Heart Of Fire [Kindle Edition]

Kristen Painter (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

About the book:

Sometimes love is the most dangerous magic of all...

Eager to find her place in the world and understand the frightening gifts she’s been born with, Jessalyne Brandborn leaves her sheltered life to become apprentice to the most powerful sorceress in Shaldar. She hires Ertemis, the deadliest man in the realm, to get there.

With the Legion’s bounty on his head, Ertemis is reluctant to escort Jessalyne but needs the money she offers – especially if he’s ever to find out who his father is. On the way, he discovers benefits to Jessalyne’s naiveté; she treats him like an equal, not an outlaw.

Swayed by Ertemis’ gruff charm, Jessalyne starts to trust him and her emotional walls begin to crumble.

Little do they know that within them lies the hope of the dying elven race, the renewal of Shaldar's beleaguered kingdom and an incredible chance at love. If they don't kill each other first.

About the author:

Kristen Painter is the author of the upcoming Orbit Books gothic urban fantasy series, BLOOD RIGHTS. Her paranormal romance, ALL FIRED UP, was released by Samhain Publishing in 2009.

Praise for Kristen Painter's ALL FIRED UP:

"A great read with a strong, likable heroine & a hero to die for." - RT Bookclub

"...well-written, fast-paced, and thought provoking." - TheGirlsOnBooks

"I was completely enthralled." - Publishers Weekly

About the Author

When the characters in Kristen Painter's head started to take over, she decided to exorcise them onto paper and share them with the world. Her upcoming urban fantasy series from Orbit, Blood Rights, is just the beginning. She lives in FL with her retired Air Force husband and three feline dependents.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 602 KB
• Print Length: 290 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1453617221
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Kristen Painter; Kindle Edition edition (April 20, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003L2008G
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,353 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

When the characters in Kristen Painter's head started to take over, she decided to exorcise them onto paper and share them with the world. She writes paranormal romance for Samhain Publishing and has the first of three books in her gothic fantasy vampire series, Blood Rights, coming from Orbit in fall 2011. She has also been published in non-fiction, poetry and short stories. The former college English teacher can often be found online at Romance Divas, the award-winning writers' forum she co-founded. She's represented by Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!, June 6, 2010

By 

Mary Mcfarland - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heart Of Fire (Kindle Edition)

I can't tell you how refreshing I found this book. This title is as fine as any classic fantasy tale I've read in a long while. And classic fantasy romance it is--complete with a very alpha elf (of the tall-dark-handsome-fearless-dangerous variety) and a halfling heroine. I especially loved the portrayal of the cervidae--think deer shifters--and their bucolic world. But it's not so happy for Jessalyne, and within the first chapter I really felt her heartsickness and wanted a happy ending for her. It took me a hair longer to warm up to Ertemis, our buff elf, but I did--especially when his life is in jeopardy.

I don't mean this as a negative, but I cared less about the plot to save a kingdom than the worldbuilding itself--immediately accessible, consistent, believable, and written with extraordinary care. I've written enough fantasy to know that's a tough thing to do well. And I've read enough bad fantasy to know the difference.

I also want to give a hearty nod to Kristen's dialog. I'm a big fan of good dialog--and usually someone who writes such lush description like that found in this book is not as good at dialog--that all important quality to help define characters. Kristen is great at both. Oh, and there's subtle humor here in the dialog that warms one to the characters. Well done!

I would recommend this title to anyone who likes romance, fantasy (not of the darkest horror variety), unique "species" for want of a better word, and flawless, flowing writing. I cheered for the protagonists to have a well-deserved happy ending, and they did. I would also recommend this book especially to older teens--although I think fans of light classic fantasy romance of any age will adore it.

I have read every classic fantasy tale out there, I think. I'd say this is in the vein of Shannara, which is saying a lot because I love me some Terry Brooks.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fantasy Romance Book, June 6, 2010

By 

Rebecca (Montana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heart Of Fire (Kindle Edition)

This one of the best fantasy romances I've ever read. Definitely the best one I've read recently. The writing is phenomenal, the plotting excellent, the world-building exquisite, the character development proficient, and the sexual tension, very hot.

I don't generally say "go out and buy this book, now", because I'm never quite sure if other readers have my same tastes. But if you haven't bought this book by the time you read this review, then I will be very sad. It has the most delicious love story, a very unique hero, an engaging heroine. This book, I will read again. I got it over at Smashwords, but I'm transferring it to my Kindle right now, and I'm going to reread it very soon.

Because the writer is an indie author, and the book has gotten so many five-star reviews, I worry that some people might assume I'm a friend of the author who came on Amazon to beef up the reviews for a crappy book. That is completely not the case. I don't know Kristen Painter. I'm an independent reviewer, a consumer. A reader. And I adored this book. Granted, it may not be for everyone, because tastes vary, but I consider myself to be a relatively discerning reviewer, and I don't rave about things that I don't honestly enjoy.

I hope, on a side note, that Kristen Painter continues to write in this particular world. The level of detail in her worldbuilding is just fantastic. It's hard to find a fantasy book that doesn't feel a little bit old and tired, because when it's been done well before, it's really hard to reinvent without making the reader think "I liked that better in _(insert book title here)_". But I didn't think that in this book. Not even once. The fantasy elements were original and engaging enough that I wasn't wishing she'd done things differently in her world-building. I was just engaged in the story.

Truly, if you like fantasy romance, you will not find a better quality book, especially given what you'll pay for it. I really hope you enjoy it. I know I did.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Would have liked H/h to be around eachother more, March 8, 2011

By 

JLW "Honest Reviews" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heart Of Fire (Kindle Edition)

Let me start off by saying that I really liked this book. I like paranormal romances and medival romances. This story kind of put both together. The world building was good, and I always felt like I knew the surroundings. The hero was an aplpha male who was not afraid of his feelings. He was so gentle with the heroine, and the heroine was sweet and never annoying. The secondary charcters were interesting and made me want to hear their story as well. My only complaint was the lack of time the hero and heroine spent together. They spend a good chunck of time in the middle seperated. This seperation made me antsy and ready to move forward. Because of the seperation, the middle dragged a little for me. Don't get me wrong, it was still interesting, but I would have liked the characters to have more of a love story. There is lots of sexual tention but only one sex scene that may not even count, so if that bothers you be warned. All in all, this was a good read but could have been even better. I will read more of this author's works in the future.