The Fire Within
Joely Sue Burkhart
Reviewed by Ann Marie Chalmers
This novella is a companion to ‘Survive My Fire’ and are both set in
Keldar. Keldar is a land of sand and drought where rain hasn’t fallen
for over a thousand years. Rivers and lakes do not exist making
Keldar a hard land to live in. The land is full of suffering and
death but a land of dragons.
Born into a tainted royal branch of the Green Lands Bloodline, Eleni
finally has a chance to escape her abusive power hungry brother.
Going to Keldar is a sure way to keep him at bay and she already has
the perfect excuse to go there. Her brother needs allies and she
promises him she will find some. However her only aim is to find
a powerful warrior and to get sanctuary with him.
Zahak is a dragon and he is tainted too. He has refused
leadership and plans to deliver the White Daughter so his brother can
become the leader of Keldar. However Eleni has set her bright
eyes on him and his plans start to fall apart. With Eleni’s
brother haunting her dreams Zahak tries to save the one he has fallen
in love with. The one with his fire within.
Although a stand alone book people may feel that it is missing some of
the background or at least details of the 'world' this is set in.
A short quick read this is full of romance, fighting and dragons.
However the nice world and fantasy of the story covers what is a normal
‘girl meets boy and falls in love while trying to solve family issues’
story.
This is not bad but this would have been a lot better if it had been a
longer novel. Too quick and sometimes confusing the romance is
too quick and the battle to short. Any readers of previous works
by this author will of course find this novella easier to grasp.
This reader is looking forward to reading more of the series and
getting a better look at this world.