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emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was by NO MEANS bad, but unfortunately I found myself a little disappointed by it. One thing I loved about it was the dragons and how they played such a central role in plot, but also how they were characters in and of themselves. The magic system that went along with this was interesting, especially the concept of soul bonds. Another thing this book had going for it was Dani and Eden. Their character development was really strong, they provided great POVs to follow, and I also loved the sister dynamic between them. Finally, the pop culture references in this book were actually UP TO DATE!! It leant realism to the teenage perspective and was generally really refreshing.
However, this is where my cons start to come in. The first one being the romance.The first half of the book is spent setting up a logical, chemistry-filled second-chance romance with Sadie, but then this is ditched for one with Kieran. Dani and Kieran had nooooo chemistry, and he isn't even in the book until halfway through. It was just so jarring, especially when you have the added factor of viewing Sadie and Tomás as just friends for the first half, and now have to wrap your head around them being into each other. ALSO, Kieran is 200+ years old. It's annoying to me that we still have adult/minor relationships in YA in 2021 masked by the defense that "they look like a teenager."
Another thing I didn't like was the execution of the plot. The pacing was really strange, and I feel likethe original issue of hatching the eggs fell to the wayside in favour of the sorcerer Eden plotline. But then THAT plotline was conveniently resolved because Eden ended up being sorcerer AND human. Therefore half the book felt kind of redundant.
Finally, I thought the side characters were underused. Frankie, Tomás and Sadie were all so interesting and could have added some real colour to Dani's activities. Overall, these significant cons meant that although it was a pretty enjoyable book, I couldn't give it more than 3.75 stars.
However, this is where my cons start to come in. The first one being the romance.
Another thing I didn't like was the execution of the plot. The pacing was really strange, and I feel like
Finally, I thought the side characters were underused. Frankie, Tomás and Sadie were all so interesting and could have added some real colour to Dani's activities. Overall, these significant cons meant that although it was a pretty enjoyable book, I couldn't give it more than 3.75 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcohol, Biphobia, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, and War
alixe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is about snarky dragons, slaying sisters, and sexy sorcerers (the author’s own words) of course it was going to become a new favorite of mine!
Special mention to Sophie, the cat who inspired my favorite character aka Nox and makes me love this book even more!
The ending still felt a little to much like a cliffhanger and
I also want more of these characters so I wouldn’t mind reading a sequel now :))
Special mention to Sophie, the cat who inspired my favorite character aka Nox and makes me love this book even more!
The ending still felt a little to much like a cliffhanger and
I also want more of these characters so I wouldn’t mind reading a sequel now :))
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Torture
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.
Trigger/Content Warnings: Panic Attacks | Ableism | Torture
Fire with Fire is a book about dragon slayers and anything dragon you all know I will jump onto. Adding that this was written by Destiny Soria and I knew I had a good book in my hand. I was right.
This book is about two sisters who were raised as dragon slayers. Over the centuries much has been hidden about the history of dragons, slayers and the sorcerers. When one of the sisters, Dani, comes face to face with a dragon and bonds with it, everything changes.
One thing that I always love about Destiny Soria's books is the ease with which I can settle into her books and the ease with which she writes realistic character relationships. One being the sister relationship between Dani and her older sister Eden. There is a strained relationship between them. Eden has always aimed for perfection. In her grades and her dragon slaying training. She hasn't had it easy with panic attacks and anxiety. She struggles with seeing her very talented younger sister Dani throw away her talent. And at the same time she feels a little jealous because she wishes she had the talent or got the attention Dani gets for her talent. Even so, Dani is her sister, and you can see the trust that is also there between them. Its just a sibling relationship, somewhat weighten down by the fantasy elements in their life.
Dani on the other hand just wants a normal life and just wants to do what everyone else is doing in high school. She wants to be a carefree teen, not a bogged down, overly responsible college student like her sister Eden. So of course it stands to reason she sees the first dragon of both of them. And that is where the first cracks start to appear. Dani starts questioning things that Eden doesn't understand. And one sorcerer starts whispering in Eden's ear, making her feel more important and proud of who she is. Eden just wants to be seen.
Other relationships important in the book are Dani and the dragon. They have a grudging starting bond, which is what happens when you initially just wanted to kill each other, that slowly turns to trust and love. But also Dani's friends. Her long time friend and her old friend, just embracing whatever chaos her life is.
Outside of that is of course the plot. There was a lot of manipulation and secret keeping going on that slowly unraveled. About the dragons, about the sorcerers, about the role that their parents played and so on. It comes together well. I was also pleased to see that Eden, who went through a lot of transformations, did not just turn back to the Eden she was at the start. That is not how that works and I'm glad that was remembered.
All in all I thought this was a great character and relationship driven story that is putting Destiny Soria right up to my favorite authors.
Trigger/Content Warnings: Panic Attacks | Ableism | Torture
Fire with Fire is a book about dragon slayers and anything dragon you all know I will jump onto. Adding that this was written by Destiny Soria and I knew I had a good book in my hand. I was right.
This book is about two sisters who were raised as dragon slayers. Over the centuries much has been hidden about the history of dragons, slayers and the sorcerers. When one of the sisters, Dani, comes face to face with a dragon and bonds with it, everything changes.
One thing that I always love about Destiny Soria's books is the ease with which I can settle into her books and the ease with which she writes realistic character relationships. One being the sister relationship between Dani and her older sister Eden. There is a strained relationship between them. Eden has always aimed for perfection. In her grades and her dragon slaying training. She hasn't had it easy with panic attacks and anxiety. She struggles with seeing her very talented younger sister Dani throw away her talent. And at the same time she feels a little jealous because she wishes she had the talent or got the attention Dani gets for her talent. Even so, Dani is her sister, and you can see the trust that is also there between them. Its just a sibling relationship, somewhat weighten down by the fantasy elements in their life.
Dani on the other hand just wants a normal life and just wants to do what everyone else is doing in high school. She wants to be a carefree teen, not a bogged down, overly responsible college student like her sister Eden. So of course it stands to reason she sees the first dragon of both of them. And that is where the first cracks start to appear. Dani starts questioning things that Eden doesn't understand. And one sorcerer starts whispering in Eden's ear, making her feel more important and proud of who she is. Eden just wants to be seen.
Other relationships important in the book are Dani and the dragon. They have a grudging starting bond, which is what happens when you initially just wanted to kill each other, that slowly turns to trust and love. But also Dani's friends. Her long time friend and her old friend, just embracing whatever chaos her life is.
Outside of that is of course the plot. There was a lot of manipulation and secret keeping going on that slowly unraveled. About the dragons, about the sorcerers, about the role that their parents played and so on. It comes together well. I was also pleased to see that Eden, who went through a lot of transformations, did not just turn back to the Eden she was at the start. That is not how that works and I'm glad that was remembered.
All in all I thought this was a great character and relationship driven story that is putting Destiny Soria right up to my favorite authors.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, and Torture
spinesinaline's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A contender for my favourite reads of the year! I love a sibling story and this one comes with Buffy-esque drama, dragons, and anxiety representation so there’s much to love. Big thanks to Clarion Books for the review copy!
I loved the humour in this one, which started right from the first page. But along with the constant humour and sarcasm in the dialogue, it’s also quite a serious story as it looks at the dangers of fighting dragons, but also the struggles of and coping methods for people with mental illnesses and handling others’ perceptions and demands of you, as well as the beautiful and honest depiction of the relationship of these two sisters.
It’s a quick read despite its length (over 400 pages!) so I don’t want to give too much away beyond what the blurb offers (and you’d be fine following along by skipping the blurb altogether). I will say that I felt the representation the author offers felt very real, and while I can’t speak from an own voices perspective, it felt true. Dani, the youngest sister, is proudly bisexual and directly combats biphobic assumptions and stereotypes. The eldest, Eden, deals with anxiety and panic attacks and there are very detailed descriptions of these attacks and their impact on her life.
The characters are endearing and funny and still have their (sometimes significant) flaws, the story moves quickly and easily so you get sucked in, and it’s a creative modern take on dragon stories that incorporates Mexican mythology.
I loved the humour in this one, which started right from the first page. But along with the constant humour and sarcasm in the dialogue, it’s also quite a serious story as it looks at the dangers of fighting dragons, but also the struggles of and coping methods for people with mental illnesses and handling others’ perceptions and demands of you, as well as the beautiful and honest depiction of the relationship of these two sisters.
It’s a quick read despite its length (over 400 pages!) so I don’t want to give too much away beyond what the blurb offers (and you’d be fine following along by skipping the blurb altogether). I will say that I felt the representation the author offers felt very real, and while I can’t speak from an own voices perspective, it felt true. Dani, the youngest sister, is proudly bisexual and directly combats biphobic assumptions and stereotypes. The eldest, Eden, deals with anxiety and panic attacks and there are very detailed descriptions of these attacks and their impact on her life.
The characters are endearing and funny and still have their (sometimes significant) flaws, the story moves quickly and easily so you get sucked in, and it’s a creative modern take on dragon stories that incorporates Mexican mythology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Grief, and Murder
artemisienne's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Animal death, and Death
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and HMH Books for an advanced copy of this to review! I loved Beneath the Citadel also by Soria, so I was excited to pick this up. Plus, dragons! There aren’t that many YA books with dragons nowadays, and I love reading about them.
To start, the world building in this was fantastic. The way that Soria weaves in the little details of this world of dragons and sorcerers is so effortless. As is the way we’re introduced to Dani and Eden. They each have their distinct personalities, and it comes out in little details throughout the book.
Dani was definitely my favorite of the two sisters, especially the way she forms a relationship with Nox. She’s also bisexual and proud of that; it’s just there and doesn’t really have much bearing on the story itself. Also I’m partial to Nox because that’s the name of my cat--but fits the dragon in the story so well. I would read a whole book about Nox, to be honest.
On the other hand, Eden’s sections were a little difficult to read for me. There was just something about her voice that didn’t read as smoothly as Dani’s did. Her point of view and her character arc is important, as she works through her problems with anxiety, it just wasn’t my favorite.
All in all, this felt like a refreshing fantasy in the YA realm. If you want to read a book about dragons this summer, definitely check this one out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Confinement and Torture
nerdynatreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
~Thanks to Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Fire with Fire in exchange for an honest review. ~
I was automatically sucked into this because it seemed reminiscent of How to Train Your Dragon and I love good sibling relationships in stories. I did like the basis and struggle we see between Dani and Eden, the thing that should bring them closer is also what's driving them apart. However, I think the dual perspective was used so that we could connect and sympathize with both characters, but I had a very hard time doing so with Eden. Her anxiety gave her a bit of depth, but all in all, she seemed pretty heartless and narcissistic. Dani, on the other hand, was funny and proud of who she was, if a bit annoying at times, but she's a teenager.
Other characters? Nox was a sarcastic ass and I loved him. Tomas fell a bit flat for me. I liked the drama revolving around Sadie and Dani's past and actually wish more time had been focused on questioning one's sexuality. Kiernan was intriguing and brought some depth to the history of dragons, but my god, the romantic aspect was so insta-lovey and creepy as well. Can we please stop putting teenagers with dudes who are hundreds of years old? Oh, and the villains were fairly bland.
When I initially went into this, I thought the setting would be more fantastical, rather than urban fantasy, but I was intrigued to see how it would be handled. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding was pretty minimal and not explained very well, which meant I was never completely immersed in the world.
The writing was very tell, not show, and possibly because I thought this would be more fantastical, I also expected much more action and fighting, but that didn't really happen until the final climax. The story dragged a lot and ended up being pretty predictable. I thought there'd be some surprising twists, but in the end, this fell pretty flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death
Moderate: Torture
outsidestar's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book reminded me so much of Dragonheart it hurt.
Please tell me you've seen Dragonheart - aka the 90's movie featuring Dennis Quad (and Lupin from Harry Potter) and one of my favorite childhood movies.
Anyways, I heard "dragons" and came running, as I tend to do because that's who I am. And now that I've met Nox, I must say I need a soul-bond with a dragon more than I need a boyfriend (or anything else, really).
Fire with Fire is essentially a story about family, friendship, forgiveness and learning to live with your demons. It is told in alternating POVs between two sisters who come from a family of dragon slayers and can't be any more different.
Eden, the older sister, doesn't let herself be anything less than perfect, she literally sees herself as one of the last bastions protecting humanity from dragonkind, like the world depends entirely on her being able to someday kill a dragon. That is a lot of pressure for anyone so, of course, she suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. I can't tell you how much I loved to see this included in a fantasy. Not every character can handle being a badass with equal grace.
Then we have 17 year-old Dani, who is The Chosen One. She effortlessly achieves every benchmark that Eden had to fight tooth and nail for, but she doesn't really care that much about the whole being a slayer thing, All she wants is to be normal.
So yeah, now throw in a soul-bond with a dragon and some sorcerers and you get a pretty good book.
However, I must say this did somehow feel like something I've seen before. The Chosen One saving everyone from the big bad evil with the help of a dragon. I think I would've 5-star-loved this if I had read it back when I was 15 years-old. I still really liked it, I actually liked it more than I expected to: the pacing as quick, the characters were great, it was funny, the stakes were high... there's nothing bad I can call out.
Maybe the thing about it all happening while their parents were out and them not ever picking the phone kind of bothered me a little. It was obviously the easiest way for the story to progress but it felt unoriginal. Like Eden going to Calla instead of her parents when she finds out about Dani... In what world do you go to someone you know your parents don't trust when you believe your sister has been taken by a dragon that may very well kill her?? I see where she's coming from but in that situation I wouldn't care if my parents get mad at me or not, it's my sister's life and they are the ones known for tracking and killing dragons, not Calla.
Anyways, keep in mind this is a fantasy stand-alone, so there aren't that many side plots that can be explored to elevate the story if you still want to get everything wrapped up by the end without it being a 800 page book.
Also, great rep overall. Not only through Eden's anxiety and panic attacks, but Dani is bisexual and I believe they're half Mexican, half Irish. Tomás' family is from Latin America and Saddie is plus-size.
Please tell me you've seen Dragonheart - aka the 90's movie featuring Dennis Quad (and Lupin from Harry Potter) and one of my favorite childhood movies.
Anyways, I heard "dragons" and came running, as I tend to do because that's who I am. And now that I've met Nox, I must say I need a soul-bond with a dragon more than I need a boyfriend (or anything else, really).
Fire with Fire is essentially a story about family, friendship, forgiveness and learning to live with your demons. It is told in alternating POVs between two sisters who come from a family of dragon slayers and can't be any more different.
Eden, the older sister, doesn't let herself be anything less than perfect, she literally sees herself as one of the last bastions protecting humanity from dragonkind, like the world depends entirely on her being able to someday kill a dragon. That is a lot of pressure for anyone so, of course, she suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. I can't tell you how much I loved to see this included in a fantasy. Not every character can handle being a badass with equal grace.
Then we have 17 year-old Dani, who is The Chosen One. She effortlessly achieves every benchmark that Eden had to fight tooth and nail for, but she doesn't really care that much about the whole being a slayer thing, All she wants is to be normal.
So yeah, now throw in a soul-bond with a dragon and some sorcerers and you get a pretty good book.
However, I must say this did somehow feel like something I've seen before. The Chosen One saving everyone from the big bad evil with the help of a dragon. I think I would've 5-star-loved this if I had read it back when I was 15 years-old. I still really liked it, I actually liked it more than I expected to: the pacing as quick, the characters were great, it was funny, the stakes were high... there's nothing bad I can call out.
Maybe the thing about it all happening while their parents were out and them not ever picking the phone kind of bothered me a little. It was obviously the easiest way for the story to progress but it felt unoriginal. Like Eden going to Calla instead of her parents when she finds out about Dani... In what world do you go to someone you know your parents don't trust when you believe your sister has been taken by a dragon that may very well kill her?? I see where she's coming from but in that situation I wouldn't care if my parents get mad at me or not, it's my sister's life and they are the ones known for tracking and killing dragons, not Calla.
Anyways, keep in mind this is a fantasy stand-alone, so there aren't that many side plots that can be explored to elevate the story if you still want to get everything wrapped up by the end without it being a 800 page book.
Also, great rep overall. Not only through Eden's anxiety and panic attacks, but Dani is bisexual and I believe they're half Mexican, half Irish. Tomás' family is from Latin America and Saddie is plus-size.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Grief, and Murder
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