constructs, but we never saw them. Were they caught? Was the Prime caught?

9. What is Linus Duncan's power?

I thought I had just missed it, but on the re-read I didn't see it mentioned.

Re-read Nov 2018

I love it. I will always love it. But if this is the end of N/R's arc, there are a million loose ends, and that makes me unhappy. :(

Recently, it is very rare for me to read three books in one series one after the other. And even more to start the next book in the series right after reading the previous one, as it was in this case. Even though it was the middle of the night and I should really have gone to bed, I decided to start this book. And I sat up late at night, even though I had to get up early the next day.

This book did not disappoint me. I generally like the whole concept of enclosing the couple's story in three books and continuing the series with the other main characters. If it were otherwise, if the story of Nevada and Rogan had dragged on for a few more books, I probably wouldn't have reached for that book in the middle of the night. And so I wanted to know the ending of their story as soon as possible.

And it was worth it. In this book, the stakes are even higher, and the danger to Nevada and her family is very serious. Besides, Nevada and Rogan help his ex-fiancée. I like how the other woman has brought tension to this book. But I also like that at no point was there a love triangle, and that Nevada was confident in Rogan's feelings most of the time. Rogan's ex-fiancée cemented their relationship to some extent and helped them make serious decisions.

I thought after reading this book, temporarily, I wouldn't feel like reading this series anymore. But it didn't exactly happen. While I don't feel the need to read the next book in this series right away, as I did with this story, I am still seriously considering reading another one pretty soon. And to be honest, I am very happy about it, because it has been a long time since I felt such joy at the thought of reading a book. Recently, I had a hard time finding books that really gave me that feeling of happiness and rest, even if I liked them.