Emma Hamm is an American romance, science fiction, and fantasy romance author. She started writing because she always had a story to tell the world, and her journey began in online forums where she would write with friends. They would often craft fantastical stories that dove deep into the fantasy worlds they created. However, Emma’s professional writing career began the moment she realized she could write on her own, and that’s when she decided to write her own book.
Years later, Hamm has more than a dozen novels under her name spread across different book series. She contributed to Stolen Brides of the Fae book series, where she wrote Stolen Goblin Bride’s first book.
Heart of the Fae
Heart of the Fae is the debut novel in The Otherworld Series by Emma Hamm. It’s a high fantasy romance but one that takes its time before revealing the romance. The author tackles difficult and unpleasant themes and subjects within this novel, allowing it to live to its description.
The novel can be compared to the Beauty and the Beast story but with more adult themes that will leave the readers yearning for more. The retelling maintains essential elements of the original story while simultaneously maintaining twists and turns. In this case, the beast is a disfigured and cursed Fae prince such that whenever he gets wounded, crystals and geodes appear on the location of the wound. On the other hand, the beauty is a midwife named Sorcha. She’s trying to save her father, who runs a family brothel, and takes an epic journey in a quest to save the father.
Though similar to Beauty and the Beast, the narrative burns slow and picks up slowly after the first third when the main character Sorcha makes it to the island. Emma Hamm biases more on the descriptive telling technique throughout the story.
It’s important to note that the heart of the Fae isn’t a standalone novel. The book ends on a cliffhanger that will leave you invested in Sorcha’s journey, which is revealed in the second book in the series. Without a doubt, like with most romance books, the best scenes in the story are between the protagonist and the Fae inhabitants. It seems that the author has special affection during these scenes, as there is a delicate tenderness in the scenes that make them both charming and memorable.
In addition, Emma’s descriptions of the castle, the Fae world, and the characters are pretty charming. The prologue blends an old mythic and folkloric voice with a semi-contemporary rhythm with charming descriptions. The author also infuses aspects of mythology and folklore. While it’s unclear whether the story is set in real Ireland or fictional Ireland, the world itself is fun to imagine.
The author’s decision to give the Fae beast such a creative disease with significant repercussions also adds to the dark, mysteriousness of the tale. Besides the cliffhanger, The Heart of the Fae does a fantastic job of nailing the beat of standard Beauty and the Beast, retelling to the head uniquely. For readers who enjoyed the Beauty and the Beast story and would like a similar retelling but one with grim and dark elements, then Emma Hamm’s series debut novel is a good match.
Fire Heart
Fire Heart is the debut novel in The Dragon of Umbra series. It focuses on two characters, Abraxas, one of the last remaining dragons enslaved by the rule of Umbra, and Lorelei, half-human/half-elf hiding from the humans who kill her kind.
Lorelei lives on meager existence, but she’s still alive, but when the king announces that he’s looking for a wife, Lorelei is forced to enter the race. In this race, she will be forced to hide even more by dressing and acting like a lady she is not, all for a chance to get close enough to the king and kill him and free her people and other beings enslaved by the king. But her plan is not as easy as it seems, with the King’s dragon offering protection to the king.
The key driver of this novel is the slow-burn romance between Abraxas and Lorelai. From their first encounter, it’s obvious their conversations are filled with sexual tension, and the reader can feel the electrifying energy between the characters.
Additionally, there’s also some complexity to their interactions. Abraxas is the king’s right hand and is, directly and indirectly, involved in the king’s prosecution of magical creatures like Lorelai. And as she later learns that Abraxas’s service to the kingdom includes some traumatic events in her life. This creates an enemies-to-lovers romance where the road isn’t straight but rather one with challenges. This is a romance with no hero, but only a morally grey man.
While Abraxas and Lorelai’s romance seems to be the story’s focal focus, it is not the only plot’s primary focus. There are other captivating storylines, more so one that focuses on Lorelai’s attempt to penetrate and win the bridal competition so that she might kill him and end the reign of terror. This is a high-stakes game with plenty of action, tension, and many edge-of-seat moments. The plot is sprinkled among the pages; the moments of levity add balance and contribute to the humor and narrative.
Further contributing to this story is the narration style. Emma Hamm utilizes a dual point of view. She narrates her story from the perspectives of Abraxas and Lorelai, which facilitates the reader’s ability to understand the two characters better. Through this, we are about to learn who the characters are as individuals and figure out their similarities and differences.
The alternating point of view allows the story to pace up and adds some suspense to the narrative, for when the narrative is switched from one point of view, the reader is often left with an unanswered question, enticing you to read more to return to the previous point of view and gather more information
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