Diamond Fire

A Hidden Legacy Novella

De: Ilona Andrews

Narrado por: Renee Raudman, Emily Rankin

Nevada Frida Baylor and Connor Ander Rogan cordially invite you to join their wedding celebration. Summoning, weather manipulation, and other magical activities strictly forbidden.

Catalina Baylor is looking forward to wearing her maid of honor dress and watching her older sister walk down the aisle. Then the wedding planner gets escorted off the premises, the bride’s priceless tiara disappears, and Rogan's extensive family overruns his mother’s home. Someone is cheating, someone is lying, and someone is plotting murder.

To make this wedding happen, Catalina will have to do the thing she fears most: use her magic. But she’s a Baylor, and there’s nothing she wouldn't do for her sister's happiness. Nevada will have her fairy-tale wedding, even if Catalina has to tear the mansion apart brick by brick to get it done.

©2018 Ilona Gordon and Andrew Gordon (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Narrator was a disappointment

Renee Raudman, one of my favorite narrators, only read the opening. The rest of the book was read by someone else and she is only ok.

I can hardly wait for the next book...

What a wonderful novella... Figuratively, this is a passing of the baton... Nevada is getting married, and is passing her duties of running the family owned detective agency to her sister Catalina... and even before the marriage takes place, Catalina gets her first job...

This story is actually a service to Ilona's fans, who self describe themselves as the BDH (Book Devouring Horde), but in reality, this would be a great place to step into the series, even if you've never read the previous stories! Ilona Andrews is extremely adept at giving just enough backstory, without inundating you with detail!
This is Catalina's first real appearance as a solid character... and Catalina is Absolutely Awesome! She gets to exercise her power, without a catastrophic outcome, and Leon is more than ready to play backup to protect Catalina and the rest of his family. Oh yeah, you're gonna love Leon... just wait and see!

This audio book is narrated by a familiar favorite, Renee Raudman playing Nevada and a new voice for Ilona Andrews fans, Emily Rankin who plays Catalina, and I loved listening to this tale. This was was a sneaky fun intro, so the fans get a taste of Emily's work as she takes over narrating the Hidden Legacy series, Catalina's POV.

...And as intended, I can hardly wait for the next book!

Awesome

I loved the novella. My only complaint is that it wasn't a full novel. I can't wait for more to come out.

Perfect transition from Nevada to Catalina’s stories

I haven’t listened to Renee’s Rogan or Nevada so I wasn’t as invested in their voices. Without that bias, I was able to enjoy Catalina’s voice and what Emily did for the rest of the crew. I’m a little concerned about Alessandro’s voice because of the weird way she pronounces Sagredo, but that won’t stop me from getting the next audiobook. I recommend trying the sample first and not reading the negative reviews so it doesn’t color your judgement. I can understand the fan’s reluctance or dislike of the new narrator, as I am very particular about which audiobooks I will purchase (they’re so expensive!). But I would recommend Diamond Fire. Cute short read, lots of funny interactions between the sisters and cousins. I will always have a soft spot for Leon.

Don't be Scared!

I won’t lie. It took two years for me to finally get started on this book, even though I am in LOVE with the Hidden Legacy series.

So, I consume literature through audiobooks. I like to multitask. I like consistency. I love the narrator, Renne Raudman. She’s the voice of Ilona Andrew books. I love her voices. I love the accents. I feel like I’m listening to a friend. But for whatever reason, the Ilona Andrews team decided that they no longer wanted Raudman as a narrator for their series. Thus, introducing us to this new narrator.

I admit it. I was obstinate and refused to listen to Ilona Andrews without Renee Raudman, and the only person that hurt was myself. Because now I see that Emily Rankin is an okay narrator. She could be worse, that’s for sure. In any case, I missed out for two years! The heart of the books are still there, and that’s apparent with Diamond Fire.

We say goodbye to Nevada as Catalina takes up the reins of the narration. Catalina is shy and likes to use as little of her power as possible. We as readers are privy to her slow realization that she needs to open up and take control of her power instead of letting it control her. We’re introduced to a cool new type of mage who is a pretty cool character I’d like to read more about. We get to see more of Rogan’s family, for better or for worse. For the better part, we get to interact with Rogan’s mother, and she is definitely awesome sauce.

One: I would have liked the story to be a little longer. I think it could have been expanded.

Two: Catalina’s portion could have stayed the same. I would have actually liked one more little send off from Nevada, and have a little ending passage with her Honeymoon or Wedding night with Rogan.

Three: As always, there needs to be more Augustine, haha. But really…where’s his book? I’d read that so fast.

Overall, I am so happy that I came back to this series. I feel like I’m coming back home! Moral of the story—don’t knock a narration until you’ve tried it.

Fun but too Short!

I was really sad when I realized this was only 3 hours long, but I couldn't resist using a credit on it anyway. This series is one of my favorites and I can't wait for the next full length book to come out!

The narrators were great. I love Renee Raudman already and Emily Rankin did great as the new story lead. This book isn't as exciting as the full length ones, but it fills a nice gap in the story as we get to know Nevada's sisters better.

Not what I expected, hence, 3stars

This is Catalina’s story. Nevada, Regan and the wedding were merely a backdrop. I suppose this could be a start of new arc in a story and that would be awesome. Did not expect it though, and fell a bit disappointed.
I liked dragon lady immensly and would like to see more of her in the future. Is there a future for this series? Please, say yes!

really good short story

It shows the different sides of the characters from the other books and opens up Catalina's character for the next part of the series I am a fan

Excellent listen!

Great novella! Emily Rankin's narration is very enjoyable.

The story had intrigue, and mayhem as expected. And although one can easily guess one of the plots (a fun one), the rest make up for it. Loved to see Connor (Mad) Rogan and Nevada's wedding. Loved meeting Rogan's mom, she is wonderful - the rest of her family, not so much. And we get closure in a matter that has been around since the first story of the Hidden Legacy world came out. The insight into Catalina's power was surprising - there is more to her than first disclosed.

I highly recommend this novella. My greedy self would have wished for a whole book, but I take what I can get - I LOVE this series! :)

Five Star all around, and can't wait to see what comes next!

You've done it again!

Another nearly perfect book! These characters continue to fascinate me and their stories intrigue me until I want to read them over and over and over again!