Yet another romance book finding itself on my "read" shelf... my mother will be so proud of me. Firelight was definitely a spur of the moment read. I had finished up The Golem and the Djinni and was staring Slaughterhouse Five in the face when a sudden urge to read something light and romance ridden overtook me. A few genre searches later and Firelight was on my ipad and I was deeply engrossed in reading it, Slaughterhouse Five staring angrily up at me from the couch. I'm truly sorry, Slaughterhouse Five. I swear I'll read you next. 
 Firelight is definitely a lighter book than I'm accustomed to reading. And by "lighter" I mean lacking in deeper substance. I don't necessarily intend that to be an insult (although I understand it's hard not to take it as such) because I really did enjoy reading the book and enjoyed Miranda and Archer's romance. But the grand majority of the plot was simply on the surface level with not much else to it. 
 So. Things I did like. Well, for one thing, despite it being a period piece (with fantasy elements thrown in there) Miranda is NOT a subservient woman, who allows men to walk all over her. The literal first scene to which we are introduced to Miranda she is standing up to two threatening men. Her interactions with Archer thereafter continue establishing her strong sense of self and self worth. I really appreciated that. 
 Miranda is also is portrayed to be as into Archer sexually as he is with her, and she is not ashamed of it. This might seem like a little thing but it made all the difference to me. I'm sure some readers enjoy the forbidden "so right but so wrong" nature that arises when the one lover is ashamed of their wanting of the other, but I often find it tiresome. To have Miranda actively want Archer and not feel guilt over that desire made their romance much more enjoyable for me. 
 Archer was a pretty good male romantic lead. It's almost impossible not to get a Phantom of the Opera vibe from him, but thankfully he is not as creepily stalker-ish as his inspiration counterpart is. He, however, does feel guilt over his desires for Miranda, deluding himself into thinking that she could never return his emotions .....even though she's very clearly into him and eagerly is responding to his advances. But the guilt he feels comes more from fear of rejection than belief that their romance is not a thing to be enjoyed so he gets a pass. 
 The romance between Miranda and Archer is definitely the best part of the book. The non romance plot is what I felt made the book feel overly light. Without getting into spoilers, it's basically a plot to figure out why Archer wears the mask he does and if he is responsible for the gristly murders of his compatriots. There's also a jealous ex-lover subplot that plays a major part of the story that I didn't really care for. The final climax and reveal is kinda meh. Although, Miranda continues to be an active presence throughout the climax which was really refreshing to see. 
 Thinking back on it, I enjoyed this book more than I initially thought I did. I stand by my claim that the non romance plot is subpar and shallow, but it wasn't egregious or insulting. I loved the characters (even if Archer is a bit of a stereotype, he's one I enjoyed) and Miranda was a great female lead. I'll probably read the next book in the series at some point and see how things move forward in the future.