Mastering the Flames
The Beacon Hill Sorcerer Series
S.J. Himes
M/M Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 10.04.19
Guilt-ridden after the massacre of his family, Isaac Salvatore
turned to binge drinking to escape the pain. Now twenty-four years old, Isaac
is a recovering alcoholic woefully out of practice in the magical arts, leaving
his fire affinity hanging on the edge of disaster. After a month of rehab, he
returns to Beacon Hill and his family, determined to remain sober, learn to
control his magic, and figure out a plan for his life that doesn't involve
drinking.
Constantine Batiste is the oldest, most powerful vampire in the
city. Born in ancient Gaul, the bastard son of a Celtic king, his long life has
been shrouded in tragedy and horrors. Recent mistakes have left him wary and
determined to guard his clan from all foes. When two of his clan members fall
victim to an ancient evil, he summons the Necromancer of Boston for aid.
Accompanying his older brother to the Tower is the handsome young fire mage
once wounded by Constantine's arrogance, and their encounter reignites an
attraction that burns within both Constantine and Isaac.
The answer to who is targeting the vampires of Boston is buried in
the dark, early days of Constantine's transition to an immortal life. Isaac
finds himself saddled with a painful insight into the evil cutting a swath
through the supernatural population of Boston. While his brother, Angel, takes
over the hunt to find and stop the threat to the city, Isaac struggles to find
a balance between helping his brother and finding his own purpose and place in
the world, free from his brother's shadow.
Falling in love wasn’t part of his plan, but mastering the flames
that burn between him and Constantine soon becomes the most important thing in
his life, even as an ancient evil seeks to destroy them.
Mastering the Flames is the fourth book in The
Beacon Hill Sorcerer series and is not a standalone. The series should be read
in order for maximum enjoyment and understanding of the plot and characters.
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YM2XF52
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07YM2XF52
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07YM2XF52
Amazon AU: www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07YM2XF52
Amazon FR: https://amazon.fr/dp/B07YM2XF52
Amazon DE: https://amazon.de/dp/B07YM2XF52
Amazon IT: https://amazon.it/dp/B07YM2XF52
Amazon ES: https://amazon.es/dp/B07YM2XF52
Review
I fell in love with this series from the start. Each new
book brings a new level of awesome to the world of Beacon Hill and the Salvatore’s,
but Mastering the Flame brought much more than I expected!
I fell in love with Isaac from book 1. Wanting his story
with each new tidbit we learned about him. The moment the author paired him
with Batiste, the master of the city, I knew I was in for a treat. And man I
was not wrong!
The author delivered and then some! I’m not surprised. One
thing that Sheena does best is weave stories with complex worlds and layered
characters seamlessly and beautifully. Her talents are vast, but the one thing
that brings me back to her stories over and over again is that she creates and
builds characters with flaws and so much heart that it’s easy to get attached
to even the most minor of character.
I loved the evolution of Isaac’s relationship with Angel.
Their bond was always there but each book strengthened it, this one more than
the rest and it was one of my favorite parts of the book because it’s something
I had been wanting for so long and she delivered it in a way that both broke my
heart and put it back together again. Being able to see Angel through the eyes
of someone else was weird after so long of seeing everything through Angel’s
perspective but it was also enlightening.
I could go on but honestly, I have too much praise for so
many little things this author puts in her story the review would be too long
LOL. The main point is read the book, the series, even get the audiobooks and
listen to them. You will not be disappointed.
Excerpt
Isaac woke to an incessant pounding in his head.
He groaned, sat up, and realized his mistake. Someone was pounding on his door
and he wasn’t hungover. Being back in his bedroom in the apartment after so
long was fucking with his mind.
He tossed back the covers, brushed his long
brown hair out of his eyes, and got out of bed. The sun poured through the
bedroom window, warming the floor beneath his bare feet as he went to the door.
He flung it open and scowled at the impish grin on his best friend’s face.
Daniel flung himself forward and Isaac caught him, hugging the apprentice tightly.
They were nearly the same height, and both were built lean with similar frames.
If not for the hair and skin coloring, they could pass for brothers. Daniel was
fair and bright, and Isaac had naturally darker skin that was tanned as if he
spent his days under the sun, his hair dark brown with remnants of fire-red
highlights.
“You’re home! I’m so glad!” Daniel cried, and
Isaac chuckled.
“Hey, Danny,” Isaac replied in greeting. “Angel
said he made you go out last night. Lemme guess, Rory was lonely again?”
Daniel pulled back, Isaac’s teasing making him
blush. Daniel was a pretty man. Isaac suspected Daniel was entirely unaware of
just how gorgeous he was, as there wasn’t even a hint of vanity to be seen in
his personality.
“I wanted to stay and see you when you got home,
but Angel said you were probably going to crash.” Daniel hedged, biting his
lip. “Rory is all alone out there. He still refuses to stay in the Mansion,
sleeping in the greenhouse instead. I feel bad for him.”
“I’m sure that’s all you feel,” Isaac teased,
and Daniel’s blush went inferno. “My first night home and my best friend bails
to hang with a super-hot fae.”
“Hey!” Daniel glared, but his eyes were
twinkling. “I am glad you’re home. Going to Nevermore to visit was awkward.”
After the chaos of the first week of his stay,
and when his horrific withdrawal was over, Daniel came to visit three times a
week, bringing news from home. The High Council was booted from New York City,
Portland, Seattle, and Miami, after those cities refused to cooperate with the
consulates and magisters stationed therein. They took the chance after Angel
defeated the High Magister, forcing the Council to abandon their footholds in
Montreal and Boston. In two weeks’ time, half a dozen American cities declared
their independence, and rumors swirled that New Orleans was next, with a
certain female necromancer and her undead army leading the charge. Angel was
being credited with a major shake up in world governments, and he was grumpy
about it.
Isaac grabbed his shower kit and a towel and
left his room for the bathroom down the hall. He and Daniel shared the hall
bath, since Angel had his own in the master bedroom. Daniel followed him in and
sat on the sink while Isaac used the toilet then stripped, turning on the
shower and waiting for the hot water to start. They didn’t really have any
boundaries, not like Isaac and Angel did. Angel was big on personal space and
privacy. Isaac really didn’t care. Daniel chatted away, sharing that he’d taken
Rory to the City Museum, watched the Marathon at the finish line, and convinced
the fae to let Angel front him some money and a credit card.
Isaac hopped in the shower, but left the curtain
partially open, listening to Daniel. “I’m with Rory in the bank, and he drops a
pouch of gold on the counter, and the teller’s eyes get huge! Some nuggets were
bigger than a tennis ball! It was a mess though, since the bank manager thought
Rory was his crazy brother, then the cops got called and I had to use the SOS
on my phone and Angel came and made everyone leave us alone….” Daniel was
excited and his run-on sentence was a non-stop adventure from beginning to end.
“Angel puts his foot down, though by this time O’Malley has shown up, the cops
are all like, ‘Where did all this gold come from, how’d ya get it?’ Some of
them seemed to think Rory was suspicious—he told them his last name, and tons
of the police know what Cian looks like, so things got really tense. Rory got
all haughty and declared he’d got it from a Roman Caesar for dispatching an orc
raid pillaging through a province over 1,800 years ago.”
Daniel shook his head, sighing. “When Angel
arrived, I’d never seen humans get so quiet before. Everyone shut up, let Rory
gather up his gold, and Angel gave Rory an account in his name from the
Salvatore fund and the bank gave him a debit and credit card and a pile of
cash.” Daniel was animated, talking with his hands, heels kicking against the
cabinet under the sink.
Isaac laughed while he washed, dunking his head
under the spray. Watching Daniel talk with so much emotion was enjoyable. His
friend was blooming. There was a huge difference in him even in the last
month.
Isaac rinsed, then hopped out, Daniel tossing
him the towel. He dried off while thinking about the shenanigans his family
experienced while he was going through boring group therapy and meditation
sessions. “How did Angel get Rory out of the bank?”
Daniel grinned and flipped back a strand of
bright blond hair from his eyes. “Eroch saw the gold, curled up on the pouch in
Rory’s arms, and hissed at anyone who got too close. No one wanted to piss off
the fire-breathing dragon, so Angel declared we were leaving. We went out to
eat then took Rory home. Angel refused the gold in exchange for the modern
currency, saying the currency was payment for restoring the gardens and the
greenhouse. Rory gave Eroch a huge nugget of gold in thanks, and Eroch has it
stashed in Angel’s bathroom on a stack of towels in the corner behind the
toilet.”
“What? Oh, I bet Angel loves that!” Isaac
laughed at the image of Eroch nesting on a gold egg, grumbling whenever Angel
went in to use the toilet. Isaac stopped laughing, a sudden thought worrying
him. “Wait. Eroch doesn’t think it’s an egg, right?”
Daniel shrugged, and his face fell with
sympathy. “No idea. That would be sad, though. Maybe Angel knows. Poor Eroch,
if he does.” Daniel paused, eyes wide in alarm. Isaac stopped drying himself,
wondering what was wrong. Daniel leaned in and whispered, “What if we got
Eroch’s gender wrong? What if he isn’t a he? What if he’s a girl?”
Isaac wrapped the towel around his waist. “We’ve
been calling him a male for a year, Danny. If he cared at all, he would have
made it known. I think we’re okay.”
“I don’t wanna assume. We’ve been so rude.”
“If he were humanoid and had human ideas of
gender, then yes, we’ve been rude.” Daniel rolled his eyes at Isaac then slid
off the sink. “Ok, fine. We can ask him at breakfast.” Daniel waved at Isaac
over his shoulder as he left the bathroom, dismissing him. “What did I say?
Make me some tea!” Isaac called after Daniel who grumbled back at him about
being rude, but the water running and the clicking of the stove burner told him
Daniel heard him.
Hopefully they didn’t make anything explode this
time.
About The Author
My name is Sheena, and I have more pen names than I probably
should. I write as SJ Himes, Revella Hawthorne, and Sheena Himes. I reside in
the mountains of Maine (closer to Canada than I am to fresh lobster) on a
300-year-old farm beside a river in the woods.
My companions are my furbabies: Micah, my large dog who hates
birds; and Wolf and Silfur, two cats who love me but hate each other. I write
romances with an emphasis on plot and character development, and almost all my
characters are LGBTQ+ and that's on purpose.
To keep current on what I'm working on and where to find me on
social media, go to my website: www.sjhimes.com
Love!
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