Sabina's Adventures In Reading: Book Review: Fiery Edge of Steel by Jill Archer

Darkest Light of Day

Last year a friend of mine gave me Darkest Light of Day, the first book in the Noon Onyx series. I got fascinated by the world Jill Archer had created. See, normally when we read about Armageddon, the good guys always win. Oh they might endure a whole hell lot of damage, but in the end… the good guys ALWAYS win. Not in Jill’s books. Armageddon came and left and the BAD guys won. The Demons won. Guess what? The world is still turning. The sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. People’s lives didn’t change all that much. Life still continued. There are those with magic, and those without. There are demons and angels. Maegesters are male, have waning magic and controls the demons by the law they made – who knew that demons were so stuck with their precious rules?

Then we have the Mederi, females, healers, waxing magic. So, this is the normal pattern. But of course this doesn’t oblige to Noon and her brother, Night. Their magic got mixed up in birth, so Noon has the waning magic and her brother the waxing. In Darker Light of Day we follow Noon, and how she slowly goes from denial about her magic to accepting it – although not entirely willingly. My heart ached for Noon in Darkest Light of Day. I understood why she so desperately wanted to get rid of her magic, to be normal. See, Noon is the only one in a VERY long time to wield the waning magic as a female. NOT easy!! In reality, it’s no wonder Noon has trouble coming to terms with her magic. As a child, she was taught to hide her magic so nobody would notice the mix up (they don’t have to declare their magic before their 21th year). And when Noon finally declares, people (well, most people) look at her like she’s a freak, even her best friend through childhood tries to change her magic with an ancient spell…

In Fiery Edge of Steel, we see a Noon that has changed a bit. Although there are still times where she wish she didn’t have waning magic, that she was “normal”, she still hates to kill – Noon has mostly accepted her magic, with the abilities and responsibilities that comes with that. She’s even primorus in her class. Which also lands her first case. Out in the Shallows, a long boat trip away from “home”.

There are so many things I could say about Fiery Edge of Steel. Many, many things. And to be honest. I loved it. Every second, each page was amazing. The boat trip on the way to the Shallows are filled with action, lessons to learn, edges that needs to be filed down, assumptions and a downright emotional roller coaster.

As always there are little pieces of the big puzzle left here and there from Jill Archer to keep us on our toes. Not to mention, she throws a mean left hook. I did see one of her punches coming, but the one involving a special person close to Noon… Ouch. Seriously Jill…. Give a girl some warning first, will ya?

Closing the book, I was sad due to some events that will be too spoilerish to tell you about, but I was also… content. Happy and pleased. Jill Archer created another wonderful read in an amazing world that I have come to love dearly.

Now I just have to wait for the next book; White Heart of Justice, which should be released this spring.

I give Fiery Edge of Steel 4 potions. Jill Archer and her Noon Onyx series is definitely something you don't want to miss out on!!

Jill Archer is the author of the Noon Onyx series, genre-bending fantasy novels about a post-grad magic user and her off-campus adventures. DARK LIGHT OF DAY and FIERY EDGE OF STEEL, the first two books in the series are available now from Penguin/Ace. The third book, WHITE HEART OF JUSTICE, will be released May 27, 2014. Jill lives in Maryland with her husband and two children.