The Burn of the Underworld

I had such hope for this read, but unfortunately, it was not for me. The cover of this book is what drew me in, the blurb sounded interesting and the premise was fascinating but the story just did not deliver all that I hoped it would. There were a lot of holes; the characters were contradictory in actions, mannerisms, and reasoning and the story just did not flow well. I felt there was too much the author was trying to pull together and achieve in the storyline so a lot of stuff felt disconnected with no real world building or true explanations. ***SPOILERS*** Calamity was kidnapped as a child and taken to the Underworld with her brother where she had to pretend to be a boy to survive or suffer a horrible fate in the brothel or worse. She was branded, abused, starved and forced to hide who she was but when her brother, Sebastian, was gravely ill she volunteered to take his place in the demon’s underground gladiator arena. Up to this point, I am on board with the story but then when her supposed mates jump into the fray to help and whisk her away that is where it starts to fall apart for me. For starters, she immediately jumped the bones of one of her rescuers, not know his name or anything about him, she actually thought he was the enemy. He had a cool demeanor and rough, dismissive attitude towards her so you did not really know whether he was friend or foe? All the sudden these courtesans jump into the picture out of nowhere and there was not really proper background or a flowing explanation for them? Calamity seemed extremely young and naive for all that she had endured up to this point. She seemed clueless to everything around her, including men and sex and that did not really match up. With all she would have been exposed to, constant fear hiding as a boy, brutality, all she would have seen in her environment, the constant fear of death or worse, etc. she should have been more hardened and grown in her character. Also, the actions and conversations with her intended mates did not match the characters. They acted more like a bunch of randy teenagers trying to get in her pants than the experienced, noble warriors who had come in search of their chosen and rescue her. I got that the story was supposed to revolve some around the mating heat they would experience when finding their destined mate, but it seemed to have taken over the entire story and the rest of the plot vanished. It was all about the constant need to have sex, where to have it, when to have it, etc. Then the constant childish bickering between her and her brother was a bit much as well. They were supposed to be on the run, life and death situations, fighting for their lives and he was whining about their father loving her more, teaching her stuff, etc. Just a little over the top.

The Burn of the Underworld is book 1 of the Of Shadows and Fire series. I purchased this book on Pre-order as I\’ve enjoyed other stories by this author, but I wish I\’d waited and read the \”Look Inside\” chapters first. The story had tons of potential, but I was disappointed by repetition (readers are smart, the writer doesn\’t need to keep repeating worldbuilding facts), Calamity\’s innocence in a cruel world made to sense, and her strange leaps of logic/assumption, while convenient didn\’t build the tension. The characters were interesting, but they lacked depth to make them stand out from other protagonists in this genre. I also feel the worldbuilding lacked complexity–it seemed chaotic. I would have loved to see this book after a strict editor took it in hand and cleaned up the repetition, but as it stands, it was a good effort but not a series I will continue to follow.

This has been on my ‘to read’ list for a bit and I am so happy I finally got a chance to sit down and read it. So there are some hidden gems if you have read some of Meg’s other series (which I enjoyed) but you don’t have to read them to understand this story. Calamity grows up as a slave in the Underworld disguising herself as a boy. All of this changes the day her mates enter the Underworld to rescue her. I really love the character building and Calamity. She is a super funny and strong MC. Her men are soooo awesome too! Definitely looking forward to book #2!

It was an ok book but it get boring far too quickly. Also it reads far more like a bodice ripper than a \’breaking out of the underworld\’ type deal. I rolled my eyes a lot and started skimming large portions of the book. Also it is a weird mix of fantasy/sci fi/paranormal type stuff. There are vampires, magic, druids, archangels, demons etc. But also space ships travel between planets and galaxies and such. As well as the whole underworld realm. It was a bit too weird for me; and I LIKE weird books.

Another amazing story by Meg Xuemei. I loved this story and how it tied into the others. It is beautifully written with beautifully developed characters. It is action packed from beginning to end. It is gripping and like a aphrodisiac to my soul. You can picture each scene with the amazing descriptions. Calamity with Max, Ash, and Elijah have a chemistry that doesn\’t stop. It is felt throughout the story. This is most definitely worth reading and doesn\’t disappoint.

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