Immortal Fire

Red Winter Series, Book 3

By: Annette Marie

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Once, Emi believed the heavenly gods were righteous and wise, while the earthly yokai spirits were bloodthirsty and evil. But with a traitorous deity poised to destroy her world, and the yokai standing as humanity's only defense, the lies of her upbringing have toppled to reveal a far more terrifying reality.

Despite the looming threat, Emi can't escape her greatest distraction: Shiro, the fox yokai who has so deftly claimed her heart for his own. Soon - too soon - she will have to break the curse that binds his magic and memories. And once the ancient power inside him awakens, the yokai she loves will be changed forever.

As the earthly gods gather to wage war against the heavens, Emi and Shiro must gamble everything to turn the tide against their immortal, all-powerful foes. Together, they will find a way to save her world - even if it means losing each other.

©2017 Annette Marie (P)2017 Tantor

An adult blend of 2 Popular anime

If you like Inuyasha and Kamisama Kiss, this is the series for you! It is a delightful,more adult, blend of the two.

The author did take a lot of liberty with the different kami and yokai elements and relationships, but it worked well within the universe of the book. The fun with both being that even within the lore, us mere humans forget details about kami and yokai.

I could not rest until the Trilogy was completed. Make sure for Book 3 to have a box of tissues handy and be prepared to have puffy red eyes all day. Totally worth it!

An amazing conclusion to an amazing series

Talk about a story that rips your heart out, stomps all over it, then kisses it better before putting it back. Seriously, I’m pretty certain I cried like a baby through at least three-quarters of this book, but the ending was so worth all the emotional torment we suffered to get there. I’ve genuinely grown to love Emi, Shiro, and Yumei, and I’m going to miss them. (Psst, Ms. Marie; if you could find it in your heart to give us a Yumei spin-off, I’d be eternally grateful. He needs some Talk about a story that rips your heart out, stomps all over it, then kisses it better before putting it back. Seriously, I’m pretty certain I cried like a baby through at least three-quarters of this book, but the ending was so worth all the emotional torment we suffered to get there.

As I mentioned in a previous review, the Red Winter Trilogy isn’t a straight-up romance—there’s way, way more going on—however, the theme has grown much more prevalent. By the time we get to Immortal Fire, things between Emi and Shiro are on fire in the best possible way. Despite the looming threat of Izanami ending the world and Amaterasu descending, a pleasant amount of page space is devoted to Emi and Shiro figuring their relationship-shit out. And it wasn’t just Emi and Shiro that grew closer; her friendship with Yumei blossomed and matured, too, and there were some hilarious moments between them (Yumei not understanding how hugs work was the best). Seeing the aloof, inhuman, and so-powerful-it’s-terrifying Tengu interact with all the messiness of Emi’s humanity was pretty damn cute and it helped to lighten the mood. They had their serious moments, but he turned out to be incredibly faithful to her.

Ms. Marie’s writing style continued to shine, and she wove an even more nuanced, complex story than in the previous books of this series. Struggle, conflict, and moral decision-making in a gray area were central to the plot and the action just wouldn’t quit. The world and magic are rich and detailed and it was so easy to get swept away. And Ms. Zeller continued to wow me with her stellar performance and he ability to truly bring the charactes and story to life. Definitely one of my favorite narrators!

Review first apeeared on Red Hot Books

Bottom line: *happy sigh* Immortal Fire was the perfect wrap-up to the Red Winter trilogy and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. For those who love urban fantasy with an oriental touch, beautiful love stories, and for those who can handle some pain in the journey, I can’t recommend this series highly enough. Have a box of tissues ready to go, though, because you will definitely need them!

I need more!!!

The whole trilogy was so good I had to listen to it twice! I'm only sad that you don't have more like this!

The Best

So sorry the book it is over, I loved it and wish there was more

I was not expecting to like this book.

I am so shocked at how much I loved this book. I really only got audible to listen to my books while doing small tasks at work but I just spent the whole day of my day off to listen to the third book and I did not regret it. Holy crapballs I seriously loved this series. I was actually bawling. This book stomped on my heart and then Kissed it all better even now I am slightly tearing up remembering some scenes but dont worry! If your like me the book WILL have a happy ending so give this series a try (And Author if you read this please please PLEASE give Yuma a human to love just a short side story for us Yuma lovers? ) The voice Actor and Shidos voice had me blushing and squealing uncontrollably. Seriously I know some people didn't like it but I think the voice actor did a GREAT job an AMAZING job and I will be looking for more VA books by this person. My face is still flushed. all and all a great story 10/10 would reccomened and thats coming from someone who isn't really a series reader!

A fantastic, epic finale to a heart pounding series!

I cannot say how much I have been enveloped by these books. My heart soared, pounded, and broke won many times that I did not know how to feel. I feel that personally know each character. Emi's character has become a close friend of mine and a heroine that I hold dearly in my heart. Shiro/Inari is the fictional boyfriend of the year for me. Even Yumei, although I wasn't too impressed by him at first, he grew on me and I come to fall head over heels for him. This plot is so epic and unpredictable that in what to listen/read it all over again. Bravo, Annette!

LOVED it. The end. 🦊❤️

The only thing I can say about this book is that I loved EVERYTHING. (Except the narrator-but I’ll get to that later). I love this series so much that I’m actually writing this review after my second time listening/reading it!!
First of all I don’t know if the author is of Japanese descent and I’m no expert but it sure looks like she spent a lot of time crafting the characters and the world with respect and authenticity. She was very intentional and specific when she wrote this book by incorporating specific vernacular and staying consistent. For example it could be very easy to use the word “sash” instead of “obi”. But she didn’t and made sure to call many things by the appropriate name.
Second, The characters were fantastic. I did not come across one character that was not well developed or that I didn’t like. Even the “bad guys” show range and have emotions and reasons for what they do. I love authors that create dynamic characters that show change as a series goes on and this series beautifully crafted all of them to perfection. It’s great to see characters that question their beliefs and that grow from the experiences they face. (Also, Shiro and Yumei….. I love them both.)
Third, The storyline was absolutely stunning and absolutely captivating. You really get pulled in Because the world is so rich and well explained. Especially for those of us That might have a “basic” understanding of Japanese culture -as seen through media- this book goes into deeper specifications about Japanese Shinto religion and mythology and how big of a part these aspects play in the overall storyline.
The only thing I Was not 100% pleased with was the narrator. I don’t think the narrator did a bad job per se but she made Emi sound much older than what she really was and could be a bit dramatic at times with the emphasis placed on certain words and parts. I do give her props for the pronunciation tho!! I do think she tried to express a lot of the characters emotions which is good but sometimes it was just a little too much for me. In the end she was OK. I’m picky when it comes to tone and if it’s fits a specific character or story. So if a person sounds older than the 18-year-old character they’re trying to portray it’s going to bug me…

Anywhoooo
Overall this series is fantastic. 9/10 ⭐️
I will definitely be coming back to this!

Best all-around book in a long while....

Firstly, the trilogy is amazing. Full of romance, humor, and nerve-racking moments. You also learn a lot about the Japanese culture. (the kindle version has pictures through out and meanings of Japanese words at the end).

The narrator is the BEST female narrator (Nick Podehl being one of the best male narrators). She bas the best male voices and I can truly believe the characters. She doesn't just read eitger... her inflections and natural ability at narrating makes the story feel real, like you are THERE watching it. It does not seem "fake". She is truly amazing!

Both the great story and amazing narration contribute to this being one of my top audible books and I have quite a huge variety (over 1,000 audible books).
I actually wish this was not a trilogy and more books were coming....I just fell in love with all the characters!!

Fire Packed Conclusion

Summary: The Winter solstice is drawing nearer. The time Emi has left to save the world, be at peace with herself, and to fall in love is coming to a close. Totally obtainable, right? We learn more about Yumei's past, we peek into the minds of immortal gods/goddesses and get overly attached to characters who aren't real and who haunt our dreams with bittersweet romances and the river of tears shed while completing this trilogy that really should have had more hype since I man, come on, it's like a hardcore shoujo anime in book form so I thought people would really be into this, but I guess 2017 was the time for Fairy Tale remakes and not so much anime books--*deep breath*--Yeah, that's about it.

What I Didn't Like: There is a spot in the novel where Emi loses a large chunk of time, and when you only have 22 days left to live, just one day gone is heartbreaking. I wish she had more of that lost time back to have been with Shiro. I understand why it was down in the context of the story, but I really felt for Emi--curse being an empath!

What I Did Like:
-The ending. It was the best I could have asked for. I would love to have more to the story, but I don't think there really needs to be anything else added. It would just be extra points if this story were ever touched on again.
-I just love Emi and Shiro. To be loved by someone immortal--I just, I absolutely adore that someone who lived so long and seen so many things for such a long time opens up to someone at all--squee. Apparently I can't formulate sentences about how I feel.
-Emily Woo Zeller (for those who listen to their books) is a master and is the cherry on top to an already awesome book.
-The mythology is great and well researched.
-I like how the villainess wasn't straight-up evil...I guess her brother is....but...whatever, it all works out!
-Love all the characters.
-Love, just pure love.
-Going to read the short story about Yumei on Annette Marie's website now-bye!

Fabulous!!

What an amazing ending to the trilogy!! Loved everything about it. The story telling, the action, the emotion and romance. All of it came together into a beautiful tale. And the narration was so heartfelt and real it brought tears to my eyes.