Author: Cynthia Eden
Series: Phoenix Fire #3
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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An Old Flame
Cassie Armstrong has plenty to atone for. The daughter of the most immoral researcher ever to pick up a scalpel, she's determined to use her own brilliance in genetics to repair the damage her family has done to the paranormals. Especially Dante, the first of the phoenixes, the one they call the Immortal. He's been haunting her dreams since she was a little girl, and she's been trying to ease his pain for almost as long. If only he remembered any of it. . .
Dante doesn't know what Cassie's story is. He almost doesn't care. The minute he sees her, all he can think is mine. But there's more to the pretty little doctor than meets the eye. And Dante isn't the only one to notice. He can't trust her, but he can't stay away--and if he wants to learn her secrets, he's going to have to fight like hell to keep them both alive. . .
Oh my God, WOW!
Playing with fire was way beyond my expectations!
The Phoenix series was like a roller-coaster for me. The first book was beyond amazing, the second one I didn't really liked much but this one was... abso-fucking-lutely incredible!
Cynthia Eden always manages to surprise me. This book was the best surprise ever!
Enter Dante. Dante, aka the Immortal one, is the most powerfull and oldest phoenix based on the Genesis informaton. Dante has been held a prisoner in the Genesis facilities as long as Cassie can remember.
Cassie has known Dante since she was just eight. From the very beginning she knew that Dante was the good guy and always tried to help him. Now years later, she's trying to do the good thing by finding a cure for all the "expiriments" her brother and father conducted. But as briliant as she is, finding a cure isn't that easy. She needs a little miracle to help her friends/patients and she just found it! The phoenix's tears can heal everything and nobody knows that better than Cassie. Is Dante willing to cry for Cassie once again?
The danger is closer than they think and they will do anything to have Cassie as part of their team. Old and new enemies collided in the future Cassie and Dante and trying to create...
I really loved Dante! He was so tortured by both his past before Cassie and his past with her, but yet he was strong and determined to survive and protect Cassie. Dante has died so many times while into the Genesis program that his memories aren't intact. It's hard to tell if it's a memory or just a dream. Yet every time he rises from the ashes after a death he's always searching for her, even when he doesn't recognise her, he knows that something's missing from his life and that's Cassie. Being the daughter of the man who actually created Genesis, Cassie hasn't had an easy life. Cassie and her brother have been their father's guinea pigs since they were children. The first time he "killed" her, she was just eight. But Cassie never wanted to be like her father or brother. Instead, she wanted to help the people around her and that's what she did. Above everything though, Cassie wants to help the only man she's always loved, Dante.
Cassie and Dante's love story was epic! I fell for them so fast. Their story was heart-breaking and yet healing as well. How can you love a man so deeply when he doesn't even remember you is beyond me, but Cassie loved her Dante even then. They were both so strong, protective of the people they loved and loyoal. Dante was the typical alpha hero, badass, arrogant, hot-hot-hot and territorial. At the same time, I can say that he had a very hard/unexpected past and that made him very wary of the other phoenixes and people. On the other hand, Cassie always tried to see the good in people, she wanted to help the others, she was very kind despite the cruel way she was brought up, she never gave up, she was so selfless but she had a mind of her own and was very stubborn! Cassie was such a mystery!
Playing with fire was a stupendous book! It was packed with action, many twists and turns, lots of suspense and of course romance. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! Once I finished it, I immediately re-read it! The book had a nice flow but yet the romance was never rushed. We already know that Cassie loves him but that doesn't mean that Dante feels the same. He's confused, doesn't really know what love is but what he does know is that Cassie is meant to be his. They were so perfect together. The epilogue will probably just blow you away, personally it was my favourite part of the book!
As always the secondary characters played major roles in this book. We have Trace, who we know from the first book in the series. Trace is Eve's bff and a werewolf shifter who was injected him with Lycan-70, a serum that brings out the beast and Cassie is trying to help him. Then we have Vaughn, who we have also met in a previous book. Vaughn was a vampire who was infected by a virous that affects vamps and became really violent. Vaughn is one of Cassie's patient's as well. I actually loved both of them and I can't wait to read their story. I really hope they get one. I simply cannot accept that this book is the end of the series! We also got to see Cain and Eve, the couple from the first book in the series. It was very interesting seeing how far they have come, really loved them!
This book was an exceptional addition to the series. Another 5 stars for Cynthia! Can't say I'm surprised since most of her books are 5 stars for me and this was no exception. I can't wait to read more!
Highly recommended!
**ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
