Meet Kara Hartman, a young painter living and working in D.C. She would love to let you believe she is just an ordinary woman with a dream of sharing her art with the world. But Kara is hiding an astonishing secret from her fans: she can wield magic, the most powerful force in the universe. Traumatized by the loss of her brother, she wants nothing more to do with magic. But when an old foe resurfaces, hellbent on destroying all that she loves, Kara has no choice but to embrace the only power that can stop her.
Title: Dreams of Fire | Author: Christian Cura | Publisher: Amazon.com Services LLC | Pub. Date: 5 December 2019 | Pages: 256 | ASIN: B082FGCV1T | Genre: Fantasy | Language: English | Source: Received a free copy from the author | Unstarred.
Dreams of Fire Review
There’s a lot to like about Dreams of Fire. This action rich fantasy novel is full of magic, romance and tension. However, structural issues kept this novel from reaching its full potential.
Let’s start with the characters. Kara and Selena are the main protagonists that keep the action rolling. Their budding romance spices up the pages, and their growing loyalties toward each other feels organic as the danger heats up. I was cheering for these two from the moment they battled a demon together. They complimented each other and there’s no denying their emotional and physical chemistry.
But their dialogue, as well as the dialogue of many characters, felt stiff. It’s riddled with exposition which misses the opportunity for the reader to truly experience all the incredible flashbacks. We’re told the story, rather than being given the chance to dig deep and feel it. Which is a shame, because there’s a lot of imaginative plot points. I would have loved for the backstory to be presented out of dialogue, in a more “showing” delivery method.
The POV is a little chaotic. It jumps from person-to-person with quick bursts of exposition, never allowing the reader to really settle into the action. And while the fight scenes are quick-paced and engaging, there are several scenes in this story that could have been edited out of the story because they slowed the pace or simply added no value to the overall plot.
But at its heart, this is a creative story built around a world where magic is common place. The villain, Charlotte, added a delicious amount of menace, and I would have loved to see more of her on the pages. Overall, it’s a quick read that will entertain. It just needed one more round of edits.
_____________________
You can find this book at many retailers via clicking on the appropriate link on Goodreads; however, in the spirit of supporting literacy programs, we would like to point out that you may be able to purchase this book through BetterWorldBooks.
Nico Bell is a horror and science fiction writer. Her work has appeared in The Second Corona Book of Horror Stories, Drabbledark Anthology and Horror Tree’s Trembling with Fear. She joined the Coolthulhu Crew in May 2018.
