Rating: 4⭐️

Iron & Embers picks up four years after the end of events of The Legends of Thezmarr series and Wren Embervale has been quietly working her way through the list of people who were responsible for the deaths of so many of those she lost. She’s anonymously become The Poisoner, an assassin traveling through the Kingdoms eliminating various targets never held accountable for their actions and crimes in the recent war.

Wren was an excellent, well written character we got to know in the first series . But next to the brilliant driven warrior that was her Warsword sister, Thea, and her powerful storyline, even with that magical role towards the end, it’s clear that she had more to say and depths to her character. 

Scheuerer starts here by sending an embittered Wren off to an alchemy academy of Drevenor, an ancient school where she’s going to be taught spells and learn areas of alchemy she’s never heard of. 

The school has been mentioned before in the previous series and several strong women characters are back in impactful roles here. 

The romance is between Warsword Torj Elderbrock, a man who was forever changed by his and Wren’s last battle with the Dark forces. Channeling Wren’s lightning power changed his hair silver and left him with lightning made scars across his chest.  And it has left other deeper changes. 

I expect that the author will keep the main characters apart from each other as part of a frustrating series romantic storyline.  Wren starts off with a noncommittal idea about love and affection with regards to romance and the book ends on a note that for me feels more “contrived “ then one that feels more a naturally flowing piece of the same plot. 

A “oh no, I need to pull them apart. This should do” sort of moment in the story. When if they actually chatted it would have been resolved. 

The Academy is a grim institution, instead of a place of learning. Think more body parts and bags than plants, marigolds, and medicine.   So yes, scenes of torture and death ensue. 

Which brings me to another point. In the first series, the women were coming together as a powerful force , a team and family. Here just the opposite seems to be happening. It’s disappointing and discouraging to see women characters I admired change and lessened here for plot purposes. 

So, yes, I like Wren as a character. Vote is out on most of those characters around her, including Torj Elderbrock, a fascinating character who hasn’t yet learned to communicate. 

There’s an overall series mystery developing around anti- magic, anti-royalist sentiment groups that might be more than just what they appear. 

I admit Thea is an almost impossible act to follow. She is a Legend after all.   So I’m onto the next when it’s released to see what legacy Wren makes for herself. 

Recommended. Read The Legends of Thezmarr first. Excellent reads every one. 

Great covers continue in this series.

The Legends of Thezmarr (4 book series (foundation series)

The Ashes of Thezmarr sequel series:

Iron & Embers #1

Thorns & Fire #2 – July 31,2025

Buy link

        Iron & Embers: An epic fantasy romance (The Ashes of Thezmarr Book 1)

Blurb 

“I’ve made no secret of what I want… You. It’s always been you.”

Wren Embervale, alchemist-turned-assassin, finds solace in only one thing: seeking vengeance for the death of her friends. The wars of the past may be over, but her thirst for revenge is far from quenched.

For years, she has been content with her poisons and potions for company, but when an unknown form of alchemy is used to attack a king of the midrealms, Wren’s time in the shadows comes to an end.

She’s offered a place at the ancient alchemy academy of Drevenor to find a cure to the dark magic threatening the kingdoms. To win her spot, she must conquer the Gauntlet, a grueling series of deadly trials that could cost her sanity, or her life.

More is at play than sabotage from fellow competitors. Magic wielders are being targeted and Wren becomes tangled in a dangerous web of deception and bloodshed that puts the entire realm at risk.

But the biggest threat of all might come from the man assigned to protect her—Torj Elderbrock, the silver-haired war hero who has hated her since she assassinated his last charge.

Their shared history ignites a simmering tension that threatens to consume them both.

Peace is fragile, trust is scarce and enemies lurk around every corner… Will love heal all wounds—or will it be the most lethal poison of all?

Iron & Embers is the breathtaking first installment in the epic fantasy romance series, The Ashes of Thezmarr. With its lush world-building, sizzling chemistry, and heart-pounding action it’s perfect for fans of Fourth Wing, From Blood & Ash, and The Bridge Kingdom.

• Publisher: Alchemy (January 28, 2025)
• Publication date: January 28, 2025
• Language: English
• Print length: 586 pages