Genre: Christian Fantasy

Overall Rating: 5/5 I came into this book biased against it. Why, you may ask? Well, because the title is in Latin—and since I’ve spent 10 years studying Latin, I’m frequently annoyed by authors who seem to think they can spend 20 minutes on Wikipedia and learn enough to use the language in their novels! But once I got past the title, I loved the world, the story, the characters—all of it. (And I even reconciled myself to the author’s use of Greek and Latin by the end!)

Literary Value: 5/5 Calor was beautifully written, and so vivid. Fantasy can be a hard genre—as an author, I’m constantly trying to ground the characters in the setting without overexplaining what’s going on! But Calor had well-balanced description, coupled with several lovely, reflective passages.

Worldview: 5/5 One thing I really appreciated in Calor is that the female protagonist is strong while still being feminine. I loved her blend of resilience and tenderness—it’s so rare to find a healthy female role model in books these days. One caveat about the worldview is that God isn’t explicitly mentioned—only the “gods” of the society that was destroyed generations before. This is clarified in the sequels, when the (pagan) main characters meet Christian characters who share Biblical truth with them (conveyed through symbolism and allegory).

Enjoyability: 4/5 It took me a little longer to get into Calor, and I almost put it down about a fourth of the way into it. But right after that one-quarter mark, the story really picks up! (I think part of the slower start is due to this book being the start of a trilogy; the other books have much faster beginnings.) Other than that, I loved this book—the world was immersive, and the plot and characters were delightfully surprising.

Caveats: Occasionally, the female protagonist feels uncomfortable in the presence of unscrupulous male characters (particularly when she is forced to dance with one), but those incidents aren’t unduly described. One side character has an unchaste lifestyle, which is never shown to the reader, and depicted as being harmful and wrong. There’s some violence, less than typical adult fantasy (more on par with the norm in young adult fantasy). There are hints of blossoming romance between the two main characters, and one kiss on the forehead. All in all, I’d recommend Calor for 13+, and I think mature tween readers would do fine with it.

Sequels/other books by this author: Calor is the first book in The Nightingale Trilogy; the sequels are Lumen and Memoria. I wholeheartedly recommend the entire series, and reviews of Lumen and Memoria are forthcoming!