Review: Intriguing World-Building, But a Heroine That Didn't Always Appeal To Me
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 24, 2013
Dancing in the Flame is an intriguing story that, for a novella, has a lot going on.  The Earth has been left in ruin after a war between otherworldly creatures results in humans nuking everything to bring an end to the war and most humans as well.  Without humans to do the dirty work Earth has become a decrepit dump where weres and sidhes barely get along and, when the sidhes discover something priceless in their ranks, war might very well erupt again.Barrett is a man of strong power who runs a magic shop where all otherworldly creatures come to shop, including werehooker Keira who seeks peace from her indentured servitude for a few moments a week. He's fascinated by her and when given the opportunity to kidnap her from the weres he jumps at the chance and relishes the time spent getting to know her.  Barrett is super sexy and more than capable of protecting himself and those he loves.  Unfortunately he's not as certain when it comes to admitting his true feelings and it might end up costing him the woman that's the first to make him feel in a long time.Keira, considered genetically weak, was forced into indentured servitude when she was eighteen with the werebordello her only real home after the early death of her mother and an unknown father.  She has dreams of getting away but no hope to carry through until the night Barrett comes to take her away.  After believing she was nothing her whole life, she now discovers how important she really is but will have to work hard to prove herself.  My feelings regarding Keira were conflicted as there were many moments where she was strong and likable.  At other times she was a petulant child full of fear who would childishly lash out.  Perhaps her newfound knowledge will make her more even keeled and a better heroine.The short battle scene and use of magical abilities was intriguing and eye-catching.  The world-building was clever and I wish we'd seen more of it in-depth.  The sexual encounters between Barrett and Keira were hot and occurred early on in the story as they didn't have much contact with each other later on.  Along with an immensely appealing hero comes a delightful cast of secondary characters, among them the current ruler of the sidhe Caelin who's full of rage and hard to get along with.  There are times though where he shows a sexy and playful side that I would love to see more of.  Keira's friend Renn is a humorous fairy who makes any scene she's in fun.  Minus a heroine who I didn't click with, I found myself fully immersed in this story and would love to see it expanded upon.