Nisha J. Tuli really hooked me in with her dedication page and the representation of South Asian mythology and culture within this book. "For every brown girl who wanted to be the chosen one too" as a brown girl, yes, and thank you.

This isn't my first book by Nisha, I have read Trials of the Sun Queen and To Wake a Kingdom, I am familiar with her writing style and enjoy her books. So seeing her continue with her diverse representation is always a great break from a lot of the traditional fantasy worlds. I appreciated having to look up definitions of Indian foods, clothing titles and titles in general for different levels of reigning hierarchy. It allowed me to learn while also enjoying the start of a new series.

Heart of Night and Fire is a slow burn fantasy romance book and the introduction to the Nightfire Quartet. This read as an introduction to a series and really didn't pick up its pace until the last quarter of the book. There was a lot of world building and introduction to the characters and the backstory at play as the FMC, Zarya, currently knows it and we learn along with her, much like her being naive to the world and what is truly going on. I would say that I got a bit lost in how much time had actually passed, I know that it comes down to months, but the time jumps didn't really push forward the building of the relationships and found family for me as much as I would have liked. It still took me a bit to get remotely attached to any of the side characters. The relationship between Yasen and Zarya so far is my favorite, the grumpy/sunshine bickering siblings was endearing and I absolutely ate up their banter.

Like I said already, this book read like an introduction to a world, it laid a lot of groundwork for the series moving forward. That being said the first half of the book moved slowly, picking up once we meet our love interest Rabin, and then doubled timed through the last quarter. I was able to predict and guess some of the foreshadowing within the book but not everything, so there is a little predictability within it, but I think this just lends itself to the genre.

That being said, this book left me so excited for the second book and I cannot wait to see where the series goes. That cliffhanger of information and reveal after reveal was amazing. The "WHAT?!" reaction I was left with, where every relationship hangs in the air. Nisha has found her niche in working within the morally grey area and forcing us to learn as our MC learns of the world. Where no character is wholly good or wholly evil, every character hangs in that middle grey. How dare you introduce the love interest at basically the very end and give us nothing?! JAIL.

Going forward I really would like to see the characters gain more depth. I felt like so much time passed in the background of the story that I didn't get a chance to grow with them and their found family dynamic that is meant to be there. I want to fall in love with them but at this moment I have not been able to do that yet. I actually found myself wishing this book was longer, craving more pages just so I had more information, more banter, more of that extra that gave me time to connect with the characters more. Like others have said I wish in future installments to allow scenes to develop and unfold over longer periods of time, not so edited down and jumping over time repeated.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and can't wait for the second to see how this develops further. If you're fans of the romantasy genre I highly recommend this book and others by Nisha.

Thank you to NetGalley, Second Sky and Nisha for providing me with an ARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I wish this book was longer. This first book sets up the start to the story. There was some drag on some of the dialogue as some characters were explaining things to Zarya which I understand, but I felt the multiple paragraphs of continued speaking was a bit much. There was a lot of telling at some points and not showing.

The world building itself was great. I really liked Zarya. The relationships were interesting. I'm not sure how I feel about them. I called who the guy was that Zarya was seeing in her dreams. Slightly predictable but maybe only if you were paying attention to what was said.

I look forward to seeing where Nisha goes with this story. And I will be checking out her other books too.

The magical, Indian and South Asian world created by Tuli in this book was incredible! Thank gods for my Kindle and the ability to look up words in an instant, because Tuli didn’t hold back on really immersing you into different parts of Indian culture and myth.

Zarya has been magically locked up in a remote cottage and small surrounding area on the sea with no one but her pseudo-father and asshole, older brother-figure for her entire life. When she wakes up one day and realizes that she is not being held within her magical boundaries, Zarya doesn’t waste any time before escaping. She doesn’t get far before encountering two handsome Rakshasa (vampire-esque creatures of Hindu mythology) who cart her back to the palace. Zarya isn't just some damsel in distress though, she is a badass, warrior who just may have powerful magic.

Heart of Night and Fire is a story of a girl finding herself in the midst of secrets, raging demons, and a crumbling kingdom. But within that, Tuli gives you strong friendships, a taste of a love triangle (but not really), and a dark, mysterious, maybe love-interest. It is a SLOOOOOOOOOOOOW BURN but has so much action and excitement that I was only slightly disappointed that there wasn’t more romance. The final 10% of this book is so action-packed that once you get to it, you cannot stop until it's over.

Am I dying for the next book when this one hasnt even been released yet? Absolutely. I don’t know why I do this to myself. I think I will read anything Nisha J Tuli writes because I know the world she creates is going to be sensational.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
0.5🌶️

I enjoyed the world-building and the description of magic system. The part of the plot that involved magic and fighting the "darkness" was right up my alley. The characters and the relationships they developed, were not. They seemed very 2d and I really did not find myself connecting with them or the struggles that they had faced during the book and in their backstories. The characters became repetitive and boring to me.

I really enjoyed the cultural elements that were brought into this story and I was definitely googling a few terms and words to work out what they were talking about and help me with the visuals. There was plenty of action with all of the creatures constantly trying to break through the city wards.

This is the first book in a series of four (I’m guessing from the series name) and you could tell that there was going to be a lot more story to come. There was a lot of world building, for those who like that, and lots of information to take in. For me, those bits seemed to drag on a bit but my brain doesn’t do well with the info dumps.
The romance was a small side plot in this book and it feels like it was a build up for future books. I wish there was a bit more meat to the Zarya/Rabin story because it felt a bit like insta-love because they hardly even talked and she was into him just because of a vibe.

Thanks to #NetGallery and the publisher. I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Format: Digital
POV: Single
Spice: 🌶️ /5
Age suggestion: 18+

I really liked this book. The MC was very well rounded and interesting. Wasn't much of a fan of Z and V but I'm excited to see where her and R go in the next novel. The magic system and world building was great. Highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a dash of romance in their fantasy.

I need the next book now! This was my first ARC and I pray that they’re all this good. Heart of Night and Fire has cemented Nisha Tuli as an automatic buy author.

If you love found family, slow burn, enemies to lovers, stubborn and independent female lead who is finding her way in a new world, and let’s not forget the Indian Asian mythology, well I have a book for you. Nisha has built a world rich with detail. I felt like I was right there in Dharati.

I really enjoyed the character development and watching these guarded strangers open up and turn in to more.

3.75 stars. Well I did enjoy this book the plot felt slow moving and the main FMC did bother me a little bit with her whining, I mean I get where she’s coming from but I’m tired of whiny mad female characters in Fantasy. I did love the found family and the world building and the atmosphere of the world was really well done. I am excited to explore the romance more in the next few books there wasn’t enough romance in this one for me😂.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Firstly I absolutely loved learning about this new world inspired by Indian mythology. The world building was incredibly vivid and descriptive. I also loved the slow burn aspect of the romance and I think it really fits well with the storyline. However I did struggle a lot with knowing, who was who and their parts in the story and actually what was happening, especially in the first half of the plot. This might just be my opinion but I did find parts very confusing and hard to understand which took away from the overall experience of the book sadly. Saying this though, I do recommend as this is a interesting and unique fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Second Sky for providing the e-arc in exchange for a honest review of this book.

After finishing this book, I felt plenty of contrasting emotions. I’m a huge fan of Nisha’s Artfefacts of Ouranos Series and I can’t wait to read the rest of it, but Heart of Night and Fire didn’t win my heart like I was expected. However it wasn’t disappointing, I really love the complex universe that Nisha built inspired to Indian mythology (I was really curious about that, this is why I wanted to read this book so bad).
About the characters, they displayed a lot of potential, Zarya and Rabin more than anyone, and I can’t wait to see how their relationship develops. For the records, Yasen is my fav. If something bad happen to him in the next books, I’m gonna cry my eyes out for years.

In conclusion, even if it might not have been the engaging fantasy journey I had hoped for, HONAF did succeed in offering several captivating moments, mainly when it comes to its plot twists. Am I gonna read the sequel? Of course, there are promises that it might be huger than this one and I’m really curious to know how Zarya’s journey continues.

Heart of Night and Fire is the first book in Nisha J. Tuli’s newest Fantasy Romance series inspired by Indian mythology. It has so many of my favorite tropes and I enjoyed reading it a lot.

After spending all her life hidden for unknown reasons, all Zarya dreams about is escaping her warden and venturing beyond his lands. When she gets that opportunity, Zarya escapes and is escorted by two soldiers she met in the forest into a beautiful city, quickly manages to find friends and thinks her life will change for the better. But when each day brings her more informations and secrets she never knew and a handsome stranger starts appearing in her dreams, Zarya will have to continue keeping her magic hidden and decide if remaining hidden in the forest wasn’t the better decision after all.

I must admit it took me a while to get fully into this book but the second half more than made up for the confusion I felt reading the beginning. I loved the world building, the author described the Indian culture in such vivid details I felt like I was watching it all instead of reading and the mythology elements were so interesting, I loved reading about them and hope we will get to explore them even more in the next book.

Our main character, Zarya, was really well-written. She was sheltered and annoyed me a lot in the first few chapters with her naivety, but it was amazing to explore this fascinating world alongside her and she grew a lot throughout the book becoming a strong and interesting FMC that I’m sure I’m going to love reading about in the next books in this series. When it comes to romance, I wish there was a bit more of it. It was a really slow slow burn with only a few scenes between Zarya and her love interest, but I loved the tension between them and can’t wait to get more of them in the sequel, having read Nisha’s other books I just know we are getting an amazing enemies to lovers romance in the next book. I also loved the found family trope here, with Zarya spending most of her life without any friends and in hiding, it was great to see her welcomed into a group of friends who became her family, their scenes were so amazing to read.

Heart of Night and Fire is a really great start to a Fantasy Romance series that I really enjoyed and already can’t wait for the next book. If you’ve read Nisha’s other books, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy this one too, and if you’re new to this author, this one is a great place to start, I definitely recommend it!

Wow! This was a fantastic read and this author now has a new fan. The dedication?! Loved it. I shall be checking out her other books.

The world building is really good with references to Indian mythology which I absolutely adored as there are very few fantasy books which explore this. It also helped to provide me with vivid imagery of the world in my head. The plot is well paced with plenty of action, drama, magic, secrets and twists. Slow burn in nature which suits this story well.

Loved Zarya as the main character. She is strong, sassy and fiercely independent. Loved rhe friendships that were formed with Vikram, Yasen and Amrita.

Can’t wait for book 2.

4.5 stars

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I really wanted to like this book. I was excited to read a book based around Indian mythology but this book was so confusing that it took all enjoyment out of it for me.
I really liked Nisha’s other series - sun queen books so I was excited to delve deeper into her work but this sadly didn’t do it for me.

- I had no idea what was going on half of the time. The first half of the book is the most confusing. We’re introduced to so many different characters and creatures and the world building was all over the place. I couldn’t keep up with what and who everyone was or did and the systems they had.
- Our female MC reads very young. She’s supposedly in her twenties but this book is very YA and her decision making seems a bit juvenile. I expected to read a strong heroine but she was kind of grating.
- I feel like the romance aspect was forced too which is what Nisha did well in her other series I have read. The chemistry wasn’t there at all.
- I didn’t understand the dynamic between a lot of characters and it read like Nisha wasn’t sure who we were supposed to like or dislike either. I just ended up not liking or rooting for anyone really.

Sadly I won’t continue with this series.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Things I liked:

-Zarya is confident. She’s a strong female lead with a “take no shit” attitude.

-This was very much a found family story and I really enjoyed watching her build those relationships (Yasen especially). The characters were well rounded and lovable.

-The twists. It’s so hard for me to find a book that truly shocks me but when I tell you I would not have at all guessed who the man in the woods was. It was so dramatic and angsty that I will be reading the next one simply because I need to know what happens.


Thinks I disliked:

-The world building was a little chaotic and I was VERY confused when I learned this spans several months.

-There was CONSTANTLY something going wrong and it made the plot feel scattered. I honestly couldn’t compile of list of everything that happened if I tried.

-There were a few points where Zarya went through a bit of character development but it was never mentioned again or it was randomly brought back up when it seemed most convenient. This left me feeling like…why? What’s the point?


Overall this was a good read and if you’re looking for something fast paced this is for you.

I was quite excited to receive the ARC for this book after reading the description on NetGalley, but I am quite sad that it did not live up to my hopes.
I found it too slow in the beginning and the world building felt a little bit confusing and the character development felt lacking as I could not connect with any of them nor get to care for them enough to continue reading the series.
I was quite interested in the beginning with the mysterious stranger appearing in her dreams, but that was not enough, I would have liked to see more of them rather than wait for the next book to see that development.
What I did like was that the writing was very descriptive, and I could get into the atmosphere. The fact that it was inspired by Indian culture and mythology was refreshing and interesting to read.

Plot-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
World building-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice-🌶️🌶️

“Friendships are always temporary when death is your constant mistress”

My mind is already itching for the next book in this series, I love a strong, sassy and fierce FMC. There were unexpected twists and turn, I thought I had it figured out but boy was I wrong. This book was inspired by south asian mythology, which I know nothing about but it didn’t stop me from understanding what is going on. I love Zarya, she is strong and still fighting after all the terrible stuff she’s been through. It was great to see her grow a friendship with Vikram and Yasen, it was especially fun how much Zarya and Yasen bickered, it reminded me of siblings. Nisha really did a great job to bring the characters alive and give them each their own defining traits. I could see the world in my mind as I read.
All in all, it’s a great book, a great plot and great characters. I highly recommend this book to fans of fantasy, adventure and magic.

I was given this ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

An excellent and wonderful fantasy adventure based on Hindu mythology with a touch of the Grisha saga. I can’t wait for the next story!

The first third of this book was extremely rough for me. The opening scene was promising, but then it all went downhill because it felt like information was being dumped while the action was happening, with no context being given for why the characters and situation are the way that they are. I thought that Zarya read as naive, annoying, and immature, which, while realistic, made it difficult to feel like she was worth the story being told. The other characters felt flat and one-dimensional, exhibiting one emotion or defining character trait until ... they suddenly don't. Additionally, although the summary mentions the enemies to lovers trope, it is more absent than present throughout the book.

With that being said, everything improved 2/3 of the way in and the ending was extremely solid. Additional backstory was given on several characters, which gave some much-needed depth and insight into their relationships with one another (and Zarya become much more bearable to read). Although the first third dragged, the pacing and plotting improve after the 2/3 mark. The big reveals at the end were not disappointing and did a good job setting up for the sequel. The worldbuilding was also interesting; I enjoyed the food descriptions and the incorporation of all the monsters. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow-building fantasy and journeys of self-discovery and growth.

This was an engaging fantasy with some definite angst. Zarya has been locked away for years, with Row, her protector. Her magic is a secret. When she finally is free, she doesn’t tell anyone the full truth about her. Her magic becomes clearer as the book continues, but there are still some surprises up until the last page.

I need more steamy scenes with Rabin and Zarya in the next book. Vikram was such a red herring, and the twist on who Rabin is were both great surprises.

My first read from Nisha J. Tuli and I couldn't be happier. Booktok should definitely get on the The Nightfire Quartet train because this is a guaranteed best seller and an amazing read.
Heart of Night and Fire follows along Zarya's journey of self discovery as she abandons her seaside prison of nearly 21 years, along with Aarav. They stumble upon two handsome rakshasa warriors who bring them to the city where they have no idea of the future that awaits them.
A beautifully written tale of self discovery, found family and complicated relationship dynamics, Heart of Night and Fire depicts a strong and courageous woman who will go to any lengths to aid the ones closer to her and the helpless people of her new found home in Daragaab.
Personally, I found the book to be slow in the first half, which made it a bit of a chore to get through that 35-45% of the book, but as soon as things start kicking in the second half, I was not able to put it down.
Definitely keeping tabs on this series so I can read the second book as soon as it's out!