Initially, the plot drew me in and i was excited to read a book with indian/south-east inspired mythology. however, the story itself did not hold up for me.

zarya was kind of annoying. she is supposed to be 20/21, but thinks like a teen a lot of times, for example how she likes to be kissed. but i could have excused that with her upbringing, if she acted more like someone that one knew 2 people her entire life. if would have loved if she was socially awkward and didn't know how to hold a conversation, instead she was naturally flirty. also, she says she wasn't allowed to know anyone else, but then she was able to get laid by a fisher boy. hm. very contradicting in my eyes. she also falls for the first man that she sees and then for one she barely knows. unfortunately, she has chemistry with neither of them, but with her new bestie, who is gay. on top of that, she wanted to find out who her parents are, but after the first clue, this subplot gets abandoned for 200 pages.

the plot itself was a mess and the progress didn't feel natural to me. zarya isn't the driving force and instead just kind of tags along all the time. the first half of the book is packed with too many people and too much information that i forgot a decent amount already. the demons also didn't feel like a threat because after that big fight halfway through, so much non-demon stuff is happening that i low-key forgot about them too. and then the climax happened way to quickly and a dragon appeared? also, two people entered the scene and all the other characters reacted chill?

the mythology was cool and new and aarav and yasen grew on me. i was rooting for yasen to me the slow-burn love interest and even after he turns out to be gay i was like, okay nice, maybe he turns out to be bi/pan and this will be his character development along the series, but nope. his outing was also forced and i noticed that it happened the same way in trial of the sun queen too: we learn about them being gay by them making out in public and with a hand in someone else's pants. these implications sit not right with me, but at least we get one gay character, amirite?
with yasen out of the love-triangle picture, i won't continue this series.

A good strong fantasy.
I always get a little worried with fantasy books. I can be super picky. And I have the attention span of a gnat on a good day haha.
But this book pulled me in so fully that I was willing to lose sleep to attenpt to finish in that precious time between work and "adult responsibilities".

I loved the world Nisha built, and was so impressed by the quickness of her world building and pulling me into the story.

Her characters were unique and original, and had all the best qualities a fantasy romance need could appreciate haha.

I give HEART OF NIGHT AND FIRE 5 stars

Every book I have picked up by this author is amazing! No regrets picking this one up. Simply wonderful.

I am giving this one four stars. I didn’t get to it in time to give a full review and I apologize for that

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this arc!

This book done everything it needed to, it wasn’t a 5 star book but I did enjoy it as a whole. It brought in mythology and I felt as though I could find myself thinking of the book throughout the day when I wasn’t reading!

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. It includes an array of characters that you easily grow fond of.

DNF at 52 percent. I am not sure if I was just not in the mood for this but I could not get into this book. I restarted it twice but kept founding myself losing interest and focus. I might pick this up at a later time to try it again.

Pretty cute fantasy book! I didn't feel like the world was super detailed and the protagonist is pretty immature and inexperienced (which makes sense since she was basically in captivity for years). Didn't love the love interest and didn't feel their chemistry but I also think that this was potentially on purpose as the first book felt pretty introductory and setting the scene for the next one.

As a reader who decided to dip her toes into the fantasy world, this novel was not overwhelming to the point it wasn’t enjoyable. I loved the story, loved the world building and I’m excited for the rest of this series.

I absolutely love this story! I had no idea what I was walking into, but I devoured it! I can't wait to see where the story goes from here!

I'm not going to try butcher any names here because I listened to this, but I really enjoyed the FMC being such a resilient character! She never gave up trying to learn the truth of why she was different.

Okay vibes train all aboard. Now. Did I start this in September and then get completely overwhelmed by life and put it down for like five months? Yes. In my defense, I knew the entire time I was going to come back to this book. It was my own brain that gave up.

Ironically, I kind of picked the perfect place to put it down. I was early enough in the book that I'd gotten through the "before" that sets the scene (which I always struggle with), and before the inciting incident. Well, last weekend I'd finished a fluffy romcom and I saw this book in my current reads, and I knew it was time.

And I'm SO GLAD I did. This book is slow burn in every sense of the word. The plot slowly gathers details, the characters are simmering, and it's somehow cozy fantasy despite the ominous details on the periphery.

This book also drew heavily on Indian mythology, which is a sad gap in my education and I found myself looking so many terms up to build my mental image. I LOVED drawing connections to the different cultural mythologies (various cultures' myths and their connections is a special interest of mine) and I haven't had that much fun researching myths to guess at foreshadowing in years.

Zarya, I loved. I wanted to shake her so many times but she makes so much sense from her background. I also love that she's always drawn to help, regardless of what that means for her. She brought the emotional maturity that I'm DYING for more authors to write, while also maintaining an innocence that makes her missteps completely plausible.

Will I be picking up book 2? In a heartbeat. I'm so excited to continue and devour the rest of Nisha Tuli's books!

I loved the magical system in this book! The writing was wonderful and I could not put it down. I loved the strong female main character, Zaraya and I'm loving that there are more books based off of Indian characters and mythology. I cannot wait for book 2!

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.

I loved this first instalment and I can’t wait for what’s to come! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

Thanks so much for allowing to review this title, I really enjoyed it!
I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Thanks again, and I hope to work together soon!

I couldn't put it down!
This fantasy romance series has the tropes we love, slow burn, enemies to lovers, tound tamily, ride-or-die friendships, and more. The Indian and other South Asian inspired culture and magic is a breath of fresh air in the fantasy world.
Zarya has lived her whole life secluded and protected for reasons only her capture knows. She has a little bit of magic that she has to keep hidden, even though she doesn't see why since it doesn't do much. When Row, her capture and father figure disappears, she takes this chance to escape and find a life for herself.
On the road she meets and saves two rakshasa soldiers, two beautiful, blood-drinking, immortal, rakshasa soldiers!
They bring her to the wondrous city of Dharati, where demon creatures attempt to attack the city at night. She helps the soldiers and other magical beings to keep them at bay as she tries to uncover her past and find out who she is and why she was kept hidden her whole life.
Of course she finds love and passion along the way. But I won't give any of that away...
When darkness threatens Dharati, will she be able to find the magic within herself to help save the city or will she lose everything she loves?
Thank you Nisha J Tuli and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC

My first of Nisha J Tuli's books and certainly not the last! 4.5 stars!

Since the day she was born, Zarya has been trapped in a gilded prison by those closest to her. Her magic is forbidden, a dangerous secret—though nobody will explain why. Now she is ready to break free and live the life she has only known exists from romance books she has been given to kill time, over the years. We enter a world of blood drinking raskshasa, leadership and protection under the mighty Chiranjevi, Aazheri sorcerers, the alluring, seductive peri that play hard at night ...and the magic begins...

"For every brown girl who wanted to be the chosen one too.”

The story sucked me in from the first page - this is the POC representation I've wanted to see as a child finally becoming a reality. I loved the backstory being influenced and loosely inspired by South Asian culture and mythology and the various references dotted throughout. The first half was a slow build up (probably also caused by a hangover from the previous book I'd been reading) but I'm glad I pushed through because ultimately, the author is setting the scene so we can expect more books in this Universe (and which should *never* ever end). Zarya is a fierce no-nonsense FMC. Having been trained in sword wielding from a young age to protect herself and fight against the injustices, she also wears her heart on her sleeve, wanting to be accepted and loved for who she is. Yasen, the military commander, was annoying in the start- we are living the book through first person narrative - but I loved the way Zarya' friendship with him strengthens over time to a sibling camaraderie (found family tropes ftw!) We are introduced to the love interest, mysterious tall dark and handsome Rabin, late into the story but once her arrives my oh my, the fireworks! That second book is going to tip me ove the edge.

This story really does keep you on your toes and the mystery behind Zarya's identity, why she was kept hidden away, her own understanding and exploration of who she is, this new world around her, and her ability to draw magic from the elements, and wield powers, form new relationships but also not knowing who to trust, kept me hooked. After the mid point, I could not put this book down. Definitely a series to watch out for and would highly recommend for all romantasy lovers - read it for:

- POC representation /inspired by Indian mythology
- fierce strong female MC
- slow burn romance
- found family
- magic and secrets
- friendship and banter

Thank you @netgalley @secondsky Nisha J Tuli for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest unedited review! Can't wait to read the next!

This book was amazing!!! I loved the characters and the romance was top notch, set in an interesting world with lots of action! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!,

Rating - 3.5 stars

Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J. Tuli is a wild ride into a fresh fantasy realm inspired by South Asian mythology. Big thanks to the publisher for the advance copy!

The story takes us right into a world teeming with rakshasas, vetalas, dakinis, and more. Zarya, our protagonist, breaks free from a life where her magic is forbidden and she grew up hidden from everyone. In a twist of fate, she finds herself in the bustling capital, Dharati, uncovering the mysteries of magic amidst a demon onslaught that's straight out of stories. It was action-packed with cool magic and creatures in the mix. The characters are well-written with strong backstories.

As for the enemies-to-lovers hype – the marketing oversold it. The chemistry needed a bit more spark. This story leans heavier on fantasy than romantasy, contrary to the pitch. Not bad, but the marketing missed the mark. The final stretch amps up the action, leaving me hungry for more of Zarya's magic and crossing my fingers for an electric romance with Rabin.

This was an exciting book! It took me a bit to get into but I’m excited for the next one! A great romantasy with the perfect amount of tension and spice. Loved it!!