Consort of Fire by Kit Rocha [Review]

Consort of Fire (Bound to Fire and Steel #1) by Kit Rocha
Format: ebook
Source: provided through NetGalley
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: October 26, 2023

Bound to Fire and Steel
1. Consort of Fire - Paperback | Kindle
2. Queen of Dreams

Kit Rocha
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

For three thousand years, an ancient dragon god has protected the borders of the Sheltered Lands. In return, he makes only one demand: every one hundred years, the mortal ruler must send their heir to serve as his consort…for as long as they can survive.

Sachielle of House Roquebarre is the thirty-first consort to be sacrificed to the monster who guards the mountain passes. She is young, beautiful―and she has three secrets.

First: she’s a disposable orphan trained in seduction.

Second: her handmaid, Zanya, is an assassin and the only person she has ever loved.

Third―and most deadly: she’s cursed. Sachi and Zanya have five weeks to murder the Dragon in his bed. If they fail, the mortal king’s curse will steal not just Sachi’s life, but her very soul.

The Dragon has only one secret: he is nothing like what they have been told. And he will do whatever it takes to possess them both.

Thoughts on Consort of Fire: Twisty betrayals, unexpected revelations, gods who will protect their people and land with everything inside them, and a big something that's heading in the Sheltered Lands direction. And if that's not enough, we also have Ash, Sachi, and Zanya. Three people who are very different, but who fit together perfectly.

No lie, this book slayed me. Sachi and Zanya are bound to one another by love and their painful past. Ash is alone and lonely despite his position in the High Court. They have their hopes and their dreams and they're all wrecked by the idea that those hopes and dreams won't come to pass. It's a tangled web and it gets even more tangled when Sachi and Zanya realize Ash and the other gods aren't the monsters they've been told they are.

Despite knowing their plans for him, Ash is intrigued by both women. He might have to watch his back in the grand scheme of things, but he's drawn to Zanya's darkness as much as Sachi's bright affection. Frankly, finding a way into Zanya's wary heart is a bigger challenge than figuring out what the king has planned. But Ash is tenacious and he can't help but love both of them the way only a dragon can love.

A gorgeous world, dangerous times, a plot that could threaten the balance of everything, two women used as pawns against an ancient pact, and a dragon who loves them both. I canNOT wait for book 2.