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Her First Taste of Fire
by
Kristen Painter
paranormal romance in a Kindle edition on December 20, 2021 and has 296 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon, Audibles.
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Blood Rights, Flesh and Blood, Bad Blood, Out for Blood, Last Blood, House of the Rising Sun, City of Eternal Night, Garden of Dreams and Desires, Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, All Fired Up, "Prologue to The Vampire's Mail Order Bride", The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, The Werewolf Meets His Match, The Gargoyle Gets His Girl, The Professor Woos the Witch, The Vampire's Fake Fiancée, The Shifter Romances the Writer, "The Witch's Halloween Hero", The Dragon Finds Forever, The Vampire's Accidental Wife, The Reaper Rescues the Genie, The Detective Wins The Witch, The Vampire's Priceless Treasure, The Werewolf Dates the Deputy, "When Birdie Babysat Spider", Miss Frost Ices the Imp, Miss Frost Saves the Sandman, Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard, "The Werewolf's Christmas Wish", The Vampire's Cursed Kiss, The Trouble With Witches, Moody and the Beast, The Vampire's Sunny Sweetheart, Miss Frost Chills the Cheater, Lost in Las Vegas, Wrapped Up in Christmas, Mystified in Music City, Sucks To Be Me, A Sky Full of Stars, Suck It Up Buttercup, The Forgettable Miss French, Sucker Punch, The Suck Stops Here, Nixed in New Orleans, Miss Frost Says I Do and Spider Too, The Witch's Christmas Catastrophe
Fifth in the Shadowvale paranormal romance series and revolving around its cursed townsfolk. The couple focus is on Nasha Black and Charlie Ashmore.
My Take
Oh, no, the curse that Nasha is under is hideous!! I’d absolutely hate it. Of course my diet(s), ahem, would work better!
I certainly can’t blame Nasha for her sudden fascination with chocolate. What I wouldn’t give for a raid on a chocolate shop, lol.
It’s a tale of standing up for what’s right, and while fun and cozy with a combination of action and characters, Her First Taste of Fire is too easy with Painter’s depiction of mean girls and bullying.
That whole rules bit? How could any intelligent person think this is okay? Although, it did have an interesting result at the end.
Sure, it’s an interesting town, that Shadowvale. Peopled with cursed characters, a wide range of curses and supernaturals. And an excellent example of how mixed races can live in harmony!
It also gives Painter the opportunity to provide her characters with a wide range of family backgrounds from the supportive to the truly jerkish. Nasha’s dad seems like a really nice guy, despite his profession, and Nasha does spend time reflecting on how he handles his job and how taking over from him could be . . . interesting. Charlie’s dad? He’s too concerned with appearances and his mother seems to be a doormat.
On a side note, it was a real treat to read an author who understands the difference between “Hoard versus Horde”.
Painter uses third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Nasha’s and Charlie’s perspectives, so we know what they’re thinking, feeling, and experiencing. There is something to be said for tradition.
Thank goodness for friends!
The Story
In a desperate move, Charlie Ashborne finds himself bartering his chocolate recipe for a faux fiancée . . . until he discovers it won’t work.
It’s a new council of dragons, and they’re worrying about their decreasing population. They’ll do anything, anything, to ensure their survival.
The Characters
Nasha Black, the daughter of Famine, loves to bake and gives it away for free. It’s an attempt to balance the scales. Harold “Hal” Black is her father, one of the four Horsemen. Domino is his horse. Falstaff is her father’s groom.
The Black Horse Bakery is . . .
. . . Nasha’s business, and she employs Claraphina “Clara” who was an Amazonian warrior, Brighton is a pixie born with malformed wings, and Emeranth Greer who is the new barista (The Trouble With Witches, 1).
The Chocolate Dragon is . . .
. . . a chocolate shop run by Charlie Ashborne, a dragon whose family cast him away. But he’s still heir to the Crimson Treaty Hoard. Charlie’s father is a history professor, his mother is a sculptor, and his two sisters are Mia and Suzanna.
Shadowvale is . . .
. . . a town for the cursed, where the sun never shines, and you must pass the gates’ judgment before you can enter. Deacon Evermore, a raven shifter, married Emeranth in The Trouble With Witches. Shepherd Evermore is one of Nasha’s ex-boyfriends. Robin Gallow is the King of the Goblins who’s married to Theo Middlebright (Moody and the Beast, 4). Deja Brew is the other coffee shop in town. The scary Enchanted Forest is part of Shadowvale and supposedly hides a book that can set you free. Cherry Webb is a widow who volunteers.
The Valley of Fire appears . . .
. . . when needed for a census of dragons. Geographical location? Always somewhere else. Lazarus Stratton owns his own construction company and has his own curse. Henry Grimstone is from Wyoming and had once been on the council. Marissa Steelsong, a third-grade teacher in Indiana, is half-dragon and half-basilisk. Lexi is Marissa’s cat. Marissa’s aunt Martha Carrington had also been on the council. Verochka Lukin, a.k.a. Russian Barbie, is a Russian legacy who is famous for being famous. Katya is Verochka’s friend.
Lakshmi Stoneheart is the new president of the council. Martin Harwell, Reynaldo Rossi, Xavier Redwing, and Kreston Whitlock are also on the council.
Ignis Academy is a special school for problem dragon children. Sarah Jane Broadmore was a Latin teacher.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a black background which causes the other colors to pop. It starts with an info blurb at the top in red and the author’s name in white below that. The series info starts immediately below it in an electric green that gradates to a brighter green at the bottom of the scrolled gate. In front of the gate is a Ruby Egg, Faberge-style, with a ribbon holding it closed around its center and haloed in a fiery yellow. The title starts by overlapping the left bottom of the egg in a white outlined in a flaming red.
The title refers to Nasha and Her First Taste of Fire. Only there is all sorts of “fire”!
