Soul of Fire

Magical British Empire #2

by Sarah A. Hoyt

Filled with adventure and danger, intrigue and romance, this thrilling new fantasy from Sarah Hoyt follows the quest for a rare treasure—by a man of rare breed—in a magical Victorian British Empire that never was….

British gentleman and were-dragon Peter Farewell has embarked on a daunting to recover the Soul of Fire, a magical ruby said to lie at the heart of British-controlled India. But finding one stone in the heart of a land simmering on the cusp of rebellion, and rife with hostile magics, seems an impossible task—until Peter saves the life of a young virgin fleeing a distasteful arranged marriage. For unknown to Sofie Warington, the flawed gem that is all that is left of her dowry is the very one Peter has been seeking. And if Peter can keep her safe from the sinister factions desperate to gain control of both Sofie and her dowry, he will find more than a jewel; he will find his heart’s destiny.

Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk, Romance, India, Dragons, Historical Fiction

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 29, 2008

About the author

Sarah A. Hoyt was born (and raised) in Portugal and now lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, and a variable number of cats, depending on how many show up to beg on the door step.

In between lays the sort of resume that used to be de-rigueur for writers. She has never actually wrestled alligators, but she did at one point very briefly tie bows on bags of potpourri for a living. She has also washed dishes and ironed clothes for a living. Worst of all she was, for a long time, a multilingual scientific translator.

At some point, though, she got tired of making an honest living and started writing. She has over 30 published novels, in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical mystery, historical fantasy and historical biography. Her short stories have been published in Analog, Asimov's, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, and a number of anthologies from DAW and Baen. Her space-opera novel Darkship Thieves was the 2011 Prometheus Award Winner, and the third novel in the series, A Few Good Men, was a finalist for the honor. She also won the Dragon Award for Uncharted (with Kevin J. Anderson.)

a.k.a. Sarah D'Almeida
a.k.a. Elise Hyatt
a.k.a. Sarah Marqués

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in this series proved somewhat of a disappointment, squandering its fascinating worldbuilding and exquisitely rendered settings with an overabundance of soap opera-esque melodrama and romance-related stupidity running rampant among the characters. Had I not had the entire trilogy in my possession, I probably wouldn't have continued the series at all. Instead, I just kept my fingers crossed that this one might be a pleasantly surprising improvement - much to my delight, that's exactly what it turned out to be. Less annoyance, more interesting plot, and vastly less irritating characters. The fact that Peter Farewell, easily the most interesting character introduced in Heart of Light, was one of the protagonists this time certainly didn't hurt. I enjoyed both the romance subplots in this one and generally found this to be a better read. Now here's hoping that book three won't let me down...

[Foggygirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this second instalment slightly better than the first book but still wanted to smack the two main characters about occasionally.

[Lexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

SOUL OF FIRE, Hoyt's second novel set in her alternate 'Magical British Empire' series, follows a minor character from Hoyt's first novel in the series, HEART OF LIGHT, Peter Farewell, British gentleman and were-dragon.

After his promise to Nigil, the hero of HEART OF LIGHT, to return the second of two legendary magical jewels said to have been in Charlemagne's (yes, that Charlemagne) possession once upon a time, Peter sets off to British occupied India in pursuit of the jewel. He doesn't expect to become embroiled in a family's dark secret, a young girl's bid at freedom or the truth behind the whispered rebellion of the natives.

If you read HEART OF LIGHT before this, then you'll know all the references Peter makes throughout the book without help. For those who haven't read the first book, there is enough referencing to the events of HEART OF LIGHT to cover anything that might be mentioned.

Peter is a likeable hero. Maybe because I went into the book expecting it to be like other historical romances I read and I thought he would be less flawed than he was. Those flaws endeared him to me, however, from the eye patch to his mixed emotions over his father's death, and his almost clumsy courtship with the heroine, Sofie. Peter seemed real to me.

Sofie at times annoyed me. She was a little younger then I would have liked (she was only seventeen) and at times acted very much the spoiled brat she insisted she wasn't. I don't think she meant any of her selfish tendencies out of spite, but all the same, they more often then not landed folks in trouble because she didn't think things through. She was all impulse and determination. She does mature however, and I did enjoy her and Peter's relationship as it progressed along.

The others in the story—Sofie's (mercenary) parents, handmaiden/friend Lalita, the other weres and even the natives that came and went, were all well written and interesting. I especially liked Lalita's Uncle, who fit his title quite well.

As previously mentioned, this is the second book in Hoyt's Magical British Empire series, preceded by HEART OF LIGHT (out now) and shortly to be followed by HEART AND SOUL (due out end of October 2008).

[Korynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a colonial India full of weres, a dragon saves a girl falling off of a balcony. It turns out she is fleeing an undesirable marriage and is a bit headstrong. It turns out the dragon is, in fact, a were-dragon and that he is searching for the mysterious Soul of Fire ruby. Did I mention that they are both nubile beautiful young people and that he becomes naked every time he changes form? Oh yes it is a recipe for romance readers with not one, or even two, but three romance story lines, yes even a homosexual subplot for those who love men loving men. Anywho, he is an English lord and she is, well, very beautiful and happens to have a ruby for her inheritance and wait, is this the Jungle book, what with all the monkeys and tigers, oh no wait, it's Aladdin and his magic carpet, no I spoke too soon it's Puff the Magic Dragon because the dragon likes her best, you see. So it's a muddle motive wise but a nice fluff of alternate history with fantastical aspects.

[Ingrid Spera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as much as the first! Full of adventure, this takes one tackles insurrection and 'were' rebellion. I think this one was also interesting because out of its more romantic stories, its main story involved two very self depreciating individuals who find homes in eachother and one of the others is acceptance of ones societal differences. I appreciated the stretch from the common stereotypes although I wish they'd covered Williams story a bit more thoroughly or Lalitas (when she makes her choice). Overall, I loved this story with the exception of the rushed ending and will be starting the next as soon as I hit "save" on this!

[Cheryl a.k.a Poptart · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book in a three part series known as the Magical British Empire. Soul of Fire was better than the first book although still lacking a steady rhythm. While showing more feeling than its predecessor, it still lacked emotions in which to keep the reader enthralled. It seems that the author does not like displays of emotions and her characters seem stiff because of it. Soul of Fire takes a little effort to read but due to overall plot it okay. Not recommended for readers who fall asleep reading easily.

[MLL · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one more than the first book. The heroine was only occasionally a half wit and didn't throw herself at every guy in the book. The book did feel a little disjointed. The three sets of protagonists didn't come together in the end as well as the first book. And the various HEA's felt rushed and incomplete.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book but it could have been better. The pace of the book was odd. The beginning was drawn out but towards the end of the book, everything felt rushed. Overall, it was a good book but I'm not going to read the next book in the series.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars is a bit much but three is definitely not enough. Liked the book. Liked the fact that we are going on with another culture and another main character that was well established in book one. Did find it odd that the scene where the dragons fight was so abruptely terminated.

[VMom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big improvement over book one. I was looking forward to Peter's story and Sofie, while annoying at first, does improve over the course of the book. The two secondary romantic pairings did nothing for me though.

[Stacia Ahlfeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good. I liked it. I probably won't re-read it, but if I needed something to read and it was at hand, I'd read it again. There was a nice touch of romance to it, but it didn't dominate the story. The characters were really likable.

[Sylene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to Heart of fire...continuation of said story. more romance this time.

[Esther_a · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun, but rather rushed. Any of the three relationships in the book could have been a complete story.

[Lynn Calvin]

Amazon preorder

[Marine_maiden · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has lots of potential but the author just messed up the story pace, stiff character development and dry humour.