Slow burn fantasy with Enemy to lovers, found family and love triangle tropes.

Set around Zarya, a gilded prisoner with magic and a forbidden secret, who finally decides to break free of her prison. As a young woman, Zarya, has been kept trapped within the boundaries of her magical prison by her guardian, Row. Whilst trapped, Row has taught her to fight, whilst she lives in isolation with Row and his apprentice, whom she treats like a sibling. The isolation leaves her longing for more and eventually she makes her way to the city of Dharati.

Dharati is a city full of magic, and fills a void that her life has been feeling. She ends up in a love triangle with one of the head guards of the elite fighting teams and a man whom appears in her visions.

Heart of Night and Fire is the first book in the Nightfire Quartet series that strongly feature Indian mythology and centres on a few tropes: found family, love triangle and chosen one.

There is very little spice in the audiobook but the characters are likeable and it does provide an. interesting looking into Indian mythology.

Nisha J. Tuli’s Heart of Night and Fire is a captivating start to The Nightfire Quartet. The audiobook excels with its immersive narration, bringing Tuli’s richly crafted fantasy world to vivid life. The plot is intriguing, featuring a strong heroine and a world full of magic and mystery. Tuli’s writing is both lyrical and engaging, making it a thrilling listen from beginning to end. Perfect for fans of epic fantasy, this first installment promises an exciting adventure and sets the stage for a compelling series.

I loved the Trial of the Sun Queen. I devoured it in two days. This book, I couldn’t get into. I picked it up so many times but could only get through a chapter here and there. I eventually DNFd it. Maybe it was a case of wrong book/wrong time so I’m still giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Nisha J. Tuli is so underrated! I cannot wait to read the rest of this series! Her world building is so amazing. I love diving into those worlds she's created. Zarya is such an amazing FMC. So strong and badass.

Firstly, really interesting world and definitely a nice change of scenery from a lot of fantasy I read that is rather western inspired. There was a lot to take in, in the first third and I found myself highlighting parts to remember all the different places and types of magical beings. Visually it’s a great read though and I really feel I could picture a lot of the magical places.

The FMC, Zarya. I really liked that she was a bit of badass and could keep out with these trained soldiers. Was she at points a bit stupid and delusional? Yes. But she had been trapped in cage for the majority of her life, so will cut her some slack.

The wider characters… Loved the developing friendships and the found family vibes. I particularly liked her bestie development with one of the characters! I think there’s also really good potential with Rabin as well. My only frustration, was that he came in so late and now we have to wait for the next book.

There’s not a tonne of romance and spice in this book but you can see that the series will head that way!

Overall a 4 ⭐️ read for me as it felt like a great set up with room to do a lot more in the next books. Can’t wait!

This audiobook had me hooked from the very beginning and kept me glued to my seat the entire time! I couldn’t stop!

Such a great book! I loved the mystery. The main character is everything you would want her to be. I fell in love with a few of the characters actually. The storyline gripped me from the start. It had the right amount of steam too. Can't wait for the second book. Will definitely be reading it.

DNF - I really tried but the audiobook just could not hold my attention! I listened to the first chapter about 3 times but none of it went in.

Heart of Night and Fire is a young adult paranormal romance, but it's quite different from the ones I usually read. Here are not the typical paranormal creatures we usually encounter in books, like vampires and goblins and fairies and dragons and werewolves. The paranormal world of this book is really from Indian legends, so I would like to be much more familiar with these legends, but despite this, it is very interesting to read.

The main character is Zarya. She has lived in a restricted area for years, she is only allowed to do certain things. She has had to endlessly fight, run, learn to survive, and when she got too close to the limits, she passes out. But something has changed. She can leave. She feels the magic crackling inside her. She meets new people and creatures and is visited in a dream by a very attractive yet scary guy who promises to find her.
The city she is on her way to is something she could never have dreamed of, but for some reason the city is hit by one disaster after another, if you don't count the usual nightly attacks that the soldiers engage in.
More and more, it seems to Zarya that she is somehow related to the decline of this city, but at the same time, she can't find answers to her questions - who is she, why was she forbidden to use her magic, and who is that person from her dream.

It's all so exciting. It's true, in the meantime, the descriptions are too long and the names tend to get confusing, and you don't always understand what the abilities are being talked about, because specific expressions are used to describe them, but in the end it doesn't bother you either, because at some point you start to guess who is who and what are their abilities.

Sequel please!

This was a great fantasy romance novel. Steeped in Southeast Asian culture and mythology, it's an interesting tale full of twists and turns. It's an interesting story of friendship, family, and love. The narrator does a lovely job of bringing the characters to life.

I'm getting back into reading fantasy and I've heard great things about this author, so I was really excited to start the book. I think my mood didn't help and it took me a long time to finish and get attached to the story, but it's a well-written work and it wasn't difficult to understand the construction of the world and the characters. I hope to read other things from the author soon.

This was a good start to the series. I really enjoyed the start to the book as I was intrigued by the concept of her being stuck by someone else’s magic. I predicted why by the end which isn’t a huge deal for me though. There were some questionable decisions. The characters were very much aligned with a Romantasy — so if you love this genre then you’ll enjoy it! Overall an enjoyable read.

Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J. Tuli

I really enjoyed the question marks behind Zarya's background, and found this kept the pace and intrigue throughout for me, she was a strong willed character, and friendships were a big part of my satisfaction of the whole storyline. I thought the audiobook was really well done, and just flew through it. Superb ending - this was a new author to me and I am really looking forward to book two! Thanks so much Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for this arc in return for my honest thoughts and opinions.

This is a phenomenal story. The beautiful world building, the characters, the yummy tension. The plot is wild and the twists will leave you floored. I really enjoyed reading a story based on Indian Mythology. We need more of these stories in the mainstream. I was able to learn new terms and was all around enjoyable. The audio production was very well done

Heart of Night and Fire is my favorite read of the year so far. I have not read a romantic fantasy like this ever before!

There are high fantasy and South Asian folklore elements to this that are so compelling and gripping. This was intriguing and her writing was exciting and interesting and fresh. And then the author was so strategic and deliberate about the delivery of her storylines, which had me in the edge of my seat.

Tuli is a master of creating a unique magic system and drawing on real life cultural elements that bring vividness and relatability to the narrative. The main characters are so likeable. And within the first 100 pages, I was connected and invested in their incredible stories! I would gladly pick up books from the side character’s perspectives.

The narrator did an incredible job bringing personality and imagery to the characters.

I really took my time with this book and learned a lot about a completely different culture than my own. I am so excited to dig in to book 2 of the series, and I truly hope that she builds upon this world for many books to come.

This book is a beautiful work of fantasy, I loved the world building the development pf the character and her relationships with the world around her.
It boosts of colours, and food and its packed with a great deal of culture. Which really brings the book to life. I am looking forward to reading more of it. So impatiently anticipating the next book on the series.

I’m finding myself craving more and more fantasy stories right now and was so excited to see this as an audiobook and had to request it. I loved the fantasy world building and mythical elements to the story, including fairies, vampires, demons, and mages.

There is a love triangle, which can be hit or miss, but I really enjoyed the audiobook and thought it was a great escape read!

*many thanks to bookouture and Netgalley

Zarya has been held captive for the last twenty years. But soon strange things will happen and on her twenty-first birthday, her true gifts will be released.

The novel had a massive twist towards the end, which I didn't see coming to the extent it left my jaw open, this twist only left me asking more questions and of course, wanting to read the next novel.

This novel was a little bit slow in places, but this is the first novel in the series, so a lot of information was needed to set the scene as well as the characters.

I felt Tuli was very clever with the ending as it did leave me wanting for more.

I liked the character of Zarya and her development throughout the novel and I look forward to seeing her grow even stronger in the next book. I am also intrigued by the possible love triangle that is hinted at the end of this novel as this could get very interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Nisha J. Tuli for letting me review this book.

There's magic. And feelings. And an interesting world.

The beginning intrigued me, and I kept listening. However, something was missing. I couldn't connect with the characters.

I loved some of the writing, though. And the author's last name! Tuli means fire in Finnish. It's actually what originally caught my attention on the cover, even though that's probably not where the name came from.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves books like An Heir Comes to Rise by C.C. Peñaranda.

Includes:
Forbidden magic
Secrets

I was able to listen to the audiobook of Heart of Night and Fire thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio. I admit it took a bit to get into this book. At first I had to check if there was a book prior to this one because it felt like I was missing some backstory. But I kept on listening and was glad I did as the story became interesting and enjoyable and has me looking forward to the next book. The narration by Shiromi Arserio was very good adding excitement to the story.

Blurb: For years, Zarya has been trapped in a gilded prison. Her magic is forbidden, a dangerous secret—though nobody will explain why. Now she is ready to break free and find the truth.

Escaping to the dazzling city of Dharati, Zarya discovers a new world of enchantment and intrigue. With the help of seductive, blood-drinking rakshasa and magic-weaving Aazheri sorcerers, she searches for answers.

But the city is under siege. Every night, dark creatures attack. And since Zarya’s arrival they are growing stronger. To protect her new home, Zarya joins the fight.

As she battles on the walls and hunts through libraries for clues about her gifts, Zarya’s dreams are haunted by a mysterious stranger. Powerful, arrogant and handsome, Rabin sees through her secrets and ignites a desire she cannot resist. But can he be trusted?

When darkness threatens to overwhelm Dharati, Zarya is faced with a deadly choice. Will revealing her magic save the city? Or destroy everything she loves? Blurb: For years, Zarya has been trapped in a gilded prison. Her magic is forbidden, a dangerous secret—though nobody will explain why. Now she is ready to break free and find the truth.