Short Story Review – Feed the Flames (Steel and Sword, Book 3.5) by Annette Marie (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 45 pages
Publisher: Annette Marie
Release Date: July 22, 2015
ASIN: B012CAOJD4
Stand Alone or Series: 3.5th book in the Steel and Sword series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

I absolutely adore the Steel and Sword series by Annette Marie and was excited to see that this short story was released to tide us readers over until Reap the Shadows releases in October of 2015. This was a very well done short story and I enjoyed it a lot.

This book picks up right after the battle in book 3. Seiya and Lyre were taken prisoner by the Maiysis and are both wearing magic suppressing collars. They must work together to survive and escape imprisonment before Seiya is sold back into captivity in Asphodel and Lyre is sold to his family.

This story felt a bit rushed and was too short, but it was still well written and very engaging.

We learn a lot of about Seiya and her time imprisoned in Asphodel. We also learn a bit more about why she hates Piper so much and her history with Ash. I still don’t like Seiya and I still think she’s an ungrateful whiner, but it was nice to learn some of her background.

The most interesting part of the story was learning some of Lyre’s background. He works some seriously wicked magic in this book and it was interesting to see him as a powerful and dangerous character rather than the light-hearted flirt we usually see.

Additionally Maiysis is in the story a bit and his actions remain unpredictable and mysterious.

The story ends on a cliffhanger and was fairly unsatisfying. I can only assume the unresolved issues will be addressed in Reap the Shadows.

Overall this was a quick and entertaining read. I really enjoyed learning more background on both Seiya and Lyre. I would definitely recommend picking this up if you are a fan of this series. I really love this series and recommend the series as a whole if you are a fan of urban fantasy. I am super excited to read Reap the Shadows when it release in October.