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wardenred's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Ingrid didn’t want to be happy. She wanted to be important, and she wanted to be valued.
I loved Rosiee Thor's debut novel, Tarnished Are the Stars, so I fully expected to love Fire Becomes Her, as well. Especially since the gorgeous cover and the blurb made that expectation so easy to form. Unfortunately, I was left rather disappointed.
This book has a beautiful first chapter that delivers on so much of what the vibe promises. The Jazz Age speakeasy atmosphere, the free flow of magic, all the character-focused moments hinting at many exciting secrets—I think with a few tweaks and a bit of expansion, this chapter alone could make for a wonderful short story. But the rest of book falls sadly short of this dazzling first impression. The plot is rather predictable and best not examined too closely because there are plenty of plotholes. Ingrid, the MC, is pretty much the only character who feels anywhere close to developed, and even her arc is occasionally swingy and inconsistent. The magic is so important to the plot, but for the life of me I can't explain the magic system after reading the book. There is... magical stuff... and it is used to make things happen by, um, ingesting it, but also by putting it into things, and anyone can achieve the magic effects with enough stuff, but also no, not just anyone? It's confusing. The magic just seems to do whatever would be cool for the plot at any given moment.
I will say that there were a bunch of nice moments that were almost cinematic in how they were written, as well as a lot of witty banter. And I very much appreciated the overall queerness of the cast/world and the inclusion of so many types of love, attraction, and human interaction in general. I just wish all the characters involved in this beautiful web of connections were more three-dimensional.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Misogyny and Transphobia
smartie_chan's review against another edition
hopeful
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence and Misogyny
pastelkerstin's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Drags a bit, is fairly predictable and not as radical as the blurb would have you believe, but the QPR rep is nice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Blood, Murder, and Police brutality
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Transphobia and Dysphoria
city_girl_writer's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This book…was subpar. I didn’t have high expectations, but I was hoping for a good YA fantasy which was where I was disappointed in. The MC was not likable, not even intriguing to excuse it. The side characters were boring and uninteresting. The only saving grace for this book was the queer representation, especially having a queer-platonic relationship. I have never seen a QPR depicted in a novel before. However the queer rep could not save this book. Besides the characters, the plot was not interesting at all. I was looking forward to political intrigue but got surface-level ideas. The world was uninteresting. I could not care about the magic either. The writing was…bland mostly but had a few interesting lines regarding the QPR. Other than that, I do not recommend this book unless you come in with very little expectations for YA fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny and Classism
Minor: Transphobia
hello_lovely13's review
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Police brutality, Misogyny, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Blood and Transphobia
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Abandonment, Violence, Confinement, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Blood
Minor: Transphobia
paperbrownies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
3.0
- lgbtqiap+, ya, fantasy, magic, political intrigue, women in politics, fire magic, ‘eat the rich’, queer platonic relationships (qpr)
- qpr, side f|f
arospec bisexual mc, nonbinary ace sc, aroace brown sc, wLw couple
”..power wasn’t about who she could tear down in a ruin of flame. It was about who she could lift up, and she didn’t need magic to do that.”
- FIRE MAGIC!!
- i wish there was more of louise!! bc i read her as a very chaotic character so i need her backstory and her generally blowing stuff up!! 😂🤌
- the AROSPEC REP!! for me that has to be the main highlight of the story, especially chapter 23 which made me tear up!! 😭😭 as an aro person myself, i cant believe i got to read such beautiful and affirming words written on page; GAH it has to be the most awesome feeling ever!! and i absolutely love what alex and ingrid have!!
- lastly, a lot of us aros feel bothered by the ‘’love is love” slogan used in queer spaces bc of obvious reasons, right? so i really loved the way the author reclaimed the phrase!! 😌
- cw: violence, fire, vandalism, abandonment, misogyny, sexism, on-page death, murder, injury in detail, alcohol, gaslighting
- qpr, side f|f
arospec bisexual mc, nonbinary ace sc, aroace brown sc, wLw couple
”..power wasn’t about who she could tear down in a ruin of flame. It was about who she could lift up, and she didn’t need magic to do that.”
- FIRE MAGIC!!
- i wish there was more of louise!! bc i read her as a very chaotic character so i need her backstory and her generally blowing stuff up!! 😂🤌
- the AROSPEC REP!! for me that has to be the main highlight of the story, especially chapter 23 which made me tear up!! 😭😭 as an aro person myself, i cant believe i got to read such beautiful and affirming words written on page; GAH it has to be the most awesome feeling ever!! and i absolutely love what alex and ingrid have!!
- lastly, a lot of us aros feel bothered by the ‘’love is love” slogan used in queer spaces bc of obvious reasons, right? so i really loved the way the author reclaimed the phrase!! 😌
- cw: violence, fire, vandalism, abandonment, misogyny, sexism, on-page death, murder, injury in detail, alcohol, gaslighting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Murder
foreverinastory's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
Thank you to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I didn't know this was going to have a political campaign but I lived for it!! Loved this so much. Okay I just now saw that the author pitched this as "If you've ever thought about lighting Mitch McConnell on fire, this book is for you". I am laughing so hard. This is the energy I want from 2022.
Fire Becomes Her is a Jazz Age fantasy where people can ingest a substance called flare and become a firebender. Ingrid Ellis doesn't have the family connections or wealth to get what she wants, but she has a plan. She'll ride to the top on the arm of Linden Holt, the son of the largest flare fortune in Candesce. But Senator Holt is the only thing in her way because he refuses to acknowledge her.
When the President announces he is leaving office, both Senator Holt and the famous celebrity Gwendolyn Meyers announce their campaigns for office. Ingrid manages to snag a place on Holt's team, but is quickly overlooked as an intern. Until she offers to spy on Holt's competitor and report back. But as Ingrid learns more about the Meyers campaign, the more she is torn about her real loyalties.
I was a goner for this book when it opened in a magical speakeasy. I don't even have enough words to tell you how much I absolutely loved this book. The campaign parts actually reminded me a bit of Red, White & Royal Blue, but in a fantasy world instead of the USA.
Honestly, what do I even say about this book that doesn't have spoilers? I just want to yell about how much I loved this book and all of the characters. Also there are lesbians in power suits. I need more of that.
Ingrid was such a great character. She's cunning and resourceful but also a bit lost in this world where she sees so much injustice and doesn't know how to solve it. There's so much great commentary in this book about how many institutions are corrupt and how you can't fight them without systemic change. Then there was a scene where Meyers dispels "trickle down magic" and literally shows people at a debate how it never works. I had so many heart eyes while reading this.
I absolutely enjoyed Tarnished Are the Stars, but this one elevated Rosiee to one of my fave authors ever. I loved this book so freaking much!
Rep: Bi aro-spec (demiromantic) female MC, BIPOC aspec trans-nonbinary love interest, aromantic asexual female side character, WLW side couple, queer-normative world.
CWs: Abandonment, alcohol consumption, blood, death, fire/fire injury, gaslighting/manipulation, injury/injury detail, misogyny, sexism, violence.
I didn't know this was going to have a political campaign but I lived for it!! Loved this so much. Okay I just now saw that the author pitched this as "If you've ever thought about lighting Mitch McConnell on fire, this book is for you". I am laughing so hard. This is the energy I want from 2022.
Fire Becomes Her is a Jazz Age fantasy where people can ingest a substance called flare and become a firebender. Ingrid Ellis doesn't have the family connections or wealth to get what she wants, but she has a plan. She'll ride to the top on the arm of Linden Holt, the son of the largest flare fortune in Candesce. But Senator Holt is the only thing in her way because he refuses to acknowledge her.
When the President announces he is leaving office, both Senator Holt and the famous celebrity Gwendolyn Meyers announce their campaigns for office. Ingrid manages to snag a place on Holt's team, but is quickly overlooked as an intern. Until she offers to spy on Holt's competitor and report back. But as Ingrid learns more about the Meyers campaign, the more she is torn about her real loyalties.
I was a goner for this book when it opened in a magical speakeasy. I don't even have enough words to tell you how much I absolutely loved this book. The campaign parts actually reminded me a bit of Red, White & Royal Blue, but in a fantasy world instead of the USA.
Honestly, what do I even say about this book that doesn't have spoilers? I just want to yell about how much I loved this book and all of the characters. Also there are lesbians in power suits. I need more of that.
Ingrid was such a great character. She's cunning and resourceful but also a bit lost in this world where she sees so much injustice and doesn't know how to solve it. There's so much great commentary in this book about how many institutions are corrupt and how you can't fight them without systemic change. Then there was a scene where Meyers dispels "trickle down magic" and literally shows people at a debate how it never works. I had so many heart eyes while reading this.
I absolutely enjoyed Tarnished Are the Stars, but this one elevated Rosiee to one of my fave authors ever. I loved this book so freaking much!
Rep: Bi aro-spec (demiromantic) female MC, BIPOC aspec trans-nonbinary love interest, aromantic asexual female side character, WLW side couple, queer-normative world.
CWs: Abandonment, alcohol consumption, blood, death, fire/fire injury, gaslighting/manipulation, injury/injury detail, misogyny, sexism, violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
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