SAPPHIRE FLAMES is finally out. Happy book birthday to everyone. We hope you’ll like it, we are sorry if you don’t. Thank you for giving our work a chance. 🙂
We had a great time in Houston. Your next chance to see us in person is in Austin with Jessie Mihalik. 8/29 Barnes & Noble, Austin , 7:00 pm. More information here.
This is your place to post comments and theories. The comments will be SPOILERY, so if you haven’t read the book, please be aware. We probably won’t respond to most of the comments on this post because we still have FAQs coming up, but if a particular question is very interesting, please +1 so we will know to address it in the chats.
I loved it – once again you knocked it out of the park! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Thanks for another great story.
LOVED THE BOOK! I loved the chainsaw, shovel, safety goggles, purring cat … and so much more! House Andrews is brilliant! Thank you
I loved the book cannot wait for more. Than you for all the hard work I know you both put into it. Give it a 5 star rating!
+1!
+1 loved every single moment.
I finished the book after much struggle since I had to work, but I LOVED it!!!!! Can’t wait for the next one.
I do have a question though, did I miss the explanation on why Linus Duncan has Catalina’s best interest at heart and why Alessandro was calling himself an idiot or are we still in the dark on that until next book?
I have a theory about that. I am probably wrong though
Please share your theory! I wonder too
Yes, please share even if it’s wrong, the BDH gets things wrong all the time! 🙂
I think he’s their grandfather! Catalina mentions he danced with Victoria and it seems like Alessandro looks at him like he notices a familial resemblance.
I thought the grandfather was a siren prime?
Also I thought Linus was Cesar……I do so hate to be bored.
Victoria SAID the grandfather was a Siren Prime, and Nevada didn’t flag it as a lie, BUT Victoria is a Prime Truther Seeker with a mastery Nevada doesn’t possess. She could know how to deceive Nevada without being caught.
Yes, Linus is Caesar, which is actually is further evidence of the relationship. One of the things mentioned about Caesar was how odd it was, the level of devotion he inspired in his followers. That always smelled like Siren power to me (remember Primes are often dual magic wielders).
Consider Caesar’s behavior toward the Baylors in the 2nd book vs the 3rd book. In the 2nd book he hires a hit squad, and later arranges Nevada’s and Conner’s murder in the cistern. In the 3rd book, that level of aggression stops. He does attempt to abduct Nevada, but even she notes he wants her alive. Even after his own plan is destroyed by them, he never in the intervening three years seeks vengeance. He didn’t know the Baylor’s were Victoria’s grandchildren until the start of book three. I think that’s what motivated the change.
In this book there are many clues pointing to the familial relationship. 1) He’s stayed very involved in their lives 2)He says he considers the Baylors “family” 3) He’s very dialed into to how Siren power works, 4) The thing Alessandro notices, given the fact he keeps looks back and forth between Catalina and Linus, must be a resemblance, and 5) There is clearly something to Alessandro’s guess because Linus silences him with a shake of his head, and 6) Alessandro’s comment about Linus being invested in her survival. She’s part of Linus’ legacy.
Wow, you really thought this through!
For me Linus was Cesar too, so I was really wondering why this change of behaviour. Thank you for the explanation.
And I loved the book. Finished yesterday night.
My take on it too.
Wow Jen, that’s brilliant! It wasn’t until I read the series for the 3rd time that I finally noticed ‘I do so hate to be bored’, (my mind was freakin blown) but I never even considered that Ceasar suddenly didn’t retaliate.
What if Victoria didn’t lie? If there are dark horses who register in their secondary power as Significants, there would have to be double Primes. They’d be incredibly rare, but maybe just rare and powerful enough to end up as Speaker of the Assembly?
At the opera, Catalina learns that there’s always a table reserved for Linus, whether he attends or not. ‘For some reason’, that scares her more than all his weapons and exo-suits combined… Could this be a hint that Linus possesses a talent more powerful and terrifying than his registered talent? If he really is a secret double Prime and a Siren he would definitely be No.1 on Victoria’s genetics wish list. She’d never mix her genes with magic that would be inferior (House Shaffer) or incompatible. Also, old Vic deals in secrets, so if it’s true, she could have stumbled upon the information about Linus and kept it to herself. We don’t know if Linus has any children, do we?
There’s also a Ceasar hint in SF when Catalina is appalled that a sadistic molester of women has been allowed to operate. Linus Duncan: “There are a great many things I would like to change.”
I wonder if Duncan is friend or foe.
+ 1
Maybe the family resemblence is in their magic not their faces so most others dont recognize it.
That’s an interesting point, especially since Alessandro is an Antistasi (sp) prime who is able to resist mental magic stuff, so maybe Duncan’s possible secondary siren magic doesn’t affect him as it does others (although I’m on the fence about Linus having some sort of siren magic, though I do believe that he is Caesar).
+1! I can’t wait for the next book, the next trilogy with Arabella, the next Iron Covenant! I just love y’all.
LOVED it! Cannot wait to see what happens with Lina and Alessandro. I especially love her more cerebral take on things–not only does it show a growth in character development but growth from the authors as they develop their craft. KUDOS!! I hope it is a smashing success!!
LOVED this. Really nice “First Book” since I’m dying to know what Alessandro’s deal is. I hope the sequel is planned for early 2020. 😉
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, I went into a movie theater to see this show called “Star Wars”.
I came out saying “When is the next one out ????!!!!”
Just finished Sapphire Flames … when is the next one out ????!!!!
Congratulations on a great book !!!
I wasn’t planning on staying up the whole night and day to finish it, but I couldn’t sleep anyway…
If you are taking requests for short stories, I would love to see the side trip to Spain. Besides the reaction (of Rogan and his mom) to Nevada’s news, I’d like a catch up to Arrosa’s relatives. Are half of them still awful?
Wednesday is “make your own dinner” night at our house. I was so intent on finding out what happened next that I completely failed to eat dinner tonight. I loved it. I want more. How long must we wait? (Same goes for Innkeeper, Hugh, and Derek/Julie, but Hidden Legacy tops the list.)
Deputy Catalina! You shot down a favorite theory of mine in the book but that’s all right.
Ok, time for food.
+1 me to! This book is definitely worth an all-nighter!
I can’t… it… I don’t…
BEST. BOOK. EVER.
+1
It’s such a shame that you two are human and can’t write a new book every week. There are no authors I enjoy more. This book is another winner and I am already impatient for more. When I’m reading Hidden Legacy they’re my favorites – when I’m reading Inn Keeper I switch. I look forward to EVERYTHING you write. Hope this is as successful as you deserve.
I know it just came out yesterday, but… when will the next one be out? ???? I’ve already read it twice, and I need more. Please and thank you.
+1
+1. There is no need to worry about a book comming out. Everything you write is amazing and wonderful. FAVOURITE AUTHORS EVER.
Happy book birthday!! Waited impatiently until it was available (I’m in Australia, so that was 2:00pm my time!) and then devoured it in one. straight. hit. It was *that* good!
Hope you get every award and all the recognition you deserve for this one! Thank you!!
So great. More, please!
Thank you so much. I love Sargent Teddy!
I had to put it down because, well, you know… work, bills, groceries. But I rushed back to it as soon as I got home again. I love seeing Catalina’s growth into a powerful young woman, but also her neuroses over relationships…. and Nevada’s revenge with the sparkly picture frame ????.
Eagerly awaiting the next one.
I loved this book very very much. It’s perfect
The book was absolutely fantastic. I’m so glad to find no major spoilers, here. I am one of those people who reads it all in a gulp. But I was out of internet range on Tuesday! I’m about to dive into my first re-read as well. You guys are so incredibly creative. I’m thankful for you every day I find joy in one of your books. And I re-read them often!
I know it just came out yesterday, but… when will the next one be out? ???? I’ve already read it twice, and I need more. Please and thank you.
I loved the book! But it made me hungry because of all the food included in the scenes! Fried Chicken, Tacos, Pithivier, Fajitas! Oh, that was torture while reading a book I can’t drop at 1AM in the morning. Devious, really devious Ilona and Gordon. I had FUN! ????????
Loved it of course! So many unanswered questions-so many possibilities! Can’t to see where you take us next!
So you totally surprised me with Linus, but in a good way! Very strong character and I look forward to the big reveal. It’s hard to believe I read the book already after waiting for it to come out. (I’m not complaining. I’m getting better at patience when it comes to waiting for your books. They are always so good, they deserve my patience!). Now I will order the Audible version and listen to it. I have to read it first before I can sit through the performance. You are both Prime Authors! Thank you!
I liked it. Not as much as SOTB or I&M though. Catalina isn’t as compelling to me yet, but Alessandro was more interesting than I expected. Why did he kill the ame though? Just to stymie catal? Didn’t sig hire him to kill benedikt ? Was he just waiting to get a shot at Ben? Did sig think he could save her? A couple scenes were too similar to Nevada’s stories, like runa agreeing to work with aless just as Cornelius had with Rogan. I wished for more Runa, bugg (love his dialogue) and bern. It also Seemed too coincidental that aless & cat happened to be investigating the same woman and he’s also her lifelong crush (unless Linus somehow orchestrated all that?). Also the Marshall thing didn’t really go anywhere (….yet?) -I wanted her to whip out her tattoo badge! Also wth with aless not even saying ‘hey thanks for saving me’? She sacrificed a lot to get him out. I also wish Nevada had left the firm in a different way. Seriously though, I love these authors, I get so into their worlds, I hate leaving them. Thank you for another hit!
Is Linus their Grandfather?
I cannot remember where the grandmother got the sperm. I need to go reread.
I thought he was Cesar but now not sure.
I remember thinking that Linus was Caesar but if he is he is playing a different game now. Also wondered if he is their grandfather. I seem to recall grandma Frida saying something about him having a dark eyed Scottish thing going, which suggests that he may have claimed Scottish ancestry before possibly settling in the States, but with enough money that sort of thing could possibly be falsified. Victoria said the grandfather was a Molpe but changed his name. You also have to wonder about something else. Their grandfather was a siren but Linus has different magic. However as Warden Linus had access to the Osiris serum and various varieties. Could he have used some variety of it on himself to give him a stronger magic? Loved the book. Can’t wait to see what happens next.
I agreed, Linus is Caesar, the “I do so hate to be bored line” AND the Nevada’s, Catalina, and Arabella’s grandfather. I believe the things Victoria told Nevada about their grandfather were lies. Yes Nevada is a truth seeker, but she’s not at Victoria level experience wise. If anyone could lie to Nevada and get away with it, it would be Victoria. Now Linus’ registered magic isn’t siren, but Primes of his level are usually dual magic users. The Siren genes might have passed down through a parent or grandparent. Primes typically like to keep people in the dark as much as possible about their abilities, so it would make sense Linus hid it. They discuss in the earlier book how fanatically devoted all those conspirators were to Caesar. To me that always sounded like an more advance expression of Siren ability.
There would also be a parallel to the Nevada books, should Linus be their grandfather. The series is called Hidden Legacy. Nevada with her truth seeking deals with being Victoria’s legacy. Catalina with her Siren powers handles being Linus’, and if Arabella with her metamorphosis gets her own story maybe there would be some connection to the surrogate to handle.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Only on chapter 4
How have I survived till now!
Your writing is THE BEST
(Scrolled swiftly & avoided reading any spoilers…)
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I finished the book after much struggle since I had to work, but I LOVED it!!!!! Can’t wait for the next one.
I do have a question though, did I miss the explanation on why Linus Duncan has Catalina’s best interest at heart and why Alessandro was calling himself an idiot or are we still in the dark on that until next book?
Linus appears to have no family himself and likes Victoria Tremaine, so maybe the Baylors are the closest he can come to passing down his legacy.
Perhaps Linus has carried a torch for Victoria for years.
The Warden business sounds grueling.
Linus and Victoria are probably not “compatible” magic wise.
We know Victoria still pines for her lost love so Linus would be competing with a ghost.
Now I want a Linus POV where a young Linus and young Victoria meet for the first time.
My guess he is related but that Victoria is the wrong side of the family tree ????
The implication is Linus is Catalina’s grandfather. Alessandro is looking back and forth between Linus and Catalina when he has his suspicion. He sees a physical resemblance and he’s and idiot for not seeing it sooner. He seems to be on the right track, because right after Linus notices Alessandro’s looks and shakes his head to silence him. Linus is invested in Catalina’s survival because she’s his…HIDDEN LEGACY. Linus almost certainly has Siren abilities as his secondary power, which is why he knows so much about how it works (something which perplexes Catalina).
Agreed!
+ 1
I have the same questions.
I loved it!!! I especially loved that you included the word “gigil” since it is in my language.
When is the next one out please? LOL! We of the book reading horde are a demanding lot it seems! But seriously, will be patiently waiting for the next one to come out.
Mabuhay po kayo! (loosely translated LIVE LONG and PROSPER).
Thank you for your words & the fabulous worlds that you create.
Book has been devoured.
Intriguing, interesting and imaginative! A triumph!
Thank you!
If Alessando is the “second son” in Wild Fire, than why did the “familiar feminine voice” call him her “only brother”??? Hmmm….. Is that who he is avenging?
That ending…. completely, fully, utterly so classic Chinese drama…….while the heart-wrenching feels is lovely please binge on lots and lots of kdramas now. Bubbly, cute, and extremely happily ever after kdramas. Please and thank you very muchly!
Wow! What a setup. I loved the book. I am really going to enjoy he next book. Thank you for the deleted scene explaining what Arabella, Leon & Grandma Frida were up to. I appreciated knowing when it came up in the book. I like that Catalina is very observant and knows when something is off. I also appreciate knowing what Linis’s ability is. So cool! Thanks
Quick clarification. When Catalina refers to her wings, are they like a mental thing or does she literally sprout wings? And if yes, can we get some artwork for it!!
LOVED THE BOOK. Finished reading it in hours and gonna start my first( of many) re-read soon!
+1!
I would like to know as well!!!! And can she decide who gets to see her wings?
+1
I would love it if Doris of Disanthus.com would create the Catalina wings artwork.
I bet it would look amazing. ????✨????
I love that she rescued and named the dog Shadow. We had a rescue dog named Shadow many years ago. We rescued her from a school yard where the kids were throwing stones at her. She was all matted, thin and a mess. Lovely mixed terrier, she followed my mom and me everywhere, hence the name.
I liked the subversiveness of calling people white instead of assuming they were. The story went in different directions than I had imagined, but that made it more interesting. The use of the word “prone” in this book did not slap me out of the story the way it has in other books. This is a major setup for the coming installments. Having the Yarrow episode already explained helped a lot!!
Looking forward!!!!!!!!
Does anyone think Alessandro has a bit of siren in him? I can’t tell if Catalina is just besotted/in love or if he was actually beguiling her (on purpose or not).
Also, what are the limits of Linus’s magic? Does he have to know how to construct the weapons? Or just have touched it? Seen it? It just has to exist? Does he have to train to use his power?
I have so many questions!
+1 how much technical knowledge does Linus need for his power?
I think Catalina’s just besotted, because I believe Alessandro’s secondary power has to do with his jumping off high things and disappearing all the time.
YES! How is he always jumping from high places with impunity??? Also, Jen, you’ve convinced me that Linus may well be Victoria’s sperm donor, and the whole “sperm for money” story was a red herring that she threw out to keep the Baylors off the scent. Can’t wait to find out!
I really liked Sapphire Fire.
The Baylor family are one of my favorite blood-related families by House Andrews. They are a lot of fun.
On the first reading Sapphire Flames was a little rough because Burn For Me has the genius Rogan prologue. Absolute genius that gets better every time I read it.
But Sapphire Flames does not have a Alessandro prologue, so for part of the book I thought Alessandro was a hallucination/ illusion/ shape shifter.
As a fellow writer, I loved the transition between the two Baylor Detective Agencies. As a reader, it feels really rushed. I would have loved a short storyline between.
Loved the book, is it possible to get a year for the 2nd book.
Amazing, as always! I love your kick-@$$ female characters and Catalina is no exception. Best wishes for a very prosperous happy book birthday!
I really enjoyed the book and lost a lot of sleep over it, like many others in the BDH. Catalina grew up in the same household as Nevada and has the same values, but her voice is totally different from Nevada’s. Catalina has definitely matured, but her voice still “sounded” young, and like she didn’t have it all together YET, which is fitting for her age and personality. Alessandro annoyed me when he kept getting rid of folks that Catalina was trying to question, but otherwise, he was great and different from Rogan. I can’t wait to find out why he couldn’t stay with his “angel.”
There were also many things I loved about the story outside of the main characters. I liked reading about the issues the Baylors were having with their security team and how they realized what the problem was and tried to fix it. I liked witnessing the possible budding relationships between Runa and Bern and between Penelope and Benjiro. I felt sad to hear the news about Napoleon, but I loved the addition of Shadow. The scenes with Arabella, Grandma Frida, Bug, and Leon were hilarious, and the part with Matilda and the purring/growling Zeus had me laughing out loud! Also, I sooo need to know just what it is that Alessandro appeared to figure out about Linus Duncan and Catalina/ the Baylor family!!!
Thank you, House Andrews for another great addition to my library! I can’t wait for the next book! 🙂
My assumption for the Linus/Catalina “discovery” was their similarity in looks. Alessandro realized they were related, but Linus had him be quiet.
I also loved the scenes between Penelope and Heart. I hope we get to read a short story of their romance, since I see them getting together before Catalina and Alessandro do.
And loved the book!!
It was awesome! Thank you for another great read. I’m going to try to wait a full week until I read it again. Is the next one almost done? LOL (NO, that was definitely NOT a serious question.)
I hope you’ll take a little vacation from writing and enjoy basking in the glory of another success. You deserve it.
+1
Time for a well earned rest!
I had a lot of fun reading this book.
Linus is definitely Caesar, and Catalina bears a familial resemblance to him. As to what Caesar wants beyond the interesting ??? Maybe he just wants the power hungry sadists like Adam Pierce to take the blame and die/be incapacitated. Or maybe he does want to head New Rome after killing off all the parts of current society that he despises (and/or opposes him).
I’m so happy to know Linus’s official designation. Perhaps he’s a Dual Prime with a Charisma based secondary power.
Questions:
-In regards to Victoria (and the paternal grandfather of the Baylors), can an experienced truthseeker Prime successfully lie to another less experienced truthseeker Prime (Nevada)?
Or give a partial truth? Considering it was in vitro fertilization, genetic manipulation could be on the table, including adding in Linus’s genes as a third donor (I’ve read Sci-Fi where there were more than 2 bio-parents). After all Linus is cozy with gene experts Scroll.
But would magic still be passed on with genetic manipulation?
– What are the rules for who has to reveal their power designation? Nevada’s Truthseeker status was broadcast in the Assembly newsletter, so is it only the first head of a hopeful house that has to disclose during the application process (and if so does everyone in the Assembly then assume that House Baylor will be predominantly a truthseeker house)? Would the Assembly speaker have to disclose? Or would it be assumed due to his House designation?
And what about Nevada’s Dual status? The Magus Sagittarius wasn’t tested during the trials, so is that still a secret? Or is it known to be in the House because the mom & maternal grandfather would be in the military databases?
Yep, I’m a bit unclear as to what is public knowledge (like on Herald), what seems like an open secret (military databases – or maybe this just seems like an open secret given Baylor P.I. access) or House gossip, and what is truly secret (dark horses and extent of known powers).
-Was Scroll present during the Baylor trials? I’m curious as to if the non-Baylor participants had to be authenticated beforehand (i.e. do Alessandro’s genes match up with the official Sagredo bloodline?)
-I’m not sure what to think about Victoria’s stated disappointment in Nevada (“failed me”). If Victoria was going to give Nevada to Rogan, wouldn’t Catalina had to have been Victoria’s heir and future head of House Tremaine anyway? After all, she tells Catalina that “You can’t belong to two Houses at once; you have to choose. If you marry into a powerful House, you’ll choose your husband over your House the way Nevada did.” So is Victoria just trying to establish a relationship/rapport by saying this?
I mean Victoria saying Catalina is like her, etc.
I fully agree on the Linus is Caesar. As to what he wants…I think he honestly wants to change the word for the better. I believe Cornelius once said something along those lines, “he was honest and he tried to change the Assembly for the better.” Prime society is petty, violence, and selfish. All these incredible powers and very few mages use those abilities for the public good. Finding himself unable to effect change in a democratic system of government, he sought to impose one that would given him the abilities to achieve what he wanted. This may or may not be fueled by personal tragedy, possibly the woman he mentioned to Nevada.
I also think Victoria, experienced truth seeker about able to lie about their grandfather, which is why I think Linus’ dual ability is Siren, like Catalina, hence the devotion of his followers.
Good questions about disclosure. Maybe it’s just head of house upon formation? I don’t think anyone discloses secondary, since they don’t need it for status. I believe it was stated that people reveal just enough to qualify for the Prime perks and that’s it.
Alessandro may not use scroll, and I don’t think they’d check his bloodline for the testing, just his qualifying exam results. I was thinking something similar in regards to Alessandro’s secret, though I might be leaning toward bastard child of the mother’s (not technically a biological Sagredo and a count).
I mostly agree. But I don’t hink Linus’s aspirations are so pure. His siren’s power may provide him the option to lie and sound sincere while doing it. (In example, Catalina’s magic minions love her unconditionally. Independently of the veracity of her statements). Would Victoria consider this possibility beforehand? I think so. But she wouldn’t care. Both seem to consider the end justify the means, so they’ll think their bad deeds (if they retain the capacity to identify them as such) are a “necessary evil”. After all, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”.
Interesting questions!
– I don’t think Truthseekers would necessarily be better liars. Both Victoria and Nevada are Primes, which means their magic never misfires. It doesn’t seem likely that one would be able to lie (or half-lie) to the other undetected.
– There could have been DNA-tampering, but what would be the point? Using the Beast of Cologne as a surrogate meant 3 different magical influences already and it’s suggested in the series that Victoria Tremaine suspected as much. Why manipulate the genes and risk a magic-warped child? However, it’s very likely that Catalina’s Siren-talents stem from the sperm donor and SF hints that Linus Duncan is that donor.
– I thought it might have been a combination of age and the fact that they didn’t need register more than 2 Primes for the formation of House Baylor? I remember both Nevada’s and Bern’s talents were accessible in the database. If Catalina’s and Arabella’s records remained sealed because they were minors (as in, under 21) then Catalina’s talent should soon be accessible in the database too? Except that nobody would know what it meant because only the designation is published. So it would say ‘Siren’ and nothing else. Like how ‘Truthseeker’ reads like ‘lie-detector’ even though a true Prime could lobotomize a person on sight.
– No, one would typically only register in their strongest magical designation. Secondary powers don’t have to be revealed in the trials, that’s how Houses hide their Dark Horses. They register as Average or Significant in their secondary talent but are really Primes working as assassins, for instance.
– I was curious about this too. After Nevada’s trials and displays of power (think of her circle that was instantly recognized as a Tremaine pattern and then the family of Alexander Sturm begged Nevada to keep their father’s/husband’s mind intact), it should be common knowledge amongst the Houston houses that Nevada, Catalina and Arabella are Tremaine granddaughters and that Nevada is just as powerful as her grandmother. That alone should be enough to give anyone pause. But on Herald, according to Arabella, House Baylor was seen as some hillbilly poor new house, to be looked down upon. And at the Opera, a girl derisively asks Alessandro: ‘What are you doing here with Catalina Baylor’? Clearly she thought he was slumming it with some trash nobody, while her dumped niece came from perfect breeding. Old money still trumps talent in the eyes of many a society.
– I thought that if you wanted to partake in a trial, you had to be registered at a DNA database, either Scroll or one of their competitors.
– Victoria was just stating the facts the way she sees them. Nevada doesn’t care for status or politics. Tremaine is disappointed in Nevada because Nevada could have built a new Truthseeker dynasty, but instead chose to marry into House Rogan, meaning her children won’t be members of House Baylor, and might not even be Primes. Giving up the position as Head of a House would be inconceivable for Tremaine too. Of her 3 granddaughters, Catalina is most likely able to carry on the Tremaine genes as Head of a House, seeing as how Arabella has more surrogate-DNA and she probably wouldn’t care for the position anyway.
I’m guessing here that houses with only Prime daughters die out UNLESS those daughters manage to have children that aren’t claimed by the house(s) of their father(s) and one of their (grand-)kids is a Prime. This would be complicated because magically gifted fathers tend to claim their progeny for their own House, so that leaves either sperm donation or a marriage contract stating beforehand that the children will belong to the house of the mother. The only other way for a House with only Prime daughters to survive would be if Average/Significant male members of the House manage to breed ‘up’ and create a new Prime within 2 generations that way. Basically, if Catalina and Arabella married a member of another House just like Nevada did, the next generation of House Baylor could only consist of Bern’s and Leon’s children. If their children weren’t Primes who also didn’t produce Primes, House Baylor would be a failed vector and die out, no matter how many Prime kids and grandbabies Nevada, Catalina and Arabella had. Those (grand-)kids would simply be the future of the Houses they married into and not the future of House Baylor.
Which is why it would be very impractical for one of the Baylor girls to still be Head of House Baylor after marriage. Why stay on as Head of your maiden House when you’re going to be raising the next generation for another House? It could easily become a conflict of interest as well. Bern would most likely become Head of House Baylor instead and that would be perfectly fine. But Bern doesn’t have Tremaine blood and he might not care at all for the political and genetic future of House Baylor, which does make it problematic in Victoria’s eyes.
So when Catalina asks Victoria for help, Victoria asks why she should care. Catalina tells her that Victoria doesn’t want to see House Baylor fail because everyone knows that the Baylor girls are really Tremaine granddaughters. To which Victoria basically replies: ‘if you’re going to play countess somewhere in Italy in a few years, House Baylor will fail anyway. If you want me to care for House Baylor, then so should you. Promise me that you’re committed to birthing 2-3 Prime House Baylor members in the future, no matter the personal cost, and I’ll help you.’
It’s just brutal logic on Tremaine’s part. I LOVED that part of the book, incidentally.
My questions are: would Alessandro renounce his family and his title for Arabella in favor of House Baylor (probably), would they be genetically compatible for making Prime babies (maybe?), is Victoria Tremaine scouring the DNA databases for possible marriage candidates for Catalina as we speak and would she care for age or appearance at all in possible candidates? Could she expect Catalina to marry a 60-year old bastard Prime / former Dark Horse who can be bought from his house for a lot of money or a divorced Prime who didn’t have Prime children in his first marriage who wouldn’t mind leaving his House for another go at it in House Baylor? Would it be common for sole Prime daughters to pull a classical porn-star move in loveless contract marriage situations, meaning: find an ancient Prime willing to renounce ties to his House and hope he dies after 2-3 kids are conceived? Would Alessandro have to fight a battle over the quality of his sperm with an old guy or some dipshit loser as well as winning over Catalina’s bruised heart? Awesome, delicious, medieval stuff. I so can’t wait for the next books. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Wait, I forgot! Bern is a Significant and Leon doesn’t want to register, so in that case one of the Baylor girls really has to be Head of House and for the future survival of House Baylor, one of the girls would really need a sperm donor, or a marriage contract in which the partner agrees that the children will belong to House Baylor and not to the father’s House. OK, aaaand we’re back.
I don’t think they’d need a marriage contract or anything, the husband would just have to join House Baylor instead of the girl joining the husband’s house.
I don’t think houses with Prime daughters die out, I think they have to find husband willing to marrying into their house, like a Prime son. I don’t think men automatically get to stay with their own house and women go. I believe Nevada married into House Rogan because they needed the numbers. A heir or head of house might will marry a second or third son depending on what’s being negotiated in the marriage contract. Of course in House Baylor’s case, because they are a young House with limited resources, they are in a tough negotiating position. While I can certainly imagine a fair few would be interested in acquiring them, especially since Penelope’s family seems to be rising vectors(Leon and Berns magic in addition to the sisters all seem to have more magic than their parents), I doubt they want to surrender their sons into a statistically likely to fail. Not to mention the Baylor can’t afford to compensate them for the loss of a Prime, like Rogan’s father did with his mother’s family.
Thank you, that makes sense! I forgot about Rogan’s father.
You’re right, families would simply choose the child who’s a Prime in their specialty as the Heir and sell one or both other kids to other Houses. If the youngest of three kids is a girl, but she’s a Prime and she alone inherited the lucrative family talent, then she’d be the Heir regardless of age or gender.
I was confused in Sapphire Flames because Nevada stays on as head of House Baylor after she marries Rogan. But she would have been part of House Rogan since her wedding day, wouldn’t she? Catalina feels guilty about the way Nevada passed on the title to her, but Alessandro tells her that ‘it had to happen’, which I took to mean that Nevada would have simply been too busy to serve both houses. It wasn’t clear to me that Nevada couldn’t have been Head of House Baylor in an official capacity anyway, because 2 heads of houses can’t be married to each other.
Reading your very thoroughly written theories made me think of something with regards to the whole Catalina promising Victoria to prioritize House Baylor over Alessandro. So the first 3 books were all about this huge overarching plot about essentially throwing over the status quo; getting rid of the toxic and overwhelming influences of “Houses.” I don’t think that’s just going away. I think at some point in the series, Linus is going to die (just a wild guess), but I also think that the “Houses” won’t matter as much as they do anymore, or it’ll be destabilized enough somehow that Catalina and Alessandro will be able to be together. So why would Victoria force Catalina to make a promise that essentially holds up the idea of a powerful House when she’s been involved in a conspiracy against all Houses? I wonder if she’s (Victoria’s) more sensitive than she appears (she does call herself sensitive) and wouldn’t actually want to seriously prevent Catalina from being with someone she loves.
This might not make sense, or maybe I totally misunderstood the point of the first 3 books/am way off, but I’m trying to loophole my way out of the angst of Catalina and Alessandro not being together…
Loved this book so much! Both whimpered in excitement and laughed out loud at regular intervals. You are such brilliant writers!
Unsure about Linus though… Think he is the grandfather but not sure about Caesar? Maybe Caesar but with more complex goals/reasons than we thought from Nevada’s series?
Love Alessandro as her hero – such a beautiful tortured bad boy. And an excellent damsel in distress to be rescued!
I adjusted my work schedule to be able to read Sapphire Flames. I’m glad that I did. It was worthy and I’ll do it again. But (please consider I’ve just finished, so I’m just writing to get these feelings out of my system) I was a bit uncomfortable reading this infatuated-and-in-love rollercoaster because some behavioural patterns could be protocolized into a To-Avoid-In-Dating-Guidelines-book in the real world. Alessandro and Catalina aren’t experts, and I don’t consider myself one either, but… I guess I felt out of my comfort zone [Once upon a time I had similar feelings about Curran’s invasion of Kate’s personal space (but the I’m just not a man but-also-a-lion-and-this-is-part-of-my-courting-dance justification I couldn’t apply to Alessandro) and Rogan & Nevada’s relationship development after he kidnapped her (Back then, if “Burn For Me” weren’t written by IA I’m not sure I would have finished the book). Maybe I felt uncomfortable due to their youth too]. Perhaps, like Karat said, “I’m entirely too sane for that nonsense”. I hope to be able to emphasize differently in the future. Nowadays I love all books in the Hidden Legacy Series, but I liked the romantic-relationship-aspect of Rogan & Nevada’s trilogy more after the first book. So it’s likely I’ll change my mind about Catalina and Alessandro as well. A little food for thought: Catalina has idolized Alessandro for years, so I can understand why she focus so much on his appearance… But when even Bug made a comment about how good he looks, I thought: Not you too, please! I’m sorry, but I felt praise and worship to Alessandro was repetitive. So far, those are the only less-possitive-things that come to mind. Besides that, I loved the “easter eggs” and “the balanced news” (Shadow was introduced but Napoleon died a year ago, the warehouse was totaled but Nevada’s pregnant, and so on). Overall, this is my favourite background of all your Series. If there was a master’s-in-book-crafting award, I would have already nominated you for it.
P.S: For additional therapy I’m going to write a chapter’s recap. Could I share it on Goodreads and/or in here, or would you consider it too much? Thank you.
This is partly why I think Alessandro is also a siren of some sort or something similar. People are drawn to him. His most distinguishing feature is that he’s attractive. The only other person described that way is Augustine, except in his case we know it’s because of his illusions.
I agree on the praise, it emphasized the superficial attraction and that grated on me because I didn’t see what made Catalina love the person inside the pretty shell.
However, I LOVE the kidnapping-scene from Burn For Me, thought the Kate Daniels glue to chair thing was funny as heck and when I read Twilight as a teenager, it never occurred to me to think it creepy that Edward was watching Bella sleep even though it clearly should have. I guess Alessandro is doing the same thing. Dropping by, saying hi… I thought it was funny and romantic, actually. I have no clue why and that’s probably not the healthiest response, but there you have it.
Alessandro defender here! *grin*
I totally loved Alessandro. He does keep pushing and teasing, but (unlike Rogan when he first met Nevada) he never threatens Catalina in the slightest. At the mall, he talked her into getting in his car instead of picking her up and putting her into it, even though he was very exasperated by her resistance and they didn´t have much time. In her bedroom, when he told him to leave, he eventually did. He lets her make her own choices and he never forces her to do anything or tries to manipulate her in a sneaky way (remember Rogan trying to trap Nevada in a circle right after their disastrous first meeting/kidnap? Alessandro never did anything remotely like that).
Also, he is much that she admires. He can be the cold killer, but also sensitive and caring (two sides Catalina struggles to reconcile for herself). Plus, he is a social chameleon, able to seem confident and comfortable in very different situations. And he´s honest with Catalina, he lets her see all those different sides to him (Instagram Alessandro, assassin Alessandro and so on) and as far as I can tell, he never lied to her. He´s never judgemental of her, even though he is perceptive enough to realise she isn´t your typical Prime. He can also take a joke that totally destroys the image of cool badass (habanero!).
And he´s an intriguing mystery.
Overall I like Alessandro’s character as well. But I’m sure that I’ll probably like him more in future books, that’all 😉
In my previous comment I described my feelings mostly from chapter 9.
P.S: I laughed out loud at Kate’s chair scene. The bedroom scenes are the problematic ones for me (I guess because the bedroom is like a sanctuary to me, a place to be invited into and never to be intruded).
Other P.S: I didn’t feel praise and worship to Alessandro was undeserved. More like it was repetitive without necessity. I tried to translate my “Ok, I get it he’s hot but I don’t need to be reminded of it in every chapter” feeling translated into other words. I’m not sure I was able to, so there you have it 🙂
I totally get what you mean! I think it was emphasized like this because his looks are a weapon that he uses on a regular basis – he flirts, teases and dazzles his way out of having to answer questions. And of course they do help maintaining that playboy image. His hotness is much more central to his character than to Rogan or Curran, neither of whom seems to care much for his looks.
That said, it feels like Rogan´s hotness is pretty much mentioned in every chapter of White Hot and Wildfire too, only it`s more in term of how much Nevada wants to have sex with him. Catalina is a bit more romantic as character, she keeps trying to tell herself it´s just a dream.
(And Grandma Frida always loves taking pictures!)
I totally understand about the bedroom, I´d also be creeped out as hell. However, different world and all that, so I think it was mostly a tactic to unbalance her and get a chance to talk to her in private.
PS Kate´s chair scene was hilarious!
@ Emerald:
“However, different world and all that, so I think it was mostly a tactic to unbalance her ”
Perhaps that’s part of my problem with SF. We are reading an urban fantasy by definition, so “the bending” of real world’s rules are no just expected but welcome. Nevertheless, social interactions (look at the lovable Baylors i.e) remain realistic (despite the magical elements) So… even if Alessandro’s body is weaponized (I agree and I loved that you pointed it out) I still think it was emphasized too much (By the way, I also think Rogan’s body has been praised too much. It’s why I usually avoid his descriptions and jump directly to verbal quotes) Furthermore, I think (and I believe Alessandro was more curious about Catalina than trying to disbalance her) that the lack of respect for the bedroom’s privacy is one of the very little consistent flaws in IA’s writing (and not a flaw per se, because the scenes are well written and the dialogues are funny. A flaw in the sense that, for me, the idea that the characters decide to trespass is unrealistic. I repeat to avoid missunderstandings: A flaw in the sense that it’s too unrealistic for my personal taste. Nothing else and nothing more).
Probably, in regards to this point, it will be easier to agree to disagree 😉
Cristina, I get your point. I really do. UF is still about people and the general framework of norms for social interactions in the Hidden Legacy world isn´t too far from ours. (Though I would add, the world of Primes is another than that of Baylor family – but you`re right, strictly speaking Primes should generally respect each other´s privacy to avoid a confrontation from which they can´t come back. Simply because their talents are so often lethal, there ought to be an understanding of the term “privacy”.) So yes, I agree it´s unrealistic for Alessandro to trespass so nonchalantly and violate Catalina´s privacy in that manner. It`s the “I do whatever I please and if you don`t push back hard I assume you want me to” mentality. Seriously annoying.
I think here it´s done because of Catalina´s character – physical attraction and sex is something she seems to have very little experience with, which is why it flusters her so and offers such comic potential which was wonderfully realized in that scene – and also partly because of the genre. Unfortunately, UF romance seems to be populated with extremely dominant alpha males who don´t know the meaning of the terms privacy and respect. Compared to Rogan´s kidnapping of Nevada, Alessandro is actually toned down quite a bit on that stereotype (thank you, IA, thank you ever so much for that!!). Maybe that makes the bedroom scene stand out even more, though, especially since it led to Alessandro getting his way (the agreement to work together, which gave him a way to keep an eye on Catalina and interact more with her).
I also think IA is very talented. I’ve checked out different authors and genres looking for “book scapism” and they are between the few whose books I blindly buy. They have earnt my admiration ♡ So, like you have helped me understand, perhaps I’m being too harsh with them this time 🙁
When Natasha said “He isn’t who he says he is. His family is—”, that means Alessandro is not actually a Sagredo, right?
We know they will end up together. Catalina has to stay with her house. Sagredo would never let go of someone like Alessandro… Unless he wasn’t a Sagredo in the first place.
There are 2 Antistasi Houses in the US, 5 in the EU. (Presumably, the ones in Africa and Asia don’t look Italian.) So does he come from a different house? Was he the result of some unexpected pairing?
That combined with his “certain reputation” that he had since he was a teen. Hmm…
But if he’s not a Sagredo but so famous, wouldn’t the Sagredo family have said something? Maybe he’s a bastard child, like in the fanfic.
My current theory is that Alessandro is the illegitimate child of a woman with powerful magic who married into the family. I think he’s the result of an affair. There’s a line in the book about the fanfiction about secret children running around the world having adventures, that reminded me about the dark horse line from White Hot. They dismiss it as far fetched and uncommon, yet it does occur in the book first with David, then Leon.
Since the Sagredo family is described as being super elitist they probably did not treat him well. I thought Catalina misinterpreted Alessandro’s comment about his family not understanding and not deserving to meet Catalina. They don’t deserve it, because they aren’t worthy of meeting her, not the reverse. They wouldn’t understand because to them Alessandro isn’t a relative they want to find happiness, he’s just a tool they’re using for their own ends. The exception to this rule is likely his half sister. I think what Alessandro is searching for is his legitimate older brother’s killer/what happened to him.
As for his potentially having Siren’s powers, I don’t think so because we’ve already seen he has the ability to jump off of high place and disappear. That doesn’t seem related to the rest of his powers, so I think that is his secondary ability.
I agree ♡
P.S (Jen’s detailed comment)
Yes to one of your last observations. I interpreted the bit about Catalina meeting Alessandro’s family as “they’re not worthy to meet you; they’re not good people and you are”. I’m surprised some readers saw it as the opposite. We must have read everything from a different perspective.
What if Alessandro is a Sagredo, but the family isn´t what everyone thinks? I find it very strange that in a world where family is everything, obsessed Catalina gives us next to no details about his family!! Now this may be cliché, but I`m thinking organized crime here. Imagine a House running the mafia!
Plus, the overarching story for the Catalina trilogy seems to center on the Osiris serum theft and resulting experiments. What if Alessandro´s family is mixed up in this – and he knows it? His hunt is something deeply personal and the Diatheke files apparently helped him track his target. His father, maybe? Or the older brother?
And then there´s Alessandro´s versatile range of talents and his secrecy about them. Antistasi Prime, able to materialize copies of weapons from a fairly far radius, able to disappear/jump from heights without harm (short-range teleport, maybe?). And when he stabbed Conway, Catalina´s magic spark and she wasn´t sure if she could take him despite her own Sagittarius talent and her training.
So, loony theory: Alessandro´s family has one Osiris serum sample and used it to enhance his abilities or give him some more. He found out, resents them for it, and is hunting down the guilty family members. In fact he might even be acting as an Italian Warden.
Loved it!!!! Will there be anymore Nevada books?
OMG. Your books are addictive. Book purchased and devoured in the same evening. Loved it. Had me laughing a lot. But I am still chortling over grandma frida’s comment about wanting to use the tank because it doesn’t leave much behind. Grandma frida is awesome. Thanks for writing. Your books keep getting better every publication.
Hello, this might not be the right place but for weeks now I have problems with downloading e-book version of Sweep Of The Blade from the seller Bol.com in the Netherlands, and they let me hang with it. I bought other e-books before and after, and downloading to ADE 4.5 was never a problem, so I think something is wrong with the ebook of Sweep Of The Blade that they are distributing.
I cannot be the only one with this problem, so for your sake too: Who can I contact to correct this?
I too got SotB from that source, and I have zero problems with the file. So it may not be a problem with the file, sorry to say. In any case, this is not something the authors can help you with at all, I’m afraid, they have absolutely no influence on this. Bol needs to step up. Have you tried opening the file on any other platform? A different tablet, reader or desktop?
Good luck, I hope you’ll get it to work!
Thank you sooooo much. It was really great. I already read it 4 times…
@ Laurie: Technically the A.M.E was already killed (the moment Runa poisoned him) Alessandro “just” accelerated his death.
I think Linus is more interested in his relation with Catalina than Alessandro, so he did the binding to her and proposed the tradicional “House arrangement” to Alessandro: a temporal contract to save face. Linus said that Catalina’s had had more Prime options at her disposal. So I assume, if the decision was up to Linus, he’ll prefer to pair Catalina with a Prime but-no-Alessandro alternative. And the henchpeople from “Guardians” didn’t attack after Celia because, if I remember the scene correctly, they were alteady death or dying.
A very gud book. But I don’t feel a connection to Catalonia or Alessandro. Maybe their characters will develop further in the next 2 books. Also I feel there is a lack of emotional bond between them. I remember Nevada’s first thought of Rogan….when she watched dat video n she thought abt the look in his eyes n the expression on his face. When u think of Rogan-fierce comes to mind. Alessandro – handsome…..but what kind of handsome…it’s 2 general.
I have always loved ur wrk n will continue to do so. But I think dat ur editors r interfering too much with ur style. What u gave us on the blogs n what is written in the book….blogs scenes r warm…books scenes r dry….clinical
I could be wrong.
I have really enjoyed the book and was just wondering about some things maybe the Horde could give their opinions on:
1. the serum. Linus said that 20 years ago a sample was stolen from China and used by a lab run by an alliance of French Houses. He also said it took the international assemblies to stop them. Alessandro would have been a child at the time but could a member of his family have been involved, either as a victim or perhaps harmed in the process of stopping it? Could this be why he went to Texas? Perhaps to stop someone who is experimenting with the serum? I also wondered if he could have been adopted following the incident.
2. Caesar. He didn’t have any concerns about unleashing some really nasty people on the city. How did he plan to keep control afterwards?
3.Finally, at the end of Wildfire Victoria tells him there is nothing he can offer her to gain her support. He says we’ll see and now Catalina is visiting her and giving her exactly what she wants – a family and a House to work with. Makes you wonder.
Vunderbar! I really can’t wait for the sequel already!!! I loved how you really put a great background in the book, I remember you saying a while back that y’all didn’t know what the book was about yet. Well, you sure figured it out! Fabulous 🙂