“I was sitting on a counter, gloriously half-naked, and my wings were out, spread wide above my shoulders, each luminescent feather deep green at the base then brightening, like the water of the Aegean growing lighter as one rose from a deep dive, turning emerald green, then turquoise until finally at the tips, they shone with radiant gold.”
Well. I think Catalina may be the most dangerous member of the Baylor family. Like a certain celebrity Italian playboy, she contains multitudes.
Sapphire Flames is both a continuation of the Hidden Legacy series and the start of a new trilogy focusing on Catalina Baylor. Nevada and Rogan from the earlier trilogy stay offstage and Catalina emerges as a young adult and the head of new House whose survival is very much in doubt as new Houses are vulnerable to the richer more established Houses.
This could be the starting point into the Hidden Legacy series especially for the YA and NA readers as Catalina is only just 21 at the start of the novel. Her earlier story (when she was 18) revealed in the novella Diamond Fire, deepens her motivations and character in this book, but is not essential to understanding. The first chapters establish the Baylor family and the ruthless magical world in which they operate and jostle for power, wealth and influential alliances with other Houses. The entire atmosphere of the Hidden Legacy world is reminiscent of Renaissance Florence with its intrigues, innovations, assassinations, and familial bonds dropped into modern technological Houston. As a resident of Houston, I find this extremely amusing. Everyone still gets stuck in traffic, Prime or not.
Catalina is fiercely intelligent, sensitive, and somewhat introverted. The very nature of her magic keeps her isolated from others her age and hesitant to form relationships outside her family. When one of the few people she considers a friend turns to her for assistance after the destruction of her family, Catalina hardly hesitates. But she finds there is far more to her investigation than a simple arson/murder and is soon on the trail of dangerously warped magic that threatens the stability of the world of magic users.
Interfering with her hunt, is another hunter, Count Alessandro Sagredo, a Prime from an old established Italian house who tested Catalina in her trials to be registered as a Prime. He is an Antistasi, a magic which nullifies other magic, and an Instagram/social media star, but like Catalina, he also is more than he appears to be. Where Catalina uses her intelligence to out-strategize her enemies, he uses other surprising means to stalk and attack. She is a Siren but he is a Wolf. And they are magical together. Each keeps knocking each other off balance as neither is what they expected and their interactions are delightful and laced with banter, tension, and heat. And food. There are so many food incidents. Welcome to Texas, Alessandro
Like many of the Andrews’ heroes, Alessandro finds so much more than he expected with Catalina and he is revealed to have a hidden legacy of his own which should play out in the subsequent books in the trilogy. Right now, they are just juicy hints of what drives him and what his ultimate goal is. Catalina’s goal is the survival and flourishing of her House and to obtain it she has to make a terrible choice and one that might destroy any chance for her own personal happiness.
There is so much to appreciate in this book (other than the fact that it seems too short). The careful world building, the delightful and hilarious family interactions among the Baylors, the hints of new relationships, and the mysteries of powerful Primes like Linus Duncan and his connection to Catalina, and in the midst of it all, Catalina herself. The imagery of her power is both beautiful and terrible, her mind is subtle, and her love is fierce.
I can’t wait to read how she spreads her wings, establishes House Baylor, and defeats her enemies in the upcoming books.
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