White Hot by Ilona Andrews

Narrated by Renee Raudman

White Hot simply blew me away! I haven’t listened to such a captivating, unique fantasy world with such a heat-filled and sexual tension driven romance in such a long time (in fact, Karen Marie Moning’s Fever Series comes to mind)! This title will definitely be one of my top-favorite listens of 2017. Moreover, the narration by Renee Raudman brings such a personality to each one of the characters, including the magically creative secondary characters, that I can’t imagine experiencing this title in anything other than audio.

For a description of the underlying fantasy world, see the AudioGals reviews of Burn for Me: Kaetrin’s review and my review (I was an Ilona Andrews’ newbie back in 2014 when Burn for Me was first released, so both reviews were published to offer a newbie’s vs. an experienced listener’s perspective). Please note that the books in this series, as is typical in Urban Fantasy romances, must be read in sequential order as both the romance and fantasy arc continues to build in each successive book. That said, each book also focuses on a distinct case that the heroine, Nevada Baylor (a private detective with interesting magical abilities, like being able to discern if someone is telling the truth) solves over the course of a book.

White Hot picks up shortly after where Burn for Me leaves off. Nevada decides to keep her distance from Connor “Mad” Rogan, one of the most powerful and dangerous magic Primes that exists, after his “mistress” offer to her (protection in exchange for her “affections”). Nevada rejects Rogan because she believes him to be incapable of normal feelings due to his veteran PTSD and which she suspects even affects his moral compass and ability to empathize and tailor any punishment to fit the crime (basically Nevada reasons that for Rogan, everyone is a either a friend or foe, and all foes are to be annihilated no matter how small the crime or other justifications). Nevada’s family, however, is jubilant at the idea that Rogan and Nevada may become an item. Not only would this mean protection for them from other magical Houses who might otherwise try to manipulate them (especially if word ever gets out as to the extent of Nevada’s powers), but they genuinely see the possibility of a connection between the two.

The distance Nevada has imposed, however, doesn’t last long when she takes on a new dangerous case. Cornelius Harrison claims his wife was murdered during a business trip. Her employer, however, is denying any foul play. As luck would have it, Rogan too has a personal vested interest in discovering who the murderer is, and once again the pair begin a collaboration that has them investigating what may very well be the catalyst, or potentially first move, towards a war between the magical Houses. Their personal encounters are just as heated as Rogan tries to convince Nevada to begin a relationship with him.

Who is behind the murder(s) and why? And as secrets are slowly revealed, will their revelations make a romantic relationship between Rogan and Nevada more or less likely?

Renee Raudman does a stellar job narrating White Hot. After listening to her characterizations in Burn for Me, I loved how she maintained remarkable consistency between the two books in the voices she gave the characters that appear in both books. Moreover, her creativity in giving unique voices to the unique magical creatures that Ms. Andrews has penned, really led authenticity to this quirky eclectic cast.

Additionally, I love Ms. Raudman’s ability to deliver a scene with maximum impact. From the suspense filled scenes to the romantic and even humorous ones, Ms. Raudman’s attention to timing delivers the maximum punch, and I really couldn’t imagine any other narrator for this series at this point.

All in all, this is a fabulous UF romance series. While I must admit that book 1, Burn for Me, which must be read in sequential order, didn’t leave as strong of an impression on me (perhaps because the world building took a much larger part of that book and the romance took more of a backseat), White Hot was simply perfection. Now I must get to listening to Wildfire (book 3 in the series) as soon as possible!