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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This one had me on a bit of a rollercoaster. At first, I was intrigued—there were hints of something deeper brewing beneath the surface, and the worldbuilding had potential. Then things started picking up and I found myself thinking, Okay, yes, I’m into this. The dynamics were clicking, and I was ready for the story to really burn.
But then…the ending. It just didn’t land for me. It became so predictable that I caught myself just coasting through the final chapters, waiting for the inevitable to unfold. It wasn’t bad—it just didn’t surprise me. I wanted a twist, a moment that made my jaw drop, and instead it felt like watching a rerun of a show you’ve seen a few times too many.
Still, if you’re in the mood for a quick fantasy fix with familiar beats and a decent slow burn, it might still be worth the ride.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Most people are suckers for dragons, but my fantasy all-star is the Phoenix. Of Flame and Fury is a fast-paced heart-pumping adventure that kicks off with Phoenix racing and ends on a high note. I could read five more books from this world 👀Mikayla bridge hope you make this happen.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC.
funny
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge. All opinions are my own.
Of Flame and Fury is a young adult fantasy set in a world that has both magical creatures and technology. There’s the dangerous sport of phoenix racing as well as a sweet romance between rivals.
This book started out with a bang and was easy to get into. The pacing was quick during the first half of the book, and I enjoyed the intensity of the different phoenix races.
The characters in this story were likable, and I especially loved the tension and later friendship between Coup and Kel. The found family aspect with the phoenix racing team was also very wholesome.
The phoenixes were one of my favorite things about this story because I haven’t read any other books where they are the primary magical creature that is discussed. I liked that they were dangerous and didn’t really care about the safety of humans.
I think I would’ve given this book five stars if it hadn’t been for where the plot went in the last fourth of the book. I found it confusing, and I just didn’t really enjoy it like I did the rest of the book.
I don’t think there’s going to be a sequel for this book (at least I’m not aware that there is), which makes the ending pretty unsatisfying to me.
I listened to the audiobook for this story, and while I liked it, I did have to slow the speed way down (for me at least) because I couldn’t focus on the story. I read half of the book and then completely restarted it at a slower speed because I didn’t remember that much of what I had just read.
Overall, I liked this book and think it was great for a debut. I would definitely read more books by this author in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Blood, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content
This book was everything! It delivered on every aspect from the characters to the world to the phoenix racing itself and far exceeded my expectations.
Right off the bat we're dropped into a phoenix race. We immediately are introduced to arguably our two most important characters, Kel and Savita (her phoenix). From there, everything just takes off flying. The plot moves forward at an incredibly fast rate, which for me was a real strength of this book. It never felt like things were moving too fast or that we weren't spending enough time in a certain moment which I think speaks a lot to the pacing of this book. Furthermore, the deeper you get into the book the more fun, intrigued and of course romance you get which keeps you wanting to turn the pages faster and faster.
To quickly speak on our main lovebirds (not of the phoenix variety) I would like to say that I think this was much more of a dislike to love relationship rather than enemies to love but I don't fault the author for that. We also get a little bit of fake dating thrown in there which just makes me love it all the more!!
Overall, I really enjoyed all the character dynamics and the found family aspect that came to fruition. Kel and Coup were so fun to read about and it was so entertaining to see their relationship grow! Additionally, I loved learning about the different parts of the world and the different mythical creatures that reside on the respective islands. I would also be remiss to not mention our semi crazy scientist and the surprise twist near the end of the book that makes you question everything you just read in the best way possible!
In the end I think Mikayla Bridge did such a great job bring this world to life and I truly can't wait to see where we go next!
Thank you to NetGalley, Mikayla Bridge, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for access to the eARC before the July release date! I truly recommend picking this one up!
Right off the bat we're dropped into a phoenix race. We immediately are introduced to arguably our two most important characters, Kel and Savita (her phoenix). From there, everything just takes off flying. The plot moves forward at an incredibly fast rate, which for me was a real strength of this book. It never felt like things were moving too fast or that we weren't spending enough time in a certain moment which I think speaks a lot to the pacing of this book. Furthermore, the deeper you get into the book the more fun, intrigued and of course romance you get which keeps you wanting to turn the pages faster and faster.
To quickly speak on our main lovebirds (not of the phoenix variety) I would like to say that I think this was much more of a dislike to love relationship rather than enemies to love but I don't fault the author for that. We also get a little bit of fake dating thrown in there which just makes me love it all the more!!
Overall, I really enjoyed all the character dynamics and the found family aspect that came to fruition. Kel and Coup were so fun to read about and it was so entertaining to see their relationship grow! Additionally, I loved learning about the different parts of the world and the different mythical creatures that reside on the respective islands. I would also be remiss to not mention our semi crazy scientist and the surprise twist near the end of the book that makes you question everything you just read in the best way possible!
In the end I think Mikayla Bridge did such a great job bring this world to life and I truly can't wait to see where we go next!
Thank you to NetGalley, Mikayla Bridge, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for access to the eARC before the July release date! I truly recommend picking this one up!
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I'm feeling all sorts of emotions after finishing this book...I'm glad I finished this one before bed so I can take the night to process those highs and lows. This is Mikayla's debut, and she absolutely nailed it!
The book is an easy read, and chapter 1 immediately pulled me in! Perhaps we could have had more world-building, but there's enough to follow along, so it doesn't confuse the reader or detract from the story.
The tropes include enemies to lovers, but it's not entirely... I don't want to spoil anything, because there is a deeper, valid reasoning. But suffice it to say you're also dealing with a couple of 17-year-olds who haven't had an easy childhood, and she's grumpy while he's sunshine. So even though I struggle to call it enemies to lovers, that didn't take away at all from my enjoyment of the story!
And those couple plot twists at the end!! Eek! Those were so well executed. The whole last couple chapters I was sad, irritated, hopeful, tearing up, and that very end.... Ugh! I thought it was beautiful...
Our Netgalley copies didn't have the completed epilogue yet. And honestly it could end at chapter 54 and let our imaginations run wild. But I am excited to see the epilogue after publication! Aaaaand I really hope we get a book 2!
Reader notes:
-- Drinking at age 17
-- Kissing, some touching (not private areas)
-- LGBT side characters
Thank you so much to Mikayla and Netgalley for the chance to ARC read this book! I really enjoyed it!
The book is an easy read, and chapter 1 immediately pulled me in! Perhaps we could have had more world-building, but there's enough to follow along, so it doesn't confuse the reader or detract from the story.
The tropes include enemies to lovers, but it's not entirely... I don't want to spoil anything, because there is a deeper, valid reasoning. But suffice it to say you're also dealing with a couple of 17-year-olds who haven't had an easy childhood, and she's grumpy while he's sunshine. So even though I struggle to call it enemies to lovers, that didn't take away at all from my enjoyment of the story!
And those couple plot twists at the end!! Eek! Those were so well executed. The whole last couple chapters I was sad, irritated, hopeful, tearing up, and that very end.... Ugh! I thought it was beautiful...
Our Netgalley copies didn't have the completed epilogue yet. And honestly it could end at chapter 54 and let our imaginations run wild. But I am excited to see the epilogue after publication! Aaaaand I really hope we get a book 2!
Reader notes:
-- Drinking at age 17
-- Kissing, some touching (not private areas)
-- LGBT side characters
Thank you so much to Mikayla and Netgalley for the chance to ARC read this book! I really enjoyed it!
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to #macaudio2025 , Mikayla Bridge, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. I wanted to love this book so much. The concept was fantastic and different and I was really pumped about a fantasy about phoenixes. The phoenixes and the races were definitely highlights in the book but I personally felt the character building and world building fell short. At the end of the book, I still felt infested in the Phoenix at the center, but didn’t really feel drawn to the humans. The narration was wonderfully done and I think had it not been an audio, I would have struggled to finish this one.
Of Flame and Fury may be THE YA book of the summer. It’s hot (literally, thanks phoenixes), its gripping. Its unputdownable. The characters are so well written that they could ne real people, and I am SO hooked that I a) couldn’t stop reading b) NEED BOOK TWO IMMEDIATELY. THERE WILL BE A BOOK TWO RIGHT?? The writing is fantastic - and I am already itching to reread this and Mikayla Bridge is absolutely a new autobuy author for me!!
Of Flame and Fury is a fantasy story about phoenixes, racing, and the lengths one would go to, to protect their family.
FMC Kel (short for Kelyn), is part of the Phoenix racing team, the Crimson Howlers, where they race Savita (Kel's Phoenix), in CAPR races. These races can be extremely brutal, often resulting in injury or death to the phoenix riders, but Kel has a dwindling bank account, and has no choice but to keep racing in the hopes her team can win money, and she can at least maintain Sav's aviary. In a slew of unfortunate events, Kel has no other option but to take an offer of employment from a tech mogul that her father had always told her to steer clear of. MMC Warren Coupers, aka Coup, and his brother, weasel their way onto the Howlers after getting kicked of another team themselves, so join Kel and Davita at Cristo Industries. Coup does happen to be on of the best riders out there, although a bit reckless.
Every day that the team is at Cristo Industries, Kel is just waiting for the other shoe to drop, knowing there has to be something nefarious going on.
The book starts off with action right from the beginning, and the action rarely lets up! I think this story is really unique, I have never read a book about phoenixes like this, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed that this is a fantasy, but the humans are all just humans, the creatures are the fantasy element here. I really felt for Kel as she battles the internal struggle of wanting what is best for Savita and other phoenixes, while also collaring and subjecting them to these horrible races, because she has had no other choice. ""Maybe if we'd never collared phoenixes, we could've learned from them..."" but this story follows human nature, wanting to control the fantastical not understand or appreciate it, only to use it and abuse it. Kel and the Howlers start to discover their benefactor while seemingly kind and caring on the outside, has much darker plans in store, born out of a desperation to help cure the disease that runs rampant in the world of this story. What will Kel do to save her family from certain death? You have to read to find out!!
Some fave quotes:
"...Kel could see that Savita's feathers weren't stirring mere colors into the air-she had become flame"
"Kel huffed and stepped back. Maybe if he cracked his skull, some of the arrogance might leak out."
"It took everything inside of Kel not to buckle to the floor. The kiss heated her blood more than his words ever had."
"Somewhere, in the buried crevasses of her heart, Kel knew that Savita was a wild beast. She'd known it from the first time she'd seen the phoenix."
Thank you so much to Netgalley, and the author for a copy of this book!
FMC Kel (short for Kelyn), is part of the Phoenix racing team, the Crimson Howlers, where they race Savita (Kel's Phoenix), in CAPR races. These races can be extremely brutal, often resulting in injury or death to the phoenix riders, but Kel has a dwindling bank account, and has no choice but to keep racing in the hopes her team can win money, and she can at least maintain Sav's aviary. In a slew of unfortunate events, Kel has no other option but to take an offer of employment from a tech mogul that her father had always told her to steer clear of. MMC Warren Coupers, aka Coup, and his brother, weasel their way onto the Howlers after getting kicked of another team themselves, so join Kel and Davita at Cristo Industries. Coup does happen to be on of the best riders out there, although a bit reckless.
Every day that the team is at Cristo Industries, Kel is just waiting for the other shoe to drop, knowing there has to be something nefarious going on.
The book starts off with action right from the beginning, and the action rarely lets up! I think this story is really unique, I have never read a book about phoenixes like this, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed that this is a fantasy, but the humans are all just humans, the creatures are the fantasy element here. I really felt for Kel as she battles the internal struggle of wanting what is best for Savita and other phoenixes, while also collaring and subjecting them to these horrible races, because she has had no other choice. ""Maybe if we'd never collared phoenixes, we could've learned from them..."" but this story follows human nature, wanting to control the fantastical not understand or appreciate it, only to use it and abuse it. Kel and the Howlers start to discover their benefactor while seemingly kind and caring on the outside, has much darker plans in store, born out of a desperation to help cure the disease that runs rampant in the world of this story. What will Kel do to save her family from certain death? You have to read to find out!!
Some fave quotes:
"...Kel could see that Savita's feathers weren't stirring mere colors into the air-she had become flame"
"Kel huffed and stepped back. Maybe if he cracked his skull, some of the arrogance might leak out."
"It took everything inside of Kel not to buckle to the floor. The kiss heated her blood more than his words ever had."
"Somewhere, in the buried crevasses of her heart, Kel knew that Savita was a wild beast. She'd known it from the first time she'd seen the phoenix."
Thank you so much to Netgalley, and the author for a copy of this book!
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
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought the premise of this book was so cool. Phoenixes are one of my favorite mythological creatures to read about and they don't nearly get the love that they deserve. So when I saw Of Flame and Fury had them as the highlight I was sold.
This novel shines when it comes to the phoenix races. I could have read an entire book on that alone. I liked the descriptions, the obstacles, and teamwork of the racing crew. I also liked when "The Fume" came onto the scene and would have loved to see them incorporated more into the story. I also didn't see the plot twist coming, so kudos to Bridge for pulling that off.
I think one of my biggest problems with this book was that there was too much going on, leaving none of it well executed. I was left wanting more in terms of world-building and the magic system didn't feel very well fleshed out. The romance didn't feel believable because it felt like we spent hardly any time with the characters getting to know each other. I also wanted more on the pandemic plot, but maybe that will be addressed in future installments.
I think that this will find its home with romantasy readers, so I encourage lovers of the genre to try it out for themselves. It was just unfortunately a miss for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This novel shines when it comes to the phoenix races. I could have read an entire book on that alone. I liked the descriptions, the obstacles, and teamwork of the racing crew. I also liked when "The Fume" came onto the scene and would have loved to see them incorporated more into the story. I also didn't see the plot twist coming, so kudos to Bridge for pulling that off.
I think one of my biggest problems with this book was that there was too much going on, leaving none of it well executed. I was left wanting more in terms of world-building and the magic system didn't feel very well fleshed out. The romance didn't feel believable because it felt like we spent hardly any time with the characters getting to know each other. I also wanted more on the pandemic plot, but maybe that will be addressed in future installments.
I think that this will find its home with romantasy readers, so I encourage lovers of the genre to try it out for themselves. It was just unfortunately a miss for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.