For years, Zarya has been trapped in a gilded prison. Her magic is forbidden, a dangerous secret—though nobody will explain why. Now she is ready to break fr
ee and find the truth.
Escaping to the dazzling city of Dharati, Zarya discovers a new world of enchantment and intrigue. With the help of seductive, blood-drinking rakshasa and magic-weaving Aazheri sorcerers, she searches for answers.
But the city is under siege. Every night, dark creatures attack. And since Zarya’s arrival they are growing stronger. To protect her new home, Zarya joins the fight.
As she battles on the walls and hunts through libraries for clues about her gifts, Zarya’s dreams are haunted by a mysterious stranger. Powerful, arrogant and handsome, Rabin sees through her secrets and ignites a desire she cannot resist. But can he be trusted?
When darkness threatens to overwhelm Dharati, Zarya is faced with a deadly choice. Will revealing her magic save the city? Or destroy everything she loves?
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📌 Disclaimer: I received an e-arc for review from the publisher From the acknowledgments: "For every brown girl who wanted to be the chosen one too". I mean, to say this spoke to me would be an understatement. Heart of Night and Fire was a fun read, the perfect palate cleanser between the other books I have been reading. It features an all POC cast and is inspired by Indian mythology. I can see how some people might find Zarya to be more of a YA character than adult, but to me her rashness, and what might be seen as childish behaviour, made sense in context. Imagine being forced to live in isolation with no explanation as to why, no knowledge about your past, with only two men for company - one of whom has put a magical barrier in place to stop you from escaping. With only her romance books for company, her naivety and curiosity made sense. While I will say that she frustrated me at times, she also grew on me as not only did she develop but her relationship with the other characters developed.
The world was interesting and featured Rakshasa, who are basically vampire like creatures. I love vampires so that was a nice surprise. In terms of the Indian inspiration, the familiar clothes and food such as Kaju katli, gulab jamun, and aloo paratha was a treat to see in a fantasy setting.
There is a love triangle of sorts. However, by the end of the book her relationship with one of the love interests all but comes to an end and the other one we're teased with. It was obvious from the moment she started having dreams of Rabin that he was being set up to be the true love interest. Zarya doesn't actually met him for real until the towards the end of the book, and I have to say from what little we do see of Rabin I was not a fan of. He came across as a hot headed alpha male.
On the other hand, Zarya's relationship with Yasen was cute. I love a good platonic relationship, and while theirs was great I have to admit they had more chemistry than the actual love interests. It was giving hate to love.
With three more books to follow this was a solid introduction.
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