The land of Pyrlanum is filled with people that have access to boons, magical abilities granted to them by Chaos. Boons aren't like most magic systems; those gifted with a boon don't have a wide variety of powers, just one, but they come in a wide array of flavors. While Darling's is a healing ability and Talon's lets him track with ease, other boons include the ability to put someone to sleep, have favorable winds when sailing, or even the ability to concoct poisons tailored to a specific scenario.
The land of Pyrlanum is controlled by six houses, each named after a mythical beast: Dragon, Sphinx, Kraken, Gryphon, Cocatrice and Barghest. While the ability has been lost for several generations, the connections these houses had with these creatures is more than just in name. Up until about 100 years ago, the head of each house could actually transform into one of these creatures. Unfortunately, no one really knows why the ability was lost, but it is suspected to be tied to the fact that the Phoenix, another beast, but one without a house, died 100 years ago and, for some reason, wasn't reborn.
All of that is mostly background lore to the core story of Chaos & Flame though. For the past 10 years, Pyrlanum has been at war. When the Dragon Prince's consort was poisoned, he attacked House Sphinx believing they were the ones that poisoned his love. His forces succeeded in wiping out the entire household and then started attacking Sphinx's allies and declared himself not just the Dragon Regent, but High Prince Regent over the entire continent.
Now a decade later, the Dragon Prince's eldest son, Caspian, is High Prince Regent and continues to prosecute his father's war. In the time since the fighting began, House Kraken still stands firm against Dragon, but House Cocatrice has fled the continent and exiled itself. Gryphon and Barghest stand with Dragon, but with Kraken's naval superiority, it seems like there is no end to the fighting anytime soon.
What most don't realize is that there was one survivor of House Sphinx. She was found by the head of House Kraken soon after her city was destroyed and adopted into his family. Over the course of the war, Darling Seabreak has earned her place as one of the Kraken Barbs, an elite fighting group that specializes in infiltration and poison. On top of that, her time spent in the crumbled sewers of her home city have forever changed her eyes. It seems that they were damaged during the attacks that claimed her family, but instead of her healing boon fixing the problem completely, they healed in a way to give her perfect night vision. Too bad she has to wear special goggles in the daylight since it is too bright for her.
On the other side of the war is Talon Goldhoard, High Prince Regent Caspian's younger brother. Over the years, he has become an accomplished general and leader of his troops. While he is proud of his military career, he longs to return home and spend time with his brother, especially given the High Prince's eccentricities when Caspian succumbs to his strange art-based boon.
What no one but Caspian and his aunt knows is that Caspian's boon isn't actually tied to the frantic paintings he obsesses over. Instead, Caspian has a prophetic boon and he uses his art as an outlet for those visions. When he was young, Caspian saw his mother's death, but could not prevent it. Knowing that a boon of prophecy is one that most people steer clear of and most would not follow, Caspian confides his ability to his aunt, Aurora, and the two agree to claim she is the one with visions and Caspian can pass his viewings to her to announce.
Chaos & Flame's main story kicks off when Darling infiltrates a Dragon fort where she believes her adoptive father is being held captive. When her mission runs afoul of Talon, the two square off and, through a little help from one of his companions, Talon bests Darling. Instead of killing her though, he has her subdued. Talon is immediately curious about this apparent assassin and is determined to learn everything he can about her. You see, this strange young woman with dark goggles over her eyes is the very person Caspian has been painting since the war began.
When Caspian himself learns that Darling has come out of the shadows, the High Prince Regent makes some startling proclamations and even names Darling as the long lost scion to House Sphinx. Suddenly thrust into the upper tiers of court politics, Darling must navigate encounters she had only previously watched from the outside as she struggles to figure out how to proceed. On the one hand, she feels like she has the perfect opportunity to assassinate both Dragon Princes. On the other hand, the path forward could lead to an actual peace for the land.
Meanwhile, Talon's shock at seeing the woman his brother painted in real life has him off balance. He can't help but express feelings for the girl, but he knows that his family is responsible for her being an orphan. Can he somehow get past her rough exterior and build an actual relationship with Darling? Is it even possible for the last member of House Sphinx to be in a relationship with House Dragon? On top of that, it is clear that Caspian is manipulating them, but to what end, Talon can't say.
Chaos & Flame: Chaos & Flame - Book 1 sets up an interesting world with just enough depth to make you want to see more. While the magic system in this book isn't very prominent for most of the story, the nature of boons and how they are used are a frequent enough feature that they are never forgotten and often come in handy when needed. There is definitely more to this magic than is explored in this first book, and given how the book ends, it will be explored much more in the sequel, Blood & Fury.
The only aspect of the story that felt off was Darling and Talon's instant love. On the one hand, I can explain Talon's side. He grew up with Caspian painting Darling over and over again. I can see how her sudden appearance in his life could cause such an instant infatuation. Darling's side of the equation just feels a little forced though. If this book, (or the series) was given a bit more time to breathe, I think this is one area that could have been greatly improved. Blood & Chaos doesn't suffer too much from this fault though, it's just an aspect that could have used a bit more work in my opinion.
I did not read Chaos & Flame when it first came out. Instead, as the release of its sequel loomed, I got the opportunity to read and review both of them back-to-back. I ended up binge-reading these two books and I can say that this first one does a great job of setting up Blood & Fury.
