This book was really good and if this series will be anything like the Artifacts of Ouranos series, the next book will be even better! The first half of this book is a little slow and I had a hard time getting into it, therefore my 4-star rating. But the start do create a good foundation for the rest of the book and the phase picks up in the second half of it. I do not often listen to books but found it more fitting to my schedule at the moment. The phasing was good, like I mentioned, it was a little hard to get into it in the beginning but in the second half I was stuck and listened to it every spare minute I got! The phase is good and I think the voice fits Zarya pretty well.

Our girl Zarya is looking for answers and just like her, I wanted to understand why she had been kept hidden all those years. This book is slow burn so do not jump into it expecting a lot of spice. However, the romance is good and I cannot wait to see how Zarya and the love interest relationships will develop!!

I freaking love Yasen!! His relationship with Zarya is absolutely the best. I had mixed feelings toward Vikram and Aarav throughout the story but ended up liking them in the end.

This book is filled with secrets, friendships, mysteries, and magic. You should give it a chance as this is a good start to a new fantasy series! I can not wait for the next book!

Wow! This book was incredible, I am lost for words!! I had so much fun reading this and I feel so connected to all the characters I can’t wait to see where their stories go in the rest of the series.

I love that this book offers something new to the fantasy genre, I really enjoyed reading about Indian mythology which I hope to learn more about this in the next books. I also love the POC representation here, I feel so many popular fantasy book are very whitewashed so this book makes a great addition to the shelves.

This book also has some of my favourite tropes of all time: found family, slow burn romance, enemies to lovers (that I’m hoping will pick up in the second book). These tropes are universally loved so the romantasy girlies will be eating this up !!

The pace is slow at the start as it is mainly focused on world building (which is done so well so I’m not complaining!) but the pace really picks up towards the end and I was so gripped. The second half of the book is action packed and full of twists and turns, I couldn’t put the book down! I loved all the hidden secrets and I didn’t see the plot twists coming at all!

This is the perfect read for all the romantasy lovers and I really hope it gets all the love and attention it deserves!

Five stars is not enough.

I have not finished a book this angry since Fourth Wing. Why angry? Because it was SO good and now, I have to wait SO LONG for the next one.

One day, I will learn not to start a series until it is finished so I don’t do this to myself. Today is not that day.

I’ve known Nisha for a few years, and it’s been a joy to watch her career. She is incredibly talented and Heart of Night and Fire shows it.

More than anything—besides the rest of the series—I want a TV series. The clothing sounds amazing and I want to see it.

I think that the South Asian representation and mythology is well done and very interesting. The monsters were scary and the world building was very lush.

However, I am really struggling with the writing and the romance aspect of this book. I feel like everything is being over described to the point where it’s completely taking me out of the story. I love a good outfit description and think they add a lot of depth to characters and culture, but they are overused here. The second a character (or characters) is/are introduced, there is immediately incredibly long outfit descriptions, and I lose interest. There was also just a lot of characters introduced really early on, and normally that doesn’t bother me, but it was super difficult to keep track of who was who. The writing also felt a little juvenile at times and this was reading as more of a YA book instead of an adult fantasy.

I also just don’t think I am a romantasy girlie. I love romance *sprinkled* into my fantasy books, but I am also very okay without it. I feel like this would have been more interesting to me if the romance wasn’t there. I feel like nobody had chemistry with each other and it all felt a little forced.

Thank you to NetGalley for this Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and bookouture audio for this audio arc of Heart of Night and Fire in exchange for an honest review.

The pacing in this book is right on que for someone that likes a steady storyline. There was also tons of action/fighting scenes, and some spicy scenes here and there, but felt the romance within the story wasn’t the main focus at all. Found family really was the shining star here, and if that’s your jam then you will not be disappointed with this story in that aspect!

The Indian/South Asian culture really came to life for me between the vivid world building, the character descriptions and even down to the food! I also had no problem following the narrator of the audiobook. I was able to understand her clearly and she did a good job swapping between characters in my opinion.

Overall, this was a solid 4 star read for me. I really look forward to reading more from Zarya’s character in book 2 and seeing where this story goes because I can sense some enemies to lovers soon!

I absolutely loved this audiobook and was hooked from the very beginning. I couldn’t stop listening and finished it in two days. The narrator was incredible and helped bring the story to life. I already cannot wait for the next book.

This audio version of the book is a super way to experience this YA fantasy, coming of age, romance find your magical destiny story. Book one in a series. The author has a way with story telling which shines through in the opening chapters of the book. As the story develops political intrigue, magic, demons and a young women’s search to find out who she is and her lust for a relationship grabs the reader. Book two can’t come fast enough. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Before getting this ARC, I haven't heard of this book. I was kind intrigued by the cover but didn't expect much due to the rather generic title.
But just a few pages in I was hooked, and I needed to follow Zarya out of her isolation into the world.
It's Indian inspired mythology and high fantasy at its best.
Clearly, this book serves a lot of tropes that are common in the fantasy genre, but somehow it manages to put a new spin on them. And even the kinda love triangle didn't make me cringe.
It's a tight story with good pacing, a writing style I adore and enough action, intrigue and secrets to keep me at the edge of my seat. And I'm very excited to see the unfolding in three more books. (All of them will have been released by the end of 2024 so I don't have to wait an eternity to dive back into this world).
The story starts with Witcher vibes and ends with serious Prison Healer vibes and a strong case of found family. And yes, even the side characters are very interesting.
I was lucky enough to have been granted an ARC of both the book and the audiobook, so I could easily switch between them. The audiobook is really well narrated. Shiromi Arserio has a voice that is both soothing and excited, never letting you lose focus. It's been real great to listen to it.

4/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley, @bookouture and @secondskybooks for the ALC and ADC

I highly recommend this book! I read it as both an audio and physical book. I really appreciated the audiobook because it helped with understanding the pronunciation of all of the new (new to me) words and names. I thought the narration was good. I just with she did a little more to differentiate the voices of the characters, I found it har to distinguish the young male characters from each other.

I'll say it again, I need book two ASAP! This is a really easy book to get into. The premise is intriguing and there is a good mix of action and character development. The ending pushed this up from 4 stars to 5. A ton of excitement in the last 30% and the climax was (chefs kiss emoji). Lot's of great tropes here: chosen one, found family, enemies to friends, sibling rivalry, and I can see the enemies to lovers coming in book 2.

Zarya is just such a good main character. She may be naive because of her upbringing but she is so adaptable and quick on her feet. She is not too angsty/complaining. And she never makes decisions that leave you asking why would you do that. I loved that she held the men in her life accountable while also being understanding of their own difficult choices (i.e. I loved when she punched Row!). The elements of Indian and South Asian lore and culture were really excellent. I loved how unique the world was.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing an eARC of this book.

Heart of Night and Fire is inspired by Indian and South Asian culture, this creates a beautiful backdrop to a fun romantasy adventure. The plot is great and packed full of family secrets, training, trials, creatures of darkness, vampires, magic welding, romance and royal family ties.
There are two things that stood out the most for me. Firstly the found family vibes in this book are heartwarming and better than the romance! The second has to be the vivid food descriptions, my mouth was watering at points and I loved it!
The romance is good as well, the FMC is naive and loves to read romance so her approach to love is rose-tinted. I think book two is going to be so much fun, enemies to lovers incoming! This is my first book by Nisha J. Tuli and it is certainly not going to be my last!
The audio is great, the narration is so easy to listen to and it feels so immersive. We jump straight into action and the world-building feels a lot but after a while the world opens up to the listener and you appreciate it so much.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an Audio-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I was very worried at first that I had made a mistake with all of the unfamiliar names/places/people, etc. Fortunately, I was able to follow along pretty easily and very soon the vocabulary became familiar. This is a wonderful new romance/fantasy/suspense novel that I enjoyed very much.

There is a lot of mystery and intrigue which keeps the storyline interesting throughout the book. I love the characters and I see Zarya as becoming a wonderfully powerful bad-ass female MC and I can't wait to see what else Rabin has in store as well as the other side characters.

The author finishes the first book in a great place but yet leaves you wanting more. 4.5 stars!

This is my first read by this author albeit having her other series on my TBR for a while. After reading this book, her other series is definitely making it's way to the top for my TBR.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture Audio and Nisha J. Tuli for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

"A ghost from the past and a whisper of a future that is never going to be"

This was so colorful and vibrant, I loved it! This is my first Nisha J. Tuli book and I really enjoy her writing. This book is so vivid, and it transported me right into the heart of this Indian mythology-inspired, magical world. This book feels comfortable and familiar (in all the best ways), but at the same time, it brings in something new.

Zarya aka swap girl was kind of annoying. Like, do you have to be so stupid? But I guess it is what you get from spending your whole life in captivity only reading romance novels. The romance thing was kind of in the backseat for me - I don't really like her options at this point, but boy was I surprised - not only once, but several times about where things were headed! But Yasen, YES - my favorite, and I loved their friendship and banter ❤️

It left me hungry for more (no literally, I mean it, all the food they were eating...yum! And the chai🍵? Perfection!) I can't wait for the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley, publisher, and author for providing me with an advanced review copy.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this audio ARC. This could have been a stunning novel, but it just didn't have the character development or world building I crave. It also felt like more of a YA book than adult.