Sapphire Flames

A Hidden Legacy Novel, Book 4

By: Ilona Andrews

Narrated by: Emily Rankin

Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

From number one New York Times best-selling author Ilona Andrew comes an enthralling new trilogy set in the Hidden Legacy world, where magic means power and family bloodlines are the new currency of society....

In a world where magic is the key to power and wealth, Catalina Baylor is a prime, the highest rank of magic user, and the head of her house. Catalina has always been afraid to use her unique powers, but when her friend’s mother and sister are murdered, Catalina risks her reputation and safety to unravel the mystery.

But behind the scenes, powerful forces are at work, and one of them is Alessandro Sagredo, the Italian prime who was once Catalina’s teenage crush. Dangerous and unpredictable, Alessandro’s true motives are unclear, but he’s drawn to Catalina like a moth to a flame.

To help her friend, Catalina must test the limits of her extraordinary powers, but doing so may cost her both her house - and her heart.

©2019 Ilona Andrews (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

No HEA here - start of new series arc

Wow. Well done, complex story, set 3 years later, when House Baylor is coming out of their 3 years of protection given to a new house. It’s sink or swim time.
Nevada was hurting herself, trying to work for two houses, so she was pressured into committing to House Rogan by her family, and Catalina was made Head of House Baylor. Augustine, who I’m now calling The Instigator because of the jobs he sends them, gets Catalina out of bed late one night to help stop a young man from jumping off a roof. Turns out, he’s the younger brother of Runa Etterson, the poison mage from Diamond Fire.
And who’s in the thick of things? Alessandro Sagredo. Who is a lot more badass than we had any clue.
And that huge crush she had on Alessandro? We’re now talking Big L. Too bad she’s still worrying about him succumbing to her magic. And he’s got a larger agenda that he’s committed to.
We also get another side of Linus Duncan as Warden for Texas - hard to imagine him as bored. What’s missing is what has happened over time between Linus and Catalina that makes her very dear to him.
Overall, the story is well done, but there’s no happy ending. And this is one of the softest, smoothest cliffhangers I’ve ever seen.
Rankin does an ok job of narration. Her voice is pitched a little high for my comfort level. And I really miss Raudman’s voicing of Grandma Frieda;)

A big NO to the Narrator .

Simply put, Narrator could have done better.....so frustrating when the story is good but the Narrator completely ruins it!!

A “not great” Ilona book is better than most

I love Ilona Andrews books and each new one is a “must read’ for me. So much so that I don’t even read the reviews because I know that I AM going to read it regardless. So I can’t believe I’m going to say anything negative about one of their books but... it was disappointing for severa; reasons. First - I did not read the .5 novella and wished I would have because I needed the info, too many references to it. So I definitely suggest reading that first. Second - I did not enjoy the narration. but then I’m pretty picky about that for professional reasons. Thirdly - the characters fell flat for me. Narration may have contributed. There was a ridiculous amount of swooning by the female lead. The male lead was just arrogant and not appealing. Together they seemed like immature high school crushes and I did not enjoy either of them. Story was fine but that fun family dynamic was missing of the other characters and in many places was a rehash of the plot from the first 3 books in the series, almost exactly with the characters switched. Probably didn’t help that I just finished the latest Inkeeper installment by them which is consistently fantastic so this was no comparison. I’ll probably finish the series just because you have me Ilona Andrews! But I doubt I’ll like it very much.

Different but still great!

Cat's story is different than Nevada's in a few ways:
-how they approach relationship development
-magical ability and offensive vs. defensive capability
-maturity level and economic status of the characters given the timeline

All of this plays a major role in how the story develops. We do not see Nevada in this book at all (though she is referenced and a call or two during the story). There really is no predicting how this will go, and that is why I will be eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Love the Baylor family

Really been looking forward to Sapphire Flames release. The Nevada and Rogan stories are among my favorites. I have read them more than once. To me, this book did feel like a YA story. Personally, I did not enjoy Sapphire Flames as much as I have enjoyed Nevada and Rogan stories.

Not an enjoyable listen but good story

WHY oh WHY must authors change narrators in the middle of a series? That is a major no-no, especially when you already have an excellent voice actress (Renee Raudman) that your fans love and associate with your books! Would you change actors in the middle of a TV series?

Ms Rankin has some annoying speech patterns, especially the exaggerated 't's at the end of words. More importantly, nearly all the characters sound the same making it hard to know who was speaking. There is minimal variation in speech patterns, accents or tone of voice to distinguish Mad Rogan from Catalina. There is no sense of power or threat from the Primes. Bug lost his jitters. Catalina's mom lacks the sense of authority and command of an ex sergeant and so on. Characters lose credibility when the voice doesn't fit the character. They become flat and lifeless or just plain irritating. There are a number of very powerful magic users in this series that are constantly at war with each other. There are some exciting actions scenes with nasty bad guys. This narrator did not do them justice with her lack of skill as a voice actress. The overall effect is as though a bunch of teenager narrators are trying to read the part of the adults and it falls flat.

I LOVED the first 3 books in the series! They are even better than the Kate Daniels series. This book is a struggle to get through because of the narration. The story is good but does have some annoying teenage angst. It is a coming of age story for Catalina who must take over as head of House Baylor. Her teenage crush, Allesandro, has some interesting magical powers. (No spoilers here). Ilona Andrews never fails to delight with their fresh take on the paranormal world!

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!

I devoured this book. If you've never read an Ilona andrews book, dont start here, start with burn for me. If you read the first trilogy and are worried about a new protagonist, don't be. Catalina is not just a new Nevada, she is definitely her own person and therefore has her own struggles and weaknesses. My favorite thing about her is probably her intelligence. She is not the heroine you would yell at through your screen asking why the heck she is going into the obvious killers lair. But she is young, and needs to work on her self confidence, and I think that is something that we will be able to watch grow throughout this trilogy and I. Cannot. Wait!

No go!

I tried to listen to this and got as far as chapter 2, when the audio began to skip. Also the narrator was not good, all her character's voices sounded alike. I guess like most people I was expecting a Renee Raudman type reading which was always excellent. I love this series but they need a new narrator for the next book. My criticism is only pertaining to this audio version the book is great. Because of the skipping and the narration I will return this one and hope the next is better.

Narrator Volume and Intensity Issues, OK Story

Not a fan of this narrator. Very inconsistent volume, which left me constantly adjusting my own volume and impossible to put on before bed. She also overemphasizes her “t” and “s” sounds so much that it distracts from the story. There is no differentiation between characters except for a Russian-sounding Italian accent...

I loved the first three books in this series, but I agree with other fans that I was hoping for a fresh take on this universe with this new iteration and main characters. Unfortunately, Nevada and Catalina and their respective love interests essentially run the same loop with little deviation from the original story line. This author duo is capable of so much more. I hope they bring it hard in the next books!

Another Gem.

Another his form the Hidden Legacy series. Admittedly I liked Nevada’s stories better but enjoyed this spin off non the less. I didn’t like how they moved Catalina into Nevada’s spot as head of household, luckily that was a minor part of the story that it didn’t dim my enjoyment of the story. This book is a start to a new arc in the series and I look forward to the next book. I am eager to see how Catalina and Alessandro get together; they have some serious sparks flying. I always love the Baylor family and hope that they each get a story. Narrator is very good, but I miss Renee Raudman.

Totally gripping

I haven’t listened to the earlier books as I really don’t like the narrator, but decided to try this as the narrator has changed. Completely enjoyable, good narration, interesting characters and a solid ‘case of the day’. I listened to the whole thing in less than 24 hours! Hope there are many more

Another great Ilona Andrews book

The book absolutely live up to the others in the series and the authors stile so if you normally like Ilona Andrews you will not be disappointed...
If you don't know Ilona Andrews... Well then you have been missing out... And all there books is recommendable, great storys with details, fun, sorrow, love and hate...

The narrator do a fantastic job...

fantastic audio book

It's a fantastic and well written story with an outstanding narration. Totally recommend the purchase.

Phenomenon book, brilliant series

This is a great start to the next phase of the hidden legacy series. I loved Nevada and Rogan's story and I thought nothing could top it but I didn't take into account Catalina and Alessandro. OMG this series just keeps getting better. Really looking forward to reading Emerald Blaze

action packed

This book didn't skip a beat! Very well written, suspenseful and intriguing. Roll on August

Sapphire Flames

This is a great follow on book, even more fighting, passion and courage. Read brilliantly again by Emily Rankin.

Great book

Really enjoyed this, and it’s great to have a book set in a universe I already know and love, but with new characters to focus on.

Couldn’t finish it....

Usually I am a massive fan of this author but the heroine just got on my nerves! She was not any way as good a Character as Nevada! I found Catalina whiney and her love interest lord she sounded like a 14 year old! Nope sorry not for me....I am gutted 🤦‍♀️

Fantastic

This is an Excellent addition to the Hidden Legacy series .
A different protagonist and narrator but very enjoyable
The book ends in such a way that there is obviously another book planned .
Please don’t take too long to publish it ....x

Love this❤️

Love Ilona Andrews! They always deliver a great story and I will always buy it ♥️♥️♥️♥️