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otiliasae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
vaniavela's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
4.0
An heiress who does not know how to wield fire, a skill that defines her family's dominance.
A former assassin who desires freedom.
A king whose reign is coming to an end.
When a prophecy threatens them all, what will they do to save their kingdom?
Let's start with the cover. The color palette is incredible, despite being somewhat dark colors, they blend perfectly and capture the reader's attention.
The Child of Fire is filled with Indian-inspired mythology, high technology and intricately written characters. In addition, we can find themes of colonialism, genocide and racism in a thoughtful way. If you are not used to reading science fiction, you may find this book difficult to understand (at least that's what happened to me).
I found the romance to be a bit fast paced. It was categorized as an enemies to lovers, but I couldn't notice the signs that would give me hints of a possible future romance. I feel it lacked a bit of development, especially since it felt a bit forced at the end.
I follow Aparna Verma on TikTok and the idea I had of this book was totally different than the one I had when I finished reading. In many ways, I say this in a positive way, but in others I felt something was missing.
A former assassin who desires freedom.
A king whose reign is coming to an end.
When a prophecy threatens them all, what will they do to save their kingdom?
Let's start with the cover. The color palette is incredible, despite being somewhat dark colors, they blend perfectly and capture the reader's attention.
The Child of Fire is filled with Indian-inspired mythology, high technology and intricately written characters. In addition, we can find themes of colonialism, genocide and racism in a thoughtful way. If you are not used to reading science fiction, you may find this book difficult to understand (at least that's what happened to me).
I found the romance to be a bit fast paced. It was categorized as an enemies to lovers, but I couldn't notice the signs that would give me hints of a possible future romance. I feel it lacked a bit of development, especially since it felt a bit forced at the end.
I follow Aparna Verma on TikTok and the idea I had of this book was totally different than the one I had when I finished reading. In many ways, I say this in a positive way, but in others I felt something was missing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
lainiereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
THIS BOOK!! THIS BOOK! I am in so much pain.
The worldbuilding? The politics? The characters? The quotes? SO GOOD!
This book has a slower start, there's a lot of worldbuilding and character introductions that take up a bit of time in the beginning, but it was written so well that it was still interesting the whole time. Even while the story was being set up, I was intrigued and constantly trying to guess where the plot was going (surprise surprise, I guessed everything wrong every time!).
Speaking of the plot, THE TWISTS! THE TURNS! THE DRAMA! I went into this expecting lots of plot twists, which meant I was actively paying attention to details to try and figure out where it was going, but man I still got everything wrong! I also have no idea how the next book is going to go (mainly because I've learned I can't predict anything), and I think that's part of what made this book so intriguing. You just had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next!
Another major positive is the characters. There is so much depth to every character, so even when they do the wrong thing, they're still lovable. Which, yeah a lot of wrong things are done! If you are a fan of morally gray characters, or you like characters who want to do the right thing but life just doesn't let them, then these characters are for you! Every character is so great (especially Yassen, he has my heart) and Verma does a great job of showing the struggle that each person goes through internally and how they justify their decisions/actions. I really connected with the characters (even though they had me yelling at the book to "stop!" or "please don't do that!" at times). Each character also spends a lot of time reflecting on themself and what they've done, which creates powerful quotes that I will definitely be reflecting on the next time I have a mental crisis. I mean the first line alone is great: "To be forgiven, one must be burned".
If you like reading about characters with a lot of depth, the political conflicts that come with leading a kingdom, and being kept on your toes the WHOLE time, then you will love this book. Plus some things that I didn't cover in-depth, like a wonderful slowburn romance, a strong female lead, conversations about religion and the dangers of fanaticism, and beautiful worldbuilding.
Okay, I am going back to reflect some more on that ending.
<3 Aparna Verma, u are a queen.
The worldbuilding? The politics? The characters? The quotes? SO GOOD!
This book has a slower start, there's a lot of worldbuilding and character introductions that take up a bit of time in the beginning, but it was written so well that it was still interesting the whole time. Even while the story was being set up, I was intrigued and constantly trying to guess where the plot was going (surprise surprise, I guessed everything wrong every time!).
Speaking of the plot, THE TWISTS! THE TURNS! THE DRAMA! I went into this expecting lots of plot twists, which meant I was actively paying attention to details to try and figure out where it was going, but man I still got everything wrong! I also have no idea how the next book is going to go (mainly because I've learned I can't predict anything), and I think that's part of what made this book so intriguing. You just had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next!
Another major positive is the characters. There is so much depth to every character, so even when they do the wrong thing, they're still lovable. Which, yeah a lot of wrong things are done! If you are a fan of morally gray characters, or you like characters who want to do the right thing but life just doesn't let them, then these characters are for you! Every character is so great (especially Yassen, he has my heart) and Verma does a great job of showing the struggle that each person goes through internally and how they justify their decisions/actions. I really connected with the characters (even though they had me yelling at the book to "stop!" or "please don't do that!" at times). Each character also spends a lot of time reflecting on themself and what they've done, which creates powerful quotes that I will definitely be reflecting on the next time I have a mental crisis. I mean the first line alone is great: "To be forgiven, one must be burned".
If you like reading about characters with a lot of depth, the political conflicts that come with leading a kingdom, and being kept on your toes the WHOLE time, then you will love this book. Plus some things that I didn't cover in-depth, like a wonderful slowburn romance, a strong female lead, conversations about religion and the dangers of fanaticism, and beautiful worldbuilding.
Okay, I am going back to reflect some more on that ending.
<3 Aparna Verma, u are a queen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Cursing
sarahmreads's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I received a copy of this book as an e-ARC from NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Elena Ravence soon must rise to the throne in this world at war. However, unlike her ancestors before her, she is unable to wield the Eternal Fire without being burned. Insert an ex-assassin that must earn his freedom and the threat of a foretold Prophet threatening the king's rule, and Elena must come to terms with the real world that she will need to rule.
I heard so much about this book while on Booktok and as much as the idea and the advertisements enticed me, I felt like the book lacked in a few departments. But I would like to start with some of the elements that I found enjoyable.
Although the world-building and mythology behind the kingdom is a bit dense, I really enjoyed it. I really liked the Phoenix and the Eternal Fire and the overbearing feeling of fear and destruction that comes from it. Yet it still maintains this sacredness to it, and almost makes you feel like you are intruding on specific scenes that involve this religion. I also really liked that you could tell the culture and traditions from what was told, like the kissing of three fingers and placing it on someone's forehead. Things like that really did immerse me into the story.
I also really liked that this is a fantasy with a lot of science fiction elements to it, like pulse guns, holopods, just everything from my sci-fi dreams. It brought a new depth to the story that I don't think would have been achievable otherwise. In a way, I feel it elevates the story to that of a modern fantasy than anything, while still retaining typical fantasy elements. Even though this story did have a glossary at the end (that I didn't realize until I got through the e-book), I do wish that there had been a map, which would have helped me navigate the different lands discussed in the book. The only one I could really figure out is Jantar being above the main city where the story takes place.
Now let's get into some of the other parts I wasn't a huge fan of. First, the characters. I went into this expecting to love all of them, and left only really liking Yassen. Even then, I wish we saw more of him and Elena, or just more of him in general. To me, it almost was like we didn't see much of him when other characters had POVs. I just wish we saw more of these characters and their interactions with one another. Instead, we got a lot from King Leo and what he was doing. His parts felt kind of boring, and the author advertises him a lot as a DILF villain. He didn't even read off as a DILF to me. He was just a corrupted villain, and most of his stuff I would have loved to see it be discovered by Elena on her own while she's also focusing on wielding fire and discovering more about her mother. Also it bothered me that Elena calls her parents by their first names half the time, not really mother or father. It read off to me as disrespectful, especially since she's royalty, and detached me from the story. Overall, I was detached from all of these characters and didn't find a reason to really root for them.
Going off of my rant on the characters, because I felt like we didn't see much of them, there were some huge plot twists that, as a result, didn't really leave me with much impact. Except for one thing at the end that I was completely shocked by and was also pissed after thinking it over, which I won't get into because of spoilers. Also this whole ploy to find the Prophet? I had my hopes set on one specific individual only TO BE COMPLETELY PROVEN WRONG? AND I'M SO MAD ABOUT IT! It felt like there was so little foreshadowing leading up to it that it hurt to have that ending. And the worst part? I didn't really care about who the Prophet ended up being. It just felt like a giant plot to make you think it's one person only to have you fall over the edge at the last possible second.
The Boy with Fire is a slow-paced fantasy novel with great world-building potential but lacking in the character department.
Elena Ravence soon must rise to the throne in this world at war. However, unlike her ancestors before her, she is unable to wield the Eternal Fire without being burned. Insert an ex-assassin that must earn his freedom and the threat of a foretold Prophet threatening the king's rule, and Elena must come to terms with the real world that she will need to rule.
I heard so much about this book while on Booktok and as much as the idea and the advertisements enticed me, I felt like the book lacked in a few departments. But I would like to start with some of the elements that I found enjoyable.
Although the world-building and mythology behind the kingdom is a bit dense, I really enjoyed it. I really liked the Phoenix and the Eternal Fire and the overbearing feeling of fear and destruction that comes from it. Yet it still maintains this sacredness to it, and almost makes you feel like you are intruding on specific scenes that involve this religion. I also really liked that you could tell the culture and traditions from what was told, like the kissing of three fingers and placing it on someone's forehead. Things like that really did immerse me into the story.
I also really liked that this is a fantasy with a lot of science fiction elements to it, like pulse guns, holopods, just everything from my sci-fi dreams. It brought a new depth to the story that I don't think would have been achievable otherwise. In a way, I feel it elevates the story to that of a modern fantasy than anything, while still retaining typical fantasy elements. Even though this story did have a glossary at the end (that I didn't realize until I got through the e-book), I do wish that there had been a map, which would have helped me navigate the different lands discussed in the book. The only one I could really figure out is Jantar being above the main city where the story takes place.
Now let's get into some of the other parts I wasn't a huge fan of. First, the characters. I went into this expecting to love all of them, and left only really liking Yassen. Even then, I wish we saw more of him and Elena, or just more of him in general. To me, it almost was like we didn't see much of him when other characters had POVs. I just wish we saw more of these characters and their interactions with one another. Instead, we got a lot from King Leo and what he was doing. His parts felt kind of boring, and the author advertises him a lot as a DILF villain. He didn't even read off as a DILF to me. He was just a corrupted villain, and most of his stuff I would have loved to see it be discovered by Elena on her own while she's also focusing on wielding fire and discovering more about her mother. Also it bothered me that Elena calls her parents by their first names half the time, not really mother or father. It read off to me as disrespectful, especially since she's royalty, and detached me from the story. Overall, I was detached from all of these characters and didn't find a reason to really root for them.
Going off of my rant on the characters, because I felt like we didn't see much of them, there were some huge plot twists that, as a result, didn't really leave me with much impact. Except for one thing at the end that I was completely shocked by and was also pissed after thinking it over, which I won't get into because of spoilers. Also this whole ploy to find the Prophet? I had my hopes set on one specific individual only TO BE COMPLETELY PROVEN WRONG? AND I'M SO MAD ABOUT IT! It felt like there was so little foreshadowing leading up to it that it hurt to have that ending. And the worst part? I didn't really care about who the Prophet ended up being. It just felt like a giant plot to make you think it's one person only to have you fall over the edge at the last possible second.
The Boy with Fire is a slow-paced fantasy novel with great world-building potential but lacking in the character department.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Medical content