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ergaich's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
amazing world building. enough detail to create a vivid image, but not too much that it drowns out the plot. this book was also written in a way that didn’t feel juvenile, which i can appreciate. lastly, the plot was so driving and kept my attention
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
raiimundo97's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
andromeda_1998's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was I book I got from a bookbox, otherwise I probably would have never read it. The book is decent and I think it could be fun for a 14 year old but it didn’t suit me. I didn’t like it and I felt like all the characters where whiny and annoying. The plot is decent and the writing is okay. The book is mediocre to me. I would probably recommend it to 14/16 year old looking for a fantasy book with dragons.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
stelepami's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy!
On the surface it's a coming-of-age, sibling-rivalry, dragon-focused magical realism story; various combinations of those tropes are not uncommon and often fun.
What makes this book extraordinary for me is the way one of the sister's anxiety is portrayed. It manifests as perfectionism and people-pleasing and panic attacks. She goes to a therapist. She uses coping skills I've learned from real-life therapy (e.g., the diving response, counting different sensations). It's beautiful to me thatshe comes to understand that her anxiety disorder is not something that makes her flawed and unworthy as a person; she learns to love herself with her anxiety and explore different coping mechanisms to find what helps her .
The main characters aren't white. There isn't automatic romance between best friends of different sexes. A character who is described as beautiful is also described as fat in a purely factual and non-derisive way. Biphobic misconceptions are mentioned briefly and dispelled.
I love that this is a stand-alone book in a genre full of trilogies and series. I'd like to spend more time with these characters but it's refreshing to have resolution at the end of a single volume.
Unfortunately, the narrator cannot perform the Scottish accent of the father (it mostly sounds like a strange Irish lilt). The Spanish-speaking Latinx characters sounded better to my untrained ear.
On the surface it's a coming-of-age, sibling-rivalry, dragon-focused magical realism story; various combinations of those tropes are not uncommon and often fun.
What makes this book extraordinary for me is the way one of the sister's anxiety is portrayed. It manifests as perfectionism and people-pleasing and panic attacks. She goes to a therapist. She uses coping skills I've learned from real-life therapy (e.g., the diving response, counting different sensations). It's beautiful to me that
The main characters aren't white. There isn't automatic romance between best friends of different sexes. A character who is described as beautiful is also described as fat in a purely factual and non-derisive way. Biphobic misconceptions are mentioned briefly and dispelled.
I love that this is a stand-alone book in a genre full of trilogies and series. I'd like to spend more time with these characters but it's refreshing to have resolution at the end of a single volume.
Unfortunately, the narrator cannot perform the Scottish accent of the father (it mostly sounds like a strange Irish lilt). The Spanish-speaking Latinx characters sounded better to my untrained ear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Torture
Minor: Biphobia
dlrosebyh's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-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
3.0
i picked this book up because i enjoyed sorcery of thorns. as said in the premise, fire with fire is perfect for people who loved sorcery of thorns.
though i did enjoy the sisters’ adventure, i found eden’s character quite intolerable. the bad guys were stereotypical, and it felt like everything was rushed. i also felt like that the pov’s switch too frequently which makes it for me to understand the story better. i did love the world building, though— with the dragons and fantasy elements.
overall, it was an alright read. i wouldn’t probably continue to the next book in the series.
though i did enjoy the sisters’ adventure, i found eden’s character quite intolerable. the bad guys were stereotypical, and it felt like everything was rushed. i also felt like that the pov’s switch too frequently which makes it for me to understand the story better. i did love the world building, though— with the dragons and fantasy elements.
overall, it was an alright read. i wouldn’t probably continue to the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, and Animal death
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Ableism
Minor: Biphobia, Sexism, and Bullying
willowmae'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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Torture
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, and Gun violence
Minor: Toxic friendship and Sexism
corvicore's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Torture, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Minor: Biphobia
plumpaperbacks's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
While the concept of this book intrigued me, I have mixed feelings on the book itself. I liked the well-written cast of characters, complex sister dynamic, and the unique lore surrounding the dragons, slayers, and sorcerers. I especially liked the resident snarky dragon, Nox. He’s undeniably my favorite character.
What I wasn’t such a fan of, though, was the uneven pacing in the first half of the book vs the second, the rather rushed events in the last third of the story, and just how chaotic things ended up. In the last 100 pages, it felt like there was too much going on, like Soria wanted to fit too much into too few pages, and more than once I had to reread paragraphs to grasp what exactly was happening. I think the best solution here would’ve been to either add a few chapters to the book or split it into a duology. Either one would’ve allowed for a bit of breathing room between action sequences and room to further flesh out the story and characters.
ETA:One thing that seemed unrealistic to me is that Eden was so familiar with her magic as soon as she got it. The girl was a sorcerer for less than half an hour before chasing Dani and managing all of these complex attack spells. Granted, I’m a human without magical experience, but uh… I don’t think it works that way??
The ending was satisfying, I’ll give it that, but as I write this review, my brain feels muddled. I’m not sure if that’s because of the time (it’s almost 4:30 a.m.) or the book or my alarmingly small number of brain cells or all three. Whatever the case may be, even if Fire with Fire didn’t end up being the spectacular urban fantasy I’d hoped it would be, I do recommend it. Soria has a lot of potential if she can figure out her pacing, and I look forward to giving more of her books a try in the future.
Representation
What I wasn’t such a fan of, though, was the uneven pacing in the first half of the book vs the second, the rather rushed events in the last third of the story, and just how chaotic things ended up. In the last 100 pages, it felt like there was too much going on, like Soria wanted to fit too much into too few pages, and more than once I had to reread paragraphs to grasp what exactly was happening. I think the best solution here would’ve been to either add a few chapters to the book or split it into a duology. Either one would’ve allowed for a bit of breathing room between action sequences and room to further flesh out the story and characters.
ETA:
The ending was satisfying, I’ll give it that, but as I write this review, my brain feels muddled. I’m not sure if that’s because of the time (it’s almost 4:30 a.m.) or the book or my alarmingly small number of brain cells or all three. Whatever the case may be, even if Fire with Fire didn’t end up being the spectacular urban fantasy I’d hoped it would be, I do recommend it. Soria has a lot of potential if she can figure out her pacing, and I look forward to giving more of her books a try in the future.
Representation
- bisexual Mexican protagonist
- Mexican protagonist with anxiety
- side characters of color (includes Latine and Black rep)
- sapphic side character
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Violence
The tags “animal cruelty” and “animal death” are there because of the treatment of dragons in some scenes of the book.foreverinastory'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
4.5
4.5/5 RTC
Rep: Half-Mexican, half-white bisexual female MC, half-Mexican half-white female MC with anxiety and panic attacks, Black male love interest, white Scottish love interest, Latine male side character, white questioning female side character, Mexican-American female side characters.
CWs: Alcohol consumption (underage and legal), animal cruelty, animal death (both towards dragons), blood, death, fire/fire injury, gun violence, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, mental illness (anxiety), panic attacks, torture, violence. Moderate: grief.
Rep: Half-Mexican, half-white bisexual female MC, half-Mexican half-white female MC with anxiety and panic attacks, Black male love interest, white Scottish love interest, Latine male side character, white questioning female side character, Mexican-American female side characters.
CWs: Alcohol consumption (underage and legal), animal cruelty, animal death (both towards dragons), blood, death, fire/fire injury, gun violence, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, mental illness (anxiety), panic attacks, torture, violence. Moderate: grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Grief