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What if you could edit memories with a single touch?
The world-that-was is gone, lost to everything except living memory . . . but remembering comes at a terrible price. Sixty-two years after the apocalypse, a new society has emerged from the ashes of the old world where highly valued memories are traded and nostalgia is worth dying—and even killing—for.
Enslaved by a cruel master, Sephone Winter is forced to use her rare ability to manipulate memories to numb the darkest secrets of the ruling aristocracy.
Then Lord Adamo appears, speaking of a powerful relic capable of permanently erasing memories and recovering Sephone’s own lost childhood. But not everything about the young lord is as it seems, and soon Sephone must choose between helping Lord Adamo forget his past or journeying deep into the land of Lethe, where the truth about who she really is might finally be revealed . . . and a long desired future restored.
The Nightingale Trilogy is a fantasy transformation of Hans Christian Andersen's beloved 1843 tale The Nightingale, with echoes of the myths of Hades and Persephone.
The world-that-was is gone, lost to everything except living memory . . . but remembering comes at a terrible price. Sixty-two years after the apocalypse, a new society has emerged from the ashes of the old world where highly valued memories are traded and nostalgia is worth dying—and even killing—for.
Enslaved by a cruel master, Sephone Winter is forced to use her rare ability to manipulate memories to numb the darkest secrets of the ruling aristocracy.
Then Lord Adamo appears, speaking of a powerful relic capable of permanently erasing memories and recovering Sephone’s own lost childhood. But not everything about the young lord is as it seems, and soon Sephone must choose between helping Lord Adamo forget his past or journeying deep into the land of Lethe, where the truth about who she really is might finally be revealed . . . and a long desired future restored.
The Nightingale Trilogy is a fantasy transformation of Hans Christian Andersen's beloved 1843 tale The Nightingale, with echoes of the myths of Hades and Persephone.
392 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2022
25 people are currently reading
1175 people want to read
About the author
J.J. Fischer
11 books261 followersJasmine’s writing dream began with the anthology of zoo animals she painstakingly wrote and illustrated at age five, to rather limited acclaim. Thankfully, her writing (but not her drawing) has improved since then. She is a clinically-trained psychologist but no, she cannot read your mind. When she isn’t killing defenseless house plants, Jasmine enjoys devouring books, dabbling in floristry, playing the piano, eating peanut butter out of the jar, and wishing it rained more often. Jasmine is married to David, and together they make their home a couple of hours’ north of Sydney, Australia, where they live to satisfy the every whim of their ginger overlord cat, Simba.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 140 reviews
January 10, 2024
5⭐️ (second read through= 5⭐️)
Wooooo! This book is so so GOOD!!!!! The magical elements, the complex relationships, the political conflict….easy 5 stars!
Christian YA fantasy ; First Person ; Past Tense
Sephone is a Mem….a memory manipulator. She’s been raised by a guardian who leaves Sephone feeling used & neglected.
Her path crosses with Lord Damian Adamo who is mourning the brutal murders of his wife and daughter. Circumstances force them on the run with Damian’s two body guards, a unique wolf and free-spirited truth-teller who has a penchant for causing mischief.
If you like fantasy, READ THIS BOOK!!
Quotes:
"Gifts were always for OTHER people..." - Sephone
"Pain deferred is only pain doubled..." - Dorian
"I wont put my hope in temporary treatments. Not when there is a cure." - Dorian
"Vulnerability and courage are brothers..." - Dorian
Wooooo! This book is so so GOOD!!!!! The magical elements, the complex relationships, the political conflict….easy 5 stars!
Christian YA fantasy ; First Person ; Past Tense
Sephone is a Mem….a memory manipulator. She’s been raised by a guardian who leaves Sephone feeling used & neglected.
Her path crosses with Lord Damian Adamo who is mourning the brutal murders of his wife and daughter. Circumstances force them on the run with Damian’s two body guards, a unique wolf and free-spirited truth-teller who has a penchant for causing mischief.
If you like fantasy, READ THIS BOOK!!
Quotes:
"Gifts were always for OTHER people..." - Sephone
"Pain deferred is only pain doubled..." - Dorian
"I wont put my hope in temporary treatments. Not when there is a cure." - Dorian
"Vulnerability and courage are brothers..." - Dorian
December 21, 2022
What an absolutely wonderful book! The characters are so real and complex, the world is artfully depicted, and I didn’t want to put this book down! I’m in love with this story on so many levels and I cannot wait to see more from this author and especially in this series.
September 4, 2025
This book lived up to the hype!! It was SO GOOD!!! 😍😍😍 thanks for the rec, Sharon!!
reread review:
Review is for the whole trilogy.
Genre: Christian Fantasy
Rating: 5 stars
Do I recommend it? Yes!!
This is my second time reading this trilogy. I decided to review this trilogy as one because I can’t separate it in my head. It’s all one story to me.
The Nightingale Trilogy is a tension filled tale. I love the story but I’m also always ready for the ending. These books just leave you feeling so hungry for wholeness. For the hope that Christ offers.
Book 1 doesn’t have many Christian elements, nor does book 2. But both leave you with such a longing for hope. In book 3 a lot more of the Christian elements come in.
This trilogy shows the darkness in such a way that the light is even more visible. We see the strong contrast between extreme hopelessness and hope.
Oh. And the betrayal. Oh the betrayal. There is some seriously painful betrayal that happens in this book. Heartbreaking some of it. Why, Fischer, why? 😭💔
The world building with the altars is pretty neat. Getting to see the negatives behind their powers and watching those things be redeemed is beautiful. I really like the way Fischer built this world. And also, the whole idea of how this world is like post-apocalyptic or something is pretty neat to me. I don’t read dystopian so I’m sure this is a common theme in those types of books. But to me it was something new.
I love these characters so much. Sephone is such a broken but beautiful hope filled young lady. And Dorian is just running from his past so much that he’s blind to the present. (Blind and stupid. Come on, Dorian.)
And Cass, dear sweet broken goofy Cass. He’s just searching for something. And he’s searching in the wrong places. He’s so hungry for the hole within him to be filled. I’m just now starting Caligo and I can’t wait to see where Fischer takes his story.
And then we have the three bodyguards, Bear, Bas, and Jewel. Does she count as a bodyguard?? Or just a friend? They’re written so well and they feel so real. I love how Fischer has written all of her characters.
These characters are all real to me in a sense. They’re so well written. It does feel more plot driven since it has a strong plot that is determining what happens but the characters are also very deep. One reason I often prefer character driven to plot driven is because the characters in plot driven stories tend to be weaker and more shallow and the characters often make or break a story for me.
I cannot recommend this series enough.
Content:
Language- 0/5
Violence- 1/5 *
Sexual- 0/5 **
*Some gory descriptions of wounds and war violence but it didn’t really bother me.
**No sexual content, but there was romantic tension.
These books were clean. Thank you for reading this review and thank you, J. J. Fischer, for writing such a wonderful story for us!
reread review:
Review is for the whole trilogy.
Genre: Christian Fantasy
Rating: 5 stars
Do I recommend it? Yes!!
This is my second time reading this trilogy. I decided to review this trilogy as one because I can’t separate it in my head. It’s all one story to me.
The Nightingale Trilogy is a tension filled tale. I love the story but I’m also always ready for the ending. These books just leave you feeling so hungry for wholeness. For the hope that Christ offers.
Book 1 doesn’t have many Christian elements, nor does book 2. But both leave you with such a longing for hope. In book 3 a lot more of the Christian elements come in.
This trilogy shows the darkness in such a way that the light is even more visible. We see the strong contrast between extreme hopelessness and hope.
Oh. And the betrayal. Oh the betrayal. There is some seriously painful betrayal that happens in this book. Heartbreaking some of it. Why, Fischer, why? 😭💔
The world building with the altars is pretty neat. Getting to see the negatives behind their powers and watching those things be redeemed is beautiful. I really like the way Fischer built this world. And also, the whole idea of how this world is like post-apocalyptic or something is pretty neat to me. I don’t read dystopian so I’m sure this is a common theme in those types of books. But to me it was something new.
I love these characters so much. Sephone is such a broken but beautiful hope filled young lady. And Dorian is just running from his past so much that he’s blind to the present. (Blind and stupid. Come on, Dorian.)
And Cass, dear sweet broken goofy Cass. He’s just searching for something. And he’s searching in the wrong places. He’s so hungry for the hole within him to be filled. I’m just now starting Caligo and I can’t wait to see where Fischer takes his story.
And then we have the three bodyguards, Bear, Bas, and Jewel. Does she count as a bodyguard?? Or just a friend? They’re written so well and they feel so real. I love how Fischer has written all of her characters.
These characters are all real to me in a sense. They’re so well written. It does feel more plot driven since it has a strong plot that is determining what happens but the characters are also very deep. One reason I often prefer character driven to plot driven is because the characters in plot driven stories tend to be weaker and more shallow and the characters often make or break a story for me.
I cannot recommend this series enough.
Content:
Language- 0/5
Violence- 1/5 *
Sexual- 0/5 **
*Some gory descriptions of wounds and war violence but it didn’t really bother me.
**No sexual content, but there was romantic tension.
These books were clean. Thank you for reading this review and thank you, J. J. Fischer, for writing such a wonderful story for us!
December 8, 2024
Full disclosure, I'm on Enclave Publishing's street team and received an advanced reader copy of this book as a reward for participating, but I was not required to read the book, much less write a review. The following review is my honest opinion.
I can count the number of post-apocalyptic books I've read on one hand, so when I realized that's what Calor by J.J. Fischer was, I was curious to find out what I though of it.
This story takes inspiration from Han's Christian Anderson's fairytale "The Nightingale" in which an emperor comes to love the song of a nightingale only to later reject it for the song of a mechanical bird. But then the emperor gets sick and the real nightingale's song heals him. I could definitely see some of that inspiration in the story. Our main character, Sephone basically *is* the nightingale as she was born with the gift of being able to see and manipulate the memories of others, and when she numbs a memory, it has a side effect of making the person sleep well for a while. Soon, she meets Lord Adamo who has a terrible memory in his head that he wants removed, not just numbed, but Sephone can't do something that extreme. They must find an ancient relic that is rumored to have this ability.
Sephone was my kind of heroine. Her strength was her gentle and caring spirit. She was willing to get along with and care about anyone if they would let her, and despite seeing inside the minds of so many wicked people, she didn't let it make her bitter. When she met people with good heart, she cherished them. She also chose to cling to hope in life and let the good things in the world outweigh the bad in her own mind.
Lord Adamo was a good contrast to Sephone in this regard. He had a good and loving heart, but as someone who loves deeply, he also feels and hurts deeply, and a great traumatic loss in his life had impacted him more than he thought he could handle. I loved the push and pull of his relationship with Sephone. Him trying to convince her that some things are simply too painful to bear while she tries to help him understand that if you were to delete a memory that is a core part of your being, especially one that is tied to love, no matter how painful it may now be, you may not be the same person anymore. I also really enjoyed other dynamics of their relationship. #itscomplicated and I won't spoil it, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed the complicatedness and I'm very curious how it's going to continue developing over time.
Then there was Cass. I loved his sassy attitude while also feeling that he needs a hug and some serious counseling.😛 Though, truly, I totally understand how being a walking lie-detector that never turns off would give a guy a complex after a while. I hope he'll find healing and genuine love in future books.
AND LADY JEWEL! If you're into animal sidekicks, then you'll love Jewel, who is a giant white wolf and is the BESTEST WOLF FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD, YES SHE IS. *gives all the treats* If anything bad happens to her I will absolutely be throwing books against the wall, I'm just saying. :p
In addition to the many interesting characters, the world of this book is super interesting and I really loved exploring it. It took a little adjustment at first as the author reveals things about how this post-apocalyptic world works slowly and naturally, but once I understood it, I fell in love. There's such a great combination of the strange with the familiar and I absolutely cannot wait to learn the answers to all of the mysteries we encounter in this first book!
The absolute only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is the simple fact that this book isn't a a complete story, it's the first book in a trilogy. It ends in a satisfying place where we see that the characters have grown since the beginning and learned new things (e.g. It's not a cliffhanger that will make you scream with frustration, I promise) but they haven't reached their goal or overcome their enemy yet. If I could give a separate rating for the quality of writing, though, that would definitely be 5 stars. Fischer creates such vivid descriptions and communicates emotions so well. I really like her style!
I recommend this to anyone who likes clean adult fantasy, fairytale inspired stories that aren't predictable, and deep characters and worlds.
Content Advisory:
This book is written for an adult audience, but is plenty clean enough for teens as well.
Violence:
There are several instances of action violence in this story where blood and bleeding get mentioned in relation to non-fatal wounds, but there are rarely any lengthy descriptions and never any graphic descriptions of the violence. Examples: Someone gets cut on the face and someone gets shot in the shoulder with an arrow. Both are stated to produce a lot of blood, but the wounds are not described in detail, nor are they fatal.
When Jewel the white wolf physically defends her friends, she is described with blood on her fur and face, but the one time her actions are described in detail is when she fights other wolves. There are mentions of biting and wolf blood during this scene. Another scene implies that she had to attack humans that were trying to hunt down and kill her friends, but her attack on these evil humans is not described.
Two people get bitten by "nightmare wolves" which are "altered" wolves that drip black venom from their fangs. There is moderate description of an ankle bite, including blood and punctures. The venom, however, is not deadly. It causes fever and hallucinations for several hours.
We learn that Damien's wife and daughter were brutally murdered in front of him in the past. There are hints at this violence when Sephone sees the murder replayed inside the mind of the murderer, but it's truly only hints at what happened, such as a very brief mention of the sight and smell of blood and a statement that Sephone realizes the identity of the people being murdered. The reader is spared any further detail.
Damien himself was almost gutted when his family was killed, and Jewel was seriously injured as well, but again, the reader is spared detail and we only know what happened because of the scars they both bear.
Someone slaps someone else.
Sephone is a slave at the start of the story and her slave master is cruel. He has a gift that lets him imbue crippling fear in others and typically uses this on his slaves vs physical abuse, but he does hit Sephone in the face once, bruising her.
Sexual:
Sephone has seen lustful memories inside people's heads when doing her job of altering memories (Note: She's a slave and the job isn't optional), but there are no descriptive details about them other than knowing that Sephone is disgusted by them. She also expresses that drunk men have sometimes tried to behave inappropriately toward her, but again, no details, and her gift allows her to defend herself before these men can do damage.
A man kisses a woman without permission in order to hide from people who are chasing and wanting to kill him. The kiss is mildly described.
A different man kisses a woman on the forehead twice. Both times are intended as comfort due to illness or fear, not romance, but the woman has unrequited romantic feelings toward this man. (Her feelings are sweet and innocent and she loves him for his beautiful heart. There is some mild physical attraction, but never anything sensual or lengthy and this is not the woman's main focus.)
Because he thinks no one can truly love a human lie-detector, Cass is a womanizer, constantly getting drunk since it's the only thing that turns his uncontrollable lie-detector gift off and then having fleeting trysts with random women he then leaves. There are no sexual details about any of these incidents. We only know it happens because Sephone and Damien see him flirting with women and walking off to be alone with women. They both chastise him for this inappropriate behavior and try to convince him that his gift won't matter to the right woman.
Language:
Several mentions that someone cursed or muttered words under their breath, but no swears are ever written out.
Drug/alcohol:
Someone almost gets knocked out by a drug-soaked cloth over their face.
The slave master who owns Sephone also owns a tavern where alcoholic beverages are served. There are many mentions of drinking and drunk people, but it's never glamorized. We see the negative effects of alcohol more often than not.
Alters who have the memory ability like Sephone does can distill and extract the essence of memories and put them into bottles that people can drink in order to experience the memories secondhand. These captured memories are not inherently drug or alcohol-like and can be used innocently, such as someone who has no access to strawberries being able to sort of taste them by experiencing someone else's memory of them. But these memories are sometimes treated as drugs/alcohol as some people chose to obsess over imbibing second-hand memories instead of living in real life.
Magic:
Some people in this story world are called "alters" or "gifted" which means they were born with some kind of special power. Examples include everything from seeing the memories inside people's minds, imbuing courage, fear, or sorrow in another person, exuding strands of light that change colors depending on if a person tells the truth or lies, and creating fireballs. None of these gifts existed before the previous society had its apocalyptic event. Whatever it was that destroyed the old world created smoke/fog/mist that, when some the survivors of the apocalypse were exposed to it, it caused some of them to bear children with the new "gifts." It's called magic by the people in the story world even as the description sounds distinctly like genetic mutation.
The aforementioned smoke/fog/mist continues to linger in the atmosphere in some locations, blocking out the sun like clouds. In places where it lingers the most heavily it can cause extreme storms that create multicolored lightning.
Spiritual:
The author and publisher of this book are Christian. There are brief, passing mentions that some people in this story world believe in multiple lower-case "g" gods that may or may not exist or impact world events, but this doesn't get discussed in particular depth, nor do the characters seem to have extremely strong opinions or beliefs about the matter. The author mentions in her acknowledgments at the end of the book that a friend helped her develop the spiritual themes in this book and "especially" the second book, so, while it's just a theory, this reviewer suspect this element may get developed into more specifically Christian themes and beliefs later on as the characters continue learning about the world.
November 2024 Edited to Add:
I can count the number of post-apocalyptic books I've read on one hand, so when I realized that's what Calor by J.J. Fischer was, I was curious to find out what I though of it.
This story takes inspiration from Han's Christian Anderson's fairytale "The Nightingale" in which an emperor comes to love the song of a nightingale only to later reject it for the song of a mechanical bird. But then the emperor gets sick and the real nightingale's song heals him. I could definitely see some of that inspiration in the story. Our main character, Sephone basically *is* the nightingale as she was born with the gift of being able to see and manipulate the memories of others, and when she numbs a memory, it has a side effect of making the person sleep well for a while. Soon, she meets Lord Adamo who has a terrible memory in his head that he wants removed, not just numbed, but Sephone can't do something that extreme. They must find an ancient relic that is rumored to have this ability.
Sephone was my kind of heroine. Her strength was her gentle and caring spirit. She was willing to get along with and care about anyone if they would let her, and despite seeing inside the minds of so many wicked people, she didn't let it make her bitter. When she met people with good heart, she cherished them. She also chose to cling to hope in life and let the good things in the world outweigh the bad in her own mind.
Lord Adamo was a good contrast to Sephone in this regard. He had a good and loving heart, but as someone who loves deeply, he also feels and hurts deeply, and a great traumatic loss in his life had impacted him more than he thought he could handle. I loved the push and pull of his relationship with Sephone. Him trying to convince her that some things are simply too painful to bear while she tries to help him understand that if you were to delete a memory that is a core part of your being, especially one that is tied to love, no matter how painful it may now be, you may not be the same person anymore. I also really enjoyed other dynamics of their relationship. #itscomplicated and I won't spoil it, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed the complicatedness and I'm very curious how it's going to continue developing over time.
Then there was Cass. I loved his sassy attitude while also feeling that he needs a hug and some serious counseling.😛 Though, truly, I totally understand how being a walking lie-detector that never turns off would give a guy a complex after a while. I hope he'll find healing and genuine love in future books.
AND LADY JEWEL! If you're into animal sidekicks, then you'll love Jewel, who is a giant white wolf and is the BESTEST WOLF FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD, YES SHE IS. *gives all the treats* If anything bad happens to her I will absolutely be throwing books against the wall, I'm just saying. :p
In addition to the many interesting characters, the world of this book is super interesting and I really loved exploring it. It took a little adjustment at first as the author reveals things about how this post-apocalyptic world works slowly and naturally, but once I understood it, I fell in love. There's such a great combination of the strange with the familiar and I absolutely cannot wait to learn the answers to all of the mysteries we encounter in this first book!
The absolute only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is the simple fact that this book isn't a a complete story, it's the first book in a trilogy. It ends in a satisfying place where we see that the characters have grown since the beginning and learned new things (e.g. It's not a cliffhanger that will make you scream with frustration, I promise) but they haven't reached their goal or overcome their enemy yet. If I could give a separate rating for the quality of writing, though, that would definitely be 5 stars. Fischer creates such vivid descriptions and communicates emotions so well. I really like her style!
I recommend this to anyone who likes clean adult fantasy, fairytale inspired stories that aren't predictable, and deep characters and worlds.
Content Advisory:
This book is written for an adult audience, but is plenty clean enough for teens as well.
Violence:
There are several instances of action violence in this story where blood and bleeding get mentioned in relation to non-fatal wounds, but there are rarely any lengthy descriptions and never any graphic descriptions of the violence. Examples: Someone gets cut on the face and someone gets shot in the shoulder with an arrow. Both are stated to produce a lot of blood, but the wounds are not described in detail, nor are they fatal.
When Jewel the white wolf physically defends her friends, she is described with blood on her fur and face, but the one time her actions are described in detail is when she fights other wolves. There are mentions of biting and wolf blood during this scene. Another scene implies that she had to attack humans that were trying to hunt down and kill her friends, but her attack on these evil humans is not described.
Two people get bitten by "nightmare wolves" which are "altered" wolves that drip black venom from their fangs. There is moderate description of an ankle bite, including blood and punctures. The venom, however, is not deadly. It causes fever and hallucinations for several hours.
We learn that Damien's wife and daughter were brutally murdered in front of him in the past. There are hints at this violence when Sephone sees the murder replayed inside the mind of the murderer, but it's truly only hints at what happened, such as a very brief mention of the sight and smell of blood and a statement that Sephone realizes the identity of the people being murdered. The reader is spared any further detail.
Damien himself was almost gutted when his family was killed, and Jewel was seriously injured as well, but again, the reader is spared detail and we only know what happened because of the scars they both bear.
Someone slaps someone else.
Sephone is a slave at the start of the story and her slave master is cruel. He has a gift that lets him imbue crippling fear in others and typically uses this on his slaves vs physical abuse, but he does hit Sephone in the face once, bruising her.
Sexual:
Sephone has seen lustful memories inside people's heads when doing her job of altering memories (Note: She's a slave and the job isn't optional), but there are no descriptive details about them other than knowing that Sephone is disgusted by them. She also expresses that drunk men have sometimes tried to behave inappropriately toward her, but again, no details, and her gift allows her to defend herself before these men can do damage.
A man kisses a woman without permission in order to hide from people who are chasing and wanting to kill him. The kiss is mildly described.
A different man kisses a woman on the forehead twice. Both times are intended as comfort due to illness or fear, not romance, but the woman has unrequited romantic feelings toward this man. (Her feelings are sweet and innocent and she loves him for his beautiful heart. There is some mild physical attraction, but never anything sensual or lengthy and this is not the woman's main focus.)
Because he thinks no one can truly love a human lie-detector, Cass is a womanizer, constantly getting drunk since it's the only thing that turns his uncontrollable lie-detector gift off and then having fleeting trysts with random women he then leaves. There are no sexual details about any of these incidents. We only know it happens because Sephone and Damien see him flirting with women and walking off to be alone with women. They both chastise him for this inappropriate behavior and try to convince him that his gift won't matter to the right woman.
Language:
Several mentions that someone cursed or muttered words under their breath, but no swears are ever written out.
Drug/alcohol:
Someone almost gets knocked out by a drug-soaked cloth over their face.
The slave master who owns Sephone also owns a tavern where alcoholic beverages are served. There are many mentions of drinking and drunk people, but it's never glamorized. We see the negative effects of alcohol more often than not.
Alters who have the memory ability like Sephone does can distill and extract the essence of memories and put them into bottles that people can drink in order to experience the memories secondhand. These captured memories are not inherently drug or alcohol-like and can be used innocently, such as someone who has no access to strawberries being able to sort of taste them by experiencing someone else's memory of them. But these memories are sometimes treated as drugs/alcohol as some people chose to obsess over imbibing second-hand memories instead of living in real life.
Magic:
Some people in this story world are called "alters" or "gifted" which means they were born with some kind of special power. Examples include everything from seeing the memories inside people's minds, imbuing courage, fear, or sorrow in another person, exuding strands of light that change colors depending on if a person tells the truth or lies, and creating fireballs. None of these gifts existed before the previous society had its apocalyptic event. Whatever it was that destroyed the old world created smoke/fog/mist that, when some the survivors of the apocalypse were exposed to it, it caused some of them to bear children with the new "gifts." It's called magic by the people in the story world even as the description sounds distinctly like genetic mutation.
The aforementioned smoke/fog/mist continues to linger in the atmosphere in some locations, blocking out the sun like clouds. In places where it lingers the most heavily it can cause extreme storms that create multicolored lightning.
Spiritual:
The author and publisher of this book are Christian. There are brief, passing mentions that some people in this story world believe in multiple lower-case "g" gods that may or may not exist or impact world events, but this doesn't get discussed in particular depth, nor do the characters seem to have extremely strong opinions or beliefs about the matter. The author mentions in her acknowledgments at the end of the book that a friend helped her develop the spiritual themes in this book and "especially" the second book, so, while it's just a theory, this reviewer suspect this element may get developed into more specifically Christian themes and beliefs later on as the characters continue learning about the world.
November 2024 Edited to Add:
March 11, 2025
4.5⭐ rounded up. [On reread, it’s a full 5⭐️ read for me!]
While this story has somber vibes, it did not feel "dark" to me, but rather poignant. I loved the writing, the plot, and characters. The author explores painful issues of the heart, and she does a wonderful job of it. The characters' interactions, especially when Cass was involved, were great. While a bit dark himself, he had a way of lightening the mood.
I wish the author had been more descriptive of what made Sephone such a powerful mem. There were no comparisons to other mems' abilities to help us understand Sephone's greater abilities. [On reread, I picked up on more of this, but I still think there could have been more comparisons to make the concept stronger.] I also think the setting, at least the post-apocalyptic aspect of it, could have been fuller, but I was going back and forth between listening and reading, and my listening skills aren't that great, so I might have missed details.😉 [Again, on reread, I noticed more details.]
It ends with a bit of cliffhanger, so you might want to have Lumen queued up and ready to go!
No CWs except for mentions of one character's filandering ways, but it is not presented in a positive light. This character is also frequently drunk, though, again, it is not presented positively. There are brief descriptions of murdered people and non-descript mentions of terrible things people have done.
While this story has somber vibes, it did not feel "dark" to me, but rather poignant. I loved the writing, the plot, and characters. The author explores painful issues of the heart, and she does a wonderful job of it. The characters' interactions, especially when Cass was involved, were great. While a bit dark himself, he had a way of lightening the mood.
I wish the author had been more descriptive of what made Sephone such a powerful mem. There were no comparisons to other mems' abilities to help us understand Sephone's greater abilities. [On reread, I picked up on more of this, but I still think there could have been more comparisons to make the concept stronger.] I also think the setting, at least the post-apocalyptic aspect of it, could have been fuller, but I was going back and forth between listening and reading, and my listening skills aren't that great, so I might have missed details.😉 [Again, on reread, I noticed more details.]
It ends with a bit of cliffhanger, so you might want to have Lumen queued up and ready to go!
No CWs except for mentions of one character's filandering ways, but it is not presented in a positive light. This character is also frequently drunk, though, again, it is not presented positively. There are brief descriptions of murdered people and non-descript mentions of terrible things people have done.
May 25, 2023
4 ½ 🌟
Really fun read! All the different gifts were so cool and I can't wait for book 2!
Really fun read! All the different gifts were so cool and I can't wait for book 2!
June 23, 2025
Yes, I finished this book in one day. In a couple hours. I know I’m crazy, but when you find a book this good, it’s impossible to put down, no matter how hard your eyes burn!
I was a little skeptical going into the book at first, and for a while, didn’t think it would be something I was interested in, but then I read the prologue and was immediately hooked. From then I couldn’t put the book down and HAD to know how it ended.
The characters were fantastic, and I actually do like the main girl (which is not a common thing for me) and the two main guys, Dorian and Cassius. I adore them both, but for different reasons 🥰
I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and ordered the rest of the trilogy before I even finished this book 🤣 I’m committed yall and there’s no going back!!
It gave me the same feels like a Morgan L Busse book, who has become one of my all time favorite authors, so that’s a high compliment! If this series and the rest of the books this author writes are just as good, I have a feeling she could also become a new fav!
I was a little skeptical going into the book at first, and for a while, didn’t think it would be something I was interested in, but then I read the prologue and was immediately hooked. From then I couldn’t put the book down and HAD to know how it ended.
The characters were fantastic, and I actually do like the main girl (which is not a common thing for me) and the two main guys, Dorian and Cassius. I adore them both, but for different reasons 🥰
I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and ordered the rest of the trilogy before I even finished this book 🤣 I’m committed yall and there’s no going back!!
It gave me the same feels like a Morgan L Busse book, who has become one of my all time favorite authors, so that’s a high compliment! If this series and the rest of the books this author writes are just as good, I have a feeling she could also become a new fav!
December 28, 2024
When I first finished this, I was so torn between giving it 4 or 5 stars! Obviously, in the end, it didn’t quite hit that 5-star level of enjoyment for me, but I still had a lot of fun reading it.
The concept of what Sephone could do with memories was so interesting! I’m curious to know why she is more powerful in her ability than other mems. Maybe that’ll be explored further in the next book?
Also the atmosphere of Caldera was cool. I’m always here for a good post-apocalyptic setting. But I didn’t feel like the world was fleshed out nearly enough. I want to know more, please!
The plot…eh. It seemed a little repetitive. That happens a lot with stories where the characters have to do a lot of traveling, though. I’m hoping the plot in the next book will grow more complex. It definitely has the potential for that… 👀
But the characters! They were the highlight for me. I really enjoyed all of their interactions with each other and quickly found myself invested in their struggles. I also really resonated with the idea that the ugly side of life helps us realize how beautiful love and other good things are.
The concept of what Sephone could do with memories was so interesting! I’m curious to know why she is more powerful in her ability than other mems. Maybe that’ll be explored further in the next book?
Also the atmosphere of Caldera was cool. I’m always here for a good post-apocalyptic setting. But I didn’t feel like the world was fleshed out nearly enough. I want to know more, please!
The plot…eh. It seemed a little repetitive. That happens a lot with stories where the characters have to do a lot of traveling, though. I’m hoping the plot in the next book will grow more complex. It definitely has the potential for that… 👀
But the characters! They were the highlight for me. I really enjoyed all of their interactions with each other and quickly found myself invested in their struggles. I also really resonated with the idea that the ugly side of life helps us realize how beautiful love and other good things are.
December 28, 2024
I enjoyed this!
My favorite character was definitely Cass!! Loved him! I know he’s not the greatest dude ever, but like, his personality tho 🥺😂
I also liked this quote!
"There's always good, Dorian. For us to recognize beauty, we have to have known ugliness. The comprehension of goodness requires some
familiarity with evil. For light to truly shine, we must first be surroundedby darkness. It's the way of the world, is it not? Death and devastation, followed by the Greening and life."
Welp, that’s ittt! Later peoples!
~EllieJellyBean ✌️
My favorite character was definitely Cass!! Loved him! I know he’s not the greatest dude ever, but like, his personality tho 🥺😂
I also liked this quote!
"There's always good, Dorian. For us to recognize beauty, we have to have known ugliness. The comprehension of goodness requires some
familiarity with evil. For light to truly shine, we must first be surroundedby darkness. It's the way of the world, is it not? Death and devastation, followed by the Greening and life."
Welp, that’s ittt! Later peoples!
~EllieJellyBean ✌️
October 23, 2023
I really enjoyed this novel. The main trio of characters were fantastic, and their relationships were the heart of the story for me. I also found the magic system of the novel utterly fascinating, particularly given the many moral questions raised by different ways of using it.
To put it another way: this is a novel you really can judge by its cover.
Very much looking forward to the sequel.
Rating: 4 Stars (Very Good).
To put it another way: this is a novel you really can judge by its cover.
Very much looking forward to the sequel.
Rating: 4 Stars (Very Good).
December 18, 2024
A man’s sight is never so sharply focused as when he is gazing behind him; it is only when he turns to survey his future that everything grows myopic and dim.
I wish I had the mental fortitude to write a full review but I do not. So…book fun. 3.5 stars!
February 28, 2023
This was such a spectacular story! I went into it without having a clue as to what it was about simply because the cover drew me in.
We learn from the prologue that Sephone and Dorian (Lord Adamo) meet when she's a wee girl drowning in a canal and he saves her. Then we meet her again when she's older and ready to escape being held by Cutter.
Sephone can see & experience things from other people's minds. It was such a fascinating idea to be able to do that, but then immediately realized how awful it would be. As we get to know Sephone more and the world in which she lives, this apocalyptic world comes to life through the author.
We meet Dorian again when he arrives at Cutter's tavern. We also meet one of my favorite characters Lady Jewel. He is man devastated from his past and is trying to get away from the pain. Sephone begins to have feelings for him and is willing to help ease the hurt in his mind, but he refuses. They end up setting out to find the relic that can help them both, but it's nowhere close to easy.
We also meet Cass, who, on the surface is superficial and only cares about one thing, the next woman who he can conquer. I think this may have been the one piece to this story I wasn't a fan of because it alludes to his one night stands and womanizing. His story unfolds at the same time as we learn more about Dorian and Sephone. He actually endears himself to me as time went on.
And for real, let's talk about Bear and Bas. These two fellas might be the bodyguards, but I just loved them. Brooding, protective, and loyal. How could anyone not love them as characters?
This world that the author creates came alive for me as the story progressed and with the cliffhanger of an ending, I was kicking myself for reading it before book two was already out. This is the type of book that will have you clamoring for more immediately!!
*I received the ARC for review. This is my personal opinion.
We learn from the prologue that Sephone and Dorian (Lord Adamo) meet when she's a wee girl drowning in a canal and he saves her. Then we meet her again when she's older and ready to escape being held by Cutter.
Sephone can see & experience things from other people's minds. It was such a fascinating idea to be able to do that, but then immediately realized how awful it would be. As we get to know Sephone more and the world in which she lives, this apocalyptic world comes to life through the author.
We meet Dorian again when he arrives at Cutter's tavern. We also meet one of my favorite characters Lady Jewel. He is man devastated from his past and is trying to get away from the pain. Sephone begins to have feelings for him and is willing to help ease the hurt in his mind, but he refuses. They end up setting out to find the relic that can help them both, but it's nowhere close to easy.
We also meet Cass, who, on the surface is superficial and only cares about one thing, the next woman who he can conquer. I think this may have been the one piece to this story I wasn't a fan of because it alludes to his one night stands and womanizing. His story unfolds at the same time as we learn more about Dorian and Sephone. He actually endears himself to me as time went on.
And for real, let's talk about Bear and Bas. These two fellas might be the bodyguards, but I just loved them. Brooding, protective, and loyal. How could anyone not love them as characters?
This world that the author creates came alive for me as the story progressed and with the cliffhanger of an ending, I was kicking myself for reading it before book two was already out. This is the type of book that will have you clamoring for more immediately!!
*I received the ARC for review. This is my personal opinion.
November 14, 2022
This book kept me up half the night with its captivating world and characters. Fischer completely immerses the reader in this dystopian-like world.
I loved everything about this book. The themes of hope, love, and light vs darkness were strong. Serophone was such an amazing character. She's so strong, but doesn't even seem to realize it. I wanted to cry with Dorian for all he's been through. And Cass...he has issues, but also hides pain. Bear, Bas, and Jewel were also great. I'm hoping to get to know more about them in the next book.
The character development, story arc, and pacing are wonderful. I cannot wait for the rest of this series!
*I received an ARC from Enclave. All opinions are my own.
I loved everything about this book. The themes of hope, love, and light vs darkness were strong. Serophone was such an amazing character. She's so strong, but doesn't even seem to realize it. I wanted to cry with Dorian for all he's been through. And Cass...he has issues, but also hides pain. Bear, Bas, and Jewel were also great. I'm hoping to get to know more about them in the next book.
The character development, story arc, and pacing are wonderful. I cannot wait for the rest of this series!
*I received an ARC from Enclave. All opinions are my own.
January 21, 2025
Had some cool and imaginative world building themes. I felt there was a lot of potential that it didn't quite deliver on. Some things seemed thrown in out of the blue that could have been excellent if built a little more. I personally didn't get into the characters, but it was a good story. 3.5 ⭐
October 30, 2022
Calor is a fascinating fantasy story with captivating characters living in a post-apocalyptic world.
Although a little slower-paced at times than I typically like, I enjoyed the story as a whole. The characters, world-building, powers/abilities, etc. were all well-conceived. The author is clearly setting up a longer story with this first book, and I look forward to finding out what happens next.
One of the main themes I noticed in this story is HOPE. Each character, in their own way, is hoping for something.
Other things I liked about Calor: the variety of alters' powers is interesting, Lady Jewel (the wolf) is an unusual and yet wonderful supportive character, the climax was thrilling, and the story ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger (which I can't decide if I liked or not). I also love the gorgeous cover art, chapter headings design, and map of The-World-That-Is.
Overall, Calor is a great first book and sets up this trilogy well. I would recommend this one to older teen (16+) and adult readers who like fantasy and/or dystopian fiction.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5/5 stars)
*I was given an ARC of Calor from the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my honest thoughts about this book.
Although a little slower-paced at times than I typically like, I enjoyed the story as a whole. The characters, world-building, powers/abilities, etc. were all well-conceived. The author is clearly setting up a longer story with this first book, and I look forward to finding out what happens next.
One of the main themes I noticed in this story is HOPE. Each character, in their own way, is hoping for something.
Other things I liked about Calor: the variety of alters' powers is interesting, Lady Jewel (the wolf) is an unusual and yet wonderful supportive character, the climax was thrilling, and the story ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger (which I can't decide if I liked or not). I also love the gorgeous cover art, chapter headings design, and map of The-World-That-Is.
Overall, Calor is a great first book and sets up this trilogy well. I would recommend this one to older teen (16+) and adult readers who like fantasy and/or dystopian fiction.
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5/5 stars)
*I was given an ARC of Calor from the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my honest thoughts about this book.
December 6, 2022
"𝑨 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 "
One of the things that I have realized from Calor is to not let the pain of the past hold you back. Instead, use it to have a better future.
Just finished the story and what a ride!
I have said this before, and will say it again, Dorian needs and deserves all the hug he could get!
Some chapters are a bit slow for me but understandable since it has to be told for the reader to grasp what is really happening.
I love how their power works. Their adventure, and the characters
I am torn between loving and hating Cass! 😅
You have to read the book to know more!
One of the things that I have realized from Calor is to not let the pain of the past hold you back. Instead, use it to have a better future.
Just finished the story and what a ride!
I have said this before, and will say it again, Dorian needs and deserves all the hug he could get!
Some chapters are a bit slow for me but understandable since it has to be told for the reader to grasp what is really happening.
I love how their power works. Their adventure, and the characters
I am torn between loving and hating Cass! 😅
You have to read the book to know more!
October 1, 2022
Unique magic, winter atmosphere, wolves, pain, love, danger, +more.
I crawled into bed in the evenings shivering despite warm covers because this book really transports you.
The only cons were: a character releasing a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and one character is a womanizer with no apparent regrets.
Overall fantastic read❤️Thank you J.J. Fischer for writing this story.
Go get your hands on this book!
I crawled into bed in the evenings shivering despite warm covers because this book really transports you.
The only cons were: a character releasing a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and one character is a womanizer with no apparent regrets.
Overall fantastic read❤️Thank you J.J. Fischer for writing this story.
Go get your hands on this book!
February 1, 2023
I need the next book... Like yesterday!
If you love fantasy, you need this book. It was perfect in every way and the writing is stella.
In a world very different from our own, where things like strawberries are but memories, we find ourselves wrapped up in a story of a girl enslaved because of her powers. The power to affect memories. Her life is a cycle of misery until one day her past walks in the door and makes her an offer, but if she takes it she will be on the run for her life....
If you love fantasy, you need this book. It was perfect in every way and the writing is stella.
In a world very different from our own, where things like strawberries are but memories, we find ourselves wrapped up in a story of a girl enslaved because of her powers. The power to affect memories. Her life is a cycle of misery until one day her past walks in the door and makes her an offer, but if she takes it she will be on the run for her life....
March 23, 2024
4 Stars ✨
Clean Fantasy
What if you could edit memories with a single touch?
Taking place 60 years after the apocalypse, the world is not what it once was. After different cataclysmic events, people would do anything for just a glimpse of the old. High valued memories are traded and nostalgia is worth dying and for some, killing for.
Sephone, orphaned and owned as a slave - has a gift, she’s a mem which means she can see and extract memories from other people’s minds. She’s highly sought after and keeps her master in business by the works she can preform. She’s tried to break free from him many times but has never succeeded.
Lord Adamo, after the brutal death of his wife and daughter, is looking for a way to break free from his memories to erase them all. He knows of a relic that can help, if only he could get his hands on a powerful Mem to journey with him on his quest. He comes across Sephone and does his best to convince her, but too afraid of her masters wrath and chains, she turns him down, without realizing she may have never even had a choice.
I really enjoyed this one! It was paced perfectly, clean and very character driven. I felt the writing was great. The only problem I personally had was with the world and its workings. I found it to have a couple holes where things were not explained fully which left me with quite a few questions. Even though that was a little annoying, the book and characters ran this ship. The more I read it didn’t matter that it didn’t feel at all like a dystopian or that I didn’t have all the answers to my questions. It was intriguing and interesting enough to keep me going. I’m looking forward to reading Lumen, which by the title - tells me it’s going to be about one of my favorite characters Cass from this installment. He brought such an edge to the plot and you really just can’t wait to know more about him. Would recommend!
Clean Fantasy
What if you could edit memories with a single touch?
Taking place 60 years after the apocalypse, the world is not what it once was. After different cataclysmic events, people would do anything for just a glimpse of the old. High valued memories are traded and nostalgia is worth dying and for some, killing for.
Sephone, orphaned and owned as a slave - has a gift, she’s a mem which means she can see and extract memories from other people’s minds. She’s highly sought after and keeps her master in business by the works she can preform. She’s tried to break free from him many times but has never succeeded.
Lord Adamo, after the brutal death of his wife and daughter, is looking for a way to break free from his memories to erase them all. He knows of a relic that can help, if only he could get his hands on a powerful Mem to journey with him on his quest. He comes across Sephone and does his best to convince her, but too afraid of her masters wrath and chains, she turns him down, without realizing she may have never even had a choice.
I really enjoyed this one! It was paced perfectly, clean and very character driven. I felt the writing was great. The only problem I personally had was with the world and its workings. I found it to have a couple holes where things were not explained fully which left me with quite a few questions. Even though that was a little annoying, the book and characters ran this ship. The more I read it didn’t matter that it didn’t feel at all like a dystopian or that I didn’t have all the answers to my questions. It was intriguing and interesting enough to keep me going. I’m looking forward to reading Lumen, which by the title - tells me it’s going to be about one of my favorite characters Cass from this installment. He brought such an edge to the plot and you really just can’t wait to know more about him. Would recommend!
November 14, 2024
No-spice romance. Rich world building. Fascinating magic system. Characters that feel real. Drama. I blew through the audiobooks for Calor and Lumen, and I'm excited for Memoria’s release!
March 13, 2024
《Falling in love, they called it. Because once you were falling it was impossible to catch yourself, and your fate depended entirely on the degree to which the ground you landed on would be forgiving.》
◇sephone: caring, sweet, haunted
◇dorian: loyal, determined, haunted
◇cassius: jaded, cynical, haunted
I was not expecting this book to be so incredibly written. JJ Fischer made me care about Cassius, which is remarkable, considering I normally strongly dislike characters with his particular flaw. Sephone, Dorian, and Cassius are all flawed and broken people, with no moral guide or hope, as they're living in a world where faith has died. But as Sephone notes, she can see light more clearly because of all the darkness she's witnessed. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the Nightingale Trilogy! Calor is a great fantasy dystopian novel for older teens and adults.
Content:
A major character has numerous casual love affairs, but nothing is on-page, and they're all just mentions.
Very mild romance (slow-burn, up to a forehead kiss).
An unwanted kiss.
Many references to and mentions of a brutal murder.
Mentions of various atrocities.
Some violence.
Ages 16+
◇sephone: caring, sweet, haunted
◇dorian: loyal, determined, haunted
◇cassius: jaded, cynical, haunted
I was not expecting this book to be so incredibly written. JJ Fischer made me care about Cassius, which is remarkable, considering I normally strongly dislike characters with his particular flaw. Sephone, Dorian, and Cassius are all flawed and broken people, with no moral guide or hope, as they're living in a world where faith has died. But as Sephone notes, she can see light more clearly because of all the darkness she's witnessed. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the Nightingale Trilogy! Calor is a great fantasy dystopian novel for older teens and adults.
Content:
A major character has numerous casual love affairs, but nothing is on-page, and they're all just mentions.
Very mild romance (slow-burn, up to a forehead kiss).
An unwanted kiss.
Many references to and mentions of a brutal murder.
Mentions of various atrocities.
Some violence.
Ages 16+
December 10, 2024
Re-read #1: Just as good the second time as it was the first- now on to Lumen and Memoria!
First read:
I ADORED THIS BOOK
The characters! The worldbuilding! The plot! All of it, I adore it! And it was soooo refreshing to pick up a gripping book, one that sucked me in, and not have to worry about content. I admit that I haven't picked up many Enclave books before, afraid that they'd be too preachy. 😅 But this wasn't that at all! It was exactly the kind of fantasy adventure story with lovable characters that I like, with good themes and clean content, and I need the next book immediately.
Also, the author seems like a lovely person and I need you all to know that the reason I bought this book was because of her acceptance speech at the Realm Makers Awards Banquet. 😂 Made my evening!
First read:
I ADORED THIS BOOK
The characters! The worldbuilding! The plot! All of it, I adore it! And it was soooo refreshing to pick up a gripping book, one that sucked me in, and not have to worry about content. I admit that I haven't picked up many Enclave books before, afraid that they'd be too preachy. 😅 But this wasn't that at all! It was exactly the kind of fantasy adventure story with lovable characters that I like, with good themes and clean content, and I need the next book immediately.
Also, the author seems like a lovely person and I need you all to know that the reason I bought this book was because of her acceptance speech at the Realm Makers Awards Banquet. 😂 Made my evening!
August 14, 2023
Calor is the first installment of a post-apocalyptic fantasy trilogy. I, under my own presumptions, first thought this was a YA fantasy; however, it’s an adult fantasy—despite the female MC releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding in one scene. It is a clean read overall in terms of content (some innuendo and a womanizer character, no profanity, some physical abuse, and typical violence and murder tied up in politics often found in fantasy novels) and could be read by upper/older young adult readers with discretion.
It definitely has a unique story world in which memories are valuable and altered individuals have the power to manipulate memories. In the dystopian society, memories, and therefore those who can manipulate them, are a hot commodity. Sephone is enslaved by a cruel master and forced to use her rare ability to manipulate memories, help noble men forget the pain of their darkest secrets, and extract memories to sale at her captor’s establishment. Despite working with the memories of others, Sephone doesn’t have her own memories of her life with her parents before being enslaved. She is counting down the days to her 21st birthday to get the memories her master has from her parents who he says are dead; but, a strange visitor helps her learn the promise of her treasured memories is a lie.
Soon, another stranger appears. Lord Adamo serves as a hero sweeping in to save Sephone from a cruel treatment in exchange for assistance on a quest to find an ancient artifact. He wants Sephone to use the relic to make him forget the love that was wrongly taken from him because Adamo thinks the grief now hinders him; but, how can Sephone help Lord Adamo forget the very thing she wants for herself?
My favorite part of the novel includes Jewel, the white wolf with a special gift who serves as an animal companion. Altered (gifted) animals AND weather is a really intriguing and unique element in the book. I also liked the strength Sephone possesses, and how her authenticity helps those around her even in small and subtle ways.
The book is mostly a character-based plot though there are some high-stakes action moments (more so in the last third of the book). It took over halfway of the book for me to be somewhat invested, though I don’t think that will be the case for all. It’s a dual POV but Sephone’s chapters are told in first-person whereas Lord Adamo’s—Dorian—chapters are told in third-person. Perhaps it is that I listened to such a complex fantasy narrative via audio, but, and I hate to say this, I found myself a little bored until the addition of Cass—the charming, sarcastic, and womanizing somewhat-comic-relief character who is altered himself, though different than the other party members. Though I do not condone his lifestyle, he provided a snarky element that was needed to balance the seriousness of everything out. The second half picks up in other areas, too, as secrets are revealed and the traveling party tracks clues to finding their prize as others hunt them. As the first book in a trilogy, there is a big cliffhanger at the end with more questions than answers offered.
There is a Grumpy vs. Sunshine trope, as seen with stoic and tortured male protagonist paired with hopeful and positive female protagonist, that a lot of readers will like. However, the seemingly one-sided slow burn, age-gap romance with a shadowed thread of a love triangle is not my personal preference and greatly impacted my overall enjoyment of the book. But I know that this will be the perfect combination for many readers (especially if the mixed tropes continue in the next book).
It’s definitely a solid fantasy novel, and, as it gets more interesting toward the end, I do plan to continue reading the trilogy. Readers who like adventure fantasy tales with a heavy romance subplot—that is an extremely possibly one-sided, slow-burn, age-gap romance tinged with a love triangle— and also stories threaded with hope and what that means will enjoy Calor for sure!
It definitely has a unique story world in which memories are valuable and altered individuals have the power to manipulate memories. In the dystopian society, memories, and therefore those who can manipulate them, are a hot commodity. Sephone is enslaved by a cruel master and forced to use her rare ability to manipulate memories, help noble men forget the pain of their darkest secrets, and extract memories to sale at her captor’s establishment. Despite working with the memories of others, Sephone doesn’t have her own memories of her life with her parents before being enslaved. She is counting down the days to her 21st birthday to get the memories her master has from her parents who he says are dead; but, a strange visitor helps her learn the promise of her treasured memories is a lie.
Soon, another stranger appears. Lord Adamo serves as a hero sweeping in to save Sephone from a cruel treatment in exchange for assistance on a quest to find an ancient artifact. He wants Sephone to use the relic to make him forget the love that was wrongly taken from him because Adamo thinks the grief now hinders him; but, how can Sephone help Lord Adamo forget the very thing she wants for herself?
My favorite part of the novel includes Jewel, the white wolf with a special gift who serves as an animal companion. Altered (gifted) animals AND weather is a really intriguing and unique element in the book. I also liked the strength Sephone possesses, and how her authenticity helps those around her even in small and subtle ways.
The book is mostly a character-based plot though there are some high-stakes action moments (more so in the last third of the book). It took over halfway of the book for me to be somewhat invested, though I don’t think that will be the case for all. It’s a dual POV but Sephone’s chapters are told in first-person whereas Lord Adamo’s—Dorian—chapters are told in third-person. Perhaps it is that I listened to such a complex fantasy narrative via audio, but, and I hate to say this, I found myself a little bored until the addition of Cass—the charming, sarcastic, and womanizing somewhat-comic-relief character who is altered himself, though different than the other party members. Though I do not condone his lifestyle, he provided a snarky element that was needed to balance the seriousness of everything out. The second half picks up in other areas, too, as secrets are revealed and the traveling party tracks clues to finding their prize as others hunt them. As the first book in a trilogy, there is a big cliffhanger at the end with more questions than answers offered.
There is a Grumpy vs. Sunshine trope, as seen with stoic and tortured male protagonist paired with hopeful and positive female protagonist, that a lot of readers will like. However, the seemingly one-sided slow burn, age-gap romance with a shadowed thread of a love triangle is not my personal preference and greatly impacted my overall enjoyment of the book. But I know that this will be the perfect combination for many readers (especially if the mixed tropes continue in the next book).
It’s definitely a solid fantasy novel, and, as it gets more interesting toward the end, I do plan to continue reading the trilogy. Readers who like adventure fantasy tales with a heavy romance subplot—that is an extremely possibly one-sided, slow-burn, age-gap romance tinged with a love triangle— and also stories threaded with hope and what that means will enjoy Calor for sure!
October 24, 2024
3.5 ⭐️. I enjoyed this clean fantasy novel. I had heard good things and wanted to read it. I liked the three main characters and of course, the wolf. I was intrigued by the magic systems. People can change or manipulate memories, others can heal and some can even impart courage. The grumpy sunshine trope is well done as well.
To save one of the characters they must find an ancient relic. In the meantime, secrets are revealed that hopefully expand and resolve in book 2.
To save one of the characters they must find an ancient relic. In the meantime, secrets are revealed that hopefully expand and resolve in book 2.
January 29, 2024
A fantastic beginning of an epic adventure! Calor holds all the details needed for a grand tale. With solid world-building and characters that steal your heart, it's no wonder this book is award-winning!
March 20, 2024
really enjoyed this one!
May 21, 2025
Calor is the first installment in the Nightingale saga, a completed epic fantasy trilogy followed by a standalone sequel. The entire series is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved short story, “The Nightingale,” and also includes notes of the Hades and Persephone myth. I was enraptured by Calor from the very beginning. The worldbuilding is fascinating, the characters are compelling and sympathetic, the writing is lovely and incredibly engaging, and the pacing never falters.
In this world, the largest form of currency are memories, which can be extracted for a price and sold in vials to the wealthy, whose gluttonous consumption of these memories allow them to ignore the broken world around them and live inside gilded recollections of happier times. Lovely memories are extracted, and dark memories muted, but mems, a type of alter who can access the memories of others. Alters are individuals born with supernatural gifts. Mems are but one type of alter among many. Some can heal, or inspire courage, or distinguish truth from falsehood. Then there are darker alters, those who use their gifts for harm.
Calor touches on some deep, heartfelt themes. We are shown the horrors of living with deep, unrelenting grief, and we see that contrasted with fervent hope, held even in the darkest of times. Through both their gifts and their blossoming friendships, the characters beautifully demonstrate the importance of allowing others to help bear your burdens, and how insisting on shouldering that load alone is in actuality a selfish decision, not a selfless one. We also see how you can’t divorce joy from sorrow; both your highest highs and your lowest lows are a part of your story, which falls apart when you try to extract the pain from it.
I immediately fell for the characters. Sephone is a powerful mem. She has been a slave for as long as she can remember, and recalls nothing of her parents or the first four years of her life. Dorian is a respected thane who has fallen from power. He’s good and noble down to his bones, but the traumatic loss of his family has left him so broken that he sees no point in even trying to reassemble the shattered pieces. And then there’s the secondary cast. Cass, a lumen who can’t control his powers of visible truth detection, unless he’s drunk and chasing a skirt. Bas and Bear, Dorian’s trusted bodyguards. And of course Jewel, a snow-white wolf with the understanding of a human. I adore well-crafted animal companions, and she’s among the best I’ve read.
There is a faith component to Calor, but it’s light. I have hope that faith is one of the components that will be delved into more deeply as the series progresses. The same could be said for the romance. There is yearning, though it’s mostly one-sided. I’m not sure if there will be development on that front, but the possibility exists. Fischer left herself so many elements to explore, so many questions to answer and so much room for her characters to grow. I’m excited to see what happens next.
There is not a single element of this story that I did not love. I was blown away by Fischer’s craftsmanship. While this is the first of her books that I’ve read, she has the talent and the writing chops to stand alongside Sanderson and Gwynne, Lynch and Lawrence and the host of other mainstream fantasy authors I’ve read and loved through the years. The world was fleshed out enough to be completely engaging and believable while still leaving so much room for interesting exploration in the next installments. And the characters stole my heart. I can’t wait to watch them grown through the rest of the series. There is a cliffhanger here, but as the trilogy and even the standalone sequel are complete and out in the world, that’s not something I want to complain about. Instead, it compels me to pick up the second book, Lumen, immediately. I’m not much of a binge reader, but I will absolutely be binging my way through every Nightingale book.
In this world, the largest form of currency are memories, which can be extracted for a price and sold in vials to the wealthy, whose gluttonous consumption of these memories allow them to ignore the broken world around them and live inside gilded recollections of happier times. Lovely memories are extracted, and dark memories muted, but mems, a type of alter who can access the memories of others. Alters are individuals born with supernatural gifts. Mems are but one type of alter among many. Some can heal, or inspire courage, or distinguish truth from falsehood. Then there are darker alters, those who use their gifts for harm.
Calor touches on some deep, heartfelt themes. We are shown the horrors of living with deep, unrelenting grief, and we see that contrasted with fervent hope, held even in the darkest of times. Through both their gifts and their blossoming friendships, the characters beautifully demonstrate the importance of allowing others to help bear your burdens, and how insisting on shouldering that load alone is in actuality a selfish decision, not a selfless one. We also see how you can’t divorce joy from sorrow; both your highest highs and your lowest lows are a part of your story, which falls apart when you try to extract the pain from it.
I immediately fell for the characters. Sephone is a powerful mem. She has been a slave for as long as she can remember, and recalls nothing of her parents or the first four years of her life. Dorian is a respected thane who has fallen from power. He’s good and noble down to his bones, but the traumatic loss of his family has left him so broken that he sees no point in even trying to reassemble the shattered pieces. And then there’s the secondary cast. Cass, a lumen who can’t control his powers of visible truth detection, unless he’s drunk and chasing a skirt. Bas and Bear, Dorian’s trusted bodyguards. And of course Jewel, a snow-white wolf with the understanding of a human. I adore well-crafted animal companions, and she’s among the best I’ve read.
There is a faith component to Calor, but it’s light. I have hope that faith is one of the components that will be delved into more deeply as the series progresses. The same could be said for the romance. There is yearning, though it’s mostly one-sided. I’m not sure if there will be development on that front, but the possibility exists. Fischer left herself so many elements to explore, so many questions to answer and so much room for her characters to grow. I’m excited to see what happens next.
There is not a single element of this story that I did not love. I was blown away by Fischer’s craftsmanship. While this is the first of her books that I’ve read, she has the talent and the writing chops to stand alongside Sanderson and Gwynne, Lynch and Lawrence and the host of other mainstream fantasy authors I’ve read and loved through the years. The world was fleshed out enough to be completely engaging and believable while still leaving so much room for interesting exploration in the next installments. And the characters stole my heart. I can’t wait to watch them grown through the rest of the series. There is a cliffhanger here, but as the trilogy and even the standalone sequel are complete and out in the world, that’s not something I want to complain about. Instead, it compels me to pick up the second book, Lumen, immediately. I’m not much of a binge reader, but I will absolutely be binging my way through every Nightingale book.
December 6, 2022
I’ll admit that I’m partial to the Darcentaria Duology, Fischer’s debut novels and my first exposure to her work, so I wasn’t sure how Calor would compare. But I’m thrilled to say I wasn’t disappointed. True to her mastery of the craft, Fischer’s writing, storytelling, and worldbuilding are just as strong in Calor, with the necessary differences of character, plot, setting, and other elements to make this new release stand on its own with equal pride. (You don’t have to be familiar with The Nightingale and the story of Hades and Persephone to appreciate Calor, but your reading experience will be extra fun if you can recognize the elements from these stories.)
And what a work to be proud of! Fischer drops you into the rich depths of her world and then sucks you even deeper with multi-layered intrigue, action, conflict, and emotion, all told in her beautiful and vivid writing style. I especially love her creative use of word pictures that both portray ideas and deepen the story world. I also continue to be astounded by—and appreciative of—the profound realism of her characters: the good, the bad, the ugly, the broken, the beautiful, the lost, and the hopeful. You name an element of humanity, someone shows it somewhere in a way you can relate to it. Unrelated, Fischer also demonstrates her marvelous ability to stick a crowbar straight into the strings of your heart and give it a good twist or two. (Not speaking from experience, of course . . .)
What makes this book stand out to me as a writer is the way Fischer places you in the middle of the story—events, settings, and character perspectives—not just in the beginning but throughout the entire book. From page one to the end you have just enough detail to understand the moment AND want to keep reading. Foregoing the longwinded explanations common to fantasy novels, Fischer writes in a way that makes you feel as if you ARE the character, you’re IN Nulla, you’re PART of the action—dumping you in the middle of the world as it is and slowly, layer by layer, revealing more and more about it and the characters in a strategic gradualness that both answers and raises more questions.
What stood out to me as a reader was the unique setting (especially for the first portion of the book), the memories and the magic system, and Lady Jewel. I LOVED Lady Jewel—not just because she’s a wolf (I mean, what book isn’t instantly made cooler by a wolf in the character cast?) but also because of the important role she plays despite her silence. She doesn’t speak, yet she communicates with other characters and participates in events, and frankly I’m intrigued by a non-human character who contributes so much to a story.
I was also intrigued by the whole concept of memories and the magic system throughout the book. Memories that can be numbed, preserved, and reused. Magical gifts that involve both emotions and, to a degree, some of the basic elements. I’m picky with fantasy magic, but I felt at home in this magic system and its role in the manipulation of memories that serves as the foundation of the story. Finally, I liked the bitter but unusual setting of Nulla, where most of the book takes place. With the post-apocalyptic winter of the country and the frozen canals of the city, I felt as if I were in a mashup of Holland and Venice after the Hunger Games—not your everyday dystopia.
Yet it’s this harsh, bleak setting that makes the book’s themes of hope and love shine all the brighter, like embers in a midnight snowbank. Surrounded by such despair, fear, and evil, the characters’ choices of hope, courage, and love offer positive inspiration to all readers and life-giving warmth during the winter of our own lives.
Overall, Calor intrigued—and rewarded—me as a fairytale-myth mashup with a treatment of memory reminiscent of Lois Lowry’s The Giver and a magic system that made me think of Shannon Hale’s Books of Bayern. Note: I reference YA books because YA is my most-read genre, but Calor is not YA. Its characters are adults and Fischer makes no bones about reality—without dwelling on or outright portraying its unpleasant sides. Because of this deft treatment, however, I can heartily recommend Calor to mature teens as well as any adults looking for a clean, gripping, fantasy adventure-romance to add to their collection.
I can’t wait for book two!
P.S. I was given an advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review, and I liked it so much I pre-ordered my own hard copy. :)
And what a work to be proud of! Fischer drops you into the rich depths of her world and then sucks you even deeper with multi-layered intrigue, action, conflict, and emotion, all told in her beautiful and vivid writing style. I especially love her creative use of word pictures that both portray ideas and deepen the story world. I also continue to be astounded by—and appreciative of—the profound realism of her characters: the good, the bad, the ugly, the broken, the beautiful, the lost, and the hopeful. You name an element of humanity, someone shows it somewhere in a way you can relate to it. Unrelated, Fischer also demonstrates her marvelous ability to stick a crowbar straight into the strings of your heart and give it a good twist or two. (Not speaking from experience, of course . . .)
What makes this book stand out to me as a writer is the way Fischer places you in the middle of the story—events, settings, and character perspectives—not just in the beginning but throughout the entire book. From page one to the end you have just enough detail to understand the moment AND want to keep reading. Foregoing the longwinded explanations common to fantasy novels, Fischer writes in a way that makes you feel as if you ARE the character, you’re IN Nulla, you’re PART of the action—dumping you in the middle of the world as it is and slowly, layer by layer, revealing more and more about it and the characters in a strategic gradualness that both answers and raises more questions.
What stood out to me as a reader was the unique setting (especially for the first portion of the book), the memories and the magic system, and Lady Jewel. I LOVED Lady Jewel—not just because she’s a wolf (I mean, what book isn’t instantly made cooler by a wolf in the character cast?) but also because of the important role she plays despite her silence. She doesn’t speak, yet she communicates with other characters and participates in events, and frankly I’m intrigued by a non-human character who contributes so much to a story.
I was also intrigued by the whole concept of memories and the magic system throughout the book. Memories that can be numbed, preserved, and reused. Magical gifts that involve both emotions and, to a degree, some of the basic elements. I’m picky with fantasy magic, but I felt at home in this magic system and its role in the manipulation of memories that serves as the foundation of the story. Finally, I liked the bitter but unusual setting of Nulla, where most of the book takes place. With the post-apocalyptic winter of the country and the frozen canals of the city, I felt as if I were in a mashup of Holland and Venice after the Hunger Games—not your everyday dystopia.
Yet it’s this harsh, bleak setting that makes the book’s themes of hope and love shine all the brighter, like embers in a midnight snowbank. Surrounded by such despair, fear, and evil, the characters’ choices of hope, courage, and love offer positive inspiration to all readers and life-giving warmth during the winter of our own lives.
Overall, Calor intrigued—and rewarded—me as a fairytale-myth mashup with a treatment of memory reminiscent of Lois Lowry’s The Giver and a magic system that made me think of Shannon Hale’s Books of Bayern. Note: I reference YA books because YA is my most-read genre, but Calor is not YA. Its characters are adults and Fischer makes no bones about reality—without dwelling on or outright portraying its unpleasant sides. Because of this deft treatment, however, I can heartily recommend Calor to mature teens as well as any adults looking for a clean, gripping, fantasy adventure-romance to add to their collection.
I can’t wait for book two!
P.S. I was given an advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review, and I liked it so much I pre-ordered my own hard copy. :)
February 26, 2024
I am going with a 4.5 rating for this book. I enjoyed the writing, the plot, and the characters. Dorian, Sephone, Bas, Bear, Cass, and Little Jewel. The world-building was epic and the fantasy aspects were interesting. I can't give this a solid 5 because it's a Christian fantasy, but I didn't even see any Christian aspects outside of it being a bit more wholesome than most fantasy books. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I do want to continue with the sequel, Lumen.
February 26, 2024
I am going with a 4.5 rating for this book. I enjoyed the writing, the plot, and the characters. Dorian, Sephone, Bas, Bear, Cass, and Little Jewel. The world-building was epic and the fantasy aspects were interesting. I can't give this a solid 5 because it's a Christian fantasy, but I didn't even see any Christian aspects outside of it being a bit more wholesome than most fantasy books. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I do want to continue with the sequel, Lumen.
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