ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

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  2. I am so excited! How am I supposed to focus on work when EB is going to be released in just a few hours. It’s simply to much to ask of a mere mortal such as myself.

    • Saaaaaame!

      I wish I could warp space and time so it’d get to midnight faster.

      My friend recommended NyQuil.

      But I still have to see the dentist to replace a lost filling.

      Oh well, at least there’s tomorrow.

  4. I need to discuss with other people, especially the ending! And the connections to Diamond Fire. Also Nevada 9 months pregnant is hilarious. I never thought I’d love a character as much as Nevada but Catalina might be my new favorite.

    • I super want to know how she pulled it off and I’m dying for the arabella snippet too… did the sleepy magic not work on her? Surely it must have bec I don’t see her just allowing it …

      • sorry to bother but would you know where to find the arabella snippet?i justed finished the book and i need anything to sooth my clift hung heart

        • Cannonfodder you are the real MVP. I was pining away wanting to read it. I have and it’s quick and raises the question, who is grandfather?

          Thanks Ilona and Gordon for writing characters I can care about.
          Be blessed👍🏾😁💌

    • Speaking of Diamond Fire, I have a question.

      I thought I remembered from Diamond Fire that no one else could see Catalina’s wings but Catalina. Maybe other people were influenced by them when they peeked out, but they didn’t consciously see them. In Sapphire Flames, this idea was less clear cut. In this book that idea is obviously thrown out–which I like–but I was wondering if I missed something or was remembering wrong.

      Can someone fact check this? I don’t mind being wrong. I don’t have access to my copy of Diamond Fire right now, though, or I’d do it myself.

      • “When my magic was evaluated by a panel of Primes, the Keeper of Records, who registered the members of every House in Houston, had to come up with a name for my brand of power. He called me Siren. Most people thought of sirens as mermaids, but in the original myths, they had feathers and wings. I had wings too. Mesmerizing, beautiful wings that glittered with magic. Nobody ever saw them, except me, but when I opened them, people focused on me and forgot about everything else.”

        …

        “I didn’t need my full power for Jeremy. I only need a tiny bit of it, so I let him see a bare hint of my feathers. He blinked and smiled at me.”

        • That’s the quote, thanks. I took “nobody ever saw them, except me, but when I opened them, people focused on me” to mean that people can’t see them even when she has them out and people are subconsciously seeing them and being influenced/mesmerized by them.

          Maybe she can choose to let people consciously see them?

          Anyway, just wondering if there’s an explanation. All I have right now are unsupported theories.

      • Maybe nobody saw the wings because she held her magic tight and would otherwise mesmerise too many unsuspecting bystanders.
        Now Allessando is “allowed” to see the wings.

        “I don’t always need the wings. I can do it with my voice. Sometimes I can do it with my magic alone. Seeing the wings is a privilege, Alessandro.”
        -Emerald Blaze

        • Seeing the wings being a privilege would support the theory that she can choose to let people see the wings when they’re out. The incident with the black wings didn’t seem voluntary, though, and her family saw them in circumstances where it didn’t seem purposeful. Curious.

          Regardless of any explanation or lack thereof, or any misunderstanding on my part regarding the wings thing, my burning love of this series is undiminished. Excellent story, amazing character development. Love it!

          • Sounds like it’s growth/maturation of her gift as she’s learned more and used it more. Makes ya kind of wonder what the black wings will eventually reveal.

            • Yes! I was wondering that. They can’t just be a dead end. She just hasn’t gotten into a place where she discovers that the others side of the coin is despair, sorrow, hopelessness, or rage. She can be the avenging angel that brings war and despair, it is just not her personality style so she hasn’t realized the use yet.

  5. Loved it! Am on my second re-read, and am sure I will keep on finding more little things, but a few thoughts for now:
    1) So happy that Leon is “attractive and dangerous” after all his teenage angst.
    2) Who is Regina’s cousin?
    3) Is it ridiculous for me to be shipping (a) Cornelius and Tatyana; and (b) Arabella and Stephen Jiang?

    • I think Stephen is too old for Arabella.

      For Cornelius, it is very rare for an animal mage to find a connection with a human, which makes the lost of Nari so tragic. I do not think he will ever find love again like that. Also I hope they find a way to become friends despite or maybe due to their shared horrible upbringings, cause I really really liked Tatyana, but I do not think they will be romantically linked.

      • Yes!!! that scene where Leon was a one man gun show — WOOT WOOT! It just really really illustrates what his magic is, I am curious we know that he ranks at least a significant if not a prime, and if he is a significant and not a prime, what can a prime do with his magic talent.

        Was wondering about Regina’s cousin too. Lol.

        • Leon did test. He wants to remain a secret weapon for House Baylor a dark horse. So it’s possible he might be Significant level for his power/magic.

          Q. Is Bug‘s arcane power at Prime level or is augmented power not rated?

        • Maybe something like the umbrella academy where he can take control of other bullets and send them back at the shooters

        • The thing that bothers me about that attack is he missed killing the Illusion mage. My understanding is that he doesn’t miss. That’s his magic.

          • Leon didn’t miss. He’d told Catalina that he would kill whoever had killed Audrey, and they knew an Illusion mage was involved to implicate Leon in her murder. So when the Illusion mage shows up, that first pair of shots Leon fired were to kneecap the Illusion mage. Then Leon took out the rest of the hit team, and only then did Leon walk up, look the Illusion mage in the eye, and shoot him in the head. Not a quick death, but deliberate punishment.

      • nope he is early 20s i think exact age in the interview so need ot go back to that 24 was it? – I am totally with that new ship.

        • I’m with this ship! And they might just be a 5 year difference in age, which isn’t huge once she ages a little bit more….

          • Honestly I don’t like the idea of Arabella & Stephen. I think she was just fan-girling and she loves to be right. Stephen is also way too quiet and ‘respectable’ for her. If he’s not spinning water blades and doing real-life CGI he is actually boring and one approach pony, which wouldn’t suit Arabella. I think there will be a continuation with the guy from car accident though or someone who was in the car with him. I also thought Arabella’s love interest could be Augustine’s brother, they would be similar in age and she was above thrilled to witness Augustine’s monster-impersonation powers… Otherwise could be also Augustine, age difference isn’t a show stopper for everybody. And she needs someone steady and level-headed. Augustine likes to play in the dark and pull on people’s whiskers, exactly her cup of tea.

            As to Cornelius and Tatyana, good call, it could be an interesting friendship. Tatyana has a way of pulling you out from your shell and he needs that. I liked her a lot! What an amazing way to spin a disastrous house into a favorite!

            • Hmm I got the impression that the dude in the car accident was with Arkan and his crew. I could be wrong. If I am not, then that will not be happening. I think Stephen could do with some Arabella in his life and vice versa. Maybe not forever but for now.

              • The dude in the car was with Arkan — they were trying to goad Arabella into changing.

                Stephen is too boring for Arabella. If there is anyone for her, it will have to be someone we haven’t met.

                • I had mixed feelings about Arkan manufacturing Arabella’s car accident. I think it was Catalina’s assumption because it soldified her case, that he targeted Arabella, then Leon and Catalina. However the two attacks were vicious, terrible and planned out and Arabella’s was ‘meh’. I know that Baylors highlight all the time that sometime ago she would have changed just like that, but it’s inconsistent with the facts (she changed overall less than 13 times before her trials at 15? and afterward she knew she can’t risk it, so she wouldn’t be that infantile). It’s an exaggeration for the benefit of her flamboyant personality. I think Arkan would have hit her much harder if he indeed wanted to. Maybe Catalina assumed wrong ;). Can’t wait to find out if this story will continue!

                • oh, I don’t know. a little boring might be good for Arabella. And you know, he’s probably not all THAT boring: I mean, he did do the acting stint — and yeah, I know he was goaded/blackmailed into it by his brother, but really, he would not have been all that good at it if he was into it, now, would he? So he’s always had to be the careful one in his family: Arabella has had to be careful, too, hmm? She might be good for him. The age difference isn’t all that bad. Even so, we don’t need to be pushing Arabella into anything at her age. It could simmer for awhile. (though I can’t see any House being all that anxious to connect it’s gene pool with the Beast thing, honestly, so Arabella isn’t exactly going to be #1 on the Most Wanted For Marriage list anyhow)

                  • It’s going to take someone truly spectacular to see my girl Arabella’s talent and be all, gimme some of that. I liked Stephen, but it remains to be seen whether he’s that guy. He’d have to have some kind of freaky secondary talent to be on her level; what he can do with water is cool and I like what he did in that last scene, but based on current knowledge he’d still be massively outgunned. And that’d be a problem, because even if he’s okay with that the Baylor girls seem like they need someone who can meet them on their level.

                    However, I can totally see briefly dating and/or friendship. I can see Arabella having guys being close friends. She’s much different from her sisters.

                    • I have a special fondness for reverse gender beauty and the beast stories 🙂 (Of course, Arabella is both. Still, someone’s got to be *very* secure in his masculinity to deal with Arabella.)

            • Don’t you think a guy that can spin water blades like he did is hiding something? The scene where he jumps from a building and fight hinted at that IMHO

              • When SJ said that of course he is Chinese American and he spends is time learning Kung Fu in preparation of defeating the demon king…I thought that was foreshadowing. Definitely a misdirect.

            • I’d like to see Arabella with the creepy darkness, that even Grandma was terrified of imo?

              • Do you remember that Nevada owes a favor to the assembly? I could see a hook that the young sister takes on that favor to repay it. That will lock her into a situation she can get out of and then we meet the man she has to work with.

            • The guys in the car were the Arkan the assassin’s confederates, trying to get Arabella to freak out in order to distract Catalina. None of them can possibly be on the side of the angels.

        • Honestly, I would rather Arabella be the one in the family that is the more dominant in the relationship. With Rogan and Nevada, you can see Rogan as the dominant one. With Catalina and Alessandro, you can see equality along those lines. Arabella is strong, confidant, and free… Remember that their father was the homemaker and caretaker and their mom was the breadwinner and warrior. It would be interesting to see Arabella in that dynamic. Also, I’m still a fan of the idea of a Madero bloodline prime being skinny and small but his power fitting well with Arabella. The whole irony and those family arguments would be a riot….

          • You just want to conflate Ilona Andrews with Shakespeare. It sounds like you want a remake of Romeo and Juliet. Though I cannot see Arabella being as vapid are Juliet.

            One other note – how can this site in particular flag ‘Ilona’ as a spelling error?

      • Suga is also too old for my daughter, but I don’t try and deter her from fangirling BTS…..

      • I don’t know, I imagine Cornelius May find another love, but I’m guessing she’ll have to be an empath like Nari at the least, as a way to connect with his emotions. My impression of animal mages is that they are less attuned to human emotion, in comparison to animal, so an empath being more able to read his emotions may click more clearly. I think Tatyana is too volatile for what he needs. Plus the oceans of childhood trauma wrapped up in anything with the Pierce family.

      • I agree – I think Cornelius’s talent will not allow him to bond with another person the way he had with Nari. I loved Tatyana and would be so happy to see more of her in future books… a friendship with Cornelius or the Baylor Family in general would be very welcome. She’s such a bada** for refusing to let her messed up childhood dictate her adult life. You can tell it was a conscious decision she had to make that wasn’t necessarily easy. Also the glass cat on her desk because she doesn’t care what people think of her <3

    • 1) YES! I love Leon and his growth so much. Such a badass
      2)I have this same question. Feel like I missed this – it’s gotta be someone higher up/with a lot of power.
      3) I was thinking the same thing about Cornelius and Tatyana! And Catalina’s expression when Stephen Jiang started walking on water lol. “Arabella would die” lol. Made me laugh!

      Also – we need to discuss Alessandro’s power!!!!!

        • Thank’s — i don’t have the book in front of me at work and as soon as I clicked “post” i realized it was a female name, not a male….

          This is why i shouldn’t do this while at work 🙂

          Went to at least try and do some correction and couldn’t C/P his name out of the kindle desktop app. His middle name begins with R and that’s why it clicked like it did

    • I’m betting Regina’s cousin is Michael Latimer. He’s Black, he’s been confirmed to be an Animator, and HA have said his family is 1) Catholic and 2) has drama. A woman married to a woman in a Catholic family would definitely be drama.

      • AH! thanks! I was thinking him too, but vaguely recalled him being an Animator too but did not remember where I read it.

        • I don’t remember anything about Latimer being an Animator. Where?

          Also, I love him. He’s totally hot. I look forward to seeing more of him and finding more about him, if possible.

          • That was my thought (him helping women escape abuse), because it would be such an elegant fit.

            • That would make sense! So — now I’m thinking Regina must’ve escaped an abuser and that’s why she’s in hiding. Also thinking that it might be her story that put Michael Latimer (if he does turn out to be her cousin) on the path of helping other abused women…

      • I wouldn’t call the bit about Catholicism a given, though? I mean, that’s really down to the particular family.

        (Not that the Catholic branches of my family – which is like all of them, at least in living memory*, that aren’t Asian – aren’t prone to drama. But I’d hate to generalize.)

        * The Spanish branch apparently has a bunch of Jewish and North African, but I don’t know the story, and no clue if I’ll bother to track it down. That’s also pretty common.

    • For real though, Both Cornelius/Tatyana and Arabella/Stephen have some mad chemistry. The fact that Arabella could tell at a glance who Stephen was was when literally nobody else had figured it out was just phenomenal. And her line of Legally Blonde-like questioning to make him trip up, priceless.

      Both Tatyana and Stephen are awesome characters who I’m just dying to know more about.

    • Yeah – I think Cornelius / Tatyana would be too traumatic, I think. Maybe Lina – Augustine’s receptionist?

      Leon – More Leon and More Bern.
      It would be nice to have a short story about Runa and Bern and how Runa’s family is under the wing of Baylor/Rogan House.

      • Yes! Runa and Bern story! I’ll pay money! And Bern/Runa story would be sooo sweet and cathartic to write in these traumatic times! And Leon!

        But… I cannot WAIT for an Arabella story. I kind of think she’s my favorite Baylor. Just kidding, I love them all equally just like I love all my kids equally. But Arabella has a special place in my heart. I always do with the destructive ones….

        • Stephen and Arabella, shipping this so hard. Catalina is amazing! She seems more sensitive and yet at same time, more intellectually ruthless, than Nevada and i find that fascinating.

          Alessandro being excised and poor is the best thing ever! She gets to have him and still keep grandma on her leash.

          • But grandma T KNEW there was no way she didn’t. It has was one of her “lessons”. This is why James ran long and fast from that nasty b***h

            • Oooh! Good one! Maybe she was testing Alessandro’s love. He had to have figured out they’re penniless just like him, but he knew they had incredible powers, so Victoria could have been trying to protect Catalina in her terrible way to make sure he doesn’t chase after her (being immune to the wings and all) just for buying into a powerful house in the making. Victoria knows that although Catalina can’t read truth from lie, Nevada can. And it would have killed Nevada to realize Catalina was unknowingly stuck in a loveless marriage for Alessandro’s benefit. Catalina loved him so much for such along time that it could have ripped the family apart. I don’t think Victoria wants that. I think she’s pushing House Baylor to speed up them making powerful alliances, by pretending she’s a threat, because she is so worried they are prone and vulnerable and she thinks they aren’t working on it fast enough. She is a lot like Snape in Harry Potter. Might turn out to be the most sacrificing character in the book! Imagine how much it must have cost her, to make her closest family fear and hate her above all others. And she is hated by totally everyone… What a sad life she agreed to.

              • I think that’s a good point about Victoria, that she is hated by so many people. Even if she doesn’t care about the majority of them, she has to feel lonely at times. I mean, aside from Linus (I assume), she could only share her pride about her grandson with Trevor, who is ‘just’ an employee. (Granted, this visit was a brief prison break, but still…)

                On another note, I’m also curious about Trevor. He is a “young” guy, so I’m wondering how he got with Grandma Vickie and how long as he has been with her, and also, what are his powers, if any.

                  • Honestly for a moment I even wonder if there could be something between Arabella and Trevor.
                    Even he being grandma V “Pit bull” he is still a mystery, so maybe there could be something there for the future

                • I thought the older guy with her in the hospital was Linus too. I think he treats the Baylor’s like family beacause Vitoria was the woman he mentioned before the trials that he was in love with unless I missed something and they said who he was in love with

                    • I thought about that but then how did the siren powers come through? Wasn’t that supposed to be someone excised from his house and afraid to use his powers?

                    • Victoria talked about the grandfather in one of the Rohan/Nevada books and said he was a male Siren. Hopefully more details are coming..

                    • Yes! I think Linus is their grandfather — was re-reading Sapphire before Emerald came out, & got to the part where they’re meeting with Linus & Alessandro kind of does this double-take, looking back & forth at Catalina & Linus, & has some kind of epiphany — I think he noticed a resemblance & realized that they were related

                  • Linus prior love was in a situation similar to Nevada. Although maybe not explicitly said it sounded like she was in an emerging house.

                • His power is apparently the same or at least very similar to the magic used at the wedding when Alessandro’s father was murdered.

              • +1
                I love this theory. It fits well with Grandma Victoria’s manipulation of Nevada as well. It also reminds me of the movie Whiplash were the instructor pushes his student to the brink of sanity, but in doing so evokes an exceptional performance (in this case jazz music) that the student might never have achieved. Ultimately the viewer is uncomfortable with the instructor’s methods but has to grapple with knowledge of why he behaved the way he did and the irrefutable result. In the high steaks HL world Grandma Victoria may be pushing as hard as she can to ensure the outcome she wants – House Baylor’s emergence as a strong house and her progeny’s survival. I am not sure whether to view it through a self-sacrificing lens a la Snape, or a less sympathetic belief in her own righteousness and that the ends (House Baylor emerging as a strong house) will always justify the means.

        • Yes! I loved the hand raising. Then Nevada asked Bern about Runa, and he lied!!! A laugh out loud moment

      • I’m thinking Runa and Bern might get their own entire book since I’m pretty sure Bern is already tracking down her long-disappeared father. What had he been doing with his life and the stolen money? Maybe half-siblings? So much potential drama.

    • Could Regina’s cousin be the animator who attacked Rogan with a construct – the one whose fraternity ring Nevada saw?

    • 2. Not yet known but almost certainly has something to do with why she is keeping off the grid.
      3. Cornelius and Tatyana would be a stretch, but I was wondering if she would become closer with House Baylor now. She seems to a very practical person. I wondering the same thing about Jiang, but not enough know about him and Arabella was sounding more like a fan girl then a true romance hopeful.

    • I am in complete agreement. I’m totally shipping Cornelius and Tatyana along with Stephen and Arabella. However, I was also interested in Michael, from Wildfire, for Arabella. He works at the Office of Records and almost killed Victoria Tremaine. He seemed mysterious, interesting and strong. In general I’m loving Leon. He’s amazing.

  7. Found a Barnes and Noble that had a copy ahead of my Kindle order – I can’t even think of enough supurlatives to describe this book – beyond fantastic!!!

    Warning: Reading Ilona Andrews books can ruin it for you to read other authors – IA stories are crafted so well, few can compare.

      • I’ve noticed that other authors just bore me after a while. I find myself skipping ahead to get past unnecessary detail or redundancies, or in one recent case going directly to the last book in the series because I just couldn’t bring myself to slog through all the books in the middle. Not the case with House Andrews! I read every word as fast as I can without skipping so much as a comma; then I go back to the beginning and read it again, slowly this time, and savoring it the whole time. Some of their books I have read 5 or 6 times (Innkeeper; Iron and Magic). They have indeed totally ruined me for other authors.

        • I was dying this last week waiting for this book to come out, i rebought the first 6 Kate Daniels bookS on kindle and started rereading that series Since i had list my paperbacks. Then got to book 7 and starting rereading it on kindle. I Live in California, and the air was so toxic with the wildfires I really couldn’t leave the house all weekend so I just read and read and read.I read eight of their books this week. Ive read every book they have written at LEAST three times now.

          • I took PTO to finish this book the day it came out. Then re-read it over the next two evenings to pick up anything I missed. All while waiting for the library’s audio book to be available since the reader on the audio books is so AWESOME!

            • Me too!

              And it was soooo worth it!

              Also must confess that I stalked the counter. And after I read Emerald Blaze through twice I went back and re-read the whole Hidden Legacy set (including the origination short story). 😜

      • I’ve noticed this to. I listen to about 5 books a week and read around 1 or 2. And they are my fall back. And I mean that. I’ve been through every book over a dozen times each. And very very few authors can compare to their creativity and consistency.

    • I also preordered on Kindle but I couldn’t take it. Seeing everyone getting it early for B&N. Soooo I went yesterday got the last one they had on display. Just finished.
      Another book that they knocked out of the park!!!

    • Totally spot on. I’ve done some re-reads of books that I used to love that now cannot hold up after reading IA books. Both hubby and I love their writing.

    • Agree. I started binging on another author because I was getting insane waiting on this book, and they’re just so sloppy compared to an IA novel. On several I just stopped reading.

      We love you, IA! Thank you for your wonderful, thoughtful, awesome craft!

    • > Warning: Reading Ilona Andrews books can ruin it for you to read other authors – IA stories are crafted so well, few can compare.

      Seriously. I just keep rereading IA.

      Also—Who the hell is Trevor? (Connor’s nephew?) Vaguely familiar name, but it’s been awhile. Oh well. Time to go back to Nevada’s first book! 🙂

      • Trevor is Victoria’s assistant. Nevada met him in the second or third book. But fair question, he has some interesting powers I wonder which house he is from. Where do you think Victoria gets her money from? She’s throwing huge amounts everywhere, buying out a whole Vietnamese Illusion Mage House?
        How the hell can she operate so well from prison?

        • Given her magical skillset and her mind, I don’t think money’s a limiting factor for her. She has a shortage of people in her life. Or had, should I say. She’s probably exactly where she wants to be; close enough to her newfound family to meddle, from a “safe” distance.

          Can’t wait to see what kind of magical medley shows up in Nevada’s baby!

            • Tell me about it!!! I even had nightmares!!
              Truly hope she doesn’t kidnap him and try to use him to start a new generation of House V

          • Was I the only one who thought that when Victoria got her hands on Nevada’s baby that she was going to do something to him mentally……like something that wouldn’t show up until later?
            Scary

            • I thought the same thing and was hoping the older gent with her was Linus. B/c he wouldn’t let her hurt the baby at least one would hope.

            • Yep, me too. I think she just hides any of the softer emotions and that she is actually just really excited about a great grandchild. I don’t think the older man with her is Linus. Although the nurse was deferential, Linus is a little too high profile for this kind of caper. If Nevada or Catalina found out about his participation in getting VT in to see the new baby, he would lose them. Not seeing it. Just seeing another mystery man.

      • Trevor is Victoria Tremain’s personal assistant. If you’re reading the kindle version you can use X-Ray to get minor characters.

    • I tried to be good and finish another book before reading EB, but I was on page 200 of 500 and I just had to read EB.

  9. I am so curious whether La Tremaine and Linus knew all about Alessandro’s excised status. And when did they find out about his financial situation.

    • I have a feeling they knew from the start about the financial situation, but the excised status… I have no idea. We saw that both of them keep testing Catalina so one part of me thinks they knew about that before they met in SF.

      • i think evil grandma knew – and since she loves her grand Feldrennach nd grand grand children – even so she works really hard to pretend otherwise – she knew that her promise would not separate Catalina from her love.

        how ever Catalina explaining to Nevada who she was going to her to win in the end had a clear Julie – Roland bend – just that Catalina is a lot more mature then Julie was at the time.

    • She describes him as (something like) a ‘poor little pauper prince’ so she kknew about the money. I don’t think sshe knew about the ecised status or she wouldn’t have needed to extract the promie from Catalina.

      • I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew. The commitment wasn’t designed to burden Catalina with messy heartbreak and a partner who wasn’t fully in her corner. Maybe she was trying to test Catalina before investing resources into her legacy, since Nevada “failed” her. 😉

    • I’m curious about whether Victoria and Linus know exactly what each other has required from Catalina. Does Victoria know Catalina is now Dept. Warden? Does Linus know Victoria has chained Catalina to House Baylor?

      Alessandro knows Linus is Catalina’s grandfather; I reread Sapphire just before I read EB and I saw a little detail I missed previously in the initial meeting between the two men. Alessandro had this double-take looking back and forth between Catalina and Linus, then Linus gave this little head shake.

      • I would say Victoria doesn’t know about Catalina being Linus’ deputy. That’s why he asks her “to do this favour” so that she can honestly say she’s doing him a favour when Victoria asks.

        • +1 I caught that too. As soon as he said the “favour” sentence, I thought,
          “Aha! That’s so she can honestly say she is doing him a favour.”
          “He’s covering her by framing it this way.”

          (Plus, there is some comment there about how it had become their little ritual.)

      • wait wait wait. what. Victoria Tremaine paid a male Siren to fertilize her egg that was then placed into the Beast of Cologne until the baby (Baylor’s father) was born. there is nothing about Linus in that lineage. what are you talking about that he is the Baylor’s grandfather?

        • I think a) Victoria has perfected the ability to lie with the truth and b) nothing is every straightforward with that woman.

          Somehow, somewhere, Linus is mixed up with their lineage. It’s obvious from tiny little hints (Linus’s involvement with the family, Alessandro’s double-take, Linus’s meeting Nevada’s baby, etc.).

            • It‘s the epilogue. Linus and Victoria getting 15 minutes with the baby. It is clear to me they are the great-grandparents.

            • People are speculating that the older man in the epilogue is Linus. That’s what I think, but there’s nothing in-text that forces this conclusion.

              • There would be a kind of symmetry there if he is, as they’ve both become mentors to Catalina.

                Personally, I kind of want VT to remain at least… complicated and problematic? I mean, I enjoy a family reconciliation story line as much as the person. But as someone whose birth family is pretty messed up, it’s nice to acknowledge that sometimes you reconciliation just isn’t coming. You can have your happily ever after even if your parent is evil and the most you can personally do about them is make sure they can’t mess with you. So many people are all “But they’re family!” as if having horrible parents is your own personal failing, and it gets exhausting.

                • This is me too. There isn’t always character redemption IRL …as my family demonstrates.

        • I have always assumed that the siren is a second talent of Linus’s. He keeps being described as “charming”. Plus he showed up at the end and was so insistent that Catalina spoke, not sang. So he knows more than usual about her talent.

        • It’s suspected that he had a relationship with Grandma Frida and is the true father of Catalina’s mother. Hence, Catalina’s mother. Frida keeps talking about him.

            • That can’t be – Grandpa Leon was dark-skinned, to Grandma Frida’s white skin, and that is where the darker skin came from, to Penelope, Nevada, and Catalina. Also, Nevada has Grandpa Leon’s Magus Sagittarius magic.

              Linus is about 15 years younger than Victoria, per SB; could he be the male Siren’s brother?

              • Yes! I think that he is the Male siren sperm donor’s brother. Never had children of his own so his nephew is the closest he has to blood family. Secondary talent could be siren but i think something bad happened to his brother which is why he knows what to say to Catalina at the end of EB!

        • I think Linus had a youthful European fling and fathered the male siren used by Victoria T. as a sperm donor.

        • I suspect that the Siren magic manifests differently in male vs female carriers so that females are sirens and males are Hephaestus mages. Perhaps it is a hint to a connection to the myth about the marriage between Hephaestus God of smithing and Aphrodite goddess of love. Considering the Greek siren house aborts all female children then claims to have “lost” that ability, sirens must manifest only in females. Another theory could be that the magic carrier is both a Siren and Hephestus, but the gender controls which ability is passive and which is active. Therefore in this scenario, Catalina’s passive field is her Siren abilities which she has to keep suppressing but in theory she might be able to magically make a sword if she figures out how to use her Hephaestus magic. Vice versa Linus’s passive magic constantly wants to make weapons which he has to control but he could actively charm people if needed. Catalina also has ridiculous maths abilities that might be a necessary part of being a Hephaestus mage. It would also explain Catalinas obsession with swords beyond normal MS magic because we don’t see Leon trying to collect every gun he can. Her MS magic should also encompass hand to hand combat so there really is no reason for her obsession with swords. Although, she would be quite powerful if she can make swords at will in combo with her MS magic. This dual active passive theory would explain what V Tremaine said to Nevada about her grandfather being a siren (VT can’t lie in front of Nevada) while also explaining Linus as the grandfather and his knowledge of sirens.

        • In the books, great emphasis is placed on the fact that *everyone* who meets Linus comes away saying how “charming” he is — I believe he may well be the male equivalent of a “siren”

      • This I can’t figure out— that scene in Sapphire Flames where Alessandro sees something in Linus’ face that implies some sort of relationship to Catalina and the Baylor family. But Linus’ is described as Scottish and Catalina’s siren powers and the Prime used to father the Baylor line come from the Greek siren family(Wildfire). Right? Also are we sure that the distinguished older gentleman in the hospital is Linus??

        • First account with Linus in WH ch2 , Navada think of him as the nice uncle from italy. then in WF she think he maybe from Greece or Spain . He has hazel eye ,

          After Navada petitionfor for a house ,grandma Frida said she met Linus Duncan during the war and ask about his “hot, dark-eyed, Scottish thing”.

          But a few pages before there is description of him as Mediterranean.

        • I assumed the double take was Alessandro figuring out Linus is the Warden and that he was going to ask Catalina to be his deputy

  10. OMG, the book was amazing and brilliant. ***SPOILERS***

    So many little details that made the book so fun like the presence of Stephen Jiang / wuxia story connection, Neveda’s baby’s powers, awesome powers of Regina and Patricia, and the ENDING!!!!

    • I love, love, love the book and ending until I got to that epilogue. I had a sick sensation in my stomach reading that. So you think that Victoria’s male companion in these scenes is Arkan???

        • Loved the Book, and hated that it ended. I need more.
          – I loved how Tatiana adressed Cornelius childhood trauma and brought a new perspective. Seriously, she’s so straight to the point that I do think she could be a good match for him. As an Animagus he is not good in bonding with people – which sounds like something on the spectrum of autism to me. So Someone with a very clear communication style would suit him. No ambiguity and no games.
          Arabella and Stephen- definitely a big hint for her books, well in her age group and cool enough for her- she definitely deserves Aquaman. She’s the most outgoing and flamboyant of the three sisters and needs someone to calm her.
          Now I need to reread…

          • I love everything about it. Brought the book to work, sat and read alone on my 13 th anniversary (my husband understood, I’m obsessed with these books) and now I’m going to re-read and enjoy. I always love your books and I love this story and where it’s going. I do think Victoria is not as evil as she pretends and that Linus took her to see her grandson. So excited for the continuation of these books. Can’t wait

        • Definitely Linus. Same as in the Epilogues in the Nevada series when she was finally in prison.

        • Whoever the elder man is, he was nervous. Not Linus at all, I will admit I did think it was Linus talking to Victoria at the end of the first trilogy, but I’m not so sure now….

          • I agree with you. Definitely Linus as “Ceasar”, but definitely not the “older, distinguished man” with VT in the epilogue of EB. The interaction between them is nothing like Linus’s and VT’s interactions. But certainly not Arkan. It will be interesting to see how IA reconciles Linus as Ceasar with Linus as Warden. Perhaps an undercover at the highest level? No, that doesn’t really work either. I’m so confused – and happy! Love these stories and how well they are told.

          • There is nothing I saw in the print books that implies that it is Linus at the end of Wildfire. However the Audio book reader reads that scene in Linus’ voice. (Yes I’m enough into these stories that I’ve consumed them both ways)

            • “You’re like me Victoria.” He grinned. “You like to do things that make live interesting. We do both so hate to be bored” – Caesar, at the end of Wildfire

              He grinned again. “Besides, things around you have a way of turning interesting. I do hate to be bored”. – Linus Duncan, to Nevada after she calls her grandmother

              Him being the only known character that fits the profile makes it likely, but the echoing bit of speech implies it as well.

      • I think it’s Linus, not Arkan. In my opinion, the nurse’s attitude shows that she expects the three people to return the baby in 15 minutes to her, not giving the baby away to be kidnapped.

        • Oh god that was the horror. Even if the baby is returned everything in me says she will totally kidnap him if it suits her purpose. Also she is a complete liar about not caring that its her grandkid.

          • In the best of worlds, I think Victoria (and agree it is Linus. Also Trevor’s power is creepy too!) just wanted to meet her grandson. In the worst of worlds… the possibilities are endless but Victoria wants House Tremaine to be preserved.

            • No way is it Linus. Remember the first time we saw Victoria in the garden of the ‘prison’ she was talking to a contemporary man about the conspiracy and about ‘Caesar’. They were both involved in that conspiracy – and Linus is opposed to that.

              • That man also says “I do so hate to be bored.” It’s the same thing Linus says to Nevada at the coffee shop. It’s definitely Linus

                • Oooh I’ve been wondering about this too. And it just occurred to me… what if Linus being “ceasar” is a) part of a plan to root out people like sturm and olivia charles and/or b) meant in some way to help house baylor establish themselves? Ok b) is rather farfetched, I know, but… Vicoria and Linus/(Ceasar?) are definitly playing some long, deep game and I can’t help feeling it has to do directly with the Baylor girls. And yes, I think he is James’ dad. Also, shipping Arabella and Augustine. Have had a feeling about those two since Nevada I or II and really dont care about age gaps. And I think there are hidden depths to Augustine so far barely hinted at.

                  • I also thought Linus was Ceasar, but then got thrown off by the whole “opposed because I’m the Warden” thing… I do expect that we will be fed a little bit more of this snippet in the next book since this “clue” appeared in Nevada’s book #3. CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE!!!

                    Honestly didn’t think about Arabella with Augustine but that weirdly makes a lot of sense. She would make the perfect foil to his uptight-ness! I do like Stephen Jiang as well (it would also be IA’s first Asian Hero!!!) and he also has that uptight thing going… but Augustine…

                    • I don’t see Arabella with Augustine at all, and not because of the age difference. I like Augustine, but he’s not good enough for my Arabella.

                  • Me too.. would love to see Arabella and Augustine together inspite of the age gap. It would be a exciting love story!

            • I think it wasn’t just Victoria who wanted to meet her great grandson. I think he’s Linus’ great grandson as well.

              • I think Linus is their grandfather and that Alessandro saw the resemblance back in Sapphire Flames when he said Linus had a vested interest in Catalina’s survival. I also think that Catalina got her powers through Linus genetically because when she had killed that construct in the abyss and couldn’t speak, Linus was very concerned and was asking her to speak and to not seeing… almost like he had seen this exact situation occur before to someone else

                  • That the sperm donor was an excised siren from an old Greek house that never talked about their magic.

                    I believe Nevada found a record of a child of that house (House Molpe?) who lured an entire brigade of Russian soldiers into the water to drown before the last survivors of the brigade reached her island and tore her to pieces. (Mentioned in Wildfire if memory serves.)

                    But there has never been any specific mention of the rest of House Duncan. There is very little history so far told about House Duncan except Linus specifically. He served in the military and became a respectable statesman in the assembly after he returned. And a Warden.

                    It’s clear that Linus and Victoria share something. It would feel weird turn for Linus to be revealed as the grandfather siren, but it would fit with the layered planning of survivors of house warfare. Linus will help her, but there’s something we don’t yet know about his connection to the Baylor women that might have him side with them over Tremaine.

                    For Linus to be the grandfather, we’d have to see Arabella’s secondary prime be some sort of metallurgical associated power, I’d think. I’m certainly assuming that all three Baylor women are dual Primes.

                    • Think “dual”. Alessandro is an antistasi, but he does this really amazing thing with weapons, after all. Every time either Nevada or Catalina mentions Linus, they always include how charming he is, how you just feel relaxed with him, etc. He’s the grandfather and a Siren. He is also Ceasar. And the Warden. He’s the most mysterious character because I can’t figure out his true alignment. Who is he playing? The good guys or the bad guys?

                    • I’m right there with you, Skye. The hints do all seem to point to Linus being both their grandfather and Caesar. Linus may not have known about the Baylor family before Nevada was roped into hunting Adam Pierce. They may have truly come out of left field for him. I could easily see him as the excised prime/sperm donor. Especially when you consider his prime talent could be the one we know, and the could simply be a significant siren (hence all the references to his charm, but no stalking).

                      What I can’t wrap my brain around is why Linus would play the role of Caesar. Boredom doesn’t seem enough justifications for all the collateral deaths involved in Caesar’s plans.

                    • What if Linus took the Osiris serum to unlock his haephestes powers after he gave had James? Or, as you say, maybe Arabella will manifest a secondary power in her book.

                    • After reading the comments I’m now wondering is it possible that while serving as the warden Linus got bored, took on the Cesar persona stole the Osiris serum and he and the love of his life Victoria gave it to their son. We know it works to amplify powers b/c it worked with Rohan’s fake cousin. Maybe the serum didn’t work on the son but his daughters have extra strong abilities due to the serum.

                • And the one word anyone meeting Linus for the first time would use to describe him? Charming…. that sounds like very subtle Siren talent at work.

                  • I thought so too at the time, reinforced by Alessandro seeing some sort of similarity between Catalina and Linus, but then they said that’s not his power and I started wondering… Godfather to the girls’ dad (James, I believe it was)? Childhood friend of Victoria and frequent visitor? Maybe her first love but she’s all about preserving her House and their powers weren’t compatible?

                    • I have Linus as a cousin / half-brother. Not in direct line, but related to Victoria.

                      From one of the Nevada books…

                      “Who in the hell dances with Victoria Tremaine?”

                  • That’s what made me suspect him from the start – Nevada liked him immediately — and never even noticed! Ms. Suspicious! 😉

                    After learning Linus was the Warden, I thought maybe he’d become Caesar to dig out the threat. I’ve had the impression that the Warden doesn’t let him- or herself worry about collateral damage, so long as the threat gets neutralized. And with a Warden stepping into that role, a real Caesar wouldn’t emerge. With Linus as Caesar, no-one else would even be in the running!

                    • SueB – This is exactly what i thought. Linus is either Grandfather or brother to Grandfather and also Caesar to hep destroy the threat!

                    • My thing with the theory of Linus being their grandfather is this – wasn’t it hinted/told outright in the first Hidden Legacy book that Victoria carefully selected a viable sperm donor and then have him killed? In which case (which is also the overall theory that I am liking) Victoria is definitely just evil (no Snape-like twist forthcoming), Linus is evil (Warden turned Caesar not Caesar hiding as Warden) and there is a great evil afoot that only Arabella’s novel (which comes in the very end) will resolve. Bern’s would be next telling us more plot lines, with Leon to follow that would sort of build the allies & enemies portfolio quite clearly.

              • Only shows up in the Epilogue. He raised his hands and the two guards froze, eyes blank. No mention about what sort of power that is, though.

                  • I’m seeing Trevor as a Prime with some sort of power over time. As such he could easily be Arkan as well as Caesar or affiliated with Caesar. The way Arkan froze Alessandro and the two guards are very telling. As a time Prime he would make a formidable Caesar.
                    Well done House Andrew !

                    • Apologies , Arkan didn’t freeze Alessandro. It was the wedding scene I was thinking about.
                      So much happening in EB. Now I’m gonna give it another read.

                    • So how about this: Trevor is Arkan and has been working with Victoria for 15 years… no damn, Trevor is too young for that, isn’t he? Still Trevor could be someone provided by Arkan… also, of course, illusions. I mean, Alessandro, at least, would recognize Arkan. Victoria – and Linus – are basically putting the Baylor girls through the crucible, manipulating everything behind the scenes. I mean, they could even have manufactured things so that Mad Rogan and Alessandro would cross paths with Nevada and Catalina. Yeah yeah, I know, farfetched 😀 I just LOVE the long and deep games 😀 And House Andrews is definitly capable of them, which is why I love them so much!

                    • Trevor’s power seems completely different to me. The two guards didn’t freeze in what they were doing like during the wedding, where people froze mid-gesture and mid-expression; their expressions went blank and they stood still. Totally different effect.

                    • I saw what Trevor did as more like a mental power – the guards were blank-faced, catatonic – so, like they were no longer perceiving anything, and probably their memories later won’t seem to have any gaps/lost time.

        • Oh thank you for saying this! I felt completely sick to my stomach with it ended this way. I kept thinking, “Oh no! Grandma Tremaine played them all and is taking the baby!!!”. But thinking about it, you may be right. It’s her and Linus sneaking a peek at him.

          • Those two get to be, for this one moment, normal, doting grandparents. And they ARE doting with all their hearts.

            Victoria reminds me of a dog that was not properly socialized as a puppy.

            • Boy do I hope so! That was a mean cliffhanger, why do they care if he’s a dud? What if they are planning to give him the Osiris serum or something?! Not the baby!

              • Right? Or what she might to put into a baby’s mind? Horrified/thrilled shivers.

                I love the cliffhanger. Delicious torture.

                I agree, the man is Linus and I think he is Ceasar. He and Victoria are terrifying and I look forward to the reveals to come.

            • Actually Victoria is someone who was relationship-oriented, and then hurt so badly by the love of her life dying, that she became goal-oriented to the exclusion of all else. The Baylor women are forcing her to treat them as people in their own right and now Victoria is thawing and coming back from the “evil” side of the goal/people continuum. In team creation: Nevada was forming/storming, Catalina is going to be storming/norming, and I bet Arabella is going to be performing! Arabella has the breezy acceptance of her grandparents down (buy from Blue Willow! Read Cool Aunt!) And she has a rainbow of magic WAY past dual traits.
              Can’t wait to see how they all debut on the grander international House stage.

      • The answer to who is older gentleman is, is in “The Cool Aunt”. I found it surprising, but very logical. I can see becoming

        • Wait, I think I missed something. What is “The Cool Aunt?” I don’t remember anyone saying that and that’s not another story. What do you mean? I’m pretty sure the older gentleman is Linus, but am happy to dig through any other evidence.

          • Never mind, I just found it. I can’t believe that I was actually good and didn’t read that story when they posted it. Yay for the bonus story!!

          • Please don’t search for and read Cool Aunt unless you received a promotional link through buying a physical book. It will be released in due course to the general public.

            • Oh no, now I feel like a terrible BDH member. I didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on. I’ll take my lashes and hold patiently… EEK!

      • But he sent people to kill the Baylor. But it would explain why he wanted to break up Alessandro and Catalina

      • Although Victoria is vicious in her testing of her grandchildren, I don’t think she would associate that closely with someone who attempted to kill her “heir”.

        I did enjoy the glimpse of her softer side. Because her conversation with Catalina was so harsh. But I think the theories presented here – cruel to be kind. The tactic of separating yourself from your family to make them less likely targets is mentioned several times in this book alone. My worry wasn’t kidnapping of the baby but get her hooks in mentally – implanting a geas or something. She must really own Trevor to expose that side of herself to him – for a character like her, that is absolute trust.

        So many secrets and layers! Love all the reveals. Especially about Nevada’s going to House Rogan – that move didn’t really make sense to me either.

        • Yes! I have been struggling with the idea that Linus is Cesar AND the Baylor sister’s paternal grandfather and this is the reason why. Cesar tried to take out Nevada and said Victoria would “understand”….

          • ooooh actually i just reread that scene and it was Alexander Sturm who ordered the hit “for the cause”. Now I’m less sure, although I find Cesar letting the city burn to be inconsistent with the Linus I am getting to know in the Catalina books…

  11. Was there a short story that described Catalina’s hiring of Patricia and specifically detailed the need to keep Regina’s talent/stuff secret?? I feel like I read something, somewhere, but now I can’t find it. Did I dream that scene up on my own??

    • I believe the was an excerpt from this book, that then underwent some editing but is at its core here. I remember Cinder

      • There is a Cinder snippet in the 4-25-20 blog posting. I didn’t compare word for word, but it looks to be from the part in the book for when she consults with Regina.

    • Hi I just finished. Great book I laughed out loud Soo much. Leon and his sayings. Just to much to mention.hahaha. it’s 12:50am here for me. Now I want more. I had thought that they got Conner away quite well. And saving Gran haha lol.thanks

    • There’s a part in Sapphire Flames where Heart sets Patricia (without using her name) up for an interview to be their chief of security, but says she and her wife come with baggage. There may be more in SF about them but I can’t find it.

  12. Kobo is making me wait until midnight… I’m so jealous of everyone on this thread who has it already!

    • Try changing your time zone to Eastern standard if you’re not on the East coast. This should allow you to read it at 9:00 p.m. Pacific standard for example. Most of the digital reading apps use the system/local time for unlock not server time.

      Note:. The apps I use will not allow me to access it any earlier than eastern time midnight….. Even if I set my local device system clock to Greenwich mean! I have tried 🥴

      • I’m in Oregon and will get it at 9pm tonight on kindle. Kids get zombie mom tomorrow.
        And yes, i’m here spoiling myself because I have no self control.

        I haven’t found any other authors I like this well and I read a lot. And I love everything they write (unique).

        • I’m in Washington state so we’re in the same boat.
          I feel like I’m peeling a tiny corner of wrapping paper from my Christmas present on 12/24.

      • I tried to set up time travel too, I’m so excited to read it all. But nothing believes I’m in Japan right now. Which is a bummer because I would love to sink my teeth into it now. The wait is all the sweeter knowing there are other folks waiting too!

      • I’m in London and I recurved it at midnight this morning! You got it a day before GMT which is probably why it didn’t work. UK release was the 25th.

  13. OK so why is no one stressing about that epilog??? I really really need to know the baby is safe. I’d also like to know what they named him – maybe after their two fathers?

    Loved the explanation of Nevada’s decisions, that seemed so out-of-character when I read them in Sapphire Flames. Everyone in that family is trying to protect everyone else without telling them. I hope Nevada and Catalina really do start talking to each other. They are stronger together, and could stand against their grandmother more easily if they combined forces.

    I want to meet Alessandro’s family, especially the sister who stood by him. I’ve read the book twice now, and am rereading all the Hidden Legacy books (am on third in Nevada’s trilogy right now). Love this series!

    • We will find out about the birth soon enough, at midnight tonight, I’ll read the Cool Aunt snippet first!!!!!

    • They tweeted that the baby is safe.

      I also did not take anything malicious out of the Epilogue.

      • Still unknown. She may simply be a badass.

        Heart is simply a badass, and he’s sort of wooing a Significant veteran sniper.

    • Thank you. That’s what I was thinking. Either Rogan has people who sold him out to Victoria or, a scarier thought. She’s creating babies with some Osiris serum. I’m a little freaked out either way.

        • Yes, but if Linus is the father and he was the Warden, he could have given her a sample. He didn’t want to risk affiliation because he is being targeted all the time and his children would be in danger all the time. It seems Linus is a Bachelor, so this could have been his only way to preserve some of his genotype… It’s curious though he’s never stepped in before trials.
          Also it could be that he is also a by-product of Osiris serum and he took it to gain additional Prime Magic, because he wanted to keep the siren talent hidden! Someone mentioned before he is charming all the time, it could totally be magic! Also he is a male and the male Siren might not have the wings. Otherwise siren thing isn’t possible because Catalina would have seen the wings at work?
          So curious about the black wings powers! the Angel of Death! Defitinitely it means something!

          • Your thinking to hard. We already know who the father (grandfather) is and it is not Linus. Linus’s magic is completely different. i suspect that there is more to the black wings then Catalina know yet and the person who might know is the real grandfather. It wouldn’t surprise me if Grandma T brings into the picture to help her train. It was reported the male can’t be siren’s, but Grandma T implied that was not the case in Wildfire.

            The bigger question is that in the first series it was implied that Linus was Cesar. Now he is Warden. Will his Cesar persona ever come out?

            • Incorrect. Go read the short story on the web page. Their grandfather is absolutely alive and in play. This is why we suspect he’s linus. Linus can also have a primary Prime talent and a secondary, just like Catalina and Nevada and Rogan. His primary would be the metallurgy stuff and then the secondary is the siren magic. I think Linus was Ceasar to find out who had the stolen serum.

              • I’m very late to comment but I totally agree, Susan. In EB, Alessandro nearly said “your grandfather” to Catalina but caught himself just in time. I’m 99.9% sure he was about to say grandfather. It was when Catalina asked him him where he got the sword (the prototype of the prototype). Alessandro said “I got it from your …. supervisor.” That was a telling pause!

      • I pre-ordered my copy back on May and it’s due to arrive on Thursday. The short story will be available here soon, correct? I know this has been answered but I’m on my second migraine in 2 days and my thinking is a wee bit cloudy. Thanks!

      • Oh my gosh!!! I’m one of those who bought the book from a different store than your tour so I have to wait until it’s posted to the public- do you have an estimated countdown for when it will be released? I need to know!

        • Release date is tomorrow, August 25th. I found a copy at my local B&N yesterday. Kindle version will be available at midnight.

          • If I recall correctly, they said everyone would get it, people who bought elsewhere would get it later. I think maybe a month.

      • I got my copy of the book through a source other than what you said would give early access to Arabella’s snippet. When and where will I be able to read it?

  17. After you get through the emotion and Grandma Frida is okay, did anyone else bust their gut laughing at the mental images of a toolbox chasing the spider around?? I giggled about that all weekend long at odd moments. =) I kept seeing it in my head as bouncing after the spider with very loud clangy noises every time it came down… =)

    And I am SO ready for Catalina to collapse Victoria’s world, and I hope it doesn’t take years to do it. I have this really weird hate/respect/thinks she’s not so bad, then get reality dropped on me again when she does something awful again thing for Victoria.

      • Absolutely I think it’s Linus but also wonder why he would do that? Is it voluntary or is Victoria forcing him to? And if he’s doing it on his own is that proof that grandma isn’t the monster she’s made herself to be?? Lots of questions here!

        • I don’t think anyone could possibly force Linus to do anything he doesn’t want to do. His motives, as always, remain opaque.

          • Except apparently to Allesandro. He picked up on something in Sapphire Flames. It’s driving me insane that we don’t know… not to mention the wholes hes Ceaser thing.

              • Exactly.

                I’d love to get the story one day at how Victoria managed to strong-arm the Duncan family into replacing the real (And I’d guess dead) Duncan with the excised Greek Siren Prime.

                • I think Linus Duncan is the excised Greek Siren Prime. I think his main power is the weapons thing (ALSO from Greek mythology, so they’re from the same mediterranean area) and maybe the siren thing is a secondary talent. Everyone trusts him for no reason. Maybe the talent manifests in men differently.

                  Also, Linus was WAY alarmed at the end with Catalina and kept urging her to use words without singing. That is only something that someone with experience with sirens would know to do. His relief when she could still talk rationally really struck me. He knows where her talent can lead, because he’s from that family.

                  • I like your analysis. This also fits in with the “Linus is Caesar” theory because the conspirators who knew who he was speak of Caesar with something approaching worship.

                    And of course “Caesar” also comes from the Med region.

                    The other question, after reading the Arabella short, is how long she will wait to tell Catalina and Nevada who came calling in the night.

                    • This. And Arabella wasn’t entirely surprised – she just called him Grandpa, in a *very* nonplussed way. I can’t imagine her doing that with a stranger.

                      I agree he’s likely the excised Prime.

                      As for him being Caesar while simultaneously being a Warden, Linus is known to play the long game, but I cannot see him condoning lighting up and killing all of Houston. That would be a major disconnect from who he is as a person. I liked him for Caesar at the end of Nevada’s trilogy, but now? it’s not clicking for me. If he’s Caesar, then there’s some deep deep story about how and why that ultimately will click — the authors are stellar at that. (I’m thinking here specifically about how Nevada’s abdicating didn’t ~entirely~ make sense in Sapphire Flames, but there was all this other stuff happening below the surface.)

                  • That is certainly interesting.

                    Siren powers manifesting in men differently is very probable. Politicians are known for being great orators and expected to seem like they have powers when everyone knows they clearly don’t have magic. Dual powers also appears to be likely. Using Osiris serum seems less likely. And for some reason only the Baylor sisters are aware enough to be afraid of him, or see past his ‘kind and friendly’ exterior.

                    Well, Rogan is, but Rogan is paranoid.

                • My theory is that the siren thing as a secondary talent for him; that could be why he was excised in the first place. His powers don’t fit with the rest of the family.

                • Catalina has a secondary talent she knew nothing about until two books ago because she’s never picked up a sword before. Maybe she never tried to build anything? Wouldn’t that be a surprise, though? Terciary powers!

          • i totally think it is Linus just like that other epilogue after at the end of book 2 of Nevada’s series? – I think he is somehow involved in the creation of James .. if sperm donor, or relative or something to do with the serum … I also thought after that part, he is Caesar but the one does not really go with the other i think… so still not getting that part together in my mind.

            • I think the authors used classic misdirection to make us suspect Linus of being Caesar. I’m sure Linus would find discovering that the 3 Baylors are his grandchildren would qualify as interesting. And he isn’t the only person who doesn’t like to be bored.
              Also he would be a “Dual” if he is both an Haephestus (sp.) mage and a Siren, right? Well, still lots of mystery ahead!

              • And calling the talent a “Hephestus Mage” is an important nod to Greece. If he was Italian, they might have used a Vulcan word root.

                Cesar WAS Roman though, so I’m having trouble squaring it with Linus myself…

        • I think Grandma Tremaine is “playing” at being a monster with Catalina as a way of: 1) manipulation, because Tremaine knows what’s “best” but 2) as a teaching method. She looks at the possibilities and thinks, “Nevada’s baby is a natural target to her and Rogans enemies. So she demonstrates that threat to Catalina and gets Catalina and the rest thinking proactively about protecting the baby. And yes, Rogan is hyper vigilant, but it’s Catalina that Grandma T-Rex is training.
          Grandma T wants Catalina prepared for Prime warfare. Catalina didn’t get the years of training on how to think like a prime.

          Also claiming not to care about Nevada’s baby could be a ruse so that Tremaine’s own enemies won’t try to use the baby against her. She is in prison but she has powerful enemies, I bet.

          That’s my take on it all. With House Andrews, you have to look at the ploys within the plots and question everything!

          • Ohhh I love this. I actually like Grandma Tremaine I see a lot of duality in her. Despite her machiavellian tendencies. She is grooming Catalina a guppy into a shark. And I like how you see another layer to her not claiming Nevada’s baby cause her enemies will use it and that’s like how Landor Morton and Felix played at being in a fued.

        • I also think it’s Linus because in Sapphire Flames, when Alessandro and Catalina were at Linus’s, there was a moment when Alessandro looked at Linus and back to Catalina and looked as if he had an epiphany and Linus shook his head no and Catalina thought it was all male posturing (I think)… and I thought, damn, that’s her grandfather.

      • I definitely thought so, especially since I think he was the same older man in the epilogue of a Nevada book.

        • Throwing it out there….In the last book Alessandro seemed to indicate that Linus has a stake in helping Catalina thrive (I got the feeling that Linus and Catalina are somehow related…) so maybe his parents (Mom?) was from the Greek Siren house (Molpe?) and Linus is technically her Dad???

          • I agree and also how worried he was about Catalina at the end asking if she said a word and not to sing I think he has experienced it before from the way it read.

          • Linus is the Grandfather. He was the donor. Nevada’s dad had no magic but his genes carried the magic
            Genes for three primes powers Hence Hidden Legacy.

            • We don’t know that. Indications are that he’s related, but I personally think him being the donor requires too much complication. I’m putting my money on “great uncle.”

              • My theory is great uncle too (possibly cousin…). But I’d guess him as grandma Frida’s brother or cousin. He’s a Hephaestus prime, she is not a prime but has some magic for machinery. I’d guess some family history which led to her being excised, and Linus as close male relative who retains affection for her and family .
                I don’t see a connection between his magic and the siren power

                • Agreed – everyone seems to obsess about the paternal line to NC&A but we know very little about Grandma Frida‘s side – and Hepstathus magic would fit well with her talents – plus resemblances aren’t just through direct parents – my sister is the image of my dads sister at the same age!

          • He definitely seemed related.

            I believe Linus is Nevada, Catalina and Arabella’s paternal grandfather – the siren sperm donor.

            Being a siren would explain why everyone unanimously sees him as being “beyond reproach” and why he knows so much about people who become immune to siren powers.

      • I would bet the older man with Victoria and Trevor is Caesar. Whether he is also Linus is up for debate.

        • Several time Linus Duncan has said, “I hate to be bored.” I think those were the exact words Victoria’s companion (Caesar?) said when they were walking in the garden of the prison.

          • I don’t think the authors ever actually claimed that the man walking with Tremaine in the garden was Caesar.Readers inferred it but that doesn’t make it so.

            • Being Caesar could be a useful way of finding those folks who want to take action to tear everything apart, encouraging them to reveal themselves. It wouldn’t necessarily mean he’s actually wanting to be Caesar.

              It would be risky, particularly if he were acting on his own initiative and not as something known to the various Wardens in general, but it certainly wouldn’t be boring.

        • I don’t think the older woman is Victoria. She wouldn’t be described as “pacing” or “rushing” to take the baby, and she would have known it wasn’t a dud.

      • I thought that originally, then changed my mind after a reread. Now I’m wondering if he’s Alessandro’s Arkan.

        • Alessandro would have seen Trevor when he went to insult/warn Grandma T…so I don’t think he is Arkan

      • I agree, Kayeri
        I want Catalina to raze Victoria to the ground. I feel all 3 sisters will be involved in the final reckoning. We have yet to see the relationship VT will have with Arabella. I was willing to give VT the benefit of the doubt but not after what she put Nevada and Connor through, regardless of the reason.

    • I actually loved Connor’s response. A man with the ability to shave paper thin strips of wood from chopsticks congratulates her on smashing something. I love him.

    • Still cackling at Runa giving away grandma Frida for continuing to get mouth to mouth from Alessandra after she’d been cured.

    • Arrabella will collapse Victoria’s world. Still have 4 more books to go hopefully. The last of Catalina’s trilogy and then Arabella’s trilogy yet to come.

  18. Nooo, how do you guys have the book already!?
    I am in Europe and here we are still on August 24th. Gaaah!

  19. I loved the helicopter scene where Linus appears to truly show concern for Catalina . . . I keep changing my mind over whether he’s trustworthy or not. But it was nice to see some emotion from him.

    • same here – i can’t make up my mind on him, but that scene did hint at him having some involvement/relationship to sirens … i think if he was the granddad/sperm donor he would be more clearly a siren himself not just “charming” and some of the girls would show part of his weapon smiting magic too .. all their fighting magic and pattern magic comes from the mothers side of the family.

      • Do ppl still use the term silver fox? It is an accurate descriptor. He’s an evil man though.

          • He talked in SF about the many things he would change if he could, like stopping Diatheke. Wanting to make things better with the power to sweep all objections aside would be a dandy reason to become Caesar.

    • He’s complicated and complex. With great power comes great responsibility. Like evil grandmother Tremaine. Fighting for survival of her house and her genetic line.

  21. Anyone know whose head of the assembly since Linus was removed? I don’t think it ever came up.
    I won’t have my book til midnight but reading these comments I visualize Ilona evilly laughing over guesses😍

    • The position has been held by at least two other people since Linus. The Nevada books had somebody that I don’t think was ever named. Then in the last chapter of EB, when the Assembly has a special session to examine Cheryl, the book says “The Speaker of the Assembly, Luciana Cabera, …. had been elected to the position after the previous Speaker retired last year.”

  22. I love the book! I will say that after reading it once, I will forever skip rereading the interview with Tatyana though. I understand and it helps with the book but I was a bit upset by what his family did to him. Anyway, this book is so good. I am worried though with the cliffhanger. Hopefully, she doesn’t abduct that beautiful baby or have Trevor do it. Some scary stuff right there.

    • You should read it cause it’s not just what the family did to him but what they did to her! I really like Tatyana and she gave Cornelius perspective. And honestly you learned more of what Cornelius when through too.

  23. Lucky for me, I am retired. I will start it first thing tommorow. I can’t wait to read it.

  24. I devoured it in hours and I really can’t wait for the short story promised us. Also that ending though. I couldn’t have done any more angsty hand flapping than if they had done a baby swap.

    • I think i read a comment that said IA tweeted the baby is fine right? Ilona! Gordon! Someone please confirm!!! Cant handle babies being endangered just cant!!!!

      • Baby is fine. It’s in the short story if you bought the book from bookstore and they sent the short story link.

  25. Personally, I loved the “in” remarks about the XADAR building being booby-trapped so nicely, by Bug, of course, since that was his hidey hole, and when the Pierce guard had to take a photo of Bunny and Cornelius said, “Smile, Bunny.” I love that Augustine’s name is “Pancakes” to the Baylor security team. Bern being in love, Leon growing up, Penelope trying things out with Heart, Arabella stepping up — it’s all just grand.

    But the epilogue bothered me a bit. Frankly, I cannot wait until Catalina springs that trap and breaks that woman’s world into small shards. I’d love to read about her being taken down completely, buried under a mountain of ice in Alaska, and completely cut off from the world she thinks she has a right to rule. After what she did to get her son born, then the way she tore apart minds looking for him, she deserves every mean thing that can happen to her. And that doesn’t even mention what she did to her grandchildren.

    If Linus is the one who helped her get into the hospital, good on him, because he was there to be sure she did no harm. He needs his deputy alive and well, and I have no doubt that he’ll take care of her as well as he can. Besides being his deputy, he just seems to genuinely like Catalina. He was pleased to see Nevada declare her engagement to Rogan at the trials, and he laughed over it. He helped Nevada get things organized for her to go through trials and stay alive for them. I don’t see an evil bone in his body. I’m looking for Grandma Frida to ask him out. After all, he apparently still has that “hot Scottish thing” going on. I think he is staying in touch with Victoria to keep her away from the Baylors, more than to be her friend.

    So much. So, so, so much. The book is excellent, as usual for this writing team, and of course it has left me drooling for another one. What’s wrong with me that I cannot wait for more news about this family? They’re like real people because they are fleshed-out and not one person is flat or two-dimensional in the whole series. Just another excellent work from authors we can trust to do things correctly.

    Thank you. You’re helping me survive.

    • I think Linus is the grandpa. I think Victoria lied to Nevada or she didn’t say the whole truth.

      • It makes sense that it would be him. BUT… in order for the Siren talent to come through for Catalina it had to be someone from the Greek line.

        • We don’t know Linus’s whole background. He may be related to someone from the Greek line. He acts like Nevada and Catalina grandfather. He knows Victoria very well and it’s obvious they have some history. Nevada’s reaction to him was also abnormal (she trusted him which pointed toward his second magic talent as siren). I don’t know of my suspicions are true.

          • I think he’s the excised Greek Prime from the Siren line, and the father of Victoria’s son. Grandma Frida asked in an earlier book if Linus Duncan still had that hot Scottish thing going on, because she had met him.

            And yet, the Linus Duncan everyone else knows looks like an Italian or Greek vinyard owner, which was Nevada’s first impression.

            • Do you remember if it was ever mentioned that Linus and Frida met recently? It could be he’s the Greek Siren that took over Linus Duncan’s name?

            • from a baby names website: “Linus is the Latin form of the Greek name Linos. In Greek legend, Linos was the son of the god Apollo and a music teacher to Heracles. Today, parents and kids will recognize Linus as the blanket-carrying Peanuts character.”

        • Actually, There is nothing on any of the books saying that the grandfather was from a Greek House. There are two different references on this in Wildfire.

          The Keeper of records mentions the Greek House when explains to Nevada and Rogan that they had to research Catalina’s gift because they had nothing on record, and that they found (only) a recorded manifestation of that gift only in the female line of a House in Greece. But Grandma Victoria only says that the father of her son was a Prime and a Siren, and then goes on to explain that he was an excised member of House Molpe (which is the name of siren from Greek mythology, but not necessarily a Greek name) and that House Molpe was no longer called that.

      • Yes, there must be some family resemblance, since Allessandro almost let the cat out of the bag when he and Catalina first visited Linus and Linus shook his head unobserved by Catalina.

      • A friend thinks that Arkan is both the grandfather AND the older man in the epilogue. I tend to agree.

        • is Trevor’s magic the same as Akran’s at the wedding … making time stop for everyone affected?

          • No. Trevor’s magic makes the guards’ expressions blank and they just stand still. Arkan’s magic literally froze people mid-gesture and mid-expression.

        • Catalina says you can lie to a truthseeker by telling the truth (Catalina and Linus always do a ritual where Catalina agrees to do Linus ‘this favour’… And then if Victoria asks her why she is doing this she says she is doing Linus a favour, and she is speaking a truth)

    • I agree with you about Victoria. I had one of those, “Oh, duh!” moments while reading about Victoria Tremaine’s actions in Emerald Blaze. In Wildfire, when Michael says, “A mistake.” He was not referring to Nevada owing the Keeper of Records a favor. He meant not allowing him to deal with/remove Victoria permanently to prevent her from future involvement with the Baylor family (as well as society as a whole).

      • Agreed. Victoria might end up doing a lot to make thee houses stronger but talk about a poisoned chalice.

    • I completely agree with wanting Victoria to pay but I don’t see that happening here. All of IA’s books end with a lighter punishment for enemy’s that are family than is predicted, or what I would prefer tbh. IA is very family oriented and promotes forgiveness along with showing why the villain acted the way they did. The villain may be torture but the Baylor’s would still be lenient because they are family. They will punish them but they won’t kill them. (nerd reference but kinda like in avatar the last air-bender, they will find a way to neutralize them rather than kill) For example, Roland being put into prison rather than executed when he murdered his past children and Nevada saving Victoria by pleading with the Office of Records. I’m just blood thirsty and what the family villains to pay as they are such toxic people but I’m not as good as these character’s are which is why I love them haha.
      IMO I think they, being IA, are going to expand more on the “test’s” they have put Nevada and Catalina through twisting it to show growth of character and to make them into the house they “need” to be. If Victoria knew that Alessandro didn’t have anything to offer family wise then if was a mote point for Catalina to promise not to be with him in Sapphire Flames. With these hints, and with the epilogue of Victoria being concerned about the infant, they are setting the stage to promote the family villains in a better light. Victoria may have threatening the baby to Catalina but I don’t think she would have really hurt her, just like she wouldn’t have released the human trafficking issue. Yes the MC’s will never be as close to her as they are Grandma Frida but they will somehow forgive her in the end. She won’t be killed by them and if she is neutralized, it will be in a kinder way than if it was a villain outside the family.
      As a villain I love her. She is complex, and has a twisted past and mind. As a family member, even with her past, she is extremely toxic. I would absolutely love to see her be utterly destroyed. Personally I think they will somehow find a way to keep her available as a teacher for the younger kids rather than kill her off though. That said, as a person I hate her. I would probably have killed myself rather than put people through what she has even if it was the only way to survive. Then again, I’ve never been in that position so who knows.
      I agree that Linus is the Old Man and that he is a direct family relative. Wether he is still Cesar I’m not sure. It doesn’t really fit his status as the Warden but that may be a cover. I think his motives are less than pure when it comes to the Baylor family but also will be shown to come from a “good” place, good being relative. He wants the girls to succeed but he also has some iron in the fire.
      The thing I loved most about this book was the growth of Catalina and Alessandro from the previous book. Rereading SF after EB showed how immature they were. Neither character was ready for each other in SF as they wouldn’t be as strong as they are in EB if they had gotten together then. In EB, they were emotionally mature and ready to face things together as a team. It was incredible reading them grow, I loved it! Catalina has grown strategically through Victoria’s training but in a way she can live with herself it’s amazing.
      Arabella still needs some growing to do but I love Leon now. She has it hard with her talent, but like any final child, is indulged and retains some of her thoughtlessness. I totally get it as she is still growing as a character, but she is still a little annoying. A lot better than the previous books but still, yea annoying. Leon on the other hand has developed into a man and outgrown his teenage baby fat. How he reacted to Audrey was relatable as an adult. I can’t wait to read more about him.
      I can’t wait to see how Catalina will handle Victoria and how Alessandro will handle Arkan. It definitely won’t be in the way I expect!
      Thank y’all so much for an amazing read right before I started Vet school today!
      PS I also can’t wait to see what Regina’s back story is and to see Xavier get crushed. He isn’t true family so he will get a worse punishment and I can’t wait after his final monologue in EB. Ugh.

      • Yaasssssss to Xavier getting his just desserts! THAT was a fun twist and a nice reward to reading Diamond Fire.

        I kinda want to see Victoria testing her 2 older granddaughters and Arabella flipping her house of cards!

        Soooo much more to come. Thank you for the great stories and quality writing. Always such an adventure and a testament to storytelling and reading!

      • Yes to all of this. I really love the emotional development of Catalina and Alessandro. I agree Arabella is annoying, but I think that is by design and she will mature with age. Leon is my new fav! I didn’t connect with him in previous books outside of comic relief. I love that he’s coming into his own. Maybe I am just old and can’t relate to these darn whippersnapper teenagers….

      • Victoria is a full character. She had no family support to rally her through the hard times. Her parents died young. The love of her life died horrifically. And her moral compass got skewed. She has done horrific things. It will be interesting to see how her ending gets written.

        Linus…probably the baby daddy, as the saying goes. But IA are dang creative so they may have an alter angle out there. Just reread the end of Wildfire and the character with the speech habits of Linus never says he is Caesar, only that he wasn’t caught in the sweep after Olivia’s files, and that the cause will live on. I hope for him to not be bad, maybe a deep fake? If he was responsible for the lawyers deaths and attempted killing of the whole house Baylor that would be pretty unredeemable.

        Oh so much more to learn.
        Really loving this whole ride. Really hoping they keep the plot twists going for a 3 part Arabella series.

        So much fun. As an aside, I thought I caught an error in timeline when Catalina said, she didn’t want a repeat of what happened 18 months (when her relationship break up with Alessandro was only 6 months ago) and realized on re-read they meant the upheaval of Nevada leaving as HoH but that hadn’t been flushed out by Chapter 4. It got me wondering how many other little nuggets are scattered.

    • Ugh I had a long reply that I typed for about 10 minutes just disappear when I tried to load it. The universe has spoken haha what I said shall not be posted so here is the short version haha.
      I totally agree I can’t wait for Catalina to get out from Victoria’s thumb. She deserves to be crushed, even though it will probably be a lot kinder version of crushing than I would like. IA’s villains that are family tend to get lighter punishments that the ones who are not.

      Thank y’all so much for a fantastic read right before I started Veterinary School today! I absolutely loved it.

      PS. I can’t wait to see what Regina will bring in the next book. Also for Xavier and Arkan to be crushed. I’m so blood thirsty haha.

  26. I’ve opened a slot in my reading backlog! Finished last of four books on Italian Renaissance history; now it’s time for something more serious. Emerald Blaze!

  27. Thank you. Happy Book Birthday for tomorrow!

    So excited for midnight. Currently in Ireland staying with family so hope it downloads then. Can’t wait to read it!

  28. Thank you. Happy Book Birthday for tomorrow!

    So excited for midnight. Currently in Ireland staying with family so hope it downloads then. Can’t wait to read it!

    Resisting reading comments. 😇

  29. So how soon is too soon to start stalking my ereader? When will my pre-order appear on my Kindle? Does anyone know what time zone Amazon uses for book releases?

  30. OH MY GOSH today is such a Monday that I thought 8/25 the book was coming out TUESDAY NIGHT and that I would be reading it on Wednesday.

    DAY MADE!!!!!!

  31. Something about the set-up Victoria designed to test Nevada doesn’t make sense to me. If the ‘Sixteen’ meant so much to Connor, wouldn’t he have kept track of them and ensured Merritt didn’t miss out on medical treatment or have to rely on food stamps? No hardship = no motive to betray…

    • Catalina explained that Merritt hated Connor. Blamed Connor for being part of the 16 stuck in the jungle despite it being orders from being enlisted. Don’t think Connor could keep track of someone who doesn’t want to be in touch.

      • Also Nevada indicated they would have help, Catalina said Merritt would not haven taken any help from Connor.

        • I’m on the fence about this. I can see how one of the sixteen could hold such a grudge. However, I would also think that Rogan and the others would *know* about this. And that, regardless, they would keep track of him and try to help him anonymously. It was such a deviation from previous comments that it made me think that House Andrews might’ve planted something there.

          • Connor has his own sense of honor. He probably didn’t help because he knew Merrit wouldn’t want it.

            • That is absolutely correct. That is how he acted with Nevada. He wanted to help her, but knew that she wouldn’t appreciate it, so he abstained.

          • Rogan tried to help his cousin Kelly, but she hated him so much that she refused him despite her family desperately needing financial help. He was also unaware that Kelly held that kind of deep-seated hatred until her betrayal was revealed.

            The situation with Merritt sounds very similar; even if Rogan knew about his situation and had tried to help, Merritt may not have been receptive to accepting it. Pride and hate are one hell of a combination.

    • I think that Rogan would have helped him if he asked, but he also respects other people’s boundaries. He tried to help his cousin financially, but didn’t force his help when she turned it down. I do think he may have kept tabs on him, but probably not overly close tabs and $5M can help you disappear fast.

  33. Waited till midnight (Europe)- and now I’ve got it and I wonder how I manage to put the book down tonight… 😊😊😊

  34. I kind of hate how books come out on Tuesday. I remember in college when Brandon Sanderson released his second Stormlight Archive during finals week, I still drove half an hour to the bookstore, bought it, and stayed up ’til 1 AM reading. Nearly bombed a number of classes that semester, but I’d do it again.

  35. I had been rereading Lisa Shearin’s SPI stories last week, but Sunday I finished 1 book and instead of starting the next i began rereading Saphire Flames to get thru today. 5 more hours.

  36. I am admittedly prejudiced because Alessandro is my favorite hero of yours to date, but I loved every single word! I screamed when I got to the final scene. (That lying witch! She does SO have an interest in that baby!! What is she doing??)

    It was a fantastic book. I am going to reread it right away, and the last time I did that was with the first Catalina book.

      • Yea they are totally going to spin it that way in the end the IA’s are forgiving of their villains that are family. Family is too important to them to crush. I still don’t like her for splitting Catalina’s attention to her rather than the outside forces. It could get her killed but then she wouldn’t be strong enough to be the head of the house I guess. Victoria is still evil though.

        • True, and that’s wild to me. Someone so messed up that they would betray their own family for their personal agenda is the greatest offense. It’s a huge betrayal of someone whose supposed to have your back. I would think they would have worse consequences than a random person doing the same thing.

  37. I don’t see a threat in epilogue. Gramma visiting baby so no one knows he is important to her. Victoria would not harm any of her line but she will use every threat to get Catalina to focus on protecting the family while getting stronger and smarter. She is ruthless in defense of the family even if it hurts her grand children or makes them afraid. She did this with their dad.

    • +1

      At first read I thought it might be a scene where baby gets kidnapped. But when I reread carefully and noticed how the nurse seemed to trust the ‘older man’, I came to a conclusion that the mentioned older man is likely to be Linus. So baby is safe with the old woman who is likely to be Grandma Victoria.

      For a split, bizarre moment I even thought that Trevor might be Victoria and Linus’s love child LOL (I know it doesn’t make sense and it will stay as a wild, temporary guess born from sleep-deprived brain)😂

      • I think Victoria would absolutely have carried out her threats to keep Catalina in line – she’s trying to teach Catalina those harsh, necessary lessons she spoke about in “Wildfire” – but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care. She had to act like she doesn’t care so that Catalina would believe the threat.

        Victoria is a complex woman in a dirty world. I think her ultimate intentions are good but she’s prepared to lead Catalina across a path of razor blades to get there. The Baylors may eventually understand her but they will never forgive her.

      • I thought the same thing!! Victoria’s secret love child! that would be crazy…I am not sure if that is true but an interesting theory! Orrrr maybe Trevor is related to Arcan and Tremaine got him on her side…

        • VT can’t have children, that’s why she needed the surrogate for the girls’ dad, James. And consequently how Arabella got the Beast powers.

          Though Trevor definitely seems to have some interesting back story!

  38. I live in the Mountain Time Zone in the USA. Sometimes on BN I can download at 11 PM, because someone thinks the far west Counties of Texas are in the Central Time Zone with the rest of the State. It’s always a guessing job, and I’ll do it again tonight.

  39. So, Grandma Tremaine redeemed or even more evil? I totally read her as more evil, but I’ve seen a lot of people think that she was just testing Catalina and she knew Alessandro and she should get together. Victoria did know about Alessandro’s lack of money, but did she know about him being excised? That’s one of the keys for me. Because if she knew both, then maybe she was just testing Catalina. But if she knew the poverty but not the excise, then she was controlling Catalina. Plus, I can’t think of her as nice knowing she put on that horrible “test” of human trafficking for Nevada and Rogan. Even conceiving of fake filming rape and murder of trafficking victims … and then ruining a man’s life to make it seem real, and threatening her granddaughter with releasing the videos … I do think she’s terrible. I want Catalina to give her the comuppance of the century!

    • Exactly!!!!

      She is evil. Family is important to her and she is teaching Catalina necessary, if horrible, things. But she is still evil. The epilogue disturbed me, but I also understand it.

    • I reckon when she does get her comeuppance, she will just feel like proud of Catalina, as though that’s a job well done and she’s ‘ready’ now.

      • I agree. Grandma Victoria was proud of Nevada for not sparing her (V.T.) from the fall-out of that whole plot line from Nevada’s books.

  40. I enjoyed the book. There were so many references to things that had already happened in other books 🙂 I have to say though that I prefer the Rogan and Nevada books but that is just me.

    • It’s already 9 August 25th and 9 am in my place (yes, I’m staying up reading from midnight to morning reading EB in one-sit-read)😁

  45. Spoiler thread

    Reading this book has made me even more certain that Linus is bad grandpa. He was excised from house Mope, his family, married into House Duncan. He used the wealth he received from Victoria to fuel his rise to power. He is a dual cardinal and being a Siren helps to be a successful politician and influencer.

    • I agree that something is off about Linus. I’m not completely certain he was the gentleman in the epilogue, but he could be. I can never quite make up my mind.

      I’m almost completely certain he isn’t the grandfather. Just using his ability to create weapons, he would never be poor. Plus, he seems to have been entrenched in Houston politics for a long time. Also, none of the Baylor children show any trace of his haephestos magic. I feel like there would have been some hint of his magic in one of them as a form of foreshadowing if he was the grandfather.

      I think he might be related to the grandfather as a brother or cousin or something. Considering his response to Catalina after her using her magic in the pit, I’m almost completely certain he has either known of or seen something like that before.

      I do think you have a point about him being dual, but I think if he has siren magic, it’s weak. It’s possible he’s just really good at being charming, but I’m not sure.

    • Yes, I definitely think he is the grandfather. He is definitely a dual siren/weapon mage. I haven’t figured out if he is good or bad yet; definitely complicated.

  47. With my mother in the ICU and hubby had his chemo treatment today, this (EB)is truly a bright spot for me at the moment. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  49. Argh internet just wiped out and I lost my thread! Grrr

    6 hours after delivery to my kindle I’m done and it was amazing! Had a few moments of I should go to sleep followed by one more chapter then reached about 80% and thought I may as well stay up and finish!

    Loved it!

    And that epilogue, I knew Victoria wasn’t 100% bad ( or maybe it’s a scheme) well maybe just 95% bad :oD

    And Alesandro I didn’t see that coming as I had a completely different solution in my head!

    I could keep going but won’t, all I’ll say is

    AMAZING!

    Great book you guys

    • I totally was blind sided by Alessandro. I was pretty sure that when Victoria made Catalina make the promise, that it wasn’t going to push Alessandro away. I thought he was trying to kill someone in his family (rather than Akran). It was pretty clear that he wanted very little to do with his family so that part seemed straight forward. Was not expecting him to be in such dire straights, and I wonder if he had thought of Catalina when he also cut short all of the engagements.
      I was pissed Xavier was trying to embarrass Alessandro, but Catalina hadn’t ever cared about those things anyway….

      • I thought it was hilarious that Xavier was trying so hard to split them up using the exact stuff that would push Catalina and Alessandro together. It’s obvious that Xavier cared for status, money and connections but it’s not Catalina’s thing and never was. Xavier just didn’t realize that. Basically he just cleared the way for them.

  50. What a ride! That was awesome! Thank you so much!

    There were parts where I laughed so hard, I cried.

    I will love Leon forever.

    I am so, so glad you exist in my world.

    Did I say thank you? THANK YOU!

  51. Its 2 am here on the east coast, still no books from amazon and the site’s timer keep reseting to 10 min… chronical pain is crippling me, why are you doing this to me amazon!?!? A new book would have helped so much!

  52. Wow I really loved EB, Catalina really shines through this book. I loved how Leon was a bigger part of this book too Also, I need a Cornelius and Tatyana hookup STAT.

    I thought the Alessandro/Catalina relationship was done quite well here too.

    My only real gripe with this book– why did Alessandro fall in love with Catalina? When we meet him in SF he is already immune to the siren power. On the other side, it’s explained quite well how Catalina crushed on him first etc.

    I just don’t get how Alessandro knew anything about Catalina to like her enough to be immune to her power, and it wasn’t really explained in this book either.

    It just felt like insta love on his side, and then a crush that developed quickly into love on her side. I understand Catalina, but Alessandro, not really. Once you suspend belief of course, still majorly shippable. But still.

    Idk, thoughts?

    Also, pit villain sounded terrifying 😂

    • One other thing, I wonder if we will hear more from Rogan’s mom. Diamond Fire alluded to her being an early mentor for Catalina at the end of the book and we never really heard from her again.

      Maybe because Catalina swapped out for Victoria lol

      • That bugged me, too, because Arrosa did mentor Catalina after the wedding. Here, only Victoria is referenced. She may have since moved to Europe into the house she (presumably) inherited, but she was there when Catalina really needed help. That us my only nitpick, though, because I love the book. I’ve read it 3 times already!! =)

        • Catalina actually refers to Arriosa’s mentoring and her appreciation of it several times. This book needs her to call on her Victoria armor, but it was Arriosa who taught her how to call up a public ‘face’.

    • I don’t think it was love at first sight. He did research on her as well before the trials he followed her and she deleted her instagram and he said that made him curious and then he meet her and he thought she was beautiful and then she said no to the drive so he was already kinda smitten at that point and like her he wanted to know more so he did more research he found her page through Nevada’s many followers. Then he actually was around her and fell harder.

      Also it has been mentioned in the books that there are people outsider her family immune to her because they have no ill will toward her.

      Albert has never experienced her power and was in love with her and it had only been less than 6 months and from the way it sounds she didn’t give him much of her time.

    • It was insta-attraction on both sides (which is normal; people have crushes based on physical attraction before getting to know their crush).

      Catalina didn’t know a single thing about Alessandro at first. What little she did know about him, was based on lies and appearances. Likewise, Alessandro didn’t know much about Catalina, but he was attracted to her and intrigued by her.

      They both fell in love while working closely together during Sapphire Flames. Catalina didn’t know the full truth about him, but she still learned about his personality and his values. She saw the disdain he had for assassins so she knew he wasn’t just a regular assassin for hire willing to kill anyone, she saw how he treated her family and her dog, how compassionate he was towards her, and how he risked his life to save a stranger (Runa’s brother). These are all the qualities that made her fall in love with him.

      The books are from Catalina’s POV, not Alessandro’s, so we don’t have as much insight into exactly why he fell in love with her. However, that doesn’t make it insta-love on his side. Just as Catalina got to learn about Alessandro while working with him, he also got to learn about her personality and values, and her dedication to her family and friends. We see this during their conversation in her bedroom in Sapphire Flames: “You are the kind of woman who stops in the middle of fighting hired killers to rescue a small, foul-smelling, doglike creature” and “You’re going to turn yourself inside out to help her. It is literally who you are.” This was just the beginning of their partnership; he learns so much more about her as the book progresses, including how Catalina became Head of the House and is doing everything in her power to ensure her family’s survival and well-being.

      With everything we learn about Alessandro in Emerald Blaze, especially the fact that he gave almost the entirety of 60 million dollars to his family so they could get out of debt and survive, it’s clear he understands/relates to the burden of being responsible for one’s House and family. He admired the qualities he saw in Catalina and that’s why he fell in love with her and became immune to her power by the time he sees her wings in the bathroom in Sapphire Flames.

    • First of all, he was initially immune because of his magic, not because of his feelings.

      But also, he’s had a crush on Catalina since around the trials. When he was asked to go help, he looked her up on instagram, thought she was cute and followed her. She deleted her profile shortly after and he was intrigued.

      During the trials he saw how powerful she was and his interest grew. She tried to ‘save him from her’ when he came to ask for a drive, and while he found it frustrating, I think he also found it endearing.

      At some point he follows Catalina’s alt instagram where she primarily posts pictures of tea, I’m pretty sure that’s during the time skip because at the end of SB Alessandro’s sister asks something along the lines of, “is she as great as you hoped she be?” I don’t think his interest had waned at all between trilogies.

      So they both were crushing on one another and internet stalked each other :p

      (Also, I really want to meet Alessandro’s sister. Her and Alessandro seem as close as the Baylor siblings. )

      • We can’t forget the biggest thing! When she told him to go away instead of going for a drive with him, she said “I want you to be happy and do what you want”, or something to that effect anyway. He’s never experienced that, someone who just wishes for him to be happy. Everyone wants something from him instead. I think that was the start of him falling in love, then SF just finished it.

        • We do get a glimpse of his POV, at the end of SF – re-read it. She was already his angel. But as someone posted earlier, neither of them was mature enough to form a relationship that would last. In EB, they both are ready.

          Also, Alessandro has always thought Catalina to be beautiful; Catalina has never seen herself as beautiful & thinks when he says it, he’s just flirting, because she “knows” she isn’t beautiful, that no-one could ever love her, etc. (DF & SF both show bits of this)

    • Makes you realize and appreciate how much Nevada meant to him back in their trilogy. I think it was white hot – when pancakes mentioned that Connor was trying really hard when Connor got up and got Nevada coffee personally.

    • Right? The coffee floating in the air while he basically hangs out to make sure he isn’t needed. Good big Brother in law.

    • I’m loving Rogan as a big brother. He’s gone from alone, to being part of this loving madness of a family, with a baby on the way and little sisters to guard – it’d be making him mental and letting him flex his dragon claws at the same time.

    • I was hoping to see the discussion between Connor and Catalina about her being deputy warden

  54. Xavier took me out of the story a little…. he wasnt Rogans family blood so why did he had its signature magic? Im talking about the family spikes.
    Everything else fabolous. Great book, really loved it.

    • I think the spikes aren’t a house specific spell like hellfire is for the Pierce family. It’s probably something stylistically that they do, and they teach their children to make the same shape. He probably continues to use that shape, partially put of habit engrained by the training, and partially as a middle finger to the family.

      • Xaiver is Rogan’s ‘first cousin once removed’ on the Spanish side – so makes sense that he’d use the same spikes – after all, nothing we know says that the spikes came from the American Rogan bloodline – they could’ve come down the Spanish side.

        When Rogan & Catalina are talking outside the Motor Pool they don’t know at that point that Xaiver took the Osirus Serum and is now a Prime – as far as they knew then, all the Spanish side were too weak to be a Prime. They’re worried at that point that it’s a ‘copycat Prime’ essentially – another Prime using the House Rogan signature throwing implement – possibly to give the impression that House Rogan was involved against Catalina… of course by the end we know it was someone from the wider House!

        • He’s not Rogan’s relative we learned that in Diamond Fire he was the son of two of the siblings spouses but he did grow up thinking that he was and so he would know how they made the spikes and since he grew up doing that it was natural for him to do that when he was throwing them at Catalina

          • and he is still telekinetic as his parents even so not biological Rogans most likely are and i think he shows some of it in DF?

            so he works for Akran and he enhanced him … so that will be plot of book 3?

            • Yes he did show that he was Telekinetic in Diamond Fire.

              Yes and that’s what I think also. I think we will also see more Rogan involvement in the third one because of it.

              • Yep that’s my point – use of the spikes could be from the Spanish side of family, not from the American one – so any telekinetic brought up in that family would also use them.

    • Remember that in this world magical families tend to select spouses according to talent. Connor and Nevada throwing that out to marry for love when it could result in non gifted children is seen as an aberration. Xavier likely inherited his telekinesis from his parents because they would be telekinetic themselves. They wouldn’t have been allowed to marry into the family otherwise

  55. So I had already figured out that Alessandro would have no trouble picking up the Baylor name; I just didn’t figure out the pauper angle. So Catalina already has one up on Granny Grimmest.

    But how about this: he brings his family over from Italy and Leon gets involved with one of Alessandro’s sisters – maybe even the one who is Alessandro’s agent.

    Re: Linus as bad guy: can he be the Warden AND the evil one that everyone will follow (from the Nevada books)? I think he’s more likely as a blood relative.

    Though I still don’t like Granny Grimmest getting to see/hold Baby Rogan.

    • actually evil Grandma did her a favour, if she hadn’t been through this promise and thinking she can’t have him at all – she might have kept going on the I will move to Italy and Be a Contessa dream, and his revelations would have been hard to take. this was it was a relief and joy to hear he didn’t have a house or anything binding him to Italy. I think grandma knew.

      • I feel like this was Victoria’s plan from the beginning. Even though the actual reality of Alessandro being excised made this a non-issue, it was useful to test Catalina, where Nevada failed.

      • I don’t think Catalina is the type to want to be the countessa. More that it would be a path for her to be with Alessandro. Almost more of a hindrance than jewel.

  56. SO MUCH FUN.

    I really want to know who Linus is to the family though. Alessandro knows, but the AL didn’t let him tell us (in SB)! More fun to be had.

    Thanks, Gordon and Ilona for another great read.

  57. Did anyone notice Rogan called Grandma Frida “Grandma Frida” so cute ❤️ They are all one big family

  58. Not super related but I just wanted to give kudos to Gordon and Ilona for the names of the Jiang family. Most people probably wouldn’t care but, as an Asian-Australian, I always notice when an Asian character is badly named and it always takes away from the immersion of the story.

    But the Jiang family was named so well, I am in shock and awe. I’ve never seen it done so well by non-Asian authors and honestly, they probably had some help, but even that deserves praise because I have NEVER seen so much effort put into the names of Chinese characters and the Jiang family aren’t even main characters.

    Maybe most people think that no one would notice names. But I notice and in this case I appreciate : )

    • Ditto, I noticed that too! Now if only we can get the narrators on audiobooks to pronounce them decently….

    • Ditto! I really love that they always include diverse characters into their stories, especially Asians, who I feel get left out a lot. And i love that they make them hot. I feel like too often Asians are portrayed only as nerdy/cheap/fresh off the boat in american entertainment. I really like that they included asian dramas and viki. Thank you

      • I enjoy the diversity of their characters as well. And have been curious about the Asian dramas mentioned in the blog and in the book. Is the one if the book real? I’m guessing not due to copyright issues and the fact that googling The Legend of Han Min doesn’t have a good result. Was the show the book mentions a reference to a specific one? I would like to check it out if so.

    • They do an incredible amount of research for fictional novels, even down to the small details. It’s happened more than once that I’ve seen something after reading one of their books and I am surprised because I read it in one of their books and they obviously researched it. It leaves me in awe each time.

  59. Well everyone has said everything, so I will just add my +1 vote for the Ara + Steph, Tat + Corn, Leon + Segrado sister (she’d be used to handling a killer with morals) pairings.
    Always wonderful whatever House Andrews offers.

  60. Ok so I had this thought about the prenatal transference, i.e. Nevada levitating the toolbox with her son’s powers. Connor assures her that it will go away after birth. But his mom is also a telekinetic Prime? So how did she know his powers in the womb were a prenatal transference and not her own powers?

    Also, and this has bugged me since Diamond Fire, in Burn For Me, Connor’s mom is described as “She had a minor telekinetic talent and she was also a very powerful empath”. But in Diamond Fire she’s a Prime Telekinetic?

    3.20am local, I was convinced I was so tired I’d stop halfway through…nope.

    • No idea about the first question, but Ilona answered after Diamond Fire came out for the second question in this post: https://www.ilona-andrews.com/2018/diamond-fire-discussion-post/

      Ilona says
      November 7, 2018 at 11:03 am
      We decided it would be more fun to have her as a Prime telekinetic and a significant empath. Perhaps Rogan was just careful in describing her talent and simply minimized because he and Nevada weren’t yet that close.

      • My guess for the first is that even as a Prime, presumably there would be something she wouldn’t normally do…

        Maybe she tried to swat a fly with a book, and an articulated lorry swept through the Garden… an over-reaction caused by the unmodulated gift from the baby…

        (Has anyone else had a weird thought about a short-story where the heroine with a publicly known non-dangerous gift gets pregnant deliberately with a prime of a dangerous gift in the hopes that the prenatal transferance will happen and she’ll be able to enact revenge on somebody – or maybe does it deliberately as an assassin – we’ve had the Artisan and the Arkon…maybe ‘the Midwife’ so called because she ‘helps them into the next life’)

        • I was thinking more like, baby wanted cake so a piece of cake and a fork flew over conveniently to Arrosa while pregnant and she realize herself that she did not use her magic to do it. LOL but it probably happened like you said.

      • Aha. Missed that comment, thx. Not that I question House Andrews, but it had been bugging me.

      • Thank you for this! I missed it in the DF comments. It was a burning question that I had from the moment I started reading DF and realized that Rogan’s mom was suddenly a Prime Tk. Although now that I’ve seen that comment, it appears that she was exactly what Rogan’s dad was attempting to “breed” into his kids when he picked her as his wife – Prime Tk with significant Emp: abilities that would allow her to sense enemies coming and attack them.

        Now if only I can find the answer to my other burning question…

    • For the pre-natal transference I have to wonder if it doesn’t have to do with Connor’s ability as a high precision telekinetic to slice inanimate objects.

      When he demonstrated it to Nevada he told her “Nobody in the continental United States can duplicate this” (Burn for Me, Chapter 7). That would include his mother.

  62. Fabulous Book, thank you IA – a truly smashing end to the Summer Holidays!

    To misquote my favourite authors;
    “You made book. Book REALLY good. Bought book and read book. Book, book. FABULOUS Woo!!”

  63. 9am, Chapter 5 already, finally having to break to fix some breakfast. SomethingS would be easier if you didn’t have to eat. Thank you, it’s lovely, and if you couldn’t guess I’m enjoying it immensely.

  64. Hi I just finished. Great book I laughed out loud Soo much. Leon and his sayings. Just to much to mention.hahaha. it’s 12:50am here for me. Now I want more. I had thought that they got Conner away quite well. And saving Gran haha lol.thanks

  65. Also Evil Granny “testing” Nevada like that. That scene between Catalina and Nevada, just all the chills ❤️

  66. woot woot! Just saw the amazon guy set a box down by the back door….can life get any better than that?

  67. I really felt like this was a return to form I thought Sapphire Flames had Suddenly moved into full pnr territory and all the secondary were basically relegated to “looking after each other “ paired to Alessandro and Catalina being super competent and powerful it felt more like a edge book then a Hidden legacy book still enjoyed don’t get me wrong but I , personally, just felt it was the weakest entry in the series whereas I finished blaze over 7 hours and didn’t miss a minute of it. I found it well paced offers decent set up for the future, turned down Catalinas and Alessandro awesomeness to manageable levels and I found reading about the Baylor family like visiting old friends.

    I still want to know more about Augustine, find out is bern still just a significant he was supposed to go for retesting I thought and I am curious is Leon classed as “ just” a sagatiturus ie always hits a bulls eye because I though there was hints when they just found out about it that it was more then that.

    Still wouldn’t be a Andrews book if I wasn’t left wanting more onto the next 😁.

    • I wonder if Leon isn’t the ‘rumored bastard’ child of the precog who is murdered in Nevada’s second book. He seems to know where the targets will be ahead of time, no need to aim – so a melding of the precog and Sagittarius magic. Would not be surprised if he is a Prime level Sagittarius – so will be interesting to see how his magic develops over the books and if he has his own book eventually.

      A novella on Runa and Bern would be fun.

      For some reason I wonder if Arabella will end up with the younger Montgomery brother that we have yet to meet but keep hearing about.

      And of course, will be interesting to see what type of antics the baby causes (and what his secondary magic will be since both parents are duals)…

      • Interesting idea about Leon 🤔. More then any of there other series I think hidden legacy is made for short stories and novellas, all of the side characters have there own things going on and there is never time in the main series to address it. I would love a novella/ book covering Augustine especially he seems to have his own quest for vengeance thing going on in the background.

      • Could see Linus as either Great Uncle or Grandfather – just like most don’t know the full manifestation of antistasi prime magic, perhaps the siren magic is similar and Catalina has just been using her passive field. Perhaps if she figures out how to use her ‘black wings’ she will have blade instead of projectile weapon creation magic? Since she has already said she hasn’t found the perfect blade – she creates it discovering another aspect to her magic. Could also be male vs. female expression of the magic, but that seems a bit too trite. If it is gender based, could see Nevada’s son manifesting by creating weapons cluing everyone in.

      • Yes, thank you! I was thinking the same for Arabella and Augustine’s younger brother! Also you just made me think, that maybe IA are going to spin the car grill story in a hilarious manner. Arabella stood still, no reaction, no words, no temper because something was off but she couldn’t figure out what. Maybe Augustine’s brother perversely impersonates ‘moneydicks’ as Bug would nicely phrase it for fun with his friends. Since he is a Prime of a House bumping into someone on the road could generate media attention and the house is very private, he would do everything to avoid scandal. He could have made an illusion to push Arabella off his scent. He definitely knew who she was. Imagine his friends howling with laughter at her being mesmerized into silence by him with an ‘ugly’ persona :D.

      • I’ve had the same thought about Leon since Nevada’s series. I’ve learned that Ilona and Gordon never drop these little hits without a purpose. Baranovsky and Leon are described as being physically similar (lean with dark colouring). And we know Leon’s mother is always looking for a man to sponge off of. Baranovsky was a renowned womanizer, so it would be in character. And the precog ability would explain where Leon’s “shooting around corners” king fu came from.

        It think it would be howlingly funny if Leon inherits Baranovsky’s tacky Disney mansion and all the Baylors move in together. Mostly I am picturing Arabella sliding down the banisters constantly. (:

        This would also work well as a character arc for Leon. He is determined to remain the secret avenger of the family. So setting up as Bruce Wayne would work well to those ends. I assume that is where Ilona and Gordon are going with that plot in any case. Also Leon was never sequenced by Scroll like the rest of the family. So I knew something was up as soon as that little plot point dropped.

        The good news is this means more books in the Hidden Legacy world for all of us! I would love to see a series of Arabella and Leon as well. I hope they continue the interaction with Arabella and Stephen Jiang. Arabella would hit that reserved and calm family like a meteor in a pond!😁

        And books for Bern and Cornelius would be awesome. So basically as long as Ilona and Gordon never stop writing I am happy.😛

        • I always wondered if Leon was the rumored bastard too, for the same reasons. But that would imply that there’s something highly unique about Aunt Gisela, because didn’t Baranovsky only go for unique women? All we really know about Gisela is that she has a questionable relationship with the law and that she enjoys men. And, she’s not a great mom. Nothing unusual so far. It makes me very curious about her magic and what she looks like. I think somewhere it’s said or implied that she’s sagittarius, but that doesn’t seem like enough to catch Baranovsky’s interest.

          • I had that exact thought! What would be special and unique about her that would draw Baranovsky’s attention? She seems like a tortured soul. Mention of her pops up in nearly every book but we never get to meet her. She’s going to show up in town sooner or later… Hopefully sooner!

  68. “Could be a Hephaestus mage. Or a technomancer”

    This made me laugh out loud.

    I still hope one day there might be a bit more to technomancer. I really enjoyed it.

    • +1000

      Of all the things I could say that’s all I will say.

      Kid 2 age 2 is demanding I get out of bed. 3 hours of sleep is not enough but I regret nothing.

      Oh and THANK YOU. Looking forward to seeing you and jF Friday. I hope this week isn’t too emotionally difficult. This was awesome.

  70. I Hope we will read more cenes with Cornelius daugther her so sweet and funny are little sad that she ist Not in thus book

  71. I really liked this book! It’s a lot more political intrigue than I’m used to from you guys, and I loved that about it! The first one was weird for me (it seemed so OOC for a lot of the characters) so I’m glad this book cleared a lot of that up.
    All I can really remember from the first book is the ending scene straight out of a soap opera where Alessandro is like, “I am a tortured assassin and I must leave you now,” and Catalina has to “let him go” because of blackmail from her evil grandmother.

    I’m a little sad that the Abyss had to die. It was just trying to exist. Sure, it killed some people but if you were created by some homicidal animator, you wouldn’t know any better. I feel like it could’ve been a great addition to team Baylor.

    I don’t know why Alessandro thought Catalina would leave him because he was excised. Didn’t she tell him she needed someone who wasn’t the heir of his own house because of the deal with her grandmother? I mean, doesn’t that make him even more of a good match for her?

    I’m still on the fence about Linus. I mean, he’s the warden so he’s basically the one policing the primes, but then there’s a high probability he’s also Caesar and the one who caused all those crimes in the first place? Maybe he just wanted to out all the primes that were looking for power? And now, in the epilogue, he’s likely the “distinguished older man” that helped the grandmother see the baby. I don’t know. I feel like he cares, but I don’t trust him.

    Tbh, I don’t think Victoria will harm the baby. Nevada failed her test and yet she didn’t punish her either by smearing Rogan. Instead, she killed the lying witness and let the whole thing go. She says she doesn’t care about Nevada but then why not do what she was threatening to do?
    I hope the baby doesn’t get kidnapped though 🥺

    And Leon’s one-man swat scene! I bet Arkan’s gonna definitely look up everything to do with Leon now.

    This book was so good! I was so glad to see all the glimpses of Nevada and Conor and the rest of the family. I’m gonna go back to read it again 😊

    • It was a general insecurity of Alessandro’s in general, I think. He spent so much of his life having his self worth tied to the image of his house. He was told his whole life that he should shut up, look pretty, and pretend nothing is wrong, or no woman of any worth would want him. He had multiple fiances dump him once they found out he wasn’t rich, and that had to sting a little, even if that was the intended outcome.

    • It’s instilled in Primes from birth that they should marry someone who is wealthy, powerful, genetically compatible, and beneficial to the family. Alessandro knows about the deal Catalina made with Victoria, but he still thinks she deserves better and that he doesn’t have much to offer her. It’s hard to shake that kind of insecurity.

      In Nevada’s books, Rogan kept saying that Nevada should find someone genetically compatible, because while he does have wealth and power, the one thing he couldn’t guarantee is that their children would be Primes. Alessandro, on the other hand, has no wealth and has been excised from his House, so he thinks Catalina should find someone who can offer her financial security.

    • Okay, so I guess it was a self-esteem thing on his part.
      I wonder who’s the head of his family now that he’s excised? One of his sisters? Will she have to act like a doll to get a rich Prime to marry her now? Or is Alessandro paying all of the family bills now, even though he’s excised?

      I love the whole Baylor family! I know we’re getting a short story from Arabella, but it would be so cool to get a POV from Bern, Leon, Grandma Frida… Sigh. They’re all great characters

    • “I’m still on the fence about Linus.”

      One thing I haven’t seen any speculation on is where the heck was Linus this entire book??? Catalina called him several times and remarked how strange it was that he wasn’t answering. The threat in the pit was very big and very real. I can’t help wondering whether he’s away doing good-guy things or bad-guy things….

  72. my copy from the book store shipped today. I have the link to the Arabella story….can’t wait to get reading. I usually get Kindle versions and stay up all night reading in one fell swoop. (Sweep, haha) … I’m trying to be patient this time. But it’s a stretch. I expect I’ll break by lunch and get the Kindle version.

  74. Two comments for House Andrews, because I am only partway through (who knew that sleep sometimes wins?), but they need to be said right now. 🙂 These are not spoilers, so it is safe for those who have not yet read the book.

    1. That dedication moved me to tears before I even started. You make of yourselves a gift to all your readers far beyond the stories you write.

    2. The “Connor is driven” bit. I married a driven man, knowing this about him, and you nailed it. I have once in our thirty-nine years had to put my foot down — he was willing to continue in a job that made him unhappy because he wanted to provide us the lifestyle that income bought. I gave him six months to find a job that made him happy instead, because more money is not worth the price of living with a deeply unhappy spouse.

    We are always first in his heart, and when needed he will — and has — dropped everything because we needed him, including checking out of the hospital to go to our eldest’s high school graduation, and slowing down his career when I fell ill with what turned out to be a chronic disease, so he could help more at home. But the rest of the time I’ve had to let him go where he was needed all over the world, accepting the long hours he needed to work to be satisfied that he’d done the job to his standards.

  75. Is the bonus story up yet? I got the link from the bookstore I bought it from but it doesn’t seem like its working TT

  76. Got the short story link from Blue Willows this morning and it’s the tease link, not the full story. Did anyone else get a link to a fully readable short story? Should I email back Blue Willows?

    Also, think Linus might be related on Frida’s side (maybe brother?) His Hephaestus magic seems really similar to Frida and Bern’s metal/pattern magic, no?

    • My link from Blue Willow came at 4 AM and works.
      It’a link not a download, if that makes any difference.
      Hope yours has worked by now.

  77. So I am wondering, since Victoria knew that Alessandro had no money, did she also find out that he was excised? When she made Catalina promise to only ever marry a Prime who would join the Baylor House, did she know that he fit the bill? All these possibilities!

      • Agreed. The only question is who will she pick for Arabella and then warn her off of so that she does the exact opposite? 🙂

        • Exactly. Had same thought.

          “Tell your sister she is absolutely NOT to have anything to do, with that hot, billionaire, Handsome aloof actor, who can do amazing things with water. And i mean not one thing, young lady!”

          Arabella: “Stephen, want to go out with me Saturday night?”

          • This!

            She learned from her mistakes with her son – she’s much more sneaky now. Although I doubt she would push Arabella toward someone so dedicated to his house. Grandma Vicki wants them to bring home strays with potential, who won’t tempt them to leave House Baylor. The only thing she would like more would be to leverage them to join House Tremaine. If she could get Arabella to do that, you’d have her three grandkids all as Primes, all running their own houses. They would be a force to be reckoned with.