Fire And Ice

Rating:
Summary: An erotic tale that will get you burning for more
Review: Courtesy of Love Romances

Trina was a slave, forced to do the bidding of a powerful sorceress, Kalidah. She had been bought as a young girl, and was kept to perform menial chores and labor for her mistress, while learning the few minor spells she was permitted. What she doesn't know is that she herself has a bit of magick in her soul, not that she had ever been given leave to develop it. Then one day as she is gazing into the fire, she unwittingly casts a powerful spell, introducing her to a whole new world, that of the fire spirits

She can never let her mistress know, and one day her fate is decided for her. Kalidah is set to sacrifice her young slave to a powerful demon, in order to harness its powers for own selfish desires. When her plan backfires, Trina is given her freedom, and finds a new passion for life, in the form of the mysterious Brand, who appears out of nowhere to assist her in beginning her new life... and awakening burning desires Trina never knew existed.

Trina is on her quest to find her family, and her history, with the help of some friends she meets along the way. All the while on her quest for her family, she is also on a different quest... to explore these passions and erotic fantasies she has suddenly been enlightened to discover.

This is quite an interesting read. Who could have ever dreamed up a world of flame spirits, dancing in the hearths of the ordinary people? Ms. Midnight takes something that seems so ordinary, simple fire, and delves into a whole new world. The passion between Trina and Flame burns brightly, never wavering, even in the light of dangers stalking Trina as she continues her journey of discovery. If one is looking for an erotic foray into another world or alternate reality, this is the book to read. One will never see fire in the same light again after finishing this one.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, But Not As Good As It Could Have Been...
Review: Trina has been Kalidah's slave for as long as she can remember, but she knows that she is not who Kalidah claims she is. For one thing, Kalidah insists on calling her Baraka, and she knows her name is Trina, but she cannot remember having any family other than the old witch. Trina would love to learn more about magick, but Kalidah keeps her on a tight leash and only teaches her a few basics so Trina can help her cast spells. One morning, desperately cold in the winter chill, Trina gazes longingly at the fire and wishes she could just become a part of it. To her surprise, she sees that there are actually little figures dancing in the flames, and, before she knows it, she is in the flames, too. At first Trina is hesitant, but she soon joins in the dance and finds she is attracted to one of the male figures, who keeps touching her, teasing her... Trina wants nothing more than to stay in the flames, but she is jolted out of them when Kalidah enters the cottage.

Kalidah is unusually kind to Trina that morning and Trina is immediately suspicious as Kalidah is not a kind woman. When a local noblewoman and a lustful man arrive, Trina knows that Kalidah is going to cast a spell, but she is not sure what. Kalidah forces Trina to drink a potion that puts her completely under Kalidah's power and is helpless to resist being used in the ceremony. Kalidah summons a fire demon and prepares Trina to be raped by the strange man so they can use her virgin's blood and the demon to make the noblewoman young again. However, when Kalidah loses concentration, the fire demon is able to kill all in the cottage - but he spares Trina. When Trina awakens, she finds that the fire demon was actually the fire dancer, whom she calls Brand, she spent the morning with.

Brand is unused to being trapped in a human body, but he finds he quite likes it as he spends time getting to know Trina intimately. However, he knows that the human world is not his home and he soon leaves Trina, instructing her to make for the remote region where Trina may be from. Trina wishes that Brand would come with her, but courageously sets out on her own. Over her travels she will discover a long-lost uncle, have her wagon trained attacked, be accused of being a witch, and be reunited with Brand, only to keep losing him...

This was a fun story, but the focus is definitely on the sex and not on the plot. Brand was a hot hero (in more ways than one!) and Trina seemed like a nice person, but there is not very much characterization in the book. I also was disappointed with the ending because the book ended very abruptly. Hopefully the author will write another book that will have Brand and Trina in it so that we can see what happened to them. Still, the book is well written, if a little repetitive and so if you are looking for a book with a lot of sex and very little dialogue and/or storyline, then you should enjoy this one.