Cenda of Sybaris always felt like the awkward, ugly duckling in her world, but she accepted her fate calmly until the day her sweet baby girl died from fever. Overwhelmed with despair, Cenda's heart turned to ash and her soul became a gaping wound of never-ending pain. However, out of respect for the intense love Cenda felt for Elke, the Lady and Lord gave her an incredible power that day, the ability to create and control fire.

Six months later, Grayson of Concordia has arrived on Sybaris to kidnap the fire witch and bring her back to a buyer on Concordia who has offered him the one thing he desires most; freedom from his shadow. Gray has the gift of Shadow magick, but he views the gift as a curse, one that forced him from his homeworld as a youth, cast him into the hands of evil men who abused his body and soul, and isolated him forever from those who view his shadow as an abomination. Shad, Gray's shadow, doesn't agree with Gray's plans, preferring to focus on better times when he and Gray were children and loved each other like brothers. But all Gray feels is hatred for the shadow which is as much a part of him as his cold, dark heart.

However, a cold heart doesn't stand a chance against the warmth of a fire witch's touch, which Gray soon learns after meeting Cenda. Suddenly he finds himself struggling with conflicting emotions and desires, trying to keep Cenda safe from those who wish to cage her and use her as a force of destruction, but needing to keep his own plans for her a secret as well. Gray despises himself for using her, especially after Cenda meets Shad for the first time and, rather than recoiling in horror, embraces his dark twin as a being of beauty and love, not an abomination.

But when the forces of evil succeed in caging the fire witch and revealing Gray's intended betrayal, Gray must face a different side of the woman he has grown to love, a woman who can destroy him body and soul with a single touch.

While I am not normally a reader of erotic romance, the premise of this book hooked me in early and held my attention throughout. I loved that Cenda was an unconventional heroine, older than most heroines by a good ten years and living a rather unremarkable life until the untimely death of her daughter. Gray and Shad provide a dynamic struggle between dual heroes, but since they're the same person, either they both get the girl, or they both lose the girl, so you can root for both. The world Ms. Rossetti has created is beautiful and heartbreaking and completely believable, and I enjoyed sharing the adventures of Cenda and Gray. THE FLAME AND THE SHADOW is a great choice for those who like their fantasy and romance on the super spicy side.