“No secret stays hidden forever.”
A phone call from an old friend sets Dr. Giovanni Vecchio back on the path of a mystery he’d abandoned years before. He never expected a young librarian could hold the key to the search, nor could he have expected the danger she would attract. Now he and Beatrice De Novo will follow a twisted maze that leads from the archives of a university library, through the fires of Renaissance Florence, and toward a confrontation they never could have predicted.
A Hidden Fire is a paranormal mystery/romance for adult readers. It is the first book in the Elemental Mysteries Series.
I jumped from one obsession to the next. I am in love with Elizabeth Hunter’s Elemental world. The characters, the stories, and the overall feel is just amazing. Add in Dina Pearlman’s amazing narration and the audio books make it feel even more alive. The Elemental Mysteries series is a mix of paranormal romance and mystery. The first thing you should have is a respect for books because the mystery is centered on one book. A book with a great secret.
I’m not sure if the mystery itself was important. It was there, but I don’t know if it was so important in this book as it is in the susequent books. I feel this book was a set up for what was to come and who were the main players. I found this book to be driven more for the characters than the overall story. It may even be considered the worst of the series, but it definitely wasn’t that bad.
The characters are well written, three dimensional, and amazing. You learn the the brooding male lead is something paranormal, but instead a typical alpha male quality, he is a bookish nerd and he has an unhealthy obsession for professional wrestling. He seems more human than most of the romantic leads in books. And this is in a paranormal romance?!
The main chika is also a three dimensional character. She is young in this book. Though she has a direction in her life and does have a strong female lead, you can see the hesitance of youth. Looking back, after reading the other books, I love how she’s grown. Even in this book she grows a bit as a character. It’s just even more awesome in later books.
Like I said earlier, the story is more of a character driven book. The romantic leads don’t jump into bed. There’s a steamy kiss, but that’s about the crux of the action in this book. It’s refreshing and kept me wanting more. Where the book lacked in action, most of the book is characterization and then there was some action, it gained in character and the world building.
I wanted to keep going. And I have. In fact, most of the books from this point on are set in this world. Definitely a series and author to sink your fangs into.
Casia's Corner 