A Fire Endless: A Novel (Elements of Cadence, 2)

At first, I was afraid to start this, fearing the 2 books would be just the start of a longer series that was yet unwritten. But I started it all the same. Happy to find it ended after 2. Very satisfying. A lovely story, with relatable, imperfect characters. Very well written. And, FINALLY, an author who uses a proofreader!! That was a HUGE plus. Nothing takes me out of a story more quickly, than poor editing, and no proofreading. I'll be looking at more of Ms. Ross's works. Thank you for a beautiful story. I loved it!

This is the second half of the Elements of Cadence story. It has a happy-ish ending. I would have preferred a happier ending, but it was still a decent book.

Rebecca Ross truly can transport you to another place. The concluding book in the duology for the elements of Cadence was everything I loved from the first book and more. The writing is lyrical. The world building is easy to understand. The story is engaging and unique. I loved it. 5 stars.

I enjoyed this book, like Rebecca Ross's 1st in the Cadence series.Descriptive, and alluring- very hard to put down!

I loved this book. I really did. Right up to the final chapter, which poked a slow leak in my balloon.For the strengths, we have 4 principal characters: Jack, Adaira, Torin and Sidra. We also have romantic arcs for both couples, as well as individual journeys. We have some compelling supporting characters: David (LOVED him) Innes, Oathbreaker, Mirin, Frae, Kae, Hob. And of course, the Folk as a group. I think Ross did some fantastic character development with limited page time for a lot of these characters.Now here I'm going to go off into a little bit of pseudo-critique, and there will be spoilers, which I'll warn about. After finishing this book, I literally lay in bed turning this around in my head for hours. LOL! It's a HEA of sorts, but to me, not an emotionally satisfying ending.So we have some characters who are clearly archetypes/D&D influenced. We haveThe Soldier/King (Torin)The Healer/mystic (Sidra)The Princess/Heiress (Adaira)The Bard/Teacher (Jack)The character arcs were well done, particularly with Torin and Sidra. I loved that those two switched roles. We had the cynical soldier/King step into Sidra's role by entering the spirit's realm in search of a cure for the blight that's destroying both halves of the island. In turn, Sidra is now her own patient, and steps in as the laird, to the point that she dresses for battle when she travels to the west. Of the two, Torin was incredibly changed during that arc, and for the better.Over in the West, David and Innes mirror Torin and Sidra, with her being the laird and he being the consort/healer. Innes has some good character progression, where David remains fairly static. But he really is an appealing character.Now here are my problems. Jack is the Bard and a teacher. He's what the east has been praying for, and the west fears most. The role of the Bard was huge, particularly in European history. They weren't just entertainers, they were the keepers of history and lore. Jack's role as the Bard is huge. He's also tasked with communing with the spirits twice a year, and he's used (almost brutally) by Adaira during the impending crisis. I had visions of him training other bards, including (possibly) his sister Frae, who is so infatuated with his music, as opposed to their mother's weaving.Adaira starts off with a strong identity: she's a leader, the Heiress, the Laird, and at the end of the first book, the outcast. In much of this book, she's in a liminal state. She's lost most of her self-identity and doesn't really know her role in the West. But by the end of the book, she's completed a satisfactory journey and again finds her place.SPOILER ALERT*******So here's where I was left unsatisfied with the book. Jack the Bard has pretty much a single role. A single talent. And it's exceedingly important, not only to his self-identity, but to the people of the island. He has the ability to return music to both the east and the west, not only as a bard, but as a teacher. But we're forwarned: he's destined to be the downfall of the antagonist. (who did take me by surprise.) Adaira foreshadows his potential downfall/death at the hands of Bane. It's almost like Jack is fated to save the world, and then that's pretty much it.So as it turns out, he does survive this great battle, but loses that which gives him his identity: Music.Now this isn't an O. Henry story. He's the only one that makes this massive sacrifice. No one else does. And if he'd stepped into a new role...maybe as a teacher, it would have fit. Instead, he ends the book as a character even more liminal than Adaira was. Unlike David and Sidra, he doesn't have an identity or role to step into. He's not a father, not a soldier, not a rogue, not a farmer. He's basically Adaira's sidekick. Not even that, really. Don't get me wrong, they're in love, Jack's father and mother are together, he'll be at Adaira's side as she forges peace. But he's lost the core of his character and there was nothing to replace that void. In a sense, he's been relegated from The Hero to a supporting character.This is really lovely writing and I know a lot of readers are happy with the ending. I just feel like if you take something away, something has to fill that void.I will definitely be reading more of this author's books in the future, and hopefully, we'll get a chance to see more of this world. I'd love to see them a decade or so in the future. I'd love to see Niall and Mirin making up for lost years, for Frae to find her passion. I'd really love to see Jack moved out of this rather bleak vacuum he's in, because he's a bit of a curmudgeon and I wonder if he'll properly grieve for what he's lost.

This story was so beautiful and ambient. I loved the vibes so much - late summer turning into autumn on an enchanted Scottish island full of magic and folklore. I really liked that we explored the Spirit world more in this book and finally got to see what the hell happened to the West to make them how they are now. I thought it was very fitting to see both sides of the story to the rivalry and to find out how the hierarchy in the spirit world was established. The romance is beautiful and makes you just love - love. I was a little irritated with the strain that was put on Jack and Adaira in the beginning of the book due to a silly misunderstanding that created an unnecessary distance between them. I really hate the "We're so in love we'll die for each other!" and then "Oh actually we might lose this relationship because we can't seem to communicate all of sudden!". It was explained well and the author smoothed it all over for me by the middle of the book but it put me out a bit at first. In the end this is a wonderful duology and the perfect ending to this book. Pick it up - you will not regret it! You'll only regret not being able to jump into this world for real!

I like how Ross tells a story. This is very well put together and the characters continued to grow and develop.

I really enjoy Rebecca Ross's writing style and overall I enjoyed this duology. The second part of this story was just not as captivating as I hoped it would be, but it did give a satisfying ending.

Enjoyed the story and characters, well written

If I could, I will rate this book a thousand stars. It’s so beautifully written. There is literally nothing more I could ask for in a book 💯💯

This is such a good book

I liked this book. The quality is good

WOW. the amount of times I cried in this book. Better than the first! The only thing that I didn’t like was the last line LOL. Anyway, 10/10 would recommend.