Diamond Fire (Hidden Legacy Novella) by Ilona Andrews
It is time for Nevada’s wedding and, if her little sister Cataline has anything to do with it, Nevada won’t have to worry about anything except her poor taste in bouquet
But with intolerant, demanding extended family with a ridiculous amount of secrets, a jewelry thief. Oh and a poisoner
Most weddings don’t have this much drama
It’s an Ilona Andrews book. I will now run around, chuckling with glee. There is no such thing as an Ilona Andrews book I don’t love - their work is designed to make me lose sleep because putting their books down is impossible.
This story continues the deadly magical and political world of the Primes - with a wedding. Nevada and Rogan’s which, unfortunately, also involves a whole lot of Rogan’s less than stellar relatives who are trying to ruin things in various ways
Our protagonist is not Navada for once, but her little sister Catalina - and it gives me hope that maybe we will be able to see future books with Catalina in the lead because she is such an interesting character
I think it’s an excellent contrast between Catalina and Rogan’s rich, spoiled cousins - contrasting their entitlement with her hard work. But also contrasting how young they are in comparison to her - how inept their plotting is, how basic their plans are and how they clearly wouldn’t have worked. We see how mature and competent Catalina is
And I think that really has to be emphasised. Catalina is competent, she’s extremely capable, experienced and knows a great deal about her work as an investigator. She’s a professional despite her young age and it shows everything about her skill and character - I like her
She also grows. We’ve seen the Baylor family go through a lot - now exposed as having several Primes and being acknowledged as an actual house in their own right. I like seeing how Catalina is adapting to this - her fears and confidence, her ability and her doubts but most of all her relationship with her magic. She has spent her whole life being afraid of her magic but is now expected to embrace it - and with that having to leave her own shell. Her growth through this book, of her magic, her confidence and her courage in the face of the disdain of the wealthy relatives all works so well
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