Coldest Fire by Juliette Cross – Reviews, Excerpt & Giveaway
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Description:
Archangel Uriel is hell bent on revenge on the demon prince Vladek. To get into the prince’s impenetrable fortress, he’ll have to fight in the pits of the underworld. And he’ll need the help of the last person he can trust––the demon witch Nadya.
There is no way Nadya, who spends her days taking care of others, expected to find Uriel on her doorstep. He seems no happier about being there than she does. But helping him means evening the scales against her backstabbing sister, and she’ll do whatever it takes to make that bitch pay.
Using the fight pit circuits in the demon underworld, Nadya helps Uriel combat his way to the arena at the castle in Russia. Only she isn’t what she seems. As a matter of fact, she may hold the key to his redemption…and to his heart.
Each book in the Dominion series is STANDALONE:
* The Deepest Well (prequel)
* Darkest Heart
* Hardest Fall
* Coldest Fire
Sandy’s Review:
COLDEST FIRE is the third and final full-length instalment in Juliette Cross’ post-apocalyptic, dystopian DOMINION fantasy, romance series focusing on the fight for control and power- the Great War- between Heaven and Hell. This is Archangel Uriel, and witch Nadya. COLDEST FIRE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. The Dominion series is a sequel to the Vessel Series
Told from dual first person perspectives (Uriel and Nadya) COLDEST FIRE follows the building relationship and romance between Archangel Uriel, and witch Nadya. For months Nadya had been imprisoned in Estonia by demon king Vladek, while Uriel found himself the prisoner and slave of a powerful witch known as Lisabette. Freed from his prison Uriel goes in search of Nadya, the witch he considers in league with the demons of hell.
Uriel is desperate to return to destroy the self-proclaimed demon king Vladek but his only way to Vladek is through the fighting pits with the help of a witch he doesn’t trust. After his tortuous months under the control of Lisabette, Uriel looks at all witches as a pock against the world. But Uriel needs Nadya’s help, and it’s with her help that Uriel will find himself falling for the woman that has stolen his heart.
The relationship between Uriel and Nadya begins as a business arrangement but our couple originally met when Nadya and Uriel were first imprisoned months before. Uriel needs Nadya’s connections but Nadya struggles with memories of torture and abuse at the hands of a demon Uriel is determined to destroy. As plans are made to get Uriel into the fighting pits, our hero finds himself falling for the broken witch. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without he use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
There is a large ensemble cast of energetic and colorful secondary and supporting characters including demon king Vladek, Lisabette witch, high demon Yorick, and the high demon of Moscow Skaal. We are reintroduced to Kat and George (The Deepest Well .5), Anya and Dommiel (The Darkest Heart #1) and Xander and Carowyn aka Bone (Hardest Fall #2).
COLDEST FIRE is a character driven story of betrayal and revenge; of trust and forgiveness; of heartbreak and love. The premise is engaging, entertaining and thrilling; the romance is seductive, spicy and intense; the characters are sensitive, spirited and charismatic. Juliette Cross writes from the heart: her characters are enthralling, sexy and imaginative; her stories are brilliant and intense.
Barb’s Review:
Coldest Fire by Juliette Cross is the 4th and final book in her fantastic urban fantasy Dominion series. I cannot say enough about Juliette Cross, and how each and every time I read one of her fantastic books, she grabs hold of me at the first page and never ever lets go until the very end. Bravo, Juliette, as Coldest Fire was sensational, and now I have to grieve that this series is over. ☹
Nadya is our heroine, whom we had met previously; she is a demon witch and has helped Dommiel and others in earlier stories. This is now her turn, but she never expected to find it in the Archangel Uriel. When Dommiel and Anya go to Nadya for her help, she is shocked to see Uriel arrive right behind them.
Uriel, having recently been freed from being tortured by the Demon King, Vladek and Lisabette (evil demon witch), is hell bent on revenge at any cost. He wants to kill Vladek, and because he trusts Dommiel, he agrees that he needs the help of Nadya, but he doesn’t plan on trusting any witch. Uriel’s plan, especially now that he is healed and back in great shape, is to join the fighting pits, working his way to Vladek’s pit.
Nadya is willing to help, but she has her own skeleton’s, and does not want to come close to wherever Vladek is. She too was a prisoner of Vladek, who not only tortured her, but kept her as his concubine. Lisabette (who was actually her evil sister), also helped put Nadya in harm’s way with Vladek, until she was able to escape and hide in a small-town helping others.
When Nadya goes with Uriel to meet with her demon friend Skaal, they work with Uriel on a plan to get him into the fighting pits. In a short time, Uriel begins to see that Nadya is not what he thought she was as a witch, and slowly but surely as they spend more time together, he finds his cold heart beginning to melt. Nadya also finds herself falling for Uriel, and his kindness in helping others, especially humans.
What follows is a fascinating story, as we follow Uriel and Nadya, as they travel to each of the fighting pits, with Uriel in dangerous situations, but also winning to keep him moving toward Vladek. Nadya in disguise begins to become leery, as she sees someone from the past, who is one of Vladek’s men. But she is determined to help Uriel, even if she is putting her own life in danger. The romance between Nadya and Uriel was scorching hot, and they made such a great couple, especially since both never thought they would find love in each other. I loved them both together.
It was great to spend time with all our favorites, such as Dommiel, Anya, George, Kat, Bone, Xander and Skaal. I also enjoyed Circe, Uriel’s dragon. When the situation became threatening and lives on the line, they all teamed up with Uriel and Nadya to find a way to defeat Vladek.
Coldest Fire was another heart stopping, pulse pounding, action packed, intense exciting thriller that Juliette always gives us. I was unable to put the book down, as besides the intense emotional thriller, I loved watching Uriel and Nadya fall in love. Coldest Fire was a fantastic story that needs to be read. But please make sure you start with the first book in this series, as you do not want to miss a thing. As always, thank you Juliette Cross for this wonderful series. I look forward to what she will be giving us next, especially since never fails to wow us.
URIEL: Ludvik took my wrist in one hand and my opponent’s wrist in the other before announcing the standard, “Only body and blades in the ring. Fight till you die. Or survive.”
The voice of Yorick echoing through the speakers of the hall crooned over the masses. “Tonight, we have a special guest. To challenge our champion Mastok the Marauder, we have Uriel the Archangel!”
Sudden raucous yells erupted from the audience. I heard what I’d expected from some of the jeering crowd.
“Kill the angel!”
“Break his wings!”
“Take off his pretty head!” one demoness in the front row yelled with spittle flying.
Fuel to the fire, my friends. They had no idea what had been building inside of me since the day I’d been taken captive by Vladek and restrained by his putrid essence and by Lisabette’s blood rites and black magic. It would all be unleashed tonight.
“Let the games begin!” shouted Yorick, then the maestro waved his arms.
The orchestra swelled suddenly, joined by a chorus in the left balcony that I hadn’t noticed. A few of them were seraphs, but mostly humans. Throat collars with chains binding them one to the other kept them in place. All slaves to this bastard, Yorick.
“To the death,” grunted Ludvik, smirking at me before letting our wrists go.
The behemoth circled away from me, but I stood perfectly still.
I recognized the music building with spine-chilling accuracy. “O Fortuna” from the cantata Carmina Burana. The Latin voices and strings rang with staccato perfection. The haunting lyrics vibrated straight to my soul, opening it wide for the words to take on new meaning. Words penned by defrocked monks now long dead sang straight to my heart. Oh, yes. Lady Fortune had been undeservingly cruel, blasting me with one disaster after another, enslaving my soul with despair, bringing me to my knees and expelling me out of hell so that I could stand on this stage and take my revenge.
As my soon-to-be first kill continued to circle me like a menacing predator, his sinister grin having zero effect, I glanced one more time up to the top balcony, capturing her look of mingling worry and fear and another heady emotion no woman had ever held in her eyes for me. I pressed it all inside my chest and turned to the monster crouching for a strike.
Let it all begin.
Juliette calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. She has a B.A. in creative writing from Louisiana State University, a M.Ed. in gifted education, and was privileged to study under the award-winning author Ernest J. Gaines in grad school. Her love of mythology, legends, and art serve as constant inspiration for her works. From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance–brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.
Juliette is a multi-published author, including her Nightwing series with Kensington Publishing and The Vessel Trilogy with Samhain Publishing.
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