Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy #5)

Oh goodness, I love this series so much! Emerald Blaze does for Catalina what the three earlier books in the series did for her older sister Nevada. It makes you look past the superficial to see an honorable, tough young woman whos easy to adore, in part because she doesnt cave in to everyones demands. Finding her own path through grit and determination. The Hidden Legacy series, set in a Houston where magic is power shows how this smaller house (Baylor), and Catalina as its Prime, navigate the house politics while staying independent and increasing their own worth. Thats all fascinating to read, but then when you throw in a hero who is a dichotomy to his outward screen idol facade, and who is determined to protect that heroine? You are guaranteed fiery dialog and sizzling chemistry, and a fun plot that makes those pages flip by too quickly.

Ok, ok, what can I say about this plot. Well, this plot is too intricate to attempt to describe so Ill just say that as their investigation moves forward the romance takes a back burner and the mystery becomes what Im truly interested in seeing. Yes, their chemistry is great, but its this magical world that Ilona Andrews has created that holds my attention. Its the supporting characters that give our main characters depth and emotion. Emerald Blaze is not a surface piece of fluff, despite what the cover looks like, theres actually a lot of meat in the story, and the plot definitely holds my attention.

If you are a fan of this series and are wondering if Nevada and Conner have any part in this novel, the answer is yes. Nevada is actually around for a good portion and as with any favorite characters, it was so good to see her, but Catalina and Alessandro were the stars in Emerald Blaze and really I wouldnt have had it any other way. Looking towards the future a third book is on the horizon. An underlying story arc was not completed in this book and Im eager to see how they finish it out! Lets hope they write quickly!

I received a copy of this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

***Just a quick warning… although this story is complete, and with a happily for now ending, the epilogue gives a huge, very confusing cliffhanger. So, be warned! (It wont hurt the story if you decide not to read the epilogue until the next book is out )***

Catalina Baylor is back. Its about six months since the events of Sapphire Flames, and she is finally coming into her own as Head of House, and Deputy Warden.
When she and her family are attacked by unusual magical creatures, the Wardens office puts her onto a case, that immediately places her back in the presence of Alessandro Sagredo.
Alessandro has changed, the past few months have obviously been hard for him, but he broke Catalinas heart, and she is reluctant to trust him. Despite that, he has made it his mission to keep her safe.
The two of them make a great investigative team though, and its not long before they are up against perhaps the most dangerous foes they have ever encountered.

Book two in Catalinas story arc, clears up a number of different storylines, while opening up a couple of very alarming ones. Victoria Tremaine is hovering over the whole thing, and has an astonishing amount of power for someone in prison.
We have some guest appearances by a couple of former favourites from Nevadas series, and there are a few scary characters that appear only peripherally, but you KNOW theyre going to be something to be reckoned with later.
In addition, the epilogue is extremely unsettling!

All that being said, it was, as with most Ilona Andrews books, an excellent piece of Urban Fantasy. The world is realized with incredible depth, and the sub-plots are hard to keep track of, but they blend seamlessly by the end. Mysteries are solved, culprits are named, and while there are some plot lines that have yet to be followed through, I have no doubt that the authors will eventually wrap it all up with a bow.

A heart pounding addition to the Hidden Legacy series, recommended for fantasy and urban fantasy fans!

Four and half stars

If you love romance, action, and magic, this is the book for you. I read it in one sitting and really enjoyed it.

The worlbuilding of the Hidden Legacy’s world is original and nuanced, the plot is fun, the pace never slows down, the side characters are alive and full of charm (I really love the Baylor family, and Grandma Frida is a favourite of mine), the tension and the emotion between the two leads is great.
Cookies points ***MINOR SPOILER*** for revealing us the real reason for Nevada to leave her position as Head of the House, which makes so much more sense than what we were told in the previous book. ***END MINOR SPOILER***

Then why I took away half a star? Because I am a Venetian, and I know how we behave, in Italy and abroad. The authors clearly did their research for Alessandro, but he just feels slightly wrong to me, because when he does something ‘Italian’ he doesn’t do what I know one of us would do, but rather what foreigners expect us to do.
For example at one point Catalina watches the video of a wedding that happened in Italy several years before. The bride and bridegroom say their vows in a correct Italian, family and friends are gathered around, and a priest is officiating the ceremony. It all seemed fine until I noticed the scene is set not in a church, but outside on a lawn and the priest is dressed in black. And suddenly the scene felt off, because an open air wedding is considered a very ‘American’ thing in Italy, and they are almost impossible to organize if you want a religious ceremony (canon law states the marriage sacrament must be performed inside a church) and because the priest celebrating a wedding usually wears white liturgical vestments.
But if you aren’t Italian, I doubt you will be bothered by any of this, and you will enjoy a very fun read.

This is book five in the hidden legacy series, a urban fantasy series set in a alternate version of earth, specifically Houston Texas. Here a 150 years ago a discovery of a serum known as the Osiris serum led to humankind gaining powers of a vast variety loosely catorgrised into Arcane, Elemental and mental. This led to the creation of houses, the magicial elite, who make up the assemblys that now rule. Its there back stabbing, feuding and underhand dealings that set up most of the conflict of the series. Following House Baylor a newly formed house as it struggles to survive possessing a over abundance of power and talent but short on connections and resources. This is not the place to start while each book is episodic dealing with a mystery and antagonist particular to that book there are overarching mysteries and story archs going on in the background. This series is for those who delight in a strong secondary cast and who like or dont mind a strong romantic subplot. The Authors write both Uf and PNR with there Kate Daniels series being UF and there Edge series being firmly in PNR territory ( paranormal romance a genre often used interchangeable to uf save that character and plot take a back step to the romance Hidden legacy has come very close to that line but normally errs on the side of being UF ).

In the book House Baylor gets called into a apparent murder and a land deal gone wrong with hidden currents and Catalina having to expose herself as The Deputy warden of Texas the Assemblys law enforcers, a complicated situation becomes even more so when Alessandro makes a reappearance acting as the murder victims fathers vengeance. Adding in magic gone wrong the whole situation gets ready to explode.

This is the second book in the sub series following Catalina the younger sister of Nevada, who was the heroine of the first three books. Sapphire flames the first book to follow Catalina was the weakest of the Hidden Legacy series it was the weakest plot wise had a Cardboard love interest and relegated one of the best secondary casts in UF to background scenery, if like me you follow the authors because they write clever and inventive UF that just happens to have a strong romance element then you experienced a bit of disappointment.

Emerald Blaze I am delighted to say rights that ship, Cornelius and Linus , runa all get mentioned as does old series favourites such as bug more importantly the Baylor family such as Leon and bern get a bit more screen time. Its still a bit closer to PNR then the first three books but for those looking for more then just romance it delivers.

It also closes some of the glaring flaws from the last book such as why Nevada suddenly left her family in the inexperienced hands of her sister. It doesnt relegate the Baylor family to looking after each other with no involvement in the main plot and turns down Catalina and Alessandro general awesomeness down enough so other characters at least get a look in. Its not perfect Alessandro while nothing new for a Andrews hero in being a powerful badass he comes across a bit obsessive he has the standard tragic back story but nothing else to distinguish him Curran had the Pack, Connor has his found military family Alessandro has Catalina and thats it and with him being her first love , and lying to her for a lot of it, it does come off a bit creepy at times. Also they dropped a bombshell about Augustine in the last book that doesnt get addressed here at all which again tends to be a flaw in there more romance heavy series.

But all that said I really enjoyed and felt like I was reading a strong entry in the hidden legacy series instead of something that just looked like it. Looking forward to book six.

This is a great series it started a few years ago with Burn for Me when we were first introduced to the Baylor family. The Baylors live in a world where magic is real all that distinguishes one person from another is how much magical ability they have, the strongest most talented magic users are known as Primes, a strong Prime can destroy cities , burn down forests, drain oceans etc. In Burn for Me Nevada Baylor is a struggling private eye working hard to keep a roof over her family’s head while staying safe in this unpredictable world. Nevada is the eldest child head of the family since her father’s death she has two sisters Catalina and Amanda the family also includes two cousins Bern, and Leon along with their mother and grandmother. Nevadas s story covers the first three books and the middle sister Catalina takes centre stage in books four and in this one, book five. The strongest magical families are known as Houses, House Baylor still operates as a private detective agency and always seem to manage to get themselves involved in deadly situations which take all their skill arcane and magical in order for them to survive. In this instalment Catalina is tasked with investigating the horrific murder of a Prime what she uncovers is so much more than she could have envisioned and Catalina finds herself in a situation where it she can’t find a way to succeed could mean the end of everything and everyone she holds dear. Don’t want to say too much in case you haven’t read this series but if you are a fan of urban fantasy give it a go you won’t be dissapointed.

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