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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
This book feels like it should have been better. It had a lot of components that should add up to a great book, but something about the mixture that just didn't click. I'm not sure if it was pacing, something character related, or maybe how the multiple POVs were done. I feel like I was continuously trying to be engaged by the story.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Grief, Colonisation
Minor: Sexual content
I only got to about 27% and decided to shelf it for a while. I definitely want to return to it to finish reading in the future.
I just wasn't finding myself wanting to read it over other books.
I just wasn't finding myself wanting to read it over other books.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I tried reading this book back when it was “The Boy with Fire” and had a hard time getting into it. I definitely felt the same this time around and almost DNF’ed several times - it starts incredibly slow and requires chapters upon chapters of world building and character setup. The pacing and multiple POVs made it difficult for me to get invested in the plot. When the pace picks up in the last third with action and plot twists, I was more interested but also felt that much of it felt disjointed.
I really enjoyed the South Asian elements, especially with Verma’s descriptive writing style. That being said, I personally found that some things about the world were cool in concept but hard to digest, such as the juxtaposing futuristic technology and ancient scrolls/practices.
The characters got much more interesting as the story progressed, and my favorites were Ferma and Samson. Elena is powerful and it’s refreshing to see a morally grey FMC. I love a good bodyguard romance trope, but Elena’s attachment to Yessen (while predictable) seemed to come out of nowhere. I didn’t love how the reveal of the prophet was handled, but I can see why it was done that way. There are a couple of major deaths in this book that I personally think were super predictable.
I would read the next book in the trilogy, but if the pacing is the same as this book, I might have to give up on the series.
I really enjoyed the South Asian elements, especially with Verma’s descriptive writing style. That being said, I personally found that some things about the world were cool in concept but hard to digest, such as the juxtaposing futuristic technology and ancient scrolls/practices.
The characters got much more interesting as the story progressed, and my favorites were Ferma and Samson. Elena is powerful and it’s refreshing to see a morally grey FMC.
I would read the next book in the trilogy, but if the pacing is the same as this book, I might have to give up on the series.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes