A great start to a new series.

Nisha J. Tuli is a fantastic romantasy writer, the first book is a lot of scene setting with a small amount of romance and spice. You can tell that there's a slow burn in the works and that this will grow into the series. Can't wait for the next book!

4.5⭐️/5
1.0🌶️/5

First things first. When will the next book of Nightfire Quartet come out because I want to read it immediately! My reaction when Heart of Night and Fire ended was: “Noooooo!! It’s over already?”😭😭😭 Just as all the big secrets were revealed and we were discovering all we wanted to know about our dear Zarya book one ended. Now we have to wait for the next part of Zarya’s journey so I CANNOT WAIT to devour the series.

This is an expansive fantasy world that introduced me to new mythical beings. The world starts small while we’re with Zarya in her lonely, isolated existence. But while Zarya’s world grows outside of the magical barriers that kept her sequestered, so does the fantasy world. There are so many questions Zarya must work through. Why was she sequestered from the rest of the world her whole life? What is the blight and why is it expanding? As she encounters more people and places, who does she trust? Who does she befriend?

On an emotional level I was really able to connect to Zarya’s longing to be part of the outside world and the loneliness and uncertainty that plagued her. She was also a total badass who knew how to fight and wield weapons. I loved not knowing where the story was headed and guessing as I read along, and found myself wanting to savor each moment towards the end since I knew the ride would over soon enough. Can’t stress enough how excited I am for book two.

Read if you love epic fantasy series like ACOTAR, TOG, etc. Not a lot of steam in this one but… maybe to come? 🤗🩶

We get:
Found family
Secrets to uncover
Magical and mystical beings
Self discovery and journey to new places
Battling the big bad
The most delicious descriptions of food 😋

What touched my heart before we even got to chapter one, even before the author’s note was one line: “For every brown girl who wanted to be the chosen one too.” This totally spoke to my inner little brown girl (not a South Asian brown girl but Pacific Islander brown girl) who was always desperately wanting to see herself reflected in the lead character. 🤍

Thank you to NetGalley and Second Sky Books for the ARC. Thoughts and opinions are my own and my review is voluntarily left.

OMG I need the next book like, NOW. This slow burn, romantsy (ofc), with a strong FMC and hidden family secrets you won’t see coming is high on my list for top fantasy books of the year. Everything about the story was captivating, and nothing like I’ve read before. As someone who devours over 100 books a year, two-thirds are fantasy, it’s hard for me to find new stories!

I loved that our author used her background and Eurocentric mythology POV to inspire this story. I can’t wait to see what the next book has in store.

Huge thank you to NetGalley for providing me a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was like a mystical, colourful fever-dream! So fast paced that at times I felt like I was getting whiplash! Full of such rich, ornate world building and a beautifully diverse range of characters.
I was super excited to get into this book - it sounded like a little bit of everything I love and I was not disappointed. A really unique blend of culture, myth and folklore to create a truly unique and vivid world.
The plot was always engaging, if not quite predictable, and kept me reading into the early hours of the morning. I adore the found family aspect of this read - so wholesome.
The end left me with so many questions… I can’t wait for the next book!

A YA Fantasy Romance that inspired by South Asian Lores/Myths. A girl locked/hidden away in a cottage out of sight from the outer world by magic. One day, the perimeter is broken and she discovers the outer world that's unlike what she imagined, encounters two soldiers that bring her to the palace of the queendom, and try to finding out who and what she actually is.

Took me awhile to get the world-building along with the terms of the creatures and the cultures. The first act was quite slow as we get to know the upbringing of Zarya and what kind of life she has before, the second act where she got to visit the city and meet the people she'd got closer with is happened so fast, and the third act where we get introduced to the "enemy" and "love interest", as well as getting almost all the answers for the questions surrounded from the start is the most interesting part for me,

It's a fast-paced and action-packed plot wise. Though I'm not really engaged to the characters especially the MC, I came to like her mind and decision at the end. She grows on me like a fungus, indeed. I'm looking forward for the more found-family part and siblings-like chemistry between Zarya and Yasen!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely amazing! Took me a while to get truly into the story but I’m so happy I stuck around. I can’t wait for the next part!

Holy crap. This book was amazing. I was hesitant to read this one because it is based on Indian mythology, which I know absolutely nothing about. I was worried that I would be confused not knowing any of the background. Even though I was hesitant, every time I saw the cover it called to me. I finally decided to take a leap and go for it and WOW am I glad that I did! For anyone else concerned about their lack of knowledge of Indian mythology- while I’m sure it would have added to the experience, I don’t feel like I missed out on any part of the story by not having that information. I did have to look up some things such as descriptions of clothing, but you can definitely get by without doing that even if you are unsure (I just like to really be able to picture everything in my head). This is absolutely on par with other romantic fantasies that are incredibly popular such as Fourth Wing. I loved the characters and the magic system is so unique compared to other books I have read. It gives you just enough to feel satisfied while also wanting so much more. I’m only sad that I found this book so early because I will have to wait so long to continue the story. @nishajtwrites will blow you out of the water with this one. I absolutely think this book is going to blow up in popularity- get on board before it goes viral!

Unfortunately this was a good that wasn’t for me, I think I got to about 30% before I had to DNF it.

For me personally the story didn’t grip me, it started off amazing, first couple of chapters I thought this is going to lead to somewhere really good, the plot had really good potential but then it dripped! It lost its appeal and I just couldn’t force myself to go any further.

HOWEVER

I speak as a proud British Asian person and lovehow Nisha describes south Asian cultures was spot on and I’m happy she’s cracked the shell of bringing in a strong FMC of another ethnicity, something that is rarely done.

This an excellent fantasy with some romance where the most important part is fantasy. A well plotted, action packed and complex story featuring a strong and clever FMC, Zarya.
There's the hero that run and fight for the new city where they live, a cast of characters, and a lot of world building.
I have other books to read by Ms Tuli and can't wait for the next in this series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

was intrigued to read this book as this is a little bit different that what fantasy books I normally read and I really enjoyed this ! This book mixes south asian and Indian mythology which which really interesting to learn about the different demons and monsters.


I love that there is a lot of world and character building which I feel will help the next 3 books move along. This is a really really slow burn and there is a lot of unanswered questions throughout which does get your mind going, guessing what happened into Zayra’s past and why she is guarded as much as she has been. I’m very interested to see how it plays out for zayra and her potential love interest.

This is the first of Nisha J. Tuli’s books that I’ve read, but it won’t be the last! (Especially since this one is first in a quartet! Three more books of this delicious fantasy world! Woo hoo!)

Zarya has grown up a captive, held in an idyllic location. But as the book says, “It wasn’t an unpleasant prison, but a firefly trapped in even the most ornate jar would still die without air.” She’s been raised by Row and trained alongside his apprentice Aarav. Row won’t tell Zarya anything about her upbringing, just that it’s imperative no one know where she is, and he sets magical boundaries in place to keep her from leaving (because she tries). She and Aarav aren’t on good terms, and she chafes at her lack of freedom. Then one day, Row is gone, and so are the magical boundaries. Zarya takes Row’s horse and takes off fast as she can, heading for the city of Dharati. She wanted adventure, freedom, a chance to truly live? She surely finds it.

Nisha J. Tuli has crafted a beautiful world here, based on Indian/South Asian mythology. I don’t know a lot about the culture and history, but we’ve recently taken an interest in Bollywood/Hindi cinema (my apologies if this isn’t the most current term) and really enjoyed them, so I’m interested in stories with similar settings. Tuli’s word does not disappoint! I could almost see the things she described, almost smell and taste the foods. She does a top-tier job of creating her universe.

Another thing I found intriguing was the process Tuli created by which a new monarch takes the throne. I don’t recall seeing anything comparable in other books. When Princess Amrita took the throne, it hurt my heart, because her becoming queen is life-changing in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

And I know it isn’t the romance, but I adored the relationship developing between Zarya and Yasen! At first he is very gruff to her, sometimes almost rude. But as the story progresses, they warm up to each other and become almost like siblings. I hope we see more of that in future books. I think Zarya will need someone who can balance her, encourage her, and kick her butt when she needs it.

I’ve seen some reviews expressing disappointment in Zarya’s actions and attitude, opining that she acts more like a teenager than a 20/21-year-old. I agree that she did seem very naive and overly emotional in some ways. But think about it. She’s spent pretty much all of life that she remembers closeted away from the world, with no one to help her mature emotionally. Of course she acts younger than her age. She doesn’t know how to do otherwise. She starts out as so many of us do when we’re young, thinking that life is one big adventure, romance is all rose-colored glasses, and everyone is looking out for our best interests. She’s learning otherwise. I think she’ll grow up and mature just fine.

The identity of the love interest really blew me away. I did NOT see it coming, and this is a romance that will definitely be enemies to lovers. Zarya and Rabin didn’t meet face to face until near the end of the book, so I’m not sure if it’s going to be a slow burn or a raging inferno. Either way, I’m here to see how it plays out!

As this is my first book by Tuli, I won’t yet say she’s on my super short list of favorite authors. She’s sure making a run for it, though. Heart of Night and Fire is a solid four-star read for me, and I’m ready for the rest of the Nightfire Quartet!

Thanks to Second Sky and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.

I really really really wanted to love this. I love her other series. I just found nothing about this interesting. It felt like it was 90% description of surroundings and food and inner monologue, 10% actual plot and dialogue. a bummer.

Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J. Tuli is the first book of the series. A fantasy romance inspired by South Asian mythology, it is the story of Zarya and her destiny.

Zarya has been trapped, and other than the two people in her life, she doesn't know anyone. She has some magic, but she has been told to hide it. It's a secret to be protected. But one fine day, she escapes and finds her way to a kingdom where dark creatures want to destroy everything light. What role does Zarya play in this scheme of things?

First and foremost, reading about South Asian characters is a delight. All the mythical characters of rakshasas, yakshinis, dakini, and other phrases to Indian lore are just wonderful. The characters of this book are just figuring out themselves. The world building is really excellent. My only comment would be that a glossary and a map for the next book in the series would be perfect. I can't wait to see Zarya's growth and how she navigates in her world with all the information she has about herself!

Thank you, Second Sky @secondskybooks, Bookouture @bookouture, and Netgalley for this book.

I'm a fan of Nisha's other series, the Artefacts of Ouranos. So I was excited to see this as an option to request on NetGalley.

The Pros:
The book is pretty short and reads quickly
I liked most of the secondary characters
There is tons of story left to tell and I am excited for book 2
Loved reading a book set in Indian/South East Asian lore

The Cons:
The first half of the book dragged with lots of small tangents that don't seem important to the main plot.
Not a huge fan of Zarya but she started to grow on me at the end
Had to take copious notes because I found the names of the different types of beings very hard to keep straight

I will definitely be reading book 2 and have a strong feeling I will enjoy that one more than this one.

You're telling me I have to wait for the next book?!

Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J. Tuli was a solidly entertaining slow burn fantasy romance. I absolutely loved the South Asian representation and all of the creatures from Indian mythology. The first half of the book was a lot of world building but I never felt bored or like it was too info dumpy. One of my favorite tropes is found family and I LOVED getting to see Zarya build relationships and find her place in the world, surrounded by people who love and support her. I'm really looking forward to seeing Rabin and Zarya's relationship unfold in future books. I need more of them now. My biggest complaint with this book is I wish we got more from all of the other characters. I like that we follow Zarya but I feel like I only got to witness her character grow throughout this first book and I would love to see more of Yasen and Vikram's journeys. Overall, this was a solid first book in a new series. Have I mentioned I can't wait for the next one?!

Thank you to Second Sky and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you, Second Sky, Bookotoure Audio, and NetGalley for this ALC/ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Heart of Night and Fire is marketed towards fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Carissa Broadbent.

This book is an epic fantasy x romance that features action, enemies to lovers, and a slow burn.

In Heart of Night and Fire we follow Zarya who has been living her whole life in isolation with her guardians: Row and Aarav. She is never allowed to leave home but one of her guardians ends up disappearing which allows her to escape and discover a whole new world, which allows her to discover her forbidden, magical gifts.

First, I want to say I have been wanting to read Nisha's books for a while now and even have a few of them on my kindle and when I saw this one pop up on NetGalley as an e-ARC and ALC, I knew I needed to request them since this sounded amazing and because the cover is beyond gorgeous.

I found Heart of Night and Fire to be mostly at a perfect pace but there were times where the pacing felt like it slowed down.

Nisha does an amazing job with her decadent descriptions of the world since it really makes you feel like you are in the world, and this allowed for really good world building. Plus, I loved that this book has South Asian Mythology and Indian World Building interwoven into this book and because of that it really strengthens the world building.

I did find myself immersed in this book and intrigued from the beginning and found myself enjoying the book in whole.

I really loved the slow burn romance as well as how Nisha wrote these characters to be likeable and feel like they are real.

This was a great romantasy read that grips you from the beginning and has some great twists in it.

Pick up Heart of Night and Fire for these reasons (I am using Nisha's infographic for some of this):
-Great magic system
-Amazing world building
-Strangers to enemies to lovers to enemies
-Only one horse
-Forced proximity
-Hidden/forbidden magic
-Mysterious stranger
-Angst
-Mysterious stranger
-Found Family
-Great action scenes
-A lot of secrets and lies
-Magical creatures
-Who did this to you?
-Sexy blood drinking Rakshasas

**Side note: I apologize if this review makes no sense in some areas or is not well written and this is due to a nasty cold I have.

This is a review of the audiobook.

🔥 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬: 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚 🔥

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 0 🌶

Happy release day to @nishajtwrites ! This book is available today, September 15th 👏👏👏

🗡 Bada** FMC
😈 Dangerous Creatures
✨️ Lots of Magic
🔮 Other Worlds

Zarya has been stuck in the same place all her life- and relatably, finds comfort in books. One day she finally is able to escape and promptly finds herself some trouble- and eventually, friendship. 🫂

Join Zarya in learning about her South Asian- inspired world with everything from food to clothes, weapons, and mythology. If you want something different from your usual, this book is it. 👀

This first book in the series has lots of worldbuilding and a very slow burn, but still has a bit of romance and possible love triangle (square, even??) 🔺️

Amazing perspective, common but well-done and interesting magic system, and relatable FMC. I gave this book 4.5 ⭐️ out of 5, and noted 0 spice in this book (though I would expect some in the next).

Thanks to Second Sky @secondskybooks and author Nisha J. Tuli for the #netgalley ARC! 🙌

Read this story now on Kindle Unlimited 📖

I love Nisha J Tuli, her stories are so beautifully detailed! I don’t know what it is but the writing in this book really captivated me…and made me hungry. (Seriously the food descriptions were mouth watering)

Zarya was a really easy to love MC, although she needed saving a few more times than I felt she would based off her initial introduction.

Yasen is me. I am Yasen. I love him and I want to keep him in my pocket.
For me her friendships we much more natural and had better chemistry than her potential love interests.

Overall another excellent story and I can’t wait to jump into the next book!

Nisha Tuli is now solidly on my must-read list! After reading and loving the first two titles in The Artifacts of Ouranos series, I happily moved on to Heart of Night and Fire and it did not disappoint! Beautiful world-building inspired by Indian culture brought such richness and detail to this world. Many interesting side characters along with a strong female lead. This is perfect for Sarah J Maas fans looking for similar titles! Can’t wait for the next instalment!

Rating: 3.5

Note spoilers ahead!

Thank you Second Sky for providing me with a copy through NetGalley. This year has truly been a year of discovering fantasy reads by South Asian female authors and “Heart of Night and Fire” is another read to add to the list! From the first page, readers learn that this is the first book in a four part series and to expect a slow burn fantasy romance.
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Maybe it’s because I was on my period but the dedication had me tearing up! While I’m Indian, I do think the book would’ve benefited from a guide at the beginning for pronunciation and also to explain what some of the items/creatures were. I enjoyed Tuli’s description of food because it made me hungry and that’s when you know an author can immerse you into the story. I did pick up though on the overuse of “snarl” which had me acting out how a character was probably snarling at another.
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Zarya - To be blunt, I wasn’t a fan of Zarya - I found her annoying. I understood that she was held in a prison like state but she was childish. She desperately yearned for freedom but to the point where she was easily irked by everyone around her and would pick a fight with them - why? While it may be due to some mistrust in others, which is understandable, it was frustrating to watch her quickly trust Vikram because he was a nice and good-looking guy who gave her attention. I wished that she focused on trying to make friends first rather than on love and romance. With that, I need Zarya to make female friends. I couldn’t relate to all the guys fawning over her but her life’s been surrounded by only males that she needs a good girlfriend.

We all love a badass female fighters but I think it would’ve been best if Zarya endured a challenge into entering the Khada. It didn’t make sense that she was that good of a fighter when she’s only ever fought against Row and Aarav - she’s never had any applicable experience beforehand and it wasn’t believable. Along with that, Zarya was severely entitled in thinking she was in a place to help Vikram figure out what was happening. Again, you’ve been severely sheltered your whole life - what real-life experiences do you have to bring to the table?
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Zarya & Vikram - I immediately didn’t trust Vikram - he tried too hard and it came off overly suspicious. It made me think of Hawke in “From Blood and Ash” and I was right then! I’d hoped for Zarya to be smarter with Vikram given the romance books she’d read - she said so herself that she knew to not fall immediately for the first guy but that’s what she did. I appreciated that Zarya admitted to her fault in ignoring the blatant warning signs from Vikram - we like a person who can admit their mistakes.
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Thoughts on others - I had an inkling that the guy from her dreams was Vikram’s brother and I am living for the TVD-esque drama to unfold!! Not entirely sure I trust Amrita - she was a bit too buddy with Zarya and I could see her using Zarya as a scapegoat for blame. Another person on my suspicious list is Row as I found his return to come as a pretty convenient time.
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Overall - I did want to keep reading the story despite how annoying Zarya was to follow. Her overwhelming sense of entitlement and self-pity was frustrating and hindered my thoughts of the book. That said, I see a lot of opportunity for the storyline to get better and we dive more into the introduction of other characters (i.e. Rabin) and I hope that we see more of Zarya’s relationships with others as they felt a bit static.