Spark of the Everflame (Kindred's Curse, # 1)
By: Penn Cole
Expected Publication: October 8, 2024 by Atria Books
416 pages
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Dragons
Source: Prime Reading
( Goodreads | Amazon )
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Goodreads description--When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn.
In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village.
Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.
With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.
Spark of the Everflame is the first book in The Kindred's Curse Saga, a four-book fantasy romance series. This slow burn, enemies-to-lovers epic is perfect for lovers of magic, dragons, angst, and banter and will appeal to fans of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, From Blood and Ash, Gild, and The Serpent & the Wings of Night.
Let's be real. I've been progressively getting worse at writing book reviews in a timely manner. I finished Spark of the Everflame in March 2025, and I am just now writing my review for it in October of 2025. And not only that, but I read the next two books in the series without writing my review for any of them. Thus, I might remember details of the overall series and storylines, which makes it harder to keep track of which events happened in which book.
Here's what I remember. Diem is the main character. She works as a healer alongside her mother. They live in Mortal City, which is basically a human slum area. Her father was a military man. And her mother was also in the military for a while, but has been working as a healer for some time. Diem has a relationship with Henri. They used to be best friends, but their relationship has grown into more lately.
This world is split into 9 realms. Each realm has a king or queen. And each realm has two types of magical powers that are associated with that power. Only the Descended have magical power. And the Descended rule each realm. The way humans are treated varies from realm to realm, but overall, Descended are at the top of the hierarchy and humans are at the bottom. Luther is the prince of Lumos. His uncle is the King, but Luther is expected to be next in line to the throne. The magic chooses who will be king or queen, and it usually chooses whoever is most powerful after the current ruler.
Diem's mother goes missing one day after an encounter with the prince. And Diem is determined to find out what the prince knows. Her mother was sometimes summoned to work as a healer at the palace, even helping the king himself. Diem takes her place after she's gone, but Diem can't just be quiet. The king has a lucid moment, if you can call it that, where he makes an almost prophecy concerning Diem before he dies.
To add to the mystery, Diem's mother has been giving her some kind of concoction all of her life, and the side effects are quite terrible, but Diem does what she's told. Only now her mother is missing, and she's running out.
At the same time, Henri seems to be joining up with a group of humans looking for rebellion. They are tired of the Descended treating them like scum. They are tired of their old religion being suppressed. Henri wants Diem to join up, and Diem is considering it due to the brutality of some Descended.
Diem isn't one to be submissive. She's been trained to fight by her father. She can't stand to follow orders or to fall in line with what's expected of her. She has to go about things the hard way. And Diem is sure that Luther is hiding information about her mother. Despite all of that, she's seen Luther be soft with his sister, Lillian, whom her brother, Teller, has the biggest crush on. Diem and Luther definitely have some chemistry and some very slow burn going on. Luther seems to always be touching her, yet he doesn't seem to trust her either.
Diem tries to use her opportunities to be at the palace as a healer to spy out the layout of the palace for the Guardians, the rebel group that Henri has joined. Diem finds herself at a crossroads with the Guardians. She wants the Descended dethroned. She wants justice for their treatment of humans, but the Guardians are going about their mission in a way that is hurting people and that is at odds with everything she's been taught as a healer.
Case in point of feeling discombobulated in writing this review. I kept thinking that Diem seeing King Ulther happened early on in the book, but it was in fact towards the end of the first book. So early in the series, but late in this first book. Which makes sense, because that leaves room for the giant cliffhanger of what's going to happen once the king is gone? Will Luther become king as everyone assumed? Will he be a good king or the same as Ulther?
Favorite quotes:
-True darkness can destroy even life itself.”
-To be a wife— to be relegated to a man’s side instead of standing on my own, to abandon myself and my own goals in service of a husband’s authority and a wife’s duty. It was the life expected of most women in Mortal City.
This was not a favorite quote. And I have to remind myself that this is fantasy and part of Diem's character arc...not a review of the true role of a wife.
-We both froze in place as something ancient, something profound passed between us. It was a primal force that transcended word and thought, as powerful as a crack of lightning, a child’s first breath, the endless depth of the sea. It was not of this world but entirely woven within it. It warmed my blood with a calming peace I’d never known, yet filled me with the terrible dread of a fate I could not avoid.
Spark of the Everflame was better than I expected. There was only one scene in this book, if I remember correctly, of the spice variety, and I don't remember it being very descriptive. Of course, this was months ago, so my memory is terrible at this point. Language was high, though. The romance wasn't quite as present as I prefer, but I can see the potential, and I'm here for it. (I write this as if I don't know what happens in the next two books.) Spark of the Everflame gets 4 Stars. Have you read Spark of the Everflame ? What did you think? Let me know!
This review is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.
