Continuing the House Baylor series with a story about Catalina. She gets a new case to investigate and is paired up with her former crush Alessandro. ARC from NetGalley.

Arc received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ilona Andrews has been my favorite duet of authors for quite a while. I remember reading the Kate Daniels series and being lost in the world they were building. Sadly, Sapphire Flames just wasn't my favorite book from them. I am not quite sure why seeing as even on my re-read it felt just a little bit off. Emerald Blaze changed the game making me remember why I fell in love with their writing. I blazed through this book at a quick pace as the story wouldn't let me go. I really enjoyed the plot of this book as it felt both familiar and a bit different from their stories in the past. I have to say Alessandro finally grew on me and now I can clearly see the appeal. I really can't wait to read the next installment in the series.

4.5/5.0
There is no denying Ilona Andrews can write spectacular stories! This fifth installment of the Hidden Legacy series is absolute can't-put-down urban fantasy addiction. The characters are nuanced and the action pitch-perfect in it's execution.
In this story, the relationship thread between Catalina and Alessandro kicks up a notch and delivers exactly what readers have been yearning for. And it is done in such a subtle and rich way that it never feels rushed or affected. The story does lean a bit heavy on the technical/mechanical aspects which may bog down some readers, especially in the first half of the book. As the story-line ratchets up, however, its true genius shines through. No one can write a great battle scene with more nail-biting creativity and edge-of-your-seat action and suspense than the Andrews!
This is a book that would be very hard to read as a stand-alone, as much of the depth and richness comes from the relationships - familial, business and romantic - developed in previous installments. Still, whether starting from book one or just carrying on the love, this is a story well worth a read... or two.... or three!

Emerald Blaze is the fifth book in the Hidden Legacy urban fantasy series by the phenomenal husband and wife writing team who publish under the pseudonym Ilona Andrews.

The first three books focus on Nevada Baylor, a private investigator in a world where magical abilities are the norm and a person’s status in society is determined by their powers and their family bloodline’s track record of producing superior magical offspring. All kinds of abilities are displayed from the usual telepathy, telekinesis, and pyrokinesis to more bizarre and unusual abilities like summoning demons, animating inanimate objects, and purifying or weaponizing toxins. After Nevada’s story concluded, a new trilogy began with Sapphire Flames, which focuses on her sister Catalina and her struggles as she takes over leading the family business and functioning as the Head of House Baylor now that they’ve joined the ranks of the magical elite.

In order to review Emerald Blaze, I need to bring up a couple points regarding Sapphire Flames.

Catalina’s first book felt weaker to me than Nevada’s books, not because she was young and inexperienced (which is an interesting counterpoint to Nevada’s gung-ho, take-charge attitude), but because the love interest was so frustrating. The normal dynamic between the heroine and prospective romantic partner in other Ilona Andrews books has always been one of equals. There is certainly a lot of tension and bickering with ever-shifting power struggles to assert dominance over each other, but both male and female lead are on a level playing field and respect each other’s strength. Alessandro Sagredo was first introduced as a teenage Catalina’s crush and it felt like she never stopped being in awe of him, meaning that he continually walked all over her in Sapphire Flames without being challenged and the disrespect towards her was extremely grating.

Another criticism relates to the extremely out-of-character manner in which Nevada abandoned her position as Head of House, relegating it to Catalina in a fit of pique. It felt like a clunky plot contrivance to justify Catalina being repositioned as the lead of the series and a rare misstep from the writing duo who have released many cohesive and tightly plotted books.

I now stand corrected. If you’re one of the readers who felt as vexed as I did about the above points, PLEASE pick up Catalina’s second book because this was all for good reason! Instead of being poor characterisation or a plot hole, both these elements were INTENTIONALLY written into Sapphire Flames in order for us to see the character growth and plot progression in Emerald Blaze. Alessandro returns and attempts to redeem himself for his earlier arrogant behaviour, but Catalina is justifiably wary of him and certainly makes him work to prove that he’s a changed man! Such a relief that she didn’t simply swoon into his arms despite her hormones singing his praises, there was great tension between Catalina trying to remain professional and unmoved in the face of Alessandro’s sincere effort to reconcile and make amends.

And I won’t spoil the reason for Nevada’s exit from House Baylor, but once the reader find outs midway through this book, it’s absolutely diabolical and makes perfect sense in hindsight, plus it adds a whole new ominous nuance to certain interactions.

That’s it for justifying why reluctant readers should continue with this trilogy if you weren’t totally on board with Sapphire Flames, now let’s look at how Emerald Blaze stands on its own.

Catalina has grown up a lot, gaining more confidence, political savvy, and a more cynical worldview, both from her tutelage under her cold, devious grandmother intent on shaping her into the ideal Head of House and also due to her training under Linus Duncan as a warden. That’s a lot of responsibility to juggle and Catalina isn’t Wonder Woman, as we see in rare moments of vulnerability when she has a panic attack, but it’s a nice contrast to Nevada who always seemed effortlessly capable.

The Baylor family interactions are just as heart-warming and hilarious as ever! They are honestly fictional family goals, the bunch are so loving, kind and fiercely protective of each other, it’s easy to be invested in each member of the family. When danger threatens, it feels like high stakes because I couldn’t bear for any of them to be hurt or possibly killed.

And the romance is perfect here, such a compelling dynamic between a prickly Catalina who has her walls firmly up and a penitent Alessandro who I can finally root for in this book. The love interest who feels like he can EARN the love of the heroine is a toxic trope, but thankfully not present here at all as Alessandro is more focused on aiding Catalina in whatever way he can, regardless of whether or not she forgives him (although obviously he and the reader is hoping she will).

The world-building also just gets better and better, it’s impossible to predict the cool new ways that Ilona Andrews will expand this universe and I always wonder what new challenges could possibly form an obstacle to our super-powered characters, but Emerald Blaze blew me away all over again. The creatures and overarching threat introduced in this book were terrifying and grotesque, presenting a unique menace we haven’t seen before five books into the series while also unexpectedly picking up plot threads from earlier books and developing them further in fresh exciting ways.

Emerald Blaze is a fantastic continuation of this series and I already can’t wait to reread it! For an action-packed plot filled with thrilling magical battles and twisty political intrigue, swoonworthy romance, and sweet familial relationships, you can’t pass this one up. If you haven’t already discovered this series, start with Burn For Me, or if you’d like to skip to Catalina’s story, you can pick it up from the novella Diamond Fire, but I highly recommend you begin from the start!

Look, I love all of Andrews' books and I have this preordered. But both of Catalina's books have felt choppy. Stuff will be offhandedly referenced that ends up being super germane to the plot but we don't actually experience it in the book - it feels like we're only reading part of the story. Some of the plot and characterization seems like the authors are realized the story was generating continuity errors so they're retroactively changing things from the previous books and that's annoying. It feels like maybe this series isn't as well plotted out as usual.

In this one particularly, some of the intricacies of the plot didn't make sense. The villain's motivations are confusing and stupid. I understand that Catalina's personality is supposed to feel in flux - she often describes herself as putting on a costume to be more assertive, for example, but it's hard to read about someone when it's truly unclear who they are.

Still, I like the writing and I really enjoy the world and I hope book three ties up the plot as well as resolves the hanging plots still left from Nevada's books.

I’m hooked. Catalina Baylor has a lot of responsibility as head of House Baylor. Fortunately she has a wonderful supportive family. When her house comes under attack, Catalina needs to get to the bottom of it and ends up taking a job to solve a murder at the Pit, an area near Houston with monsters which is part of a reclamation project. Just to make things interesting? Complicated? Catalina’s heartbreaker, Alessandro Segreda is assigned to work with her. The plot is great, our wonderful characters are fabulous and growing. There’s more heartbreak in store, but the family supports one another and gets the job done. This is the fifth book in the series and I would recommend reading the series in order.

Ilona Andrews is the freaking BEST when it comes to world building. I, obviously, loved this book, and I can't wait for more in the series. AND THE ENDING!!!!!!!!!!! I don't want to spoil it, but it's really good, and will make you want MORE and SOON! This book definitely references previously books in the series, and there had been things in the previous books that had frustrated me, but this book cleared it all up! (I love it when that happens). Plus, you get to peak in on the family's lives. I just... really like this series and hope they keep it going. I can't wait for the next one. :)

I read this book twice in two days and now I’m trying to figure out what to tell you without spoiling it. Emerald Blaze follows Catalina Baylor while she is investigating a murder. One of the things I really like about these books is that they are set around the actions of the Baylor Investigative Agency, and the thread of the action never flies too far from the fact that the Baylors want justice for the crimes they are investigating. In Emerald Blaze, Catalina is trying to find out who murdered a man involved in a multi-million dollar construction plan. Alessandro Sagredo, who we met in book 3, Wildfire, and who became Catalina's potential love interest in Sapphire Flames, returns here as a an agent hired by the victim’s family to represent their interests in the construction deal. Now, I’m a little worried I’ve made that sound terribly boring, but the book takes off in chapter one and does not stop. In the 6ish months since we last saw all these characters everyone has grown and adjusted -Catalina especially has grown into all her responsibilities and watching her face each challenge had me yelling "oh crap oh crap oh crap" more than once. Reading this was like checking in on old friends I haven’t seen in a while.



Please read these books. They are amazing and fun and there’s magic and banter and also a hyper-intelligent pacifist bear. If no one has turned you on to these books before now, please give them a shot – this is a great universe to visit and I cannot wait for the next installment.

I thought this was a fantastic follow-up to the last novel featuring Catalina, and I liked it a little more than the first. It was action-packed and full of great dialogue and romance, which is what I’ve come to expect from these authors.
I wasn’t sure how Catalina and Alessandro measured up to Nevada and Rogan when I read the first, but this book erased all the doubts.
Fabulous.

This book is set six months after the previous one. Catalina is doing Warden work alongside cases for Baylor Investigations. Alessandro shows up again hired publicly to find out who killed his client’s son. Lander Morton was working with 4 other Houses to reclaim the Pit. He was murdered and there are no obvious suspects. Thanks to some creatures that attacked both Duncan and Catalina the Wardens are now involved. The mystery is good and the romance between Catalina and Alessandro really heat up. Also the epilogue kills it. There is also someone from the novella, Diamond Fire that shows up but you don’t have to read that one before this one. But read them all because they are great.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Ilona Andrews books are always an automatic yes for me so I was excited to receive a DRC of Emerald Blaze. This fifth book in the Hidden Legacies series focuses on middle sister Catalina. As Head of Houe Baylor and the Deputy Warden of Texas, she's constantly battling attacks from both the magical and normal realms against the people she cares about. Alessandro, the Italian playboy assassin who broke her heart is back. They're being forced to work together - can her heart take being shattered again? Can she discover what killed one of the city's magical elite? Can she stop it before it kills again?

Strong leads with a steamy connection, nonstop action, and a mysterious killer to catch make for a seriously enjoyable romp.

Thank you NetGalley and Harpercollins.

I was so happy to see this book and it really lived up to the series. I was engaged throughout and really happy too see all my favorite characters. The only negative comment I have is that your proofreader needs to give this another go as in about 3 chapters the wording doesn’t line up, adjectives not the story. Otherwise, it was terrific.

This series stays strong. Catalina continues to grow into her newer role, becoming stronger and more confident as the head of her House. New, horrible circumstances reveal known players in a different light -- Catalina gained my respect by handling this knowledge without showing it until the right moment. Alessandro finally grows up and makes better decisions -- I really liked him in this book!

This story is pure Andrews magic! Inventive world building overlaid by a layer of realism and logic that helps lend consequences and weight to character decisions. Though loss is avoided, I don't hate them for doing it.

Amazing Ilona Andrews storytelling at its best. There is such a dynamic sense of character development and world-building in the romantic, action packed urban fantasy narrative. No other author duo can write such clever dialogue or fantastic action scenes. Loved every page!

Could not love this series more! Catalina is an amazing protagonist, Ilona Andrews is an amazing writing team. This particular world that they've built is fascinating, and takes a really interesting turn in this novel. I loved Nevada's journey, but Catalina has even more pressure on her, which makes for even more twists and turns. Between the family you are born to, and the family you choose, Catalina makes the right decisions most of the time. And the monsters in this one are horrendous and spectacular.

Any Ilona Andrews title is an auto-buy for me. I re-read her back list whenever I'm between books or just need something that feels like a warm hug. This series is based around the Baylor family and friends, and each character is fleshed out and has their own idiosyncrasies that delight and entertain. The world-building in this series is fascinating, the action exciting, and the romance is hot. It's maybe not my favorite of all for this author team, but it's great, and for those who are already fans, you'll love it.

Emerald Blaze continues the Hidden Legacy story in a powerful way. This book is quite a bit more angsty than the previous ones, but it works toward a powerful climax and a satisfying conclusion. Also Victoria Tremaine is more terrifying than ever and yet Catalina figures out how to go toe to toe with her. Very much looking forward to the next book and conclusion of Catalina's story.

This is the fifth full novel in the Hidden Legacy series by the awesome Ilona Andrews, and the second in the story of Catalina Baylor, Prime and Head of House Baylor. Taking place in a Houston, Texas of an alternate reality, this story continues the delving into the mystery of the stolen Osiris serum and the repercussions of it falling into the wrong hands.

To say I adore this series would be an understatement. I love that Catalina is really coming into her own, I love the will they/won’t they with Alessandro, and most importantly, I LOVE the family dynamic the Baylors and extended family/friends have. The interactions between Catalina, her younger sister Arabella, and cousin Leon are so real—even in a fantasy world, the interactions of siblings ring so true. And we get to see Nevada and Rogan! Woot! The light hearted moments made me giggle, the action moments were on point and suspenseful enough to keep me nervous, and the story compelling enough to keep me coming back, even with the myriad of interruptions of Covid 19 Quarantine and especially during the middle of the night when up with a chronically ill family member. Truly a great summer read and awesome escapism. Already recommended for purchase for our library, I can hardly wait to recommend it to our patrons.

Not going to lie, I think I jumped right into reading this book the second it finished downloading from NetGalley, and I was not disappointed! This is a great series, and it's wonderful to see Catalina really come into her own.

Illona Andrews is a favorite author of mine, and i will read everything they write!
I love that the readers are getting to know more about each member of the Baylor family. This book focuses on Catalina, but we get to see what's going on with Nevada and Connor, who are characters from previous books in this series.