White Hot

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶/4

*Contains spoilers if you haven't read book 1*

Book 2 of the Hidden Legacy series starts off a few months after book 1 (Burn for Me) and Nevada has tried to forget all about the dark, dangerous, and sexy Mad Rogan. But when an old acquaintance comes to her with a new case, things are not all as they seem.

What started out as trying to find who murdered her client's wife quickly turns into a much larger investigation into a conspiracy for ultimate power in Houston. As fate would have it and as the details unfold, Nevada is once again forced to work with Mad Rogan and the sparks pick right back up brighter and hotter than before.

Alongside the continuing excitement that comes with murder show more investigations, magical House power struggles, and the slow burn tension that is Nevada and Rogan, we also learn more about the other members of the Baylor Family and see that Nevada might not be the only one hiding her powerful magical secrets.

A great second installment in this series, and we FINALLY get some relief from the steamy slow burn tension that has been building between Nevada & Rogan from book 1. The side characters are all delightful and offer both story depth and comic relief. Between the Baylor Clan and many of Rogan's associates, we have a fantastic growing cast to choose many new favorites from.

Best random scene, two words: Ferret Heist. show less

I continued to enjoy this series and the authors' determined attempts to invert the more annoying cliches of the genre -- fun, fast-paced action, solid worldbuilding, great characters. I need to say, though, that GOSH I wish they would also attempt to invert the horrifying sex scene cliches of the genre, because the sex scenes in this book are ... bad. They are very, very bad. Very purple, very rich in "velvet shaft" type descriptions, totally not character driven or even mildly interesting.

Still totally worth reading -- I very much enjoyed it and hope to enjoy the next one! -- but if you've read good sex scenes, you'll probably want to skim these.

UPDATE 1/6/19: I'm upping the rating by one star. You can skip the sex scenes. The show more internet is full of well-written ones. And this book has a HEIST CONDUCTED BY FERRETS. show less

Nevada knows better than to get involved in Prime politics - and doubly to keep her magic hidden from the powerful families

But when Cornelius pleads for her to find the murderer of his wife, she feels she has to get involved. When a paedophile kidnaps a young girl she feels she can’t not use her magic

And when she uncovers a magical conspiracy that may destabilise the entire city if not the whole country she is again pulled in. More and more Nevada is drawn into Prime society.

I love this world - which goes without saying. It’s Ilona Andrews: it goes without saying that the world is amazing. All their worlds are amazing. In every series. No-one beats Ilona Andrews when it comes to amazing worlds.

But I think more than the magic show more world building I love how the politics between the Prime families and how they interact, the rights they have, the privileges. The magic is there and underpins everything which shapes both history and politics which in turn shapes the characters and their experiences- but it’s more the maneuvering than the shiny powers that drives their actions.

Though I love how the powers are depicted, especially the subtle and horrifying impact of Nevada’s own power. As well as the comic and scary effects of her sister. Or how the power to talk to animals can render humans socially awkward. These are all excellently put together

I like the thought that has gone into magical intervention as well - how if a powerful magic user intervenes in one disaster they’re then blamed or attacked if a similar disaster strikes and they don’t step forward.

And the romance. This is generally where I say how much the romance is a distraction and how I hates it and, well, if you’ve read my reviews you know the drill of my annoyance. However, here is the mold being broken -ok i do think we, perhaps, spend a little more time on the romance than is ideal considering there is so much plot and world to get through but I can recognise that as a personal preference thing. What I do like is the conflicts between them - because they’re reasonable and sensible and don’t require one or both parties to lose their ever loving minds in order to have a disagreement.

Rogan is ridiculously rich and powerful and he decides he wants to protect Nevada - but in trying to do that he is using his vast wealthy to control her and the land and people around her. He sees this as defending her while she, rightfully, rejects this as it gives her a ridiculous amount of power over her, completely removes any chance of having an equal relationship - it’s not just that he has so much more wealth and power and influence than her but he’s willing to use it without consulting her of helping her.

Nevada is clearly right on this front - his control over her, his arrogantly deciding he knows what is best for her is clearly a problem. He’s right that she’s vulnerable and the political forces that are set to prey on her are more than she can defend against - so he’s not exaggerating or just making up a threat, but equally that measure of command and control without consulting her. There’s an excellent quote:

“For any kind of relationship to work, I have to have the choice to walk away from it”

Which is an excellent point on consent we’ve talked about before and I love to see it here.

On top of that arrogance there’s Nevada’s unwillingness to be a fling to him and his reluctance to push for an actual relationship are red lines for her. There are conflicts between them, but they are not unreasonable or foolish nor do they consume their story or make them unable to work together or co-operate. And when they start to come together it’s only after these issues have been aired and they begin to be addressed as something that matters

Read More show less

White Hot is the second book in the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews. The action starts fast and furious with this installment as Nevada takes on a new client.

Private Investigator Nevada Baylor is a truthseeker, a rare talent and someone who can tell if a person is lying or telling the truth. She is approached by Cornelius Harrison of House Harrison for a job: investigate and solve his wife's murder. Nari Harrison was gunned down at the Hotel Sha Sha under suspicious circumstances. Normally the Baylor Investigative Agency refuses murder investigations due to the high risk nature of the job. Nevada finds she can't turn down someone who is obviously so upset over his wife's death. It also turns out that Connor Rogan is interested in show more this investigation as one of his employees was also killed in the crossfire at Hotel Sha Sha. As the pair begin digging into Nari's murder it's obvious this is just a small part of a much larger conspiracy.

I am loving this UF universe that the Andrews have created. With the basic world building handled in the first book, this book expands upon what we already know. We get to see more of everything: more magic powers, more action, more House politics, more romance, more about the Baylor's mysterious heritage. While Nevada and Connor are the stars of the show, the supporting characters are every bit as well-drawn and enjoyable to read about. Nevada's family is so much fun. Grandma Freida has to be the coolest 73-year old ever! I'm glad Nevada's sisters Catalina and Arabella provide more help with the investigation as it lets them show off their personalities and powers more. Cornelius Harrison and his daughter Matilda come from a House of animal mages so it was super neat to see that power in action. It is the basis of my favorite scene in the whole book, the ferret heist.

The romance kicks it up a notch as well. The chemistry between Nevada and Connor sizzles which leads to one hell of a sex scene. It is fairly explicit in nature reinforcing that this series not for younger audiences.

I am enjoying the hell out of this series. Can't wait to see what happens next. show less

A 2017 novel, book 2 in the Hidden Legacy series.

A private murder investigation is hampered by billionaire wizards.

B (Good).

I enjoyed this a good deal more than Burn For Me. It's a page-turner, more a fantasy/action book with romance than a romance book with fantasy/action. (Although, there is a long and extremely boring sex scene that felt like a list of different ways to say "she liked pleasure.") If you can forget the events of the first book, Rogan is more sympathetic now. I still don't see any emotional basis for the romance, though - they're both just horny and attractive.

(Dec. 2022)

The second Hidden Legacy novel was as compelling and the first and has left me aching for the third.

Nevada Baylor takes the case of Cornelius Harrison who wants to find out who caused the death of his wife. Normally the magical community in Houston has its own ways of dealing with this sort of problem. But the House Nari Harrison worked for is covering and threatens to blacken her reputation if Cornelius doesn't drop his inquiries.

Normally a case that would pit Nevada's small family run private investigation business would be too much for her to handle. But she takes the case because someone needs to stand up for Nari. Her investigation brings her back into contact with Connor "Mad" Rogan is one of the fiercest and scariest Primes in show more Houston and who is an object of romantic interest to Nevada even though she knows a romance with him would be a bad, bad idea.

The investigation quickly leads deep into House business and House goals and gets Nevada, Rogan, and others into the middle of a very twisty mess. It doesn't help that Nevada is hiding a Prime level talent of her own that makes her someone any House would want to control.

This twisty plot combines a romance that is hot enough to scorch the pages, a conspiracy with ruthless villains, and an evil grandmother with plans of her own for Nevada and her family. I loved the fast paced action, the romance, and the love and loyalty shown by Nevada and her family. show less

Original review below. Thoughts on this one based on a 7/22/2019 re-read. I hope Cornelius is in Catalina's book and doesn't disappear. There's something about the quiet character that interests me. And will we see the protective man from the party again? He was interesting. Ack, so many interesting characters and so little books/time. :(

“I can be a good dragon, when the occasion requires it.”

The first book was my favorite read of 2015. To say I was excited for the two sequels to be released in 2017 is an understatement. I couldn’t wait to get back to Rogan and Nevada’s adventures and romance, Ilona Andrews fun and inventive worldbuilding, and see what the author duo had in store for their appreciative readers. They’re show more definitely favorite authors of mine.

This book opens up with two different openings – the prologue shows Nevada daring to use her talent, cloaked of course, to help the police in a particularly disturbing case to save a child from a predator. The first chapter opens where Nevada takes a case she doesn’t really want, moved by the man’s plight and financial struggles since he’s cushioned between two houses and their dangerous politics.

While most of the book focuses on the first chapters story and mystery, that prologue plays into a personal disaster that rears its head later on, showing more on Nevada’s past, family history, and future issues with having to maybe reveal more than she wanted to with the public and her family.

Character-wise, it’s awesome. Nevada is still a favorite heroine with compassion and determination. Her power is nifty but she discovers it’s advanced to whole other level in this book, which was a little wobbly. Rogan is as sexy as he was in the first book, and even if it seemed he was hiding out for a bit, he’s been changing things for Nevada’s life in the background. I finally get to see her sister’s power at the end in an exciting, intense scene. Her new client is fun and I was blown away by the ending finale when he deals with the villain who killed his wife. So glad to hear he will be staying around!

Nevada’s family is still hilarious – the wedding photos taped to her door gave me some serious grins. I LOVE her family, which isn't usually the way it goes for me with large families already existing in books. With the grandmother, it reminds me a little of Stephanie Plum, although I'm not a fan of those books and family nearly as much.

The romance is still smoking and finally Nevada opens her heart more to Rogan – seriously, who could resist? And yes, readers will be happy with their relationship in all the bedroom ways too.

“Maybe I should roll down the window to let some of the sexual tension out.”

Throw in the series natural darkness with demented family politics and some creepy moments? Check. Toss in some serious romance and smoldering Rogan? Check. Throw in a detailed mystery with plenty of action scenes? Check. Top it off with more character development, more revealed about Nevada’s family, and you have another winner in the series. Seriously, read it.

Why a small shaving off the stars to give it a 4.5 instead of a 5? There were a few developments that bugged me with how Nevada acted with her power, I didn’t dig the give-up attitude with Rogan if she had to do a particular thing in the end, and a few questions made me nervous. Overall though I have confidence it will turn out fine, which it did since I’ve read the third book before doing this review. All is well again in the end. show less