• Firelight

  • Darkest London, Book 1
  • By: Kristen Callihan
  • Narrated by: Moira Quirk
  • Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (606 ratings)

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Firelight  By  cover art

Firelight

By: Kristen Callihan
Narrated by: Moira Quirk
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Publisher's summary

London, 1881

Once the flames are ignited...

Miranda Ellis is a woman tormented. Plagued since birth by a strange and powerful gift, she has spent her entire life struggling to control her exceptional abilities. Yet one innocent but irreversible mistake has left her family's fortune decimated and forced her to wed London's most nefarious nobleman.

They will burn for eternity...

Lord Benjamin Archer is no ordinary man. Doomed to hide his disfigured face behind masks, Archer knows it's selfish to take Miranda as his bride. Yet he can't help being drawn to the flame-haired beauty whose touch sparks a passion he hasn't felt in a lifetime. When Archer is accused of a series of gruesome murders, he gives in to the beastly nature he has fought so hard to hide from the world. But the curse that haunts him cannot be denied. Now, to save his soul, Miranda will enter a world of dark magic and darker intrigue. For only she can see the man hiding behind the mask.

©2012 Kristen Callihan (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

2012, RT Book Reviews' Seal of Excellence, Winner

"Callihan has a great talent for sexual tension and jaw-dropping plots that weave together brilliantly in the end."—Diana Gabaldon, New York Times bestselling author

"Beauty and the Beast meets Phantom of the Opera (with hints of Carrie and an abundance of Egyptian mythology) in this gripping, intoxicating story, simmering with incendiary sensuality and featuring a heroine who risks all to save the man she loves. An exceptional debut and the first of what promises to be a compelling series."—Library Journal, starred review

"Compulsively readable...a compelling Victorian paranormal with heart and soul."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

What listeners say about Firelight

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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Performance
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Story
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  • 3 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What's behind the mask?

Any additional comments?

The story is about a beautiful woman, Miranda, forced into marriage by her father. She has the power to create fire but refuses to use it or tell anyone about it. She also has an identity in the underworld of London as Pan. This is where our main characters first meet. Ben hides behind a mask, like in the Phantom of the Opera, not letting anyone see him. They don't even have sex for the longest time because of it. Miranda said it the best...she was his partner but not his wife. So it is quite obvious that they both have trust issues to work through.

The weakest part of the book, for me, was the romance. It was easy to identify the systematic formula used to lead us into the passionate moments. Each time the characters came together they moved to a new base, until they finally reached home. I wanted to scream "About time!" Talk about being teased.

When we finally get to the unveiling of the mask, I didn't guess 100% correct, but I was on the right track. That was a neat twist and the solution to the problem took on two point of views. It was interesting to listen to Miranda's view and then take a moment to know what Ben was experiencing too.

I wasn't expecting the villan to be who I thought it would be...although, looking back, I didn't like the person in question, but I didn't know how they fit in to the over all mystery...all the clues lead to that person tho. I don't read alot of mysteries, but I think that is what a reader is suppose to do...keep guessing. And if you can guess who did it the author didn't do a very good job of writing. So good job!

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Perfect Book

What did you love best about Firelight?

This book is one of the best that I've listened to. Great story with well paced action. Absolutely no slow spots. A Historical/Paranormal Romance that doesn't seem forced at all. And Moira Quirk's narration was flawless. I gave serious thought to listening to this book again half an hour after finishing it the first time. It's a book I'm glad to have on those occasions when I'm out of credits. Miranda's very entertaining sisters have their own books coming out. This is a no-brainer, auto-buy series. Very well done.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

"A fun, mysterious adventure!"

This book is very well written and read! The story was well paced and revealed just enough detail to keep the mind wondering about the rest of the mystery. The narrator was fantastic and actually enhanced the story with different accents and speech patterns that were very well done. Her interpretation of male voices was seamless and believable.


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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

This is the most frustrating book I ever read!!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I am not sure how to rate this book the story was great but the writer just took too long to get to the point. A few times I just wanted to tear my hair out. I stopped listening few times.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Get to the point !!! it was frustrating !!!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book.

I totally enjoyed this book. The narrator is excellent. The story was great, the characters are great. I have already read the second book and it was good too. I like the different paranormal in the 1700's London setting. Totally worth the credits and/or dollars. I am looking forward to the third book, I hope it shows up soon on audible.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

Would you try another book from Kristen Callihan and/or Moira Quirk?

The author tells a good tale. The reader was a bit on the breathy side, kind of airy, but she did a good job and was worth listening to.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I tend to read romance's for the interaction between the hero and heroine, this was missing a bit of that. The murderer is kind of easy to figure out. The lying and hiding between the two is a bit off putting and kind of made it hard to finish.

What three words best describe Moira Quirk’s performance?

Breathy, Quiet, Solid

What would have made this romance irresistible?

More interaction between the two main characters, more dialogue and chemistry.

Any additional comments?

This is an entertaining book, not something I was expecting. I did enjoy most of it and found it worth the listen. I wish it had more romance as it is a romance and less focus on other characters or the non-mysterious murder. But it is worth the listen.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Flawless

Regency paranormal romance is a hard niche to do well, partly because different listeners prefer different ratios of paranormal to romance, action to horror, and steampunk to historical. This series perfectly matches my ideal ratios.

Steampunk vs. historical accuracy:
The steampunk in this first book is more on the mad-science/monstrous creation end rather than gears and automatons. It blends credibly with actual Victorian settings, mythology, and culture.

Action to horror:
This books weaves a dark and stormy night, almost gothic tale of blood and monsters. Both the action and horror build steadily as the book progresses, with lots body parts and body counts.

Paranormal to romance:
As much as I love regency romances, if there is a paranormal element, then I demand a good dose of mystery and a decent amount of dark thrills. I’d rather have a great paranormal mystery at the expense of more bodice ripping or balls and courting. It takes 9 hours for our couple to seal the deal, and that’s the only time they both get satisfaction. But, there was enough hot chemistry and domineering naughtiness along the way to keep me engaged.

Best of all, this series features my favorite kinds of men and women. I like my men dark and dangerous and I like my women feminine and fierce. This author delivers great characters and bucks expectations without sacrificing one bit of romance. I even liked the dueling secrets plot that normally exasperates me. Bravo.

⚙️If you need your paranormal romance to be cleaner than Julia Quinn’s Bridgertons, stick with the Parasol Protectorate series. Personally, I found that to be a little too juvenile anime and focused on the look (rather than science) of steampunk.

⚙️If you want more steampunk than paranormal in your regency romance, and some LGBTQ friendly plots, go with the Iron Duke series. While I liked that series, those books are more inconsistent in tone and storytelling (books 1 and 2 standing out).

⚙️If fantastic steampunk adventure is your priority, go with Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher. Romance is just a side dish, but the swashbuckling epic is phenomenal.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Beauty and the Beast kind of story.

A regency romance with a bit of paranormal tinge. I liked this story but I didn't love it. It does have a unique paranormal twist which I enjoyed, but I would have liked a bit more details on the back ground of what was happening to Archer. I really liked Miranda and her fiery spirit, but also that she realized when she was being a ninny too. My biggest problem with the book is how they keep saying how they never tell a lie and that they are straight forward, but then lie and avoid the truth with the important parts of their lives. The redeeming part is they call each other on it and eventually get past it. I also guessed who the bad guy was almost immediately and never strayed from my conclusion. I will read the next book in the series, but I will probably wait until there is a sale. The narrator was decent in the sound of her voice, but needs a little more work on the distinctiveness of each character.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the British accent

Firelight was highly addictive. Right from the beginning this book/audio drew me in. It made me INSTANTLY miss reading historicals. I’m picky with the historical romance books that I read since they aren’t my favorite genre but I do enjoy them. Firelight had the perfect mixture of historical with a paranormal twist, a touch of mystery and romance.

The story is about Miranda and Archer, their tumultuous relationship. Both of them are holding back secrets from each other. Archer will not reveal what he looks like, not many people know why, but you can imagine in London 1881 there is tons of gossip about him. Miranda holds powers that only her family knows about and have no clue of it’s origin. Miranda and Archer hit it off from the start. Miranda being slightly different herself will not shun Archer like others do.

Miranda is one tough cookie, she is not the typical meek young lady that will sit back and do as her father or husband says. She always speaks her mind and will not wait idly for anything, whenever action need to be taken SHE WILL take care of it.

Archer is an old soul. He is dark and sexy and very far out of the norm. Like Miranda, I was falling in love with Archer throughout the book without even knowing what he looked like.
Their love for each other build through out the book. It was serious torture witnessing the sexual chemistry that crackled between them.

Callihan told Firelight from several point of views, although it was primarily through Archer and Miranda. Several other characters held the reins quickly but it was more so to enhance the story in my opinion not to take away from the main couple.

I think I would have enjoyed the book a little bit more if I had more info on how or why Miranda had her powers. But, I very much liked this book and can’t wait to hear more from Kristen Callihan and this Darkest London series.

Narrator Note: I heard some of my friends didn’t like this narration that much and was hesitant to start this one. I will say that I LOVED the narration in this audio. I’m a sucker for accents and her British accent I thought was right on. She also had very distinctive voices for each character, either male or female, boy or girl. I can’t wait to hear more of her narrations.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic book

Any additional comments?

I found this book in my library and had forgotten i had it. I have just finished listening to this amazing author and narrator. The story has everything, suspense, excitement, love, lust, danger and much more. I thoroughly enjoyed this story so much i must say it is the best book i have read for a long time. Defiantly in my top 10. So very GOOD :)

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