Fire of the Sorceress, Immortal Sorceress Book 1

I’m a big fan of Walsh’s Invisibie Detente and Cadis series. With this book, Walsh has created yet another terrific series starter and I’m already anxiously waiting to read book 2.
The story is compelling and engaging right from the opening chapter. I’m wondering why Emric can’t be with Kat and what are her powers? Why is she depressed and not at her full strength? Why does Rhys keep Seeing these horrid scenes? Who is Adrien and why won’t he be her partner anymore?
I have so many questions! Krista Walsh writes a fascinating story to answer all my questions and more. The plot moves along quickly with lots of action to keep me interested. Her characters are fully developed, and their actions are consistent with their personalities and goals.
I highly recommend you read this book if you enjoy fantasy, magic and romance.

I have enjoyed Krista’s books since I first came across them on Amazon, and this is no exception. This is a new series, which started a little while ago with a short prequel.
Kat has lost her zest for life. She is aware that her powers are declining, and does not feel as motivated to seek out and destroy evil as she used to, fuelled by the terrible event which caused a complete change in her life 800 years ago. Until a threat from the past challenges her. This makes her search her heart and reassess what is important to her. As an immortal she only has two friends from the past, Adrian and Emrick, although she has decided to stay away from Emrick to protect him. Now Kat needs to decide if there is anything worth fighting for.
Kat and Emrick take it in turn to tell the story. An old adversary is threatening life on earth - is anyone able to stop him? Barrett, Adrian’s friend, proves to be a useful ally, although the relationship between him and Kat is initially very strained.
It was fun reading this, I enjoyed the story, it is well written and I read it over two days. I hope I won’t have to wait long for the next book in the series. Will anything happen to the main characters, and will Emrick suffer further losses in the next book?
I received this book free of charge as an ARC reader.

Katerina of Palonia is your trope-standard, functionally immortal, elemental sorceress. The elements of fire and ice have coursed through her veins for nearly a millennia. She’s waged war against the forces of darkness and evil for that length of time as well. Emrick is, of course, one of her closest friends (and former lover), and is, of course, also immortal. Adrian is the third in their little group, an immortal vampire who moved beyond hunting mortals long before Kat even began walking the earth. Standard setting, standard characters, and standard timeline for a feel-good Urban Fantasy, right?

There was a time when the mere mention of her name would send monsters running and black witches back to their beds to hide. There was a time when anything or anyone on her hit list KNEW it was only a matter of time before their fiery death would claim them. There was a time when the elements bowed to her every thought, surging to be brought to the fore constantly and only the runes of her trusty gloves could keep them in check. Katerina of Palonia, sorceress of fire and ice, scion of the Palonian Sorcerers, who were tasked with keeping the mundane world safe from all of the things that go bump in the night.

Except Kat isn’t the all-powerful force of nature she once was. The monsters have started to get bolder and bolder over the last few decades. And the dark covens have started to creep back into the limelight. And purveyors of magical paraphernalia aren’t always staying on the straight and narrow anymore.

*sigh* It’s been an incredibly long 800 years… And Palonia has been wiped off the map for just as long. An all-powerful sorceress gets tired after a while, right? Doesn’t help that her magic seems to be on the waning side, and she and Emrick’s relationship has been on hiatus for 8 decades, and Adrian’s retired. Honestly, the thrill of the hunt isn’t so thrilling anymore. Could it be that it’s time for Kat to think about retirement? Maybe ensconced herself in her island home, kilometers out of Toronto, with her cups of tea and gorgeous sunsets. That’d be nice, right?

But witches are turning up dead, drained of blood. And not in the way of the vampires. And word’s been going around that Mikhail, a shockingly powerful witch who is about as evil as a human can be has been sighted. Something’s up, and Kat’s the only one in Canada able to take care of business. *sigh* I guess retirement can wait

“Fire of the Sorceress”, by Krista Walsh, is the first book in her new Immortal Sorceress series. Set in and around Toronto (a welcome change from Chicago, New York, LA, and London as settings go), this series promises to be a trip through the great white north to the depths of magic’s darkest alleys. The book is fun, funny, and an original take on the classic “immortal magic user in a strange land” trope. The writing a clever, the characters fully developed, and the story super engaging. With the beginnings of a slow-burn romance woven throughout the plot and a really interesting set of lore developing, I can’t recommend this book enough. This story can’t be put down, and you won’t want to anyway. Be careful you don’t get burned though, this series is sure to keep heating up.

I received a free copy of this e-book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I read the prequel, completely fell in love with Kat, so it's a no brainer how excited I was to dive into this book! I can so relate to Kat, and let's get real, if I had been doing the same old, same old for centuries, I too would be despondent and meh. Which is exactly what Kat is feeling. Once a fierce and feared protector of keeping creatures in line, the watchdog of magical beings, has lost her mojo somewhat. What doesn't change is the love she feels, for her friends, for Emrick. Yeah, not seeing someone for 75 years and STILL loving them as fiercely shows the depth of the love she holds in her heart. And the reason Emrick reappears is, in part, due to the disturbing visions Rhys is having. Emrick shouldn't be in the mortal realm, one touch by him and you're toast, except for Kat, one touch and her heart, her soul, every cell ignites with a burning desire. Sadly , Kat has to stay away from Emrick, the consequence of him aiding her is soul destroying, quite literally! Which only adds to her desperation....

I do love Kat, I feel her despair, her desperation at her situation, her wanting to leave it all behind, her confusion, her purpose. But Kat, being Kat, still finds she can't shrug off the gory scene she encountered, she has to find out who's responsible. Especially when it's an old adversary at the centre of it all! Except she's....compromised by her very emotions. So relatable, so real. I love a dual POV, it allows me to see each perspective in an unbiased way, THEIR feels and thoughts, no assumptions can be made on my part. So between Kat's version and Emrick's account, the common denominator is fear. Yep, fear of failure, fear of being with one another, fear her magic wasn't strong enough, fear of placing Rhys in danger, fear of Maera leaving Kat, fear of being alone. The author did a fabulous job of hiding the true despondency Kat is feeling under a thick layer of doubts, as with the why, but slowly, slowly opens it up, exposing truths, hard truths. Just as the why Mikhail is striving for becomes clear, so too does the why Kat feels as she does. So flipping realistic, don't we all have issues we'd rather suppress? When Adrian lays it thick, I could almost feel the message resounding in my own choices, spurring both me and Kat to evaluate, which she does in a way I could almost see her standing taller, standing firmer and more resolute, taking back control. What a wonderful moment!

If I ever needed a vampire friend or mentor, I'd hunt Adrian down! He's the best friend a gal can get! Having shown and taught Kat how to focus, how to control her magic, he's kinda special, he's also kinda sweet and caring. His sidekick Barrett though, has a severe dislike of anything magic so it's hysterical that Kat and he and his grumpy self have to team up to get the the bottom of these shady dealings, to get to the one who the ringleader, none other than Mikhail, yeah, THAT piece of work! Who somehow slips through their fingers constantly. So when Kat takes the bull by the horns, I couldn't help cheering, I couldn't help WANTING her to succeed. And what a battle it was too! Good grief, so tense I was worried there for a while!

There was lots of soul searching, lots of dramatic memories popping up, lots of emotions spilling out. Maera and Rhys, Kat's rock, who she'll do anything to protect, too discover purpose along the way, as they too confront their fears. So well set up! What burns a hole in my heart is the unfairness of the situation between Emrick and Kat. Geez, heartbreaking! I'm hoping against all hopes the author finds a solution to this dilemma! I'm so looking forward to discovering more unravel in this series, to discover the mastermind who's behind the gory events that took place and for a solution to the romance which, for now, is untenable. Great read!

An excellent beginning to a new series. This book begins with Kat - an immortal, almost 900-year old sorceress - feeling jaded and without purpose. She can’t die, but no longer has a reason for living. As a result, her powers are also jaded. So when an old nemesis comes back, stronger than ever before, she doesn’t know if she will be able to stop him. And if she doesn’t, who will?

Kat is an engaging character, with a tragic past that continues to haunt her. Her struggle to find meaning in the face of endless existence is surprisingly relatable. She has long fought to protect the mundane world from magical harm, so she is pragmatic and world-wise (as well as weary), which makes a nice change from the naive, do-gooder type of heroine that is so common. The supporting characters are nicely fleshed out and I look forward to learning more about them in the coming books. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely read more of this series.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.