Katerina of Palonia is your trope-standard, functionally immortal, elemental sorceress. The elements of fire and ice have coursed through her veins for nearly a millennia. She’s waged war against the forces of darkness and evil for that length of time as well. Emrick is, of course, one of her closest friends (and former lover), and is, of course, also immortal. Adrian is the third in their little group, an immortal vampire who moved beyond hunting mortals long before Kat even began walking the earth. Standard setting, standard characters, and standard timeline for a feel-good Urban Fantasy, right?
There was a time when the mere mention of her name would send monsters running and black witches back to their beds to hide. There was a time when anything or anyone on her hit list KNEW it was only a matter of time before their fiery death would claim them. There was a time when the elements bowed to her every thought, surging to be brought to the fore constantly and only the runes of her trusty gloves could keep them in check. Katerina of Palonia, sorceress of fire and ice, scion of the Palonian Sorcerers, who were tasked with keeping the mundane world safe from all of the things that go bump in the night.
Except Kat isn’t the all-powerful force of nature she once was. The monsters have started to get bolder and bolder over the last few decades. And the dark covens have started to creep back into the limelight. And purveyors of magical paraphernalia aren’t always staying on the straight and narrow anymore.
*sigh* It’s been an incredibly long 800 years… And Palonia has been wiped off the map for just as long. An all-powerful sorceress gets tired after a while, right? Doesn’t help that her magic seems to be on the waning side, and she and Emrick’s relationship has been on hiatus for 8 decades, and Adrian’s retired. Honestly, the thrill of the hunt isn’t so thrilling anymore. Could it be that it’s time for Kat to think about retirement? Maybe ensconced herself in her island home, kilometers out of Toronto, with her cups of tea and gorgeous sunsets. That’d be nice, right?
But witches are turning up dead, drained of blood. And not in the way of the vampires. And word’s been going around that Mikhail, a shockingly powerful witch who is about as evil as a human can be has been sighted. Something’s up, and Kat’s the only one in Canada able to take care of business. *sigh* I guess retirement can wait
“Fire of the Sorceress”, by Krista Walsh, is the first book in her new Immortal Sorceress series. Set in and around Toronto (a welcome change from Chicago, New York, LA, and London as settings go), this series promises to be a trip through the great white north to the depths of magic’s darkest alleys. The book is fun, funny, and an original take on the classic “immortal magic user in a strange land” trope. The writing a clever, the characters fully developed, and the story super engaging. With the beginnings of a slow-burn romance woven throughout the plot and a really interesting set of lore developing, I can’t recommend this book enough. This story can’t be put down, and you won’t want to anyway. Be careful you don’t get burned though, this series is sure to keep heating up.
I received a free copy of this e-book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
