Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I was so excited to read Incendiary and I was right to be! This one is definitely one for fans of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I'm a sucker for a repressed memory plot line, a fantasy world with a tyrannical monarchy that needs to be overthrown by people with powers and a redemption character arc! It's a page turner.
Towards the beginning, I did feel a little confused and was unsure about the royal line and felt like we could have done with a map to help with the world-building. I guessed a major plot-point very early on because of this confusion but it didn't harm the reading experience. I loved the pace and the action that kept us moving forwards and the complexity of the powers; the curse of being a robari.
Renata is a fascinating character. She's almost the anti-hero and you really feel for her. The way her power has been abused and has caused her permanent damage, how her identity is as fragmented as the thousands of stolen memories that occupy her mind. Every time she begins to open up to someone or trust, that sense of security is snatched away. The immediate and terrible consequences of using her powers reinforce her negative perception of herself. She begins to grow into someone new, finds a new purpose; her own purpose and begins to trust which leaves her in a very precarious position going into the sequel!
I love a cliffhanger as much as the next person but WHAT? Seriously, you can't stop there! Need the next book now please!
Towards the beginning, I did feel a little confused and was unsure about the royal line and felt like we could have done with a map to help with the world-building. I guessed a major plot-point very early on because of this confusion but it didn't harm the reading experience. I loved the pace and the action that kept us moving forwards and the complexity of the powers; the curse of being a robari.
Renata is a fascinating character. She's almost the anti-hero and you really feel for her. The way her power has been abused and has caused her permanent damage, how her identity is as fragmented as the thousands of stolen memories that occupy her mind. Every time she begins to open up to someone or trust, that sense of security is snatched away. The immediate and terrible consequences of using her powers reinforce her negative perception of herself. She begins to grow into someone new, finds a new purpose; her own purpose and begins to trust which leaves her in a very precarious position going into the sequel!
I love a cliffhanger as much as the next person but WHAT? Seriously, you can't stop there! Need the next book now please!
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This first book of the duology reads like it should be a second book. The reader is thrown rapidly into this world without much explanation of the magic system. While it is a main point of the plot that the main character is trying to recover her own memories, more could've been fleshed out before the beginning of the adventure. I feel like I didn't really get to know and connect with any character. The main character is frustratingly angsty the entire book and it would've helped me understand and like her better if some of her more important relationships were fleshed out in the beginning.
This story takes you in so many interesting twists and turns. I won't lie, there were parts I *thought* were predictable, but unfolded in unexpected ways. A mix of action and intrigue, the pacing gets slow towards the middle and then RAPIDLY ramps up at the end. Overall, a fun read and compelling plot - I need the rest of the books in this series immediately.
Side note: I did not like Renata very much at first, but she has grown in me.
Side note: I did not like Renata very much at first, but she has grown in me.
adventurous
dark
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was real excited to read this book and the first fee chapters had me wondering why I was so excited about this book. Then things took a sudden and drastic turn and I couldn’t read fast enough to find out what this girl was going to do. Renata is impulsive and even tho she has been living on the run for half her life she is still by all accounts a child and her emotions and actions are that of a child, well teenager, who hasn’t had the kind of life experiences that would help strengthen her abilities of politics, deception and subterfuge. She is experiencing the guilt childhood trauma and she doesn’t even know it. But it does seem like she is learning the ropes quickly, she kind of does not have a choice. .
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
adventurous
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:
Complicated
This book was pretty good! slower/calmer in the earlier half and I feel that a lot really happens in the last 30% of the book.
Ehrlich gesagt, als ich ungefähr 1/3 des Buches gelesen hatte, dachte ich, dass ich dem Buch mit Sicherheit nicht mehr als 2 Sterne geben würde. Es ist aus der Ich-Perspektive geschrieben und irgendwie konnte ich keinen Bezug zur Protagonistin und Geschichte aufbauen. Alles war so flach, abgedroschen, irgendwie durcheinander. Von Worldbuilding keine (ernsthafte) Spur, das Land kaum vorstellbar (wer mit wem, wie, wo, was). Zudem geschah vieles zu simpel und unausgereift, was viele Handlungen und Ereignisse ziemlich unglaubwürdig machte.
Was hier zusätzlich definitiv fehlte, war eine Einführung, um die ganzen Charaktere, das Land, die Magie, etc. kennenzulernen. Es geht einfach irgendwie los, man hat noch gar keine Bezug zu irgend jemandem und soll schon verstehen, wie die Protagonistin zu den Menschen um sie herum steht und wie sie empfindet. Einfach so aus heiterem Himmel. Hmm... das hat nicht ganz funktioniert.
Erst mit der Zeit wurde es besser, interessanter, spannender. Ungefähr ab dem Punkt, als Renata in den Palast kam und von da aus ihre eigene Mission in Angriff nahm. Zwar gibt es auch hier einige Stellen, die "im wahren Leben" nie so funktionieren würden. Aber ok, muss ja nicht alles so tiefgründig sein.
Im letzten Drittel nimmt die Geschichte ziemlich an Fahrt auf und macht letztendlich doch noch neugierig darauf, wie es wohl im zweiten (und vermutlich) finalen Band weiter geht.
Es ist schade, dass der Anfang des Buches so unausgereift ist. Die Idee zur Geschichte ist gut und interessant. Da hätte man wirklich etwas richtig Gutes daraus machen können. So ist es leider eine etwas flache YA Geschichte geworden, die man sicherlich mal lesen kann, es aber auch kein mega Versäumnis ist, wenn man es nicht tut. Die Entwicklung der Geschichte ist allerdings so, dass ich vermutlich auch die Fortsetzung lesen werde.
Was hier zusätzlich definitiv fehlte, war eine Einführung, um die ganzen Charaktere, das Land, die Magie, etc. kennenzulernen. Es geht einfach irgendwie los, man hat noch gar keine Bezug zu irgend jemandem und soll schon verstehen, wie die Protagonistin zu den Menschen um sie herum steht und wie sie empfindet. Einfach so aus heiterem Himmel. Hmm... das hat nicht ganz funktioniert.
Erst mit der Zeit wurde es besser, interessanter, spannender. Ungefähr ab dem Punkt, als Renata in den Palast kam und von da aus ihre eigene Mission in Angriff nahm. Zwar gibt es auch hier einige Stellen, die "im wahren Leben" nie so funktionieren würden. Aber ok, muss ja nicht alles so tiefgründig sein.
Im letzten Drittel nimmt die Geschichte ziemlich an Fahrt auf und macht letztendlich doch noch neugierig darauf, wie es wohl im zweiten (und vermutlich) finalen Band weiter geht.
Es ist schade, dass der Anfang des Buches so unausgereift ist. Die Idee zur Geschichte ist gut und interessant. Da hätte man wirklich etwas richtig Gutes daraus machen können. So ist es leider eine etwas flache YA Geschichte geworden, die man sicherlich mal lesen kann, es aber auch kein mega Versäumnis ist, wenn man es nicht tut. Die Entwicklung der Geschichte ist allerdings so, dass ich vermutlich auch die Fortsetzung lesen werde.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was an okay book, started off kind of slow & uninteresting to me but once their leader gets kidnapped it kicks off but then once she gets into the palace is dragsssssssss and dragssss; so many times while I’m reading the middle part of the book I’m asking “what does this have to do with the plot?! How does this help the plot? wdf is the plot” which then just made it a drag to try and get through the book.
Her getting out the palace put some fire back in the book but by then I found myself disinterested & the moments that should have made me go “wow or wdf” just had me stale faced - I also saw some of the twist coming after a while
I dunno, just feeling kind of underwhelmed a bit, I’m finishing the series mainly bc I already bought the 2nd book 🥴 hopefully that doesn’t drag as much as this did in the middle & hopefully Ren isn’t as annoying bc it’s hard to root for a character when they’re upsetting you like every other chapter 🫠
Her getting out the palace put some fire back in the book but by then I found myself disinterested & the moments that should have made me go “wow or wdf” just had me stale faced - I also saw some of the twist coming after a while
I dunno, just feeling kind of underwhelmed a bit, I’m finishing the series mainly bc I already bought the 2nd book 🥴 hopefully that doesn’t drag as much as this did in the middle & hopefully Ren isn’t as annoying bc it’s hard to root for a character when they’re upsetting you like every other chapter 🫠
Where do I begin? Seriously, I was lucky enough to receive a Netgalley eARC and I had no idea what this book was about and funny enough, it made it so much more exciting to read. Though I'm guessing if you're here already, you know its inspired by the Spanish Inquisition and that it follows Renata Convida, who I would do almost anything for.
The story is gripping from the very beginning and theres so much mystery that Zoraida weaves so beautifully, which keeps you wanting more and having almost as many questions as dear Ren. Despite the betrayals, heartbreak, endless tears this book elicited, the real tear jerker was witnessing Ren come into collision with her multiple identities - as a Robari, a Whisper and a girl. She goes through this difficult journey of self-love and her survivors guilt (and guilt over her past) is her biggest enemy. Shes not the type to carry herself with ease and that's okay. She is, however, very courageous and one of the smartest YA characters I've come across in a while. Her brain works wonders, attempting to discover the weapon that can destroy the Whispers.
One of the lines that hurt me was when she says:
“Because I have more stolen memories than ones of my own making. Because I have lived hundreds of stolen lives, and I’m afraid to live my own.”
Who is Renata Convida?
Suffice to say, I'm excited to see where her journey takes her next especially with her new friend ***. This is a series that will live in my heart and I'm so grateful that I got to read about Renata and fall for her.
The story is gripping from the very beginning and theres so much mystery that Zoraida weaves so beautifully, which keeps you wanting more and having almost as many questions as dear Ren. Despite the betrayals, heartbreak, endless tears this book elicited, the real tear jerker was witnessing Ren come into collision with her multiple identities - as a Robari, a Whisper and a girl. She goes through this difficult journey of self-love and her survivors guilt (and guilt over her past) is her biggest enemy. Shes not the type to carry herself with ease and that's okay. She is, however, very courageous and one of the smartest YA characters I've come across in a while. Her brain works wonders, attempting to discover the weapon that can destroy the Whispers.
One of the lines that hurt me was when she says:
“Because I have more stolen memories than ones of my own making. Because I have lived hundreds of stolen lives, and I’m afraid to live my own.”
Who is Renata Convida?
Suffice to say, I'm excited to see where her journey takes her next especially with her new friend ***. This is a series that will live in my heart and I'm so grateful that I got to read about Renata and fall for her.
Finished reading: December 10th 2020
“Sometimes I wonder if a person can have so much regret they'll drown in it.”
Spoiler
I admit that it was cover love at first sight when I saw the cover of Incendiary, but when I read the blurb and saw it had a historical Spain influence I was sold all over again. I've been highly anticipating this title and I do wonder if I simply set my expectations too high, because somehow I wasn't all too impressed by what I found. Don't get me wrong; I still love the premise of this story. The idea behind this high fantasy world is fascinating and I loved idea behind the magic as well. BUT. I just felt both the fantasy world in general and the magic lacked developing more, as instead the story focused mostly on the character development instead. It is especially the magic and the historical references that had the potential to make this story stand out, but instead we have another angsty female main character who is supposed to be super powerful but has a lot of personal issues. Oh yes, the whole 'everybody hates me', 'I'm the only one who can save them/complete the mission' and 'nobody understands me' vibe all over again... Which is both something that has been done already a LOT and something I find extremely annoying. This focus on the characters also slowed down the pace considerably, and while I found the beginning to be quite engaging, things soon started to drag. Especially once the main focus was on Renata alone; she has a lot of potential, but with all the issues mentioned before she became a bore fast. The romance didn't do it for me either, and the cliffhanger ending that wasn't all that big of a cliffhanger after all could have been better. Overall Incendiary isn't exactly a bad read, but I don't think it reached it's potential at all... And I have to be honest here and say that I don't think that I will continue the series any time soon.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.