I am OBSESSED with this book. The South Asian mythology and culture was so refreshing to read and gave an original and unique spin on the traditional 'romantasy genre/enemies to lovers' tropes. The FMC is strong and determined, hardly a wilting flower which I enjoyed - especially for her age. The twist had me gasping and the story kept me turning pages. Absolutely loved this.

If you’re a Percy Jackson fan, this one’s definitely for you!
It has everything: mythology, magic, a strong female lead, plot twists and you can’t take your eyes off the pages.

I love mythology, and I’m always happy to get to know folklore and legends I’m not familiar with: the Mahabharata has fascinated me, and I’m already doing my research and getting more into it! I appreciated the author’s recommendation regarding what to read to get to know more about it - I think another nice touch would have been adding an index to keep track of the deities and the other creatures.

I gave this book 3.5/5: I enjoyed it and already recommended it to a couple of friends, and I'm planning to read the sequel! But, personally, I felt like the writing style was childish at times - despite the book having an adult(ish?) audience - and the romance felt a bit rushed. It nicely alternated between dialogues and descriptions, but I would have liked some more focus/explaining the Mahabharata.

(also can we take a sec to appreciate the GORGEOUS cover? thank you.)

What an incredible debut novel by Nisha Sharma!! Illusions of Fire had me hooked from the first chapter. This is a South Asian YA fantasy that brought me back to my childhood, devouring Percy Jackson under the covers in my childhood home.

Laila is my girl. Anyone who wants to get to her has to get through me first. Just a phenomenally written character. The male lead, on the other hand, is my enemy and his character, actions, and the handling of his actions is the reason for me removing a star here.

Thank you to Union Square Publishing & Co. and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was a great debut by Nisha Sharma. I enjoyed the premise, the main characters were funny, engaging, and the story kept me intrigued til the last page. I couldn't put it down!

This was a fun story. Reading this made me want to dive more into the culture and some of the gods and creatures mentioned. The aunties were hilarious and I loved reading them. The two main characters were enjoyable as well.

(Goodreads review posted 26/01/2025: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7228248534)

The second i saw this on netgalley, I knew i had to read it - before or after publication, that didn't matter. So i want to extend a huge, heartfelt thank you to the publishers, author, and netgalley for giving me an ARC. Look at that cover, absolutely gorgeous. That synopsis? Sign me up, holy shit.

As someone who grew up reading percy jackson, I often wondered what something similar, with ideas closer to home would look like. Nisha Sharma delivered, and I have to say, it was a satisfying story. It has a protagonist with massive pressures placed on her by virtue of her birth, but it doesn't show her to be infallible - she's got her flaws, her weaknesses, and her resentment for the position she's put in right from the start, which i really appreciated seeing. The other characters occasionally lacked depth but given that this book reads as the first in the series, it's understandable and seems like they'll be fleshed out at a later date.

I'll be honest - the book gets so massively dark right towards the end, with the villain being so incredibly disgusting that I actually had to close the book for a second, but it worked to up the stakes, as did the ending - i think Nisha has set up a good first installment for the series.

To be honest, the only reason i gave this a 4/5 instead of a straight 5 is the humor style that got used - it wasn't really for me. The humor is very MCU humor with a few too many "oh, shit, he's right there isn't he?" moments peppered in for my liking, but that's a personal gripe i had.

Illusions of Fire is a solid a debut fantasy. I absolutely love young adult fantasies because they have so much to offer.

Illusions of Fire by Nisha Sharma is a refreshing change from your typical mythology inspired reads.

The book is like if Buffy, Supernatural, and Percy Jackson had a sassy love child. If you like your reads to have found family, female rage, and buckets of mythology then you should give this a read.

18 year old Laila is a Daughter of Drapaudi, a long line of women descended from the goddess herself. She is being raised and protected by 3 asuras, demons, who traded a lifetime debt for immortality. But Laila crosses paths with a demon hunter, and family histories begin to unwind.

I must admit that I knew nothing of Hindu Mythology before going into this book, but I have really enjoyed learning a snippet of the vast lore through this book.

There were a couple of moments that mentioned issues that probably could’ve been covered my tactfully in a YA book but overall I enjoyed the writing style.

This will be a must read book later this year.

“Illusions of Fire” by Nisha Sharma is a lovely blend of mythology and suspense with a dash of romance. We have a fierce and determined protagonist and a slow-burn romance. The plot twists keep you guessing until the very end. Fans of her previous books will love the intensity and depth of this novel. Adults will also enjoy this YA fantasy.
Thanks to NetGallery and Union Square & Co for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVE YA FANTASY!!! seriously, always so good! The magic, the action, the family drama, and the tension between Karan and laila had me hooked, this was such a good fantasy debut.

“Illusions of Fire” is a breath of fresh air; a diverse coming-of-age action adventure that I wish was published when I was a teenager. A more mature Percy Jackson, but make it desi.

As an American Born Indian and Hindu who doesn’t know that much about the Mahabharata, I felt so engaged and learned a lot. The mythology was easy to follow and learn as they were introduced; the book was written in a way where it didn’t feel like a textbook, but you learned important parts through dialogue and scenes. An index of myth characters, objects and events would be a great addition to the book though, either at the beginning or the end of the book as I kept wikipedia tabs open to keep track of names/terms.

This book also shows why diverse reads should be written by their own people. There are no stereotypes, just deep researched knowledge and fun cultural nuggets. This book felt like a warm glass of spicy chai feeding my soul.

Laila is an inspiring, resilient FMC who I would have made my role model if I was reading this in my teens; but I still think she’s a total baddie. The daughter of fire protecting humanity?! She should be a global icon like Percy Jackson or Hermione.

My one caveat is the romance between Laila and Karan felt a bit forced, as they went from enemies to lovers very quickly with not enough of a transition to believe their feelings for the other. However, I did enjoy both characters and how they helped each other on their individual arcs.

I’m really excited for book 2! I hope it’s Boo or Gopal’s story!!

To start this cover is absolutely STUNNING!!!

This is a YA Fantasy that follows the descendants of mythological beings. In this case Hindu gods, and demons. This is a story of those who are sworn to protect and those who are determined to destroy.

Karan is new to town and attempts to en Laila, but Laila has spent her life training.
This is a story of rivals to lovers and the banter was amazing. I loved the refreshing story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Union Square& Co. for access to this title. I am auto-approved by the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars

* On Goodreads, I also copied and pasted the full synopsis of the novel BUT I am just going to jump into it here. Hit that request button!

Read this if you like...

✅Fierce female protagonists that can kick ass
✅Books where the Female and Male Protagonists take turns narrating chapters
✅Action scenes that are fairly balanced with family drama and a little romance.
✅An author fought hard( for years) to bring this urban fantasy novel to life. We owe it to Nisha Sharma and all the people in her corner to read it. 😉


Let's hype this up!





Expected Publication Date 07/10/25
Goodreads Review Date 22/02/25

What a RIDE! This story was a bit slow to start but when it picked up I didn’t want to stop reading. This story follows Laila and her aunts to America. Where Laila has been preparing her whole life for something. Little did she know that it will show up in the form of a very hot South Asian man. Together destinies entwine and they must figure out why their lives collided the way they did.

This was such a good story. The Indian mythology was refreshing to read about and very interesting. The way the story progressed kept me guessing and the twist was something I wasn’t expecting. I can’t wait for the other stories it hinted at to come out cause I have questions with no answers at this point. Totally recommend

This is an excellent story! All about what would happen if the Mahabharata was coming true in modern times. The story moves quickly but with enough explanation on the stories/legends from India. Highly recommend!

This was a Fantastic first book in a series. The author manages to hooks you right from the first few chapters. The book has good pacing that kept me engaged all the way till the end.
Going into this book I had minimal knowledge of south Asian mythology but that was not an issue, the author did a great job bringing you into that world and helping you understand in a way that did not detract from the story.
I did take away half a star because there were a few points towards the end that felt like someone else was writing and it pulled you out of the story (usually when the villain was talking). I’m hopeful that this is something that will be fixed once final edits are done.
Over all I would highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out.
Please be aware that this book is marked as YA but does have “closed door” sexual content.

3.5 stars rounded up

I love the reworking of mythological stories to have a contemporary twist. Laila embraces being a bad-ass, while mourning the loss of what is normal for an 18 year old human female. Karan embraces his mission as a magical witch hunter, but is able to live a somewhat normal life for a 20 year old human male. Both are human descendants of Hindu demi-gods; and when these 2 meet, all hell breaks loose, literally.

There is some very insightful prose about knowing your own power and how to wield it; about the interpretation of history/mythology; and about the nature of forgiveness.

It is the Hindu mythology that I found confusing. I found it challenging to understand all the different parts of the characters and story and how they connected to the Mahabharata (the story of a Hindu civil war between princely cousins). As an ARC, there were places where character names got switched around that added to my confusion. It would have been helpful to have an introduction to the Mahabharata or some sort of descendant tree showing how Laila, Karan and other characters are connected to the mythology.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it in it's final edited and published format.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

An intricate and beautifully written book, Nisha’s first foray into urban fantasy is tremendous and I look forward to more from her. The portrayals of Indian mythology is a personal favourite and I am thrilled to be seeing it being more popularized in the West.

“Egypt had Cleopatra,” he said quietly, his face inches from hers . “Greece had Helen of Troy. And India had Draupadi. Know how powerful you are.”

I loved this line so much! Illusions of Fire was a fast paced fantasy novel set in the world of Hindu mythology. Laila is born with a destiny that she has accepted and she lives her life with this inevitability. Until the day she meets Karan and everything changes.

I've loved Nisha's writing since I've read Dating Dr Dil but this blew my mind. It's so empowering reading a modern YA book where the MC is an Indian female and the Gods are Hindu. Her attention to the smallest details adds a richness to the story that is unparalleled and I love how well she weaves in the emotions of the characters, their flaws and their hopes in the face of despair.

Laila is a determined, empowered female who has faced such adversity but still refuses to give up while Karan is reminiscent of Nisha's heroes - supportive, strong and protective while still letting the female shine.

Pick this up for an engrossing fantasy read that you are bound to enjoy

⋆⋆⋆½ — okay mostly, but i did have some issues with the writing and parts of the ending. and the romance. god, i hate these ya males every single time.

so i loved laila. most of the time. she's funny, powerful, can take of herself, fights back against karan when he's being useless. usually. and it's the usually i have a problem with. i hate when character development goes down the drain for romantic progress. he does something horrific at the beginning of the book, she finds out almost near the end, and then she forgives him... almost immediately. it's aggravating. we barely get a confrontation. i know it was very close to the end, but we could have maybe dragged this into the second book? or revealed it earlier so they could actually work through it? this is always a thing in enemies to lovers novels: the male lead does something heinous, and the female lead—who is supposedly powerful—forgives him two pages later because she's in lurve. enough. as for the other characters, i love badhuri (i am not calling anyone boo. no). i always love the guy in the chair characters, and she was no different. gopal was also brilliant, an even funnier apollo from percy jackson. the aunts weren't there enough for me to care either way, but their love for laila was truly real and vivid. as for karan, the less said about him, the better. laila should have been gay or in love with gopal. it doesn't go with the mythology, but it goes with common sense.

i'm desi, but not hindu, so i wasn't familiar with most of the mythology, but everything was depicted in an easy to follow manner. the plot is more things happening to the protagonists and them trying to fight back, rather than them actively advancing the storyline, but even while i was bored with that aspect, the mythology always drew me in.

as for the actual story, it was interesting up to the middle, and then it became a romance in a fantasy wig. the blurb indicates a balance between the two, but it's just mostly romance. the antagonist, his reveal, his motivations, everything was dull. i mean, a desi man being hyperobsessed with progeny and going as far as sexual assault to fulfill his desires is realistic, sure, but nothing at the end lived up to world-ending hype of everything that occurred before.

next, the writing. i don't really want to call it mediocre, but unfortunately, it's more than awkward at times. you can very much tell this is a romcom author's first foray into fantasy. and i don't know if it's because of formatting issues on kindle, but sometimes, it was very hard to tell dialogue switches between characters. there were instances of karan saying something and then replying to himself? but it's supposed to be laila saying something? i don't know if that's because of typos, or formatting, or if it's actually supposed to be like that, but it occurred often enough that it prevented the story from flowing nicely. and the dialogue was unserious by itself too.

finally, we already know how i feel about the romance, but i just want to reiterate that straight people make me want to vomit, and karan's existence even more so. but desi girls deserve love too, yada yada, and not all of us are gay, blah blah, so we have to settle for the karan-esque love interests of the world, i suppose.