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| The Fire Apprentice by Jane Buehler (Sylvania #5) Release Date: March 18, 2025 |
Jane, the female protagonist, is a character that was introduced briefly in earlier books. Like all of the books so far, you could read The Fire Apprentice as a standalone and wouldn't miss out on any of the present story. However, if you want a fuller picture of Sylvania, the different human and fairy (and dragon!) cultures, and the interrelationships between the sets of characters in each of the books, reading the whole series is enriching as well as just fun and satisfying.
Rowan, the male protagonist, is a new character even to a reader of the series. He's a fairy posing as a blacksmith's apprentice to check up on Jane, whom he feels guilty about because he provided the love potion that allowed another fairy to seduce her and steal their child. Jane and her daughter, Elle, are living with other women duped by fairy men, along with their now-rescued half-fairy children, at the beginning of the book. But things take a swift turn when a dragon swoops in, stealing Elle, and throwing Jane and Rowan together on a journey to bring her back.
I love how Buehler dispenses quickly with the call to action, so the reader can focus on the characters, and their urgency to figure out how to trust each other with Jane's young daughter at stake. It turns out that Rowan knows more about dragons than he's letting on, and also that Elle may be safer than one would guess. In fact, Jane may have an altogether different dilemma than the one she thought--every gentle twist is designed to tease out the nuances of these characters--not just their trauma, but how they've grown from their past, and how they will grow toward each other over the course of the book.
The pun-ny guessing game of who actually is "the fire apprentice" never got old for me throughout the book--the natural guess changes from beginning, middle, to end, and all of our characters learn more about dealing with (literal and metaphorical) fire, dragons, and themselves. The portrayal of dragons is different from what I've seen in other fantasy books, and nicely fits the cozy yet sometimes tumultuous Sylvania world.
Finally, the book deals beautifully with issues of chronic pelvic pain and vaginismus, which is something I don't think I've ever seen in any book, romance or not (Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer deals with chronic pelvic pain but not vaginismus), and presents solutions that are rooted in Jane's as well as Rowan's desires and creativity.
Noting the above, I wouldn't read this if you don't like open-door romance, but if you do, and you are looking to curl up with a cozy romantasy by a fire this late winter/early spring, I highly recommend The Fire Apprentice.
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