Review of romantic fantasy Worlds of Fire: Metamorphosis by Deborah A. Bailey
On the Floating World when two Alchemists fall in love it can be…complicated
Asira is a member of a high-ranking family of Alchemists who exert control over the libraries that store magical texts. Jaydon, an unconventional but powerful teacher of transmutation at the university, is from a gargoyle shifter group known as the Gigun.
Asira finds Jaydon frustrating and too fascinating for her own good. But she desperately needs his help when she becomes the target of a classmate’s dangerous use of forbidden magic. With Jaydon’s assistance, the two of them uncover a conspiracy that threatens the well-ordered world of the Alchemists.
Struggling with his growing attraction to her, Jaydon is called on to use his knowledge of the magical Books of Fire to determine Asira’s fate. And depending on what secrets the books reveal, he may be forced to make a life-altering decision that will either bind them together… or permanently force them apart.
Excerpt from Worlds of Fire: Metamorphosis
Jaydon picked up his stylus and shoved it behind his ear. Continuing to study her, his brows furrowed as though he was having an internal conversation. Thinking things over with himself and not sharing his conclusions with her.
Sure, she was used to intense stares from the magisters. They used them as an intimidation tactic. It was part of their mystery to be imperious and detached, to only associate with others on their level or from a specific Order. You were either in the Court hierarchy or you weren’t. Even the most advanced students didn’t have that kind of clout, no matter what Aurum family they belonged to.
“Are you sure you don’t want to see my papers on the topic?” Sitting there while he watched her was unnerving. Not that he was bad to look at, because he wasn’t. His features were finely sculpted, and his wavy shoulder-length black hair framed his face so that his almond-shaped eyes and full lips were accentuated.
He shook his head in response to her question, his gaze still fixed on her.
A noise outside caught her attention. There was chirping coming from the open sliding glass door that led to the balcony. Another perk of magister mentors. Private offices and balconies overlooking the spice gardens.
“Come in.”
A small yellow bird flew in and perched on a shelf above one of the desks. It chirped and then turned its head to study her. Another chirp, then a turn of the head to the left and to the right.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“Nice bird.”
“No, I was asking her.”
“You were what?” She looked at him, then at the bird again, then at him. “Does she talk?”
“Yes.”
“What does she say?” She would go along with it for now. She’d be done and then hopefully get picked by a mentor who was more serious and less messy.
My Review of Worlds of Fire: Metamorphosis
The world of this book felt so huge, which is my favorite type of fantasy world. I felt like I could have explored for years and not seen it all. Magic schools are also very much my thing, and again, I felt like I could have wandered around the school just dropping in on classes for quite a while before anyone noticed and had me gently escorted off the premises.
All this aside, I also felt like the story could have been fleshed out more. Granted it’s a fantasy romance, but it was painfully obvious to me that the female lead was attracted to the male lead, and the fact that the female lead didn’t understand that had me grumbling because I really didn’t understand how she couldn’t know. I know—the whole romance-sneaking-up-on-people trope is a thing, but this just missed the mark for me there. I also kind of felt thrown into the world and its conflicts/hierarchies. I’m now wondering if this is not the first in the series or if it’s part of a spinnoff from another series because I got the vibe that there was stuff I was supposed to know already, but I had no clue how I was supposed to know it.
All in all, I enjoyed this. I may have been overthinking it, as I sometimes tend to do with speculative romance stories, so if this sounds like something you’d enjoy, go for it.
About Deborah A. Bailey
Deborah A Bailey’s Romantic Fantasy, Science Fiction and Paranormal Romance novels include suspense, a bit of mystery and a lot of romantic heat.
Her short stories have won awards from the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference and have been published in US1 Magazine and the Sun and are included in, Electric Dreams: Seven Futuristic Tales.
Visit her site https://AuthorDebBailey.com for more information and subscribe to the newsletter here: https://eepurl.com/bokGdX so you’ll be the first to find out about giveaways, book launches and sneak peeks.
Giveaway
Deborah A. Bailey will be awarding a $40 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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I like the cover. The colors caught my eye!
Thanks for hosting!
I liked the excerpt.
Thank you for sharing your honest review of Worlds of Fire: Metamorphosis, this does sound like a story that I would be interested in reading
This sounds like an awesome read.
Thanks for featuring my book and for your review. Actually Metamorphosis is a stand-alone (that is part of an overall series). But you’ve given me an idea to possibly expand on this particular universe in another book. 🙂
Great review 👏
The book sounds fantastic. Great cover!
Thank you for sharing your review thoughts. I was wondering if this was a story I might enjoy.
I really like the book cover!! Very intriguing and eye-catching!!