Ignite the Fire: Incendiary by Karen Chance: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Ignite the Fire: Incendiary by Karen Chance

There was a bit of a wait (again) for Ignite the Fire, book 11 in Cassandra Palmer UF series, and when it finally arrived, it had been divided into two parts for its size. The first is called Incendiary.

The book starts with the exact scene the previous book ended, with Cassie, Pritkin and Mircea on their way to a fey party in 16th century Romania to locate someone who might know where Mircea’s long-lost wife is. There’s a lot of mayhem—and a dragon—which made me fear that the book would be yet another chaotic addition to the series.

Fortunately things slow down a little—for a moment. Enough to give Cassie and the reader time to reflect what’s going on and what’s happened so far in the series, which is a lot. And while it’s a short respite, the action and rest are better balanced here than has been the case in previous books.

The action scenes are easier to follow this time, with fewer things going on simultaneously and with better descriptions. The timeline is still messy though, as according to Cassie only six months has gone and the reader has witnessed it all, yet Cassie has an entire life happening between the books too.

There’s a new god giving Cassie trouble and this time it’s Zeus, who isn’t exactly easy to win. But he’s occupying the body of a fae king, so she sets out to defeat him instead. It doesn’t go easily, but instead of endless detours like usually where she ends up in a totally unrelated situation, she actually manages to locate him, if not like she imagined or planned.

Since this is the first part of a two-parter, there isn’t a final battle at the end of the book. The book ends in a middle of a fight-scene, with the worst kind of cliff-hanger. But hopefully the second part has already been written and we don’t have long to wait for the conclusion.

On the personal front, Cassie seems to have gotten the hang of her life as Pythia. Her court is in order, her successor, Rhea, is becoming truly formidable, and her self-confidence issues were at minimum. She again went through most of the book without taking care of her physical needs like eating, so if the gods don’t kill her, malnutrition will.

The love spell that ties her to Mircea and Pritkin, which Mircea promised was lifted, is back in effect—with some interesting consequences. But since Cassie really needs the strength and skills she can borrow from her companions, she doesn’t complain. But it may put her relationship with Pritkin in jeopardy. My only complaint is that Pritkin spent most of the book absent or unconscious, which is never good.

With a book this well balanced and interesting once again—and without Mircea’s obsession with his wife—I’m hopeful for the rest of the series. And I hope the second part comes out soon.