Reviewed by Anabela.m
TITLE: Of Fire & Bone
SERIES: Of Magic and Scales Book 3
AUTHOR: Natalina Reis
PUBLISHER: Hot Tree Publishing
LENGTH: 233 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 19, 2021
BLURB:
As if having a powerful druid and a goddess for parents doesn’t suck enough, throwing a vengeful god into the fray certainly doesn’t do Aiden any favors.
Aiden Mercer’s summer has been interesting—if by interesting you mean life-threatening and heartbreaking that is. With fall fast approaching, he’s looking for a quiet time in the arms of his boyfriend, Naël, the handsome merman.
Alas, life never quite goes the way you plan it, does it? Unless Aiden finds a way to stop the wicked god Baburaj and his mother, Jhanvi from achieving their devilish goals, pain and destruction will hover over him like a starving vulture.
In the third and final book in the Of Magic & Scales series, the familiar cast of zany but lovable characters is back, and they are bringing reinforcements for what promises to be an epic and sexy ending. Join Aiden, Naël, and their circle of magical friends in their final adventure.
**No magical creatures were harmed in the writing of this book**
REVIEW:
Of Fire and Bone is the third book in the Of Magic and Scales series and not a standalone, because it follows the plot of the first installments.
The beginning of the book found Aiden still wrapping his mind around the news of having a powerful druid and an Indian goddess as parents, and with his life still threatened by the deranged god Baburaj and his mother Jhanvi. Only this time, Aiden and his friends decided to be proactive and do the attacking first. For close to seventy percent of the story that ment several failed attempts to track down his enemies, until they were eventually found and the final confrontation occurred.
The story moved forward rather quickly and pretty eventful… and left me a bit conflicted. Not because it was a bad book or that any plotlines were left open, but because most just felt too easy. Like Baburaj leaving behind a receipt from the place he was staying or his mother accidentally losing a toe ring that just happened to be exactly what Aiden and his friends needed for a tracking spell. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun to read through, but when you add those to some events that felt like plot fillings and unnecessary, it somehow lessened the tension and fear for Aiden’s life. I mean, the whole point of the book was to keep the reader on edge, waiting to see if Aiden would survive, but it was lost on me.
What I enjoyed was the world building and the characters. I found a combination of fantasy, paranormal and multiple religions, with mermen, fae, witches, hindu gods, druids, a celtic god and Christian relics, each represented by characters, either Aiden’s enemies or friends. They were all interesting and contributed to making the stories entertaining and colorful. Most of them not only rallied around Aiden but gave him something precious: a family.
The whole series was a journey that took Aiden from a debonair loner to being surrounded by people who cared about him. I watched him growing as a person and as he found love, strengthened friendships and built himself a home. All his trials served to boost his self-confidence and I liked seeing that, by the end of this book, he was more settled. Still snarky, but completely in love with his sexy merman, Naël, and embracing the possibility of a future filled with happiness.
At some point in the story there was talk of a prophecy that declared Aiden as a future leader of the magic community and, seeing that he still hasn’t gotten a good handle of his powers, my guess is that Of Fire and Bone isn’t the last we see of Aiden and his merry group of friends. But, if this were to be the last installment in the series, I’m pretty happy with how the author wrapped up the overall storyline.
RATING: 
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