On Fire's Wings Book

I have finally read another Luna. I've had some of these books for a very long time, it seems. They've been stacked up waiting, sort of pathetically. It always makes me feel good to clear one of them off the TBR Range.

And some of them, naturally, are better than others. This one, On Fire's Wings falls into that category.

Kevla Bai-Sha is the daughter of a halaan, a prostitute, and one of the many male clients she's taken over the years. Kevla's job is to sing and dance in the marketplace to attract new customers for her father. The job doesn't thrill her, but, eh, it's a job.

Until the day the khashim, or leader, of the Clan of Four Waters finds her in the marketplace. Upon discovering that she is his daughter by a woman Tahmu (the clan leader) loved but couldn't marry, he takes her back to his house to serve as a servant. He promises she will have a good life.

Kevla's destiny, however, is not to serve her father unknowingly. She has a greater purpose, one that has been hers over four lifetimes. One she must fulfill, for better or worse. One that will bring her face to face with the Great Dragon of Arukan.

I loved this book. I was a fantasy reader before I was a romance reader and this is the sort of fantasy that I like. There's a well-constructed, immersive world. There are well-rounded characters that are so three-dimensional that you can honestly root for or rage against them. Even the minor characters made me care. The storyline was exciting and engaging. I kept turning pages and charging through words to see what would happen next.

There's just one thing that gave me pause. It was a big enough thing that I almost put the book down and walked away. I will spoiler it below:

SPOILER:


Tahmu has a son, Jashemi. He's Kevla's half-brother. He knows he's Kevla's half-brother, while she doesn't know that they're related. And they have sex. It's a taboo in their world, just like it is in theirs.



END SPOILER


I read that bit through my fingers, essentially. Skimmed it, turned pages faster. I'm glad I didn't put the book down because it really is a fantastic story, but man. Not something I expected to read from a Luna. Then again, I've read the Spice Briefs and been surprised more than once there, too.

Oh. I did notice editing errors in this book. I don't know, if I didn't write and such on my own, whether I would have noticed them, but there were enough to be a little distracting.

Anyway, an excellent book, a great read and highly recommended.