Heart of Fire

Imagine you're chilling in a lawn chair in the shade with the sun gleaming down, no bugs to snack on you, and a nice breeze coming in. Then imagine that nice breeze occasionally causing the potted plant next to you, with all its big, strong, green leaves, to smack you upside the head. That's kind of how the first 70% of the book felt. It was great and action-packed. Things are definitely never boring around Alice. But everywhere I turned, she kept getting severely injured. For Satan's sake, when a bomb that took out a few buildings, Sean heard it and immediately guessed that she was at the center of the danger and destruction. I understood why she kept getting hurt but come on. My girl is kickass. Why is she dying in almost every chapter? (Though the last few scenes were a sort of badass relief, but we'll get to that later...)
Another sticking point with me was the honest to god love pentagram that Alice was the center of. I get it. Alice is powerful, cool under pressure, and easy on the eyes. But come on. Did there have to be four lusty suitors after her? Though I'm glad all but one of those interests were finalized and shut down, at least from Alice's end.
Speaking of ends, I promised I'd get to gushing about the finale. I've gotta say; this story's ending was a lot more conclusive and satisfying than the last one. It was a resounding goodbye, between Lake and Alice and between the readers and the book. I didn't get that same impression from the first book. And those last few magic-wielding scenes. Be still my heart. Love me a powerful queen who can whip your peen off with green fire getting herself some personal justice. Here's to hoping for more good endings.