4 out of 5 stars
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Flames of Destiny: Flames Igniting is the first book in this series by Brett Puffinburger. Sixteen-year-old Princess Evangeline is to be wed to Rikard from Machina to ensure that King Ewan has peace in their country of Holy Ember. Before the end of the wedding ceremony, the palace is attacked by the Flame Province military, which consists of 5,000 soldiers. A prisoner in the jail who goes by the letter "A" escapes and rescues King Ewan and Princess Evangeline. A enters into a contract with King Ewan to take Princess Evangeline to a secret town called Silverlake in the southeast in exchange for a book with the history and map to the Lost Isles. If unsuccessful, the enchanted contract embedded above A's heart will make him die. Why did King Ewan enter a contract with a common thief? How did A fight off 5,000 soldiers? Will A fulfill the contract and get the book he so desires? What dangers do A and Princess Evangeline encounter?
Brett Puffinburger made the many different demons, orcs, ogres, elves, goblins, gargoyles, griffins, giants, homicidal trees, and walking skeletons easy to visualize with his vivid descriptions. There are many more sci-fi and fantasy characters, but this gives you a general idea of what to expect in this book. Lightning strikes and cannons kept me holding my breath to see if the characters would avoid the dangers. Each chapter title accurately describes what the chapter is going to be about. The plot of this story has many life lessons to learn. The one that I keep recalling in my mind is that you cannot judge someone by their past mistakes. People can change, even if they regret something in their past. The ending of this book gave me a good idea of what the next book in the series will be about, and I cannot wait to read it.
With all the goblins and other sci-fi/fantasy characters, this book will attract many younger teenagers. However, the amount of non-borderline profanity is inappropriate for this age group. This observation was the only thing I disliked about this book because the author could have told this story without all the profanity.
Another round of professional editing would have made a difference in the rating I gave this book. It had just enough errors that I was forced to deduct one star and give it 4 out of 5 stars. I was disappointed about this because I enjoyed reading the book.
Due to the non-borderline profanity content, I recommend this book to mature sci-fi/fantasy fans who like a little romance mixed in. I caution sensitive readers that this book does contain gory content that is vividly described.
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Flames of Destiny
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