Review: Flameheart

I was initially drawn to Flameheart by Dalton and Emily Bequette by the beautiful concept art they shared on their social media pages, as well as the obvious plot similarities to Between the Lines, my favorite musical (that I recently did a piano cover of), which is also based on a novel. Flameheart is currently a steal at 99 cents on Amazon, and ARCs are out for the sequel, Ashfall, which I received and will be reviewing in the coming weeks. Like Hope and Love's Legacy, the Flameheart Chronicles is a series of portal fantasy books that take place between the real world and a fantasy kingdom called Norenth.

Flameheart is about a girl named Aurelia, or Lia for short, who is obsessed with a fictional prince named Kayce, who served as her imaginary friend since childhood. Her grandfather published a series of books about Kayce and his fantasy world of Norenth with moderate success. After her father left her, Aurelia became emotionally dependent on Kayce, and this dependence only increased after her grandfather died in mysterious circumstances. Shortly afterward, she learned that her grandfather had a magical power to access fictional worlds, or "spheres," and may have died because of that power. Not only that, but she inherited the same ability and accidentally uses it to bring Kayce into the real world.

This book was different from what I expected, but not necessarily in a bad way. I went in anticipating something closer to Between the Lines, which was written by a mother and her teenage daughter and contains a more simplistic narrative about how the main character uses her feelings toward a fictional prince to help her cope with her father's absence. Though this book has a similar premise, the authors, this time an adult married couple, take it in a different direction that focuses more on the logistics behind the main character's inherited powers. Her relationship with Kayce is treated as a subplot that relies more on the reader's knowledge that he's been there for her since childhood than anything he does or says after encountering her in the real world.

The closest comparison to this book would be Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, with its heavy focus on the dangers of bringing fictional worlds to life. For every hero that can help our world, there is a villain or monster that poses a major threat to people's lives. The book is packed with action and adventure, as Aurelia learns to bring the strength and bravery of her fictional persona into her real-life personality. Although a large portion of it takes place in the real world, I struggled to determine the time period in which Aurelia lives. There were references to modern things like movies and search engines, but she and her mother, Cordelia, have old-fashioned names that aren't used anymore, and there was no mention of anyone having a smartphone, which seems unrealistic for a modern setting.

The Flameheart Chronicles has a bright future ahead. The authors recently announced that the book was optioned for an animated film, and its sequel, Ashfall, is coming this summer, which I will review in the coming weeks. If you enjoy portal fantasy, high-stakes action, and reluctant heroines, this series might be a good match for you. It may not have been the star-crossed love story I anticipated, but the Bequette team has woven an enchanting web that blends together fiction, storytelling, and reality.