Nigel's older brother disappeared while searching for the ruby, and Nigel hopes to find them both, proving himself worthy of his family's love. When they arrive, Nigel finds that a member of the secret society helping him has been murdered, but he and Emily are not alone. Peter Farewell, Nigel's enigmatic boyhood friend, offers his help, not mentioning a dark secret of his own.

The Hyena Men, a loose rebellion dedicated to finding the ruby and using it to break the English rule, killed Nigel's compatriots. Two rebels, Kitwana and Nassira, son and daughter of powerful shamans, are assigned to follow Nigel and Emily to the ruby. A dragon is hunting the Hyena Men, and Kitwana is to kill it on sight.

With Kitwana and Nassira as their servants, Peter, Emily and Nigel embark on a trip across the African plains, learning that what they believe about each other, magic, love and even dragons is not what it seems. The book is the first in a series of stand-alone novels, with a second novel called Soul of Fire on the way and an ending that leaves room for several more as well.

Romance or fantasy—pick one

Heart of Light is a romantic fantasy but lacks the love story of a romance and the wonder of fantasy. The slow-moving plot does not help. There are dramatic fights, but they do not mesh with the pages of soul-searching, parasol-clutching and Victorian propriety. Hoyt makes a valiant attempt to show that each character is redeemable and throws in some unsuspected plot twists that would have been effective had I been allowed to enjoy the overall quest story more. And had Emily's desire for love and personal growth taken center stage, I would have been equally happy. But for the most part, I felt uncomfortable as the story veered between Emily thinking each man could be her soulmate and new magical gimmicks.

It's unfortunate, because the world in which the story is set is quite intriguing, a British empire that utilizes magic instead of steam. Hoyt put a lot of thought into this part of the novel, and unfortunately does not utilize it as much as I wanted. Also, in time, the novel is set near the collapse of the British empire. In this world, the empire is also in peril, but the political issues have come about because the lower class has become magically skilled. This adds interest to the quest and to the fact that members of opposing factions eventually come to understand each other, but it is rarely mentioned. The occasional political debate pops up, without any warning or relevance to the plot, only to disappear back into the sluggish romance.

With this in mind, I found the ending unexpected and unsatisfactory, but readers of light fantasy and period romance will probably enjoy this book. Readers who want more substance should probably wait for Hoyt's next work.