4.25 - I really enjoyed this book! I loved the writing style, it was so easy to follow. This book definitely felt like it was setting us up for an amazing few books to follow and I am so so excited for them. Luther is definitely going to be a new book boyfriend, I can feel it! Diem is a badass and I love a healer fmc. That cliffhanger! Immediately ordered book 2

This is the first instalment in the Kindred's Curse series.

Diem Bellator is following her mother's footsteps in becoming a healer. But when her mother disappeared, some months ago, she left not even footsteps for her daughter to be able to follow her. Now she must contend with both her grief and attempting to keep her family housed and fed alone. She long ago swore to keep away from the fae elite, who rule in wealth and finery away from the human realms, but needs must. The most pressing need of all is for Diem to discover where her mother went and why she was spotted breaking her own rules and speaking with a fae male moments before she left her family behind.

I found this an immersive and compelling read, at the outset. I adore fae fantasy books and this was initially no exception, even when it began like many others with a divide between them and the impoverished humans. There was much discontent from both sides and a political revolt seemed likely. Diem was soon caught between these two worlds, as she began to liaise with the fae she had been schooled to be fearful of since childhood. She soon learned that not all was as it seemed.

Once she became ensconced in the fae world I found my attention drifting. The romantic elements began too harshly and then never seemed to develop from there. I found the relationships developing to be frustrating ones and I felt little for any of the dynamics the reader became exposed to.

The politics still grasped my attention but the book was just too long for the storyline it contained and whilst an interesting and entertaining read, it did not become a new fantasy romance favourite, as I had deemed it might become from the first quarter.

Wonderful, rich world building but I’d have liked some more spaces to ruminate - there’s a pace to the action and the complex plot moved pretty fast. There’s a lot of characters and different powers - a chart would’ve been useful.
The main character is relatable- conflicted, and driven by underlying anger.

Where to begin.

I have “been aware” of Spark of the Everflame for sometime thanks to Bookstagram, and always thought I’d get round to reading it “at some point” but knowing it was going to be the next Fantasy Fangirls podcast deep dive book spurred me into starting - and now I’m kicking myself I didn’t pick it up sooner!

Very easy to read and with thankfully no complicated work building or “excessive” number of characters, if you like slow burn romance you will love this - the tension nearly killed me!

For the first half of the book I cast Luther as the typical brooding MMC but it was on page 233 (precisely) and THAT body search (IYKYK) that officially catapulted him into new Book Boyfriend status for me. The bonus chapter from his POV has made me FERAL to find out more about him and how his story develops alongside Diem’s.

And it is indeed Diem who is the literal star of the show for me. She is feisty, courageous and stubborn with a dry sense of humour - all qualities you might think other FMC in other Romantasies share, but Diem is not unlike any female leads I’ve yet to read about. I think it is her relatability and the fact she is far from perfect that makes me like her so much: she herself has became a bit “lost” and doesn’t know who she is any more or indeed who she wants to be, and I can relate to that in many ways.

A brilliant book to start off the series, setting the tone with beautiful rich world building and perfectly imperfect characters.

Cannot wait to see where this story goes!

Extra details
Narration: first person
Dual POV: ❌
Number of pages: 401
Map: ✅
Bonus Chapter: ✅

I've heard about this book and have been excited to read it!
The main character was interesting, and I liked the journey she went on about discovering who she is, and deciding how to live her life.
The story was good.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for the ARC

What an amazing start to a new series! Spark of the Everflame gripped me from the start and had me in a chokehold the whole way. The worldbuilding was quite easy but that made it easier to delve into and be consumed by the plot. I loved our strong and feisty FMC. She was sassy and I loved the humor! The romance was a delicious slow burn that I'm excited to read more about. It might've been a little predictable, but I enjoyed it so much I didn't care

Penn Cole's world-building is vivid and immersive, with a cast of diverse characters and an intriguing premise. However, pacing issues and underdeveloped characters hold it back from reaching its full potential. The dialogue can feel clunky at times, and some plot twists are resolved too quickly.
Despite its flaws, this book will captivate fans of fantasy with its unique magic system and exciting story. While it's not perfect, "Spark of the Everflame" is a solid read worth checking out.

I’ve seen this book come up so many times on Book IG, the ‘for fans of Throne of Glass’ and, with TOG being my favourite book series of all time, the comparison can make me a little dubious. You compare a book to a well established, loved and successful series, a lot of the time you’re setting the book up for a fall. The comparison did not let me down on this occasion. Spark of the Everflame is a good book, it feels like it’s own book, where I saw the TOG comparison was in the strong, vulnerable and (loveably) pig-headed female protagonist and the broody, protective male protagonist who I would literally die for. Truly, Luther was enough by himself to give this a 5 star review, he’s a breath of fresh air if you’re looking for an emotionally mature, thoughtful, strong full grown man who gives the female character space to think and grow.

This book has actually made me excited about a new series, it has enemies to lovers, a delicious (and sometimes painfully aching) slow burn romance, world building that is engaging but not overwhelming, a fmc that I enjoyed but often wanted to shake while I waited for her to grow up and look around, a mmc who is the definition of ‘Daddy’.

I’ll admit my love for this series really cemented in the second installment, Glow of the Everflame, that’s when I really fell in love with this series and the characters, but Spark is a wonderful introduction that hooked me in and is a great starting point. Yes Diem is enraging at times here (see: Henri), petulant and stubborn, but you can see her grow on the page and realise her mistakes. The pacing is a little off at times but it still constantly gives, I was fully committed to this book and it actually made me excited about a genre that I’ve found, lately, to be pretty predictable and dissatisfying.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review, I am absolutely a new fan!

This was an interesting read that was just that bit different, and I has seen it mentiomed a few times. I wasn’t disappointed and enjoyed the story, and found that it moved in ways I didn’t anticipate. Interesting characters and well written, it is one I would read again.

Spark of the Everflame is an enjoyable and intriguing romantasy.

The story itself is very predictable, but I liked the writing style enough to keep going. As the story progressed I became much more invested in Diem and her struggles. There is a decent amount of political intrigue and I’m curious about the magic system. I hope this will be explained further as the saga progresses,

The world building is straightforward and the book as a whole is very digestible and easy to read. It has all the elements that people love in romantasy and think it is a great addition to this ever growing genre.

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish! I enjoyed these characters and intriguing world! I can't wait to read the next book and see what happens next!

This is fun and easy to read, I just wish I had felt more connected to Diem - I'm hoping that will change as the series goes on! The plot twist was also pretty predictable, but I had such a good time reading this nevertheless. I really enjoyed the politics and the worldbuilding, I'm very intrigued to unpack more of this world in the next few books. I do wish there had been a bit more action throughout the book, rather than being focused in the latter third. I also really wanted more of Luther! But I'm excited to see how his character progresses in the next book.

There is no way the publisher thought they could bury this information, but the author used AI to edit her initial draft. Instead of paying a human editor to do so, and going as far as supporting AI audiobooks. I refuse to continue reading this. I'm happy if anyone enjoys this book and I understand that the author used AI editing and not AI writing, but there is no world in which I can trust that the book wasn't partially AI written if the author is comfortable editing with AI.

The most sensational read from start to finish and in every which way. I was fully engrossed in the story from page 1 and before I knew it, I was turning the final page. Just brilliant!

I'm gobsmacked - this was amazing and so, so, sooo good!!! 5 billion stars/5, fantastic!!
Diem is most definitely one of my top 10 favourite main characters and LUTHER!! OH I LOVE THAT MAN!!

Diem is the main character, she is a healer in a poor area. She has to take potions to hide her real heritage which she finds tiresome at times as no one tells her why.
Her mother also a healer disappears after Diem overhears her arguing with someone.
Diem then finds herself in the world of the descendants.
In this book we are drawn into Diem's world.
I liked the way Penn Cole builds worlds, and the richness of her writing.
She has created a strong heroine, who stands up for herself and cares about others.
I also liked the way the story progressed it was never slow.
It has interesting characters can't wait to read the next one.
Highly recommend.
Thanks to the publisher for granting my wish and Netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a copy of Spark of the Everflame. I devoured this book! The story, characters, world, political landscape were all excellent and beautifully written. This is a fantastic fantasy option to get anyone out of a reading slump. I loved the growth and complexity of the main character and how we see her emotions and world views develop throughout the book and her own journey to discovering the right path and uncovering information about her past. I also enjoyed the way that the Descended were written and how we are able to discover more information about them throughout whilst maintaining the mysteriousness about them. I also loved how this book sets up the series but still gives its own great story in and of itself. I would definitely love to continue with the series!

I was completely absorbed into Diem's world, her family, and her life as a healer. This story brings an intriguing concept, with the mortals and the Descended on opposing sides in a story fuelled by politics and rebellion. Diem is daring, bold, and makes for a great main character. I enjoyed experiencing her story, and the way she interacted with the world. I'm certainly not a Henry fan though and found her interactions with him a little jarring but that may well be by design. In contrast, we have the enigmatic dark Prince - surprisingly tolerant of Diem's spirited behaviour and disinterest in bowing to others. We feel the beginnings of a slow burn romance here and the barest hint of it has me hooked. These are two characters on opposing sides, separated by a world of secrets, and will no doubt find themselves in each others orbit again - something I can't wait to see, so I can confidently say I'll be picking up the rest of this series to find out what comes next!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

4/5 stars! I've heard so many good things about this author, so I was thrilled to get a chance to read this book. Penn Cole reminds me of a lot of Amelia Hutchin's books: they're good but the female main character makes me want to pull my hair out. The plot is a little slow, but I was rooting for most of the cast. Interested to see what happens next.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

wow wow wow I absolutely loved this book!! it had a lot of the popular fantasy tropes and themes, but there’s a reason they’re used all the time, it’s because it works. I can’t wait to read the second book and devour it as well