seriously romantic: warrior of fire by shona husk

this is the second book in husk's blood and silver series. leira is the younger sister of saba, who we met in lady of silver, and she's been waiting for a man on a train to come into her life and change her world. because this man is also an albah, she's avoided group meetings so as to not change the future she saw in her vision. she liked that version of the future.

but when she is forced to attend a meeting to discuss the increased threat her people are under and she sees julian ryder, she knows that everything is different now. the future she had been protecting has literally gone up in smoke, a terrifying prognostication given that she is a fire elemental and has problems controlling her power.

julian also wields fire. and he is attracted to leira from the moment they meet. he also has a girlfriend, soon-to-be-ex, who is clingy and demanding and a guardian of adam, a race of human hunters who have had it out for his kind for centuries. most paranormals or fantasies draw themes from our real world and represent them in a new light in fiction, and while this may be a romance, it does do this here, in particular with the guardians of adam and their fervor in trying to exterminate a race they view as a threat to humankind.

behavior like this is still prevalent today. and warrior of fire, does a nice job of drawing parallels without hitting you over the head with symbolism.

when leira and julian realize that the future that they wanted with one another is gone, they have to work together and see if they can change enough of their present and get it back on track. the spark between them is undeniable. and not only that, they like each other, they work well together, and who's to argue when things are meant to be. it's meant to be because it is right. i really liked their relationship and what they had to overcome to earn their hea. sometimes with stories that start with this "we are destined" for each other have me bucking at the convention, but julian and leira make sense together. they really do work. and there is enough suspense and doubt as to the outcome of their relationship that you aren't stuck on it's inevitability, even knowing this is a romance novel.

**warrior of fire will publish on june 20, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/kensington books (lyrical press) in exchange for my honest review.