Title: Heart of Night and Fire (The Nightmare Quartet Book 1)
Author: Nisha J. Tuli
Genre: Fantasy, fantasy romance
Publisher: Second Sky
Publication Date: September 15, 2023
Format: Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by Net Galley and Second Sky in exchange for an honest review
Length: 379 pages

Read if you like: Slow burn romance, enemies to lovers, found family, ride or die friendships, unique elemental magic system,  Indian and South Asian lore and culture

Rating: 

*A quick note: when I receive a complimentary ARC of a book via Net Galley, a publisher, an author, or otherwise, this does not impact my review of the book. All my reviews are my honest and genuine thoughts and feelings.

Nisha J. Tuli has had books on my TBR for most of this year, so I was extremely excited when I was approved for an Advanced Readers Copy by Net Galley and Second Sky. This book promised to deliver on some of my favourite tropes, all in a gorgeous universe based on Indian and South Asian lore and culture, and it well and truly did. 

The story was beautiful in so many ways, full of rich characters, a stunning setting, a unique magic system, and a society full of political intrigue, oppression, and a complicated history. Heart of Night and Fire was a tremendous start to a series that I feel is brimming with potential.

The Book: Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J. Tuli

Heart of Night and Fire follows protagonist Zayra, a 21-year-old woman who has been imprisoned at a cottage by the sea for her entire life by a magic-wielder named Row and his apprentice Aarav. Their region is being swallowed whole by a magical blight that no one understands, and despite the dangers that the world possesses, Zayra is desperate to escape the cage Row has made. He refuses to provide her with any information about why she’s imprisoned or where she came from, so Zayra is left to simmer in the dark, with no concept of the outside world or why she can’t join it. She possesses little magic, only able to wield bits of starlight, and while Row is clear she can never show anyone what she can do, she doesn’t believe it is truly dangerous in any way. 

One day, while Row and Aarav are gone, Zayra tests the bounds of the magic that keeps her in place and finds that it has disappeared. She takes the opportunity to pack up and escape, though after just one day gone, Aarav finds her and informs her that Row is still missing. He tries to drag Zayra back to their cottage, but on their way, they run into several army Rakshasas. Zayra assists them in battling several demons, but once through, the soldiers insist they return to the city of Dharati with them to answer for why they’re living in isolation among the blight. While Aarav is angry, Zayra is elated at this turn of events, knowing it will be the escape she has been looking for.

When they arrive in Dharati, Zayra is swept up in the politics and the people of the city and soon finds herself entangled in the people’s fight against the demons and the blight. As Zayra fights for a spot to serve among the city’s elite protectors, she also learns the complications of love, friendship, and duty, all while her magic begins to manifest itself in new and dangerous ways that she will have to work hard to understand. Her ability to learn who she is will either help to save those she loves or destroy them.

The Review

Heart of Night and Fire was a fantastic fantasy romance. There was so much to love and it was compulsively readable.

The setting for the book was beautifully detailed. I felt like Tuli painted this stunning picture of a landscape that felt Indian/South Asian, but with magical twists that illuminated a thriving and complicated society full of magic wielders, politics, and varying degrees of duty and oppression. The world-building felt seamless and uncomplicated while still forming a richly detailed foundation. 

I loved the female main character Zayra right from the start. She initially comes across as all fire and fury, a little stunted emotionally from her two decades imprisoned, but I found she quickly grew once she escaped the seaside cottage and had to interact with other people. Seeing her process her captivity, particularly in the more vulnerable ways that she does later in the book, adds so much depth to her beyond the rage. Towards the end, she’s compassionate and kind and she leads her actions through empathy. It’s a satisfying arc to see unfold.

The plot in this book was also perfectly paced. There’s a fair bit of build and development, but there’s a significant amount of tension and action from the beginning all the way through to the final pages that keep you hooked and turning pages. Everything moves at a medium to fast cadence and things are unfolding frequently enough that I was consistently wondering where Tuli would take things next and what was in store for my favourite characters.

I think this is such a promising start to a fantasy series. I’m extremely invested in the characters and the world, and there are so many places that Tuli can go based on the varying levels of complexity that she integrated alongside the main plot. If you’re a fan of fantasy and fantasy romances, like an extremely slow-burn romance, want to see a unique elemental magic system, and think a beautifully defined Indian/South Asian style setting sounds appealing, pick this book up immediately.