Book Review: Night of Fire by Nico Rosso

Night of Fire
Author: Nico Rosso
Series: Ether Chronicles, book 2
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release Date: July 31, 2012
ISBN-10: 0062201093
ISBN-13: 978-0062201096
Source: From Edelweiss
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For more information visit Nico Rosso's website


In Night of Fire, the second book in The Ether Chronicles, Tom returns home to Thornville. He left years ago and joined the army making him an Upland Ranger. On his way home he encounters a mining machine. Once in Thornville he meets the lover he left, Rosa, who is now the sheriff. He watches her deal with some rowdy men, and they soon learn the men were sent by the same people with the mining machine. The mining machine is heading straight for the town, and doesn’t care who it flattens. It is up to Rosa and Tom to save the town.

Night of Fire is a western Steampunk. It isn’t all that long, and only takes place over two days. Tom returns to Rosa to find her unattached. He wastes no time scooping her up on his metal horse and heading off into the sunset to beat up some bad guys. The story is about the action, and the short adventure. They dodge bullets, blow stuff up, and everything in-between. It mentions very briefly the characters in the past book, but it lacks the feel of a broad world the first book seemed to have.

The major problem is that it lacked in romance. The steamy scene here isn’t so steamy. I felt no buildup of romantic tension between the two of characters, and was more than a little disappointed. It doesn’t help that Rosa is the one forgiving Tom. We don’t spend a lot of time in her head other than her just telling us stuff. Her character was thin. She tells the reader how hot she is for Tom, how her anger is going away (not that I ever got that she was angry at all), and later she tells Tom how well it worked out because of the time that separated them.

The story mainly sticks to Tom who is just glad to be accepted back into Rosa’s good graces. Instead of gratified and happy for their budding romance I felt irritated that she just let him move back into her life. It kind of seems that because Tom, without asking, helps her wrangle villains, putting his life on the line for her and the town, that it is ample reason to forgive him. While this is brave of him, Thornville was also his town, and I didn’t understand how it was an acceptable reason to drop panties.

On a positive note this story has a ton of adventure. I don’t think it stands on its own tension, but if you are reading it for the Steampunk romp it does have that. Near misses are plentiful, as are strange inventions, and tons of western whooping. If you want a quick Steampunk adventure, it is what you are looking for, but I wouldn’t grab it for the romance.
My Rating: