"The stars overhead beckoned— she’d never seen so many of them in one place before— and she reached up, drawing on their brightness as their light twirled between her fingers."

Zarya has been shut away from the world, living in a house on the edge of a swamp, for as long as she can remember. Protected and imprisoned by the mysterious Row and his apprentice, Aarav, Zarya can only dream of escape and the world beyond.
Until one day, Row's magic fails and suddenly there is nothing to keep Zarya from running headlong into a world on the edge of war.

Firstly I would like to thank Nisha Tuli, Netgalley, and the team at Second Sky for giving me the opportunity to read this and only asking for my unbiased review in exchange.

Because I really really wanted to love this. And I'm genuinely disappointed that I didn't. I loved the premise and the opening chapter so much that I sort of want to ignore the fact that the rest just didn't live up to that promise.
I found Zarya to be really irritating; a lot of characters repeatedly say how smart she is, but instead she comes off as impulsive and naive (which does work with the plot, but importantly she is only naive when there is room for it in the plot. She's very independent otherwise.) A lot of the characters come off very flat, and I think it's possibly quite telling that two of the main male characters I couldn't quite keep straight who was who (grumpy or love interest? Those are the archetypes and beyond that the names were a little secondary,) for most of the book, and that didn't actually seem to impact the plot at all.
The pacing was also a little off. There's actually a scene with three days worth of intense physical trials. This is an increasingly common trope and one I really enjoy. It was literally covered in a paragraph:

"Over the next three days, Zarya faced challenge after challenge and managed to complete every task, usually dragging herself to the finish line."

It was frustrating to get build up and excitement and for that to be the pay off. And this happens repeatedly throughout. So much space is given to a relationship with an interchangeable love interest that the actual plot gets completely set to one side.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

I really wanted to love this book, but it sadly fell flat for me and I ended up DNFing at 24%.
The worldbuilding and setting were great, I loved that it was Indian-inspired and it initially made me really excited to dive into this story.
Sadly, the plot failed to catch my attention, it felt like a story I've read many times before, and I just wasn't invested enough to keep going.
I also wasn't a fan of the FMC. I understand that she grew up sheltered and hasn't seen the world, but I found her annoying and immature. Again, it makes sense why she acted the way she did, but it's a type of main character I struggle a lot with these days.

I will definitely still check out the author's other work, but this one was not for me.

3,25 ★

“𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤.”

Thank you NetGalley and the author for this Arc!

My gosh that was so much fun like guys the last part of this arc literally kinda cured my reading slump? How??? This was such an interesting and unique read- I was craving a good fantasy book and this definitely delivered 🤭 the writing style was nice although I thought the random f and f-ing word being thrown here and there was a little random😭 I enjoyed the last part wayyy more than the first part, but overal I had fun reading!

“𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙣—𝙕𝙖𝙧𝙮𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙬.”

Things I would have liked: A map. I needed it badly.

I feel like this story really needed a first person aspect. I never really have a problem with third person but for this story? I needed it, especially in the first 170 pages. I didn’t really get in the story. Like I loved it and enjoyed it a lot, but I never really forgot I was reading. I knew Zarya but I didn’t become her while reading. This only happened in the last like 80 pages.

“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮”

The mysterious guy 🤭🤭🤭 I was reading for him and for him only but guess what? He only appeared around 5 times in the story 🥲🥲 I thought it was going to be a slow burn romance between the mysterious guy and the magical girl but no we just got nice guy forgot-his-name🙄 was it slow burn ? Yes, but the kind of slow burn that didn’t give me satisfaction. I needed wayyy more scenes with the guy 😔 but who knows, maybe the next book will give us more of that.

“𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙕𝙖𝙧𝙮𝙖 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙.”

And that plot twist ??? When we found out who you know who was???? Nahh that one got me staring at my wall and kicking my feet I am so excited for the second book like give. It. To. Me. 🔪🔪🔪

“𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.”

Anyways I enjoyed the story and I can’t wait to continue this journey 🤭🤭

Smut: yes like 2 scenes? Maybe 3? I forgot sorry 😔

Heart of Night and Fire is an exciting, character-driven, epic fantasy that includes a fascinating magic system, a world on the brink of chaos, and a slow burn romance. I thoroughly enjoyed Heart of Night and Fire. For me, the characters were the best part of the book. Zarya is a strong female lead. I really enjoyed having her as the narrator. While she doesn't always make the smartest choices, the reader can absolutely understand why she makes the decisions that she does. I loved her relationships with Yasen, Aarav, and Vikram. I want to see more of all three of them in the next book. And, then, of course, there is Rabin. We were just starting to get to know him/understand his mystery when the book ended. I need the next book NOW.

In addition to the characters, the world building was beautiful. The clothing, the food, and the architecture was all so lovingly described. Everytime I finished a chapter, I just wanted to eat. Since this was the first book in the series, there was a lot of world building (again, done beautifully), but I'm expecting the next book to have a lot more action and hopefully more romance. I can't wait!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @secondsky publishers for this gifted book! When I realised the publication date was September 15th, the same day I picked it up, I was initially stressed. But let me tell you, this book did not disappoint.

Heart of Night and Fire is a Fantasy Romance inspired by Indian and South Asian culture. It tells the story of Zarya, a young woman who has spent her life confined to a coastal cottage under the watch of a mysterious man. Her life takes a turn when he disappears, freeing her from her captivity.


Initially, I thought the book might fall into common tropes, but Nisha navigates them skillfully. As someone who doesn't usually read Fantasy Romance, I found myself pleasantly surprised at every turn. I eventually stopped trying to predict the story and simply let myself be swept away.


Nisha's storytelling is captivating, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment in this quartet. If you enjoyed series like "An Ember in the Ashes" or "The Daevabad Trilogy," this book is definitely for you. It's now available in bookstores, and if you're in South Africa, keep an eye out as it should be arriving soon.

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!