Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: The Firedancer
SERIES: Black Cat Circus
AUTHOR: Rye Cox
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 184 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2023
BLURB:
Coal was drawn to the circus after being driven out of the only home he knew. He was the outcast, the half-blood that shouldn’t have survived the fire that burned inside him. At Black Cat Circus, he finds a family of people just like him, of those who accept him just the way he is. However, the scars that were buried deep in his heart keep him from letting anyone get too close. He is fire, and he’s afraid of once again losing control of the thing that makes up the very essence of himself.
Rhett never knew his parents or had a family. Having grown up in foster care, he’s determined to find a place he can finally call home. When he sees the ad looking for a chef for a certain traveling circus, he’s compelled to apply despite never once having left the little town he grew up in. What he doesn’t expect is to find friends shrouded in mystery, and a beautiful man who burns so brightly but tries to dampen his flames.
The two can’t resist the mutual attraction, but are terrified of what it means to want more. When playing with fire, they must be careful or risk getting burned.
The Firedancer is a paranormal MM romance that features light temperature play, size difference, hurt/comfort themes, and learning to be comfortable in one’s own skin. It is part of the Black Cat Circus multi-author series that features found family and a magical cast of characters. Each book can be read as a standalone but is better enjoyed as a series.
REVIEW:
You know that feeling when you read a new-to-you author and their words just click with you? Rye Cox did that with me. She engaged and enchanted me with this mystical tale.
Coal has always kept his distance from the people surrounding him. After being thrown away from the sacred lands and Seven finding him, Seven pulled him into the fold of his tight knit found family at the Black Cat Circus. These are his family now but he is always extremely cautious of being touched or touching someone. You can never be too careful after that incident with his mother. And keeping his fire chained up tight is his first and foremost line to protect those dearest to him. So how is it that the small man who has become their chef weaseled himself in to Coal so easily? Rhett has always been different and not what his small town, where he was left as an orphan in, considered normal all his life. If it wasn’t for Hector, his gruff boss at the diner, he would have been all alone. When he takes a chance and applies to be the chef for a traveling circus he has no idea how much his life is going to change. Finally finding a family that not only accepts him but embraces him and his uniqueness is everything. But finding his person…that’s magical!
Coal’s loneliness and self-imposed isolation really got to me. Both of these men were literally discarded by the ones that created them. We don’t know Rhett’s backstory of why he was orphaned but Coal’s family were awful. How do you basically brand a young man that he is worthless and take his gifts away and then literally throw him away? But I saw it time after time in my years in education. Parents, and I use that term very loosely since they really don’t deserve that title, throwing away their children because they did not fit in that nice, tidy box of their expectations. But to essentially cripple a young man while tossing him away is senseless, cruel and unfathomable! Thank goodness for the mystical and all-seeing Seven! I can’t wait for the Ringmaster’s story!
So, I really want to know the story around the black cat, Peanuts. And why, after all these years Seven has never seen him. And if Peanuts has anything to do with why the circus is named Black Cat Circus? Oh, and is the cat a paranormal being also??? I’m hoping we learn more in each of the books in this series.
I am thrilled I took a chance on this series and can’t wait to read the rest of the books. I know that the authors worked hard to make this a team effort and it is showing.
RATING: 
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