A DEMON WITH FIRE IN HIS BLOOD… avoiding the other islanders at all costs. Yet when she encounters the dangerous, persistent Morthanion, it’s clear all the rules have changed. But can she forgive him the wrongs he’d done and grant him her trust…and love?
AN ISLAND MADE PRISON FOR THE UNFORGIVEN…
Stripped of magic, Morthanion understands that savagery is necessary to survive. When Aria’s true nature is revealed, the other inmates will stop at nothing to have her – and the demon would fight the entire world to keep her safe.
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I have a bit of a soft spot for bad guys turned good guys. This is an absolutely fantastic display of that type of situation. Now be warned, this isn’t a ‘bad boy’ romance like you normally find. The main character is actually a demon who has done terrible, awful things and who could be said to have been truly evil and not merely socially unacceptable. The writing duo take a character who is portrayed as irredeemable, and then find a way to set him on the path to, not righteousness, but at least away from evil.
Morthanion will never be a scion of light and good. I don’t really think that’s what the writers had in mind, and honestly, I think that’s why this story was so good to me. The world building and background is fantastic and sheds a lot of light into why there would be an island prison as well as the state of the world beyond it. Morthanion is a hold over from a war several millennia past when the world was a different place. He has survived in part by hiding, but really has learned little beyond the warfare he was born into. Aria forces him out of his age old comfort zone just by being who and what she is. They really are an amazing pairing.
As a side note: this story is very dark. Be prepared for a heartbreaking but breathtaking ride.
Morthanion has been banished to the Isle of the Forgotten, a place he thought was only a myth, for all the terrible things he’s done in his four thousand years of life. Known for his hell fire, he’s been stripped of all his harmful demon magic (left only with a few core abilities), just like everyone else who’s been sent there. In the outside world, Morthanion is feared for his ruthlessness and strength, but on the island he isn’t much different than the others with out his magic. He will have to learn how to survive with out his fire in a foreign place full of other deadly criminals, who all want to live just as much as he does.
Aria has lived on the Isle for all of her twenty-two years of life. She was born on this island, and after her parent’s tragic deaths, she was raised by another prisoner, who kept her protected and taught Aria everything she knew. Keeping her protected also meant keeping her isolated and unknown to the other residents, and now that her only mother figure has passed, Aria will have to figure out how to live completely alone. She’s young, Naive, and extremely sheltered – she doesn’t even know the extent of her own abilities, nevermind what the other prisoners would do to a girl like her if they ever found her.
When Thanion goes to investigate a beautiful voice he hears, he’s instantly taken with the young woman. Aria, always having been taught that the other prisoners would likely torture and kill her, tries to lose the demon that’s persuing her, but he’s a hard one to lose, for long, anyway. No matter how many times Aria escapes him, or no matter how she does it, Thanion’s interest in the water elemental only grows stronger. When he realizes what his feelings mean, he tries to convince her that they would be better off working as a team to survive on the isle, and earns her trust.
However, Morthanion’s actions have attracted the attention of the other prisoners, and his reputation causes alarm to the one who seems to rule this land of the Forgotten – another demon. When they learn about his mate Aria, the only one on the isle who wasn’t banned from using her magic, Baltherus knows they could overtake the isle if given the chance. If he can not get them to work beside him, then he will have to find a way to bend them to his will – by any means possible. To have magic on his side, even if it’s someone elses, would assure his reign over the isle for all eternity, and what else is there for a deomon who’s been banished to a land for life?
Make me Burn by Tiffany Roberts is a dark fantasy romance, full of action, love and mythical beings. This is the first (short) story in the Isle of the Forgotten series. I feel that I should mention *trigger warnings* (although the author does that herself): there are scenes that contain attemped rape (and the mention of it), violence and torture and there are graphic (consensual) sex scenes.
The characters are well fleshed out, and I loved how both of the MC’s showed growth in a believable way. They all had their own voices, even the secondary characters, and I really came to like both Aria and Morthanion. The world building, however, was practically non existent. Sure, the Isle of the Forgotten was described in vivid detail, but I don’t know anything about the world outside of that. We see random, vague mentionings of “The Council” who banished Morthanion to the isle, but we don’t really get enough to understand how it works. It isn’t until the end that we learn a little bit more about them, but again, not enough to really understand. There are so many different creatures in this book (demons, “water elementals”, elves, mages…) and they seem to all have their own tribes and ranks within them – does the council govern all these creatures if they have the power to banish them?
The writting is good, and many times I found myself highlighting witty dialogue between the MC’s, and laughing at the humorous retorts. The plot was interesting and I was excited to see how it turned out, there were a couple of twists I didn’t see coming and few more things that I did predict – but the writting and story kept me reading. I thought the ending was a great build up for future installments, but I was disappointed to learn that it’s written in the POV of a different character that I don’t particularly care for.
There are a few other things that I wish were explained better. For example: Aria has lived a sheltered, isolated life on the isle, so I understand why she doesn’t know what she really is, but I don’t understand why neither the demons, who are over hundreds of years old, (and none of the other characters) can say what she is. They call her a water elemental, and she knows that she has power over the water, but no one knows why, or what else she might be able to do. I thought this fact might have been kept secret for the future, but then I don’t even know if they’ll really be in the next books.
Overall, I did enjoy this story, but there wasn’t enough build up for me to love it. This book mostly just touches the surface of this fantasy world – there’s more about the “present” than there is about the “past”. I would have liked more background and a better understanding of why and how it all works. I’m not sure that I will continue this series, because like I said, it will be written in the POV of a character I don’t really like, but I might continue just to see if there’s a better world building in the next one. This story is great for anyone who enjoys fast paced, adult dark – fantasy romances, who might be more interested in the romance than world building. I was torn between a two and three star rating – but ultimately I felt it was lacking too much for me to give it three stars.
The Isle of the Forgotten series is currently free on KU!
First book in the isle of the forgotten series. First read by these authors
The H ( no way I’m spelling his name correctly ) is a demon hunted down by a team of justice Madges ( GO GO JUSTICE MADGES )For his crimes of burning, killing and maiming ( ya know…the usual…doing what demons do ) he is teleported to the isle of the forgotten ( think Alcatraz ) and his powers stripped. Doomed to stay there for the rest of his immortality facing off against all the other naughty creatures who have been similarly punished and reside there.
All of its inhabitants except Aria… she is not a prisoner and she is not a ‘bad guy’. Born and raised on the island she is doing what she has done, all she knows. Surviving. Avoiding the other inhabitants. Until now…..
I am literally Blown away by this wonderfully written and original book. Absolutely brilliant world building. Great great charachters, both likable and loathable.
I will be reading books 2 and 3 in this series
Make Me Burn is the first book in the Isle of the Forgotten series. The Isle is a place where murderers, rapists, and other criminals who show no remorse, are sent. With a magical barrier, they are unable to leave. With no guards or anyone else to keep an eye on them, it is literally up to the criminals to find their own way to survive. Morthanion gets sent there after he razes a village, the last in a long list. He is none to impressed (to say the least), but he does see Aria not long after. There is something about her that he is drawn to. Although he is happy terrorising others, he doesn’t want her to be afraid of him. He goes out of his way to ensure her safety. And when she tricks him, instead of wanting to kill her, he admires her and finds her intriguing instead. However, Island life means that Aria is not safe, even with Morthanion there.
This was a brilliant start to a new series, with excellent world and character building. The Isle itself was clearly described, as well as specific places, and plenty of characters for you to love or loathe. The pace is fast and smooth, with tender as well as scorching scenes too. With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt the reading flow, this was a wonderful first book, and I can highly recommend it.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books!