A review of Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews – coming soon

A great finish, but hopefully not the end…

The husband-and-wife authors who make up Ilona Andrews have written a satisfying and very enjoyable finish to the second storyline in their Hidden Legacy world.     And although by this point, readers are pretty sure that the middle Baylor sister, Catalina, is going to end up with her Prince (or, at least, her Count), Alessandro, there are still plenty of romantic moments, battle scenes, magical feats and serious snark to come along the way.   If, of course {very minor spoiler}, you can call a proposal that happens immediately after an assassination attempt a “romantic moment”.   And not to mention that {another minor spoiler} a real Prince does show up in Chapter 3 to further complicate matters…

Overall though, by this time, fans of IA’s books know what to expect:  carefully plotted and smoothly written stories in wonderfully detailed and self-consistent worlds.  Even more, much like really good stand-up comedians, the author duo have a talent for circling back, two hundred pages later, to some seemingly minor point in a big way, so readers get to enjoy the “aha” moments along with the characters.    All of which makes their books a joy to read.   And Ruby Fever satisfies on all counts – pulling readers in during the prologue (the hilarious tour of the Baylors’ new house) and keeping them hooked to the end, via both the big things (those fights, that magic) and the small things (the apt descriptions, the quick little moments of humor).       

Since lots of other reviews will likely include a plot summary, I’ll just comment on a couple of specific things.   First, IA have done a really nice job of providing enough essential background, in non-boring ways, so readers who are new to the series won’t be lost.  However, even with the recaps, I think Ruby Fever will be more enjoyable if folks have read the previous Hidden Legacy titles.  That way newbies can have as much fun as old hands with the occasional Easter eggs scattered throughout.    (Or, if five previous books and a novella are a bit much to read at one go, at least have read Catalina’s two books, Sapphire Flames and Emerald Blaze.)   And second, although the authors have commented on their blog that they’ll be putting the Hidden Legacy series in a time-out for the moment, readers are still going to be wishing for more in this world someday.   And a couple of scenes late in Ruby Fever, one not-so-obvious (in Chapter 17), and one very obvious (the epilogue), do provide hope that Arabella will eventually get her story told too.  

Finally, I’d like to thank Avon, the publishers, and Edelweiss, for the advance review copy.   Which I’m now sorely tempted to go re-read even though my review is done!   

Oh yeah, and in addition to Arabella’s future, inquiring minds also want to know whether the $250,000 spider ever turned up…

Pre-order (coming Aug 23, 2022): Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Kobo US | Kobo UK | Kobo Canada