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butterscotchsundae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
sdb27's review against another edition
5.0
Fire With Fire is a convoluted, plot-twist-filled book with plenty of intrigue and guilty pleasure. But more importantly than that, it keeps you guessing until the very end, when authors Han and Vivian pull the proverbial rug out from under you with a slam-bang ending that will leave you wanting more.
When we last left our three main characters, Lillia, Mary, and Kat, they had just carried out their ultimate revenge… or so they thought. Having drugged Reeve, the star quarterback and grade-A jerk who bullied Mary into attempting suicide, with liquid E at Jar Island’s high school prom, they were hoping to get him in trouble or at the very worst, expelled. However, like most revenge plans do, everything goes wrong and people get seriously hurt, especially Reeve. Instead of being vindicated, the three girls are left feeling numb, guilty, and more uncertain than ever of the justice of their actions.
I really liked how the consequences of everyone’s respective actions in Burn for Burn are fully explored in this book, with a few exceptions. I always hate it when books wrap up plotlines too neatly or sweep the problems under the rug altogether. Instead, Fire With Fire handles this deftly, changing points of view between Lillia, the prissy rich girl with more than a few dark secrets of her own; Kat, the badass tough chick with an inner soft side; and Mary, the quiet, fragile girl who turns out to be the most complex character of them all.
This time around, while I felt familiar with each of the characters by this point, I felt like my loyalties were shifting every few chapters as I learned more from their perspective. For example I started out really sympathetic towards Lillia, especially when she suppresses the memory of the horrible night when she was date raped at a fraternity party with her so-called best friend Rennie. However, there were other moments in the book where I just wanted to scream at her, “Are you serious?!” She is a rather vain and shallow girl as well, which I can’t identify with, and for some reason it seems that every male character is slightly in love with her. Even though there is a character called Mary in this book, the true Mary Sue is Lillia. That being said, I do appreciate the slow and gradual disillusionment that Lillia goes through over the course of this book. It is an excellent page to turn for the character and I look forward to watching her grow.
Kat might possibly be my favorite of the three girls. Mary was too obsessive for my liking (for good reason, as is revealed in the book), and Lillia too… privileged, I suppose. But Kat, dear, hardass Kat—she’s awesome, and seemed the most realistic character of the trio. Then again, I always favor the snarky characters. She seems to be the bridge between Lillia and Mary, and the glue holding their revengenda together.
There were some elements of romance, lovelines which twisted and weaved through the plot. The girls’ Nefarious Plot Part II is to get Reeve to fall in love with Lillia (not so hard, since most characters of the male persuasion, including her best friend Alex—on whom Kat has a crush—seems to find her attractive) and then break his heart like he broke Mary’s. But when the predictable happens, and Lillia falls for Reeve, I found myself liking the slow-burn scenes between Lillia and Reeve, but not the actual couple themselves. Basically, I liked the idea of them more than the actual pairing. It definitely distanced me from the story, especially when Lillia’s friend Alex is clearly in love with her and she herself seems to be giving off mixed signals.
In addition, the teenage drama I was kind of over, to be honest. I know that it’s not a high school story without the high school students, but I found Lillia’s troubles with her now-frenemy Rennie to be exhausting and rather boring. I was pleasantly surprised by the book’s end, though, and I think that the next book in the series will shift away from petty high school squabbles into a more dramatic and grander overall tale.
Let’s talk about that ending, though! I was oscillating between three and four stars for the majority of the book, but then I read that ending and BAM. It changed everything, and kind of blew my mind. I was anticipating Mary to have this Carrie-esque storyline, and I was so convinced that I knew that was what it was that I didn’t even see what was right in front of me. So when the Big Reveal happened in the last chapters of the book, I was taken completely by surprise, and everything came together in a way that stunned. Mary is a very important character, suffice it to say, despite flying under the radar for most of the book.
The cliffhanger of an ending was so evil (tell me what happens! Tellmetellme!) but at the same time, I really can’t wait for the next book in the series. Everything just seems to have escalated so quickly that I have no idea how Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian are going to wrap things up. I’m looking forward to reading it, regardless, and highly recommend this book for those of you looking for a guilty-pleasure revenge story with an solid plot and a spectrum of interesting characters.
When we last left our three main characters, Lillia, Mary, and Kat, they had just carried out their ultimate revenge… or so they thought. Having drugged Reeve, the star quarterback and grade-A jerk who bullied Mary into attempting suicide, with liquid E at Jar Island’s high school prom, they were hoping to get him in trouble or at the very worst, expelled. However, like most revenge plans do, everything goes wrong and people get seriously hurt, especially Reeve. Instead of being vindicated, the three girls are left feeling numb, guilty, and more uncertain than ever of the justice of their actions.
I really liked how the consequences of everyone’s respective actions in Burn for Burn are fully explored in this book, with a few exceptions. I always hate it when books wrap up plotlines too neatly or sweep the problems under the rug altogether. Instead, Fire With Fire handles this deftly, changing points of view between Lillia, the prissy rich girl with more than a few dark secrets of her own; Kat, the badass tough chick with an inner soft side; and Mary, the quiet, fragile girl who turns out to be the most complex character of them all.
This time around, while I felt familiar with each of the characters by this point, I felt like my loyalties were shifting every few chapters as I learned more from their perspective. For example I started out really sympathetic towards Lillia, especially when she suppresses the memory of the horrible night when she was date raped at a fraternity party with her so-called best friend Rennie. However, there were other moments in the book where I just wanted to scream at her, “Are you serious?!” She is a rather vain and shallow girl as well, which I can’t identify with, and for some reason it seems that every male character is slightly in love with her. Even though there is a character called Mary in this book, the true Mary Sue is Lillia. That being said, I do appreciate the slow and gradual disillusionment that Lillia goes through over the course of this book. It is an excellent page to turn for the character and I look forward to watching her grow.
Kat might possibly be my favorite of the three girls. Mary was too obsessive for my liking (for good reason, as is revealed in the book), and Lillia too… privileged, I suppose. But Kat, dear, hardass Kat—she’s awesome, and seemed the most realistic character of the trio. Then again, I always favor the snarky characters. She seems to be the bridge between Lillia and Mary, and the glue holding their revengenda together.
There were some elements of romance, lovelines which twisted and weaved through the plot. The girls’ Nefarious Plot Part II is to get Reeve to fall in love with Lillia (not so hard, since most characters of the male persuasion, including her best friend Alex—on whom Kat has a crush—seems to find her attractive) and then break his heart like he broke Mary’s. But when the predictable happens, and Lillia falls for Reeve, I found myself liking the slow-burn scenes between Lillia and Reeve, but not the actual couple themselves. Basically, I liked the idea of them more than the actual pairing. It definitely distanced me from the story, especially when Lillia’s friend Alex is clearly in love with her and she herself seems to be giving off mixed signals.
In addition, the teenage drama I was kind of over, to be honest. I know that it’s not a high school story without the high school students, but I found Lillia’s troubles with her now-frenemy Rennie to be exhausting and rather boring. I was pleasantly surprised by the book’s end, though, and I think that the next book in the series will shift away from petty high school squabbles into a more dramatic and grander overall tale.
Let’s talk about that ending, though! I was oscillating between three and four stars for the majority of the book, but then I read that ending and BAM. It changed everything, and kind of blew my mind. I was anticipating Mary to have this Carrie-esque storyline, and I was so convinced that I knew that was what it was that I didn’t even see what was right in front of me. So when the Big Reveal happened in the last chapters of the book, I was taken completely by surprise, and everything came together in a way that stunned. Mary is a very important character, suffice it to say, despite flying under the radar for most of the book.
The cliffhanger of an ending was so evil (tell me what happens! Tellmetellme!) but at the same time, I really can’t wait for the next book in the series. Everything just seems to have escalated so quickly that I have no idea how Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian are going to wrap things up. I’m looking forward to reading it, regardless, and highly recommend this book for those of you looking for a guilty-pleasure revenge story with an solid plot and a spectrum of interesting characters.
lievedebs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
It was drawn out so so so long, so much drama and for what? The really good parts could have been fleshed out, but they kept focussing on the teen angst and drama. Not even going to try the last book. I tried, but no.
ameserole's review against another edition
4.0
I have so many freaking questions that revolved around Mary. Ugh, please tell me the third book gives me answers??
Fire with Fire was an okay book. It was interesting but I kind of felt bored with some chapters. Maybe it's because the whole plot of get him to fall for you and then break his heart just seems so boring to me now. So many things revolve around that plot that I was hoping for something different. Yes, it all happens but there's still some hope for love.
The girls - Lil, Kat, and Mary - are still bad ass. I think Mary is a ghost but not all the time because people see her? I'm still confused about when her mom came to visit and took her aunt away because of what happened there. I just have all these unanswered questions right now and I need some insight as to what is happening with her. Or what happened to her.
Then there's Rennie - god she annoyed me throughout this ENTIRE book. I wanted to like her because there were some teeny tiny moments of her having an actual soul but then nope - I hated her.
Overall, the ending was a "oh shit" kind of moment. Still trying to wrap my mind around everything and definitely need to dive into the next book. UGH, I just want answers and HEA's all around.
Fire with Fire was an okay book. It was interesting but I kind of felt bored with some chapters. Maybe it's because the whole plot of get him to fall for you and then break his heart just seems so boring to me now. So many things revolve around that plot that I was hoping for something different. Yes, it all happens but there's still some hope for love.
The girls - Lil, Kat, and Mary - are still bad ass. I think Mary is a ghost but not all the time because people see her? I'm still confused about when her mom came to visit and took her aunt away because of what happened there. I just have all these unanswered questions right now and I need some insight as to what is happening with her. Or what happened to her.
Then there's Rennie - god she annoyed me throughout this ENTIRE book. I wanted to like her because there were some teeny tiny moments of her having an actual soul but then nope - I hated her.
Overall, the ending was a "oh shit" kind of moment. Still trying to wrap my mind around everything and definitely need to dive into the next book. UGH, I just want answers and HEA's all around.
mirrorchaser's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't expecting this series to be so captivating.
I never know who I am rooting for, what side I am on.
The characters have surprising depth and there is a lot of consistency in the writing despite the Burn for Burn books being a collaborative effort of two authors. I still have no idea what the genre of this book actually is and the twist at the end had me scratching my head but it wasn't necessarily in a bad way.
I am very glad that I don't have to wait for the next book to come out!
I never know who I am rooting for, what side I am on.
The characters have surprising depth and there is a lot of consistency in the writing despite the Burn for Burn books being a collaborative effort of two authors. I still have no idea what the genre of this book actually is and the twist at the end had me scratching my head but it wasn't necessarily in a bad way.
I am very glad that I don't have to wait for the next book to come out!
pulcherpetra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
louiepotterbook's review against another edition
I found out where it was heading and honestly it felt out of place for what the series claimed to be
marwithreads's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
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