Category: Paranormal Romance
Stars: 4/5
Book 3, Hidden Legacy Series
(THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER FREE!)
Wildfire is the third and final book in the Hidden Legacy series by husband and wife writing team Ilona Andrews.
Aside from the plot and the smoking-hot romance, this final book really nails the character development in a satisfying conclusion to the series. Nevada Baylor comes fully into her Prime powers and faces the decision of how to keep her family safe from her paternal Grandmother. A cruel Truthseeker prime, she has compelling reasons for wanting control of Nevada, and is willing to abuse Nevada’s sisters to get what she wants. Throughout the novel, Nevada’s emotional journey and clever solutions to challenges keep her in the forefront of the story, even when Rogan is the one deploying massive magical assaults.
The love story between Rogan and Nevada also takes several steps forward. Rogan is still the alpha-male, my-way-or-the-dungeon anti-hero we love (and sometimes hate). He doesn’t care what he has to do to get what he wants. (Real talk: If you start off your relationship by kidnapping and magically assaulting someone, you’ve got a long road to travel to redemption.) But he manages to keep his hard-ass attitude while finding a middle ground that shows his own personal growth, and moves their relationship forward into swoon-worthy territory.
This third book finally shows Rogan putting Nevada (and her family) before his own interests, as he mentors Nevada through the political nightmare of magical, powerful Houses in Houston, all while believing she’ll leave him when her family becomes a House.
Ilona Andrews built up some interesting plot developments throughout the first two books, and this third one brings it all together very well. The power dynamics of the political Houses, the identity of Caesar and his plot to destroy Houston, and even Nevada’s hidden family legacy — all of it comes to a satisfying conclusion.
My only complaint is that I chose to listen to this on audiobook, and I happen to not like the voice actor they use (apparently) for all their books. I suggest taking a listen to the sample audio recording before you commit to 15 hours of listening. If you’re picky on your audio book narration, I’d suggest grabbing the print version instead.