Her Hidden Fire

Overall Rating: 4/5

Éadha wields a rare kind of magic, even rarer considering that Éadha is the one to wield such a gift...and not belonging to one of the prominent ruling families.

Her best friend, however, is expected to have these powers. Ionàin, Éadha's childhood best friend goes through his trial... turns out to not have those powers.

So, what does she do?

Does she let him get cast out because he does not have the powers that he is expected to have? Or does she pretend that her powers are his?

And in a spur of the moment, she listens to her heart and uses her powers for his... putting herself in danger as they both are whisked off to an academy... where she must now hide the fact that his powers are actually hers...

Her Hidden Fire does start off slower than most romantasies do, and the world is intensely complex, full of minor details and an intricate history... so much of the beginning focuses on "setting the scene" so to say and helping readers to somewhat understand Her Hidden Fire more... but wow...

What I presumed to be just a romantasy featuring a magical academy, turned into something that was actually so much deeper, and so much more complex than what I could've imagined it to be when I first started it.... and definitely leans far darker than I thought a typical young adult book does. Now this does not get super-duper dark like some of the more... maturely rated books would, but if you are someone who is a tad more delicate on certain things or troubled by certain things, do absolutely pay mind to the trigger warnings that the author has provided, because you matter, and there is no need to destroy or tax yourself mentally to push through a book if there are topics that upset you.

Overall, this is a darkly delicious and extremely solid read of political intrigue, magic, and the perfect touch of romance. There are some events that did push me in the wrong way, which is the only reason why this is rated four stars. If you are a fan of authors such as Ava Reid, Her Hidden Fire is truly a delight, and I cannot wait to find out more...