A Hidden Fire by Elizabeth Hunter review

A Hidden Fire by Elizabeth Hunter (Elemental Mysteries #1)

review request from the author


Synopsis from Goodreads
"No secret stays hidden forever."

A phone call from an old friend sets Dr. Giovanni Vecchio back on the path of a mystery he'd abandoned years before. He never expected a young librarian could hold the key to the search, nor could he have expected the danger she would attract. Now he and Beatrice De Novo will follow a twisted maze that leads from the archives of a university library, through the fires of Renaissance Florence, and toward a confrontation they never could have predicted.

A Hidden Fire is a paranormal mystery/romance for adult readers. It is the first book in the Elemental Mysteries Series.

"A tantalyzing paranormal romance, full of mystery and intrigue. One of the best books I've read in a long time. Sign me up for book 2!" Nichole Chase, author of Mortal Obligation, Book One of The Dark Betrayal Trilogy
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I haven't been that thrilled and awed by a self-publishing author since I've read Meilin Miranda's Lovers and Beloveds.

Some books are like delicious dark chocolate, but some books are like exquisite red wine - rich, intoxicating, powerful. A Hidden Fire is just one such book.



It reminds you why you fell in love with vampires all those years ago when you had your first Anne Rice's book or watched Count Dracula with his fake Transylvanian accent charm Mina.


A Hidden Fire delivers strong feel of Anne Rice but with a touch of Elizabeth Kostova and Dan Brown. It's not a paranormal romance, but a mystery with romantic elements.


Two main characters, - Beatrice, a young and very bright Goth girl slash librarian, and a 500 year old vampire Giovanni work together to unravel a mystery, stay alive and bring the villain down.


Giovanni or Gio had been groomed as a perfect vampire and turned young five centuries ago by an unhinged Master. As an Italian aristocrat who grew up in times of Borgia he is a skilled politician, strategist and has an enormous self-control, but he can't help being fascinated by Beatrice. 


However, this is one of the few rare book where a vampire acts his age, and not like a train wrecked on hormones teenager. He thinks things through and thinks of the consequences. Both Beatrice and Gio fight their attraction, there is this gradually building sexual tension between them during the whole book... And this is another thing I was so wild about. Nothing heats up blood better than delayed sexual gratification :)


Secondary characters are just as mesmerizing. The pace is unhurried (the book covers I think over a year and a half of Beatrice's life), the action  is very Anne Rice-ish, and the powers of each vampire are frankly unique.


I'm sorry I'm giving you spoilers, but I can't help gushing about this book. This is one of the two books which absolutely blew me away last month. I can't stop thinking about it, and I'm very glad that the second book This Same Earth comes out on the 7th of December. I'm privileged to get the ARC, and the review will be coming very soon.

Guys, you absolutely have to read it, especially if you like old world vampires. This was terrific.

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Просто шикарная книга! Очень по духу напоминает старомодных вампиров Анн Райс, Элизабет Костову и Дэна Брауна.


A Hidden Fire рекламируется как паранормальный роман, но это скорее уютная немного детективная история с романтическими элементами.


Джио, 500-летний вампир, созданный в Италии времён Борджиа, и он действует соответственно своему возрасту. Он - политик, стратег и обладает огромным самоконтролем.


Судьба сводит его с Беатрис, молодой студенткой-библиотекаршей, в поисках украденных документов, которые он пытается вернуть назад. Несмотря на попытки удержаться от Би подальше, она завораживает и интригует его своим умом и характером, и он втягивает её в свой мир, подвергая её жизнь и жизнь её бабушки таким образом опасности со стороны его врагов.


Действие развивается очень неспешно и охватывает около полутора лет, и я просто обожала как медленно отношения между Би и Джио перерастали из дружбы в безумное притяжение друг другу. Как они отреагируют на это притяжение - это уже другой вопрос :)


Несмотря на медленное развитие событий, скучать не приходиться ни минуты. Второстепенные персонажи и интрига тщательно выписаны, сами вампиры и силы, которыми они обладают уникальны.


Я безумно рада, что у меня в руках вторая книга This Same Earth, что выходит 7-го декабря, потому как я не могу перестать думать о Джио и Беатрис, и ожидание сводит меня с ума.


Читайте, я просто наслаждалась!

9.5/10