Forged in Fire Heir to the Firstborn, Book 2
New Adult/College, Fantasy, Romance
Elizabeth Schechter
October 22, 2019
358
Having slipped through Mannon's fingers, Heir to the Firstborn Aria and her two Companions – Waterborn Aven and Fireborn Owyn – have left Forge behind and are on the road to the Earth tribe lands. There they'll find the heart of the resistance. At least, that's what they've been told by Memfis, Owyn's adoptive father and Companion to Aria's father, Heir to the Firstborn Milon. They will also find Aria's Earthborn Companion, and take another step toward fulfilling the cryptic Vision of the Dove.
The Earth tribe lands are nothing like they were led to believe. The Healing centers have been destroyed, and Mannon's men are out in force, with orders to bring the Waterborn to Mannon. To evade the guards, Aria, Aven, Owyn and Memfis follow a young healer back to her home – a healing center hidden in the cliffs overlooking the sea. There, they find the surviving healers, the Chieftess of the Earth tribe, and the Senior Healer. They are offered sanctuary, and the Senior Healer offers to complete Aven's training as a healer. The Chieftess offers Owyn more – a link to his unknown past.
But not everything is what it seems, and their safe haven may not be as safe as they thought. Memfis goes off to seek visions, and doesn't return. Then, in an instant, Aria and Aven both vanish, leaving Owyn racing against treachery and time to find them and uncover the truth….
A truth that might destroy their hopes for a future.
Available at Amazon.
Reviewed by Sherry Perkins
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
“The price of visions is knowing when your end is coming.”—Forged in Fire
“Forged in Fire,” is the second book of the Heir to the Firstborn series. I’ve read and reviewed Book One, “Written in Water,” but you could probably find your way around in this story without reading Book One first. I say this because “Forged in Fire” is more character driven than goal driven, as was the first novel.
With “Written in Water,” we learn the lore and narrative arc of the Firstborn. In Book Two, we learn about secrets, harsh truths, and betrayals the characters face. Aria, the righteous Firstborn Heir, gathers her Companions from among the various races—Aven, from the waterborn, and Owyn, from the fireborn. Aria herself is airborn. To complete her circle of loyal Companions, she will have to discover an earthborn one, whom she will instinctively recognize as she did Aven and Owyn, and who will expedite Aria’s rule as the true Firstborn Heir.
The search for the earthborn Companion occurs concomitantly while Aria struggles to raise an army against Mannon. He’s not only the usurper but someone very close to Aria, which complicates matters considerably. Furthermore, Mannon’s done things that require Aria and her Companions to seek sanctuary, emotional and physical healing. However, the healers are not quite who they seem to be, and sanctuary could be anything but.
As Aria’s Companion, Owyn—who is also clairvoyant—seeks to understand his visions and protect them all, his learning curve is steep. It leads to more political and personal intrigue (and provides foreshadowing for the next book).
My preference is for books having a faster pace, so Book One was a better read for me using that criteria. But Book Two has its strengths in providing an understanding of who the characters will ultimately become, and whether they can defeat Mannon to restore unity and fair governance in their fractured world. Book Three, “Bones of Earth,” will undoubtedly be the proof of their success. It drops, hopefully, in Spring.
“A 3.5-star story about the rightful heir to a world torn apart, her fated companions and whether you can ever trust those around you.”