Flameheart by Dalton Bequette
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The description for Flameheart captivated me from the moment I read it, and saw the lovely cover art attached to the story. Flameheart is something of a portal fantasy, a book about books and a world containing a vast array of other worlds within it, worlds of which most inhabitants are wholly unaware and unsuspecting. It’s a love letter to stories, and to the weight the hold in our lives.

We first meet Aurelia, or Lia, during a writing session with her beloved grandfather. The two have always had a special bond over the stories they create together. Tragedy strikes, as it so often does. But through the heartache, Lia learns that the imaginary world she crafted as a child is real. And all worlds, including her reality and the home of her heart she once believed fictional, are in danger. It’s a danger that Lia is surprisingly well suited to combat, if she can just get out of her own way.

I instantly related to Lia’s melodrama, as well as her desire to suppress it. Largely through her character, we are given some very believable representation of anxiety and the ways it displays itself outwardly, whether through nervous tics, obsessive compulsion, or small acts of self-harm. We also see through her the importance of sharing your grief instead of allowing it to take root and fester.

I like the worldbuilding and how it ties myths, legends, and dreams into reality. We even have a creation myth for dreams and imagination. This is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, though it isn’t explicitly Christian. The idea of the eponymous Flamehearts, creatives tasked with returning creatures that don’t belong in our real world to story realms they craft from songs and poems and novels, is a fascinating one. I was especially taken with the idea of the Flamehearts’ weapons—pens forged from stars and memories, capable of taking the form of whatever weapon would be serve in a particular world, against a particular enemy.

There is a burgeoning first-love, star-crossed, friends-to-more romance that serves as an undercurrent throughout the entire story. Our romantic interest, Kayce, has been Lia’s best (if seemingly imaginary) friend for most of her life. When she discovers that he and his world are real, feelings begin to shift. I found Kayce and his family, as well as the world of Norenth, a delight. This is a world of flying ships, oceans in the clouds, and tree roots that pulse with golden light. It was lovely, and I could have spent hundreds of pages exploring it.

An element that didn’t initially work well for me was the prose. I didn’t immediately connect with the voice, in spite of how relatable I found Lia. And it felt like I was told more about this world of Flamehearts and its mythos than I was shown. Part of this might have been the way I skewed my own expectations. Because of the synopsis, I went into this expecting something like Inkheart and The Neverending Story, and even the more recent The Unravelling of Emlyn DuLaine. And while I do think those are pretty solid comps in terms of story, Flameheart didn’t bring that same charming, fairytale-like tone to the table. But once I altered my stylistic expectations, I became more deeply invested in the story being told.

Aside from that one nitpicky, subjective complaint, I really enjoyed my time with Flameheart. The story ended on a lovely note, in spite of how much is still up in the air in terms of overarching plot. I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes next!

Expected pub date: July 29, 2025.

(I received an early review copy of this book from the authors. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.)

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