Nico's Fire by Sui Lynn is the second book in the Elements of Fire series.

After the world was ravaged by war, lawlessness was rampant until the Church took control, dividing the world into sections under the ruling of a priest. Unfortunately, this left a lot of control to the local priests without much oversight and in some cases; they would take advantage of the situation. The Pope has individuals like Jude, as Jesuit Inquisitors, who look into allegations of clergy abuse and report directly to him. Their identity is kept secret so they can perform their job without interference. On one mission, Jude became friends with the Earth Elemental Evan, and after an attack, his powers were so strong that they woke the hidden ability to create fire in Jude. Even though Jude is afraid, he goes where the Pope sends him, but unknown forces continually attack him and his two gargoyle guardians, Skye and Fin, until they are finally overpowered, leaving Jude badly hurt. Nico, a Daemon, sees a flying gargoyle and when he goes to investigate he finds a smoking ruin and his mate, Jude. Nico has waited a long time to find his mate, but he never expected his mate would be human. Fin arrives telling Nico about Jude's background and after learning about the last fight, he thinks that Jude is the Fire Elemental. Jude awakens and is scared that he might be placing Nico and his friends in danger. Will Nico and Jude get the chance to explore their bond before Jude is attacked again?

This story started with a bang and never let up through to the very end. I can't imagine how Jude felt when he started creating fire, knowing that the church teaches that only evil entities have that ability. Jude's initial fear of hurting Nico was understandable, but when he realized that Nico could make fire too, his happiness was wonderful to experience. The idea that Daemons live forever, never knowing if they will ever find their mate must have been unbearable for them to endure. The abilities that manifested in Jude were incredible to behold as they unfolded. The growing relationship between Jude and Nico was beautiful and when you add their paranormal abilities to it, the story held me spell bound. As the characters from the first story returned, the complexity of the plot was enhanced. There are still unanswered questions that will have to wait until the next book in the Elements of Fire series to be revealed.

Reviewed by: Teresa