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lsparrow's review against another edition
4.0
loved this novel of trying to find yourself and of quest
vigil's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
amym84's review against another edition
3.0
So this was an extremely quick read. Pretty much, a nameless woman wakes up in a circle of stones surrounded by a group of people. She doesn't know who she is, or where she comes from, but it's obvious that this group has summoned her here. They further that, by binding her to perform a task for them. So she unwittingly sets out on the quest. Along the way, she'll face various obstacles and discover more about herself.
The description might seem a little vague but that's simple due to the fact that our main character doesn't know who she is for the majority of the book. To say much more would give away the things she learns towards the end.
Cold-Forged Flame was a very quick read, but it really needed to be considering the format of the story. You can only write so much with a character who absolutely knows nothing about what is going on around her before reading the same would become taxing. Readers are in the same boat as our heroine. We're left with big question marks over our heads for the majority of the story. But the setting and our heroine's quest was very interesting. I think I may have enjoyed it more if I had a modicum of information as to where certain aspects were coming from. But that would defeat the purpose of the story.
I'm interested to see where things go from here since I'm given to understand that [b:Lightning in the Blood|31372174|Lightning in the Blood|Marie Brennan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|52061081] will be the sequel. I think, based on what our heroine goes through here, the second book might be a bit easier to get through since there won't be as much conjecture left.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The description might seem a little vague but that's simple due to the fact that our main character doesn't know who she is for the majority of the book. To say much more would give away the things she learns towards the end.
Cold-Forged Flame was a very quick read, but it really needed to be considering the format of the story. You can only write so much with a character who absolutely knows nothing about what is going on around her before reading the same would become taxing. Readers are in the same boat as our heroine. We're left with big question marks over our heads for the majority of the story. But the setting and our heroine's quest was very interesting. I think I may have enjoyed it more if I had a modicum of information as to where certain aspects were coming from. But that would defeat the purpose of the story.
I'm interested to see where things go from here since I'm given to understand that [b:Lightning in the Blood|31372174|Lightning in the Blood|Marie Brennan|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|52061081] will be the sequel. I think, based on what our heroine goes through here, the second book might be a bit easier to get through since there won't be as much conjecture left.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
juliagulia's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
clauleesi's review against another edition
3.0
If I hadn't known before that this was written by [a:Marie Brennan|105839|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277921611p2/105839.jpg], I would never have guessed that this book was written by the same author that wrote [b:A Natural History of Dragons|12974372|A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, #1)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1359770409s/12974372.jpg|18132937]. Never.
The writing style is completely different - [b:Cold-Forged Flame|30199311|Cold-Forged Flame (Ree Varekai, #1)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464881795s/30199311.jpg|50650404] is much darker, and if it wasn't such a tiny little novella, I might have enjoyed it even more than I did, and probably more than [b:A Natural History of Dragons|12974372|A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, #1)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1359770409s/12974372.jpg|18132937].
"There is will. There is need.
And so, in reply, there is a woman."
In [b:Cold-Forged Flame|30199311|Cold-Forged Flame (Ree Varekai, #1)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464881795s/30199311.jpg|50650404], we follow a woman that seemingly appeared out of thin air. She has no idea of who she is and where she came from, just that her soul is bound to complete a quest. A quest that will take her deeper and deeper into a world she recognizes but doesn't remember, and make her fear the answers to her questions.
For such a short book - barely 100 pages - it felt quite epic. But that shortness was also it's biggest fault, since I would have loved to know more about about the world and magic, and found myself with almost as much questions as our mysterious main character.
I would love to read the sequel [b:Lightning in the Blood|31372239|Lightning in the Blood (Ree Varekai, #2)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494932939s/31372239.jpg|52061081], though I unfortunately feel that the potential of this new world that [a:Marie Brennan|105839|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277921611p2/105839.jpg] created was a bit wasted because of the novella format. It could have been much better if we only had the chance to explore it more.
The writing style is completely different - [b:Cold-Forged Flame|30199311|Cold-Forged Flame (Ree Varekai, #1)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464881795s/30199311.jpg|50650404] is much darker, and if it wasn't such a tiny little novella, I might have enjoyed it even more than I did, and probably more than [b:A Natural History of Dragons|12974372|A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, #1)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1359770409s/12974372.jpg|18132937].
"There is will. There is need.
And so, in reply, there is a woman."
In [b:Cold-Forged Flame|30199311|Cold-Forged Flame (Ree Varekai, #1)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1464881795s/30199311.jpg|50650404], we follow a woman that seemingly appeared out of thin air. She has no idea of who she is and where she came from, just that her soul is bound to complete a quest. A quest that will take her deeper and deeper into a world she recognizes but doesn't remember, and make her fear the answers to her questions.
For such a short book - barely 100 pages - it felt quite epic. But that shortness was also it's biggest fault, since I would have loved to know more about about the world and magic, and found myself with almost as much questions as our mysterious main character.
I would love to read the sequel [b:Lightning in the Blood|31372239|Lightning in the Blood (Ree Varekai, #2)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494932939s/31372239.jpg|52061081], though I unfortunately feel that the potential of this new world that [a:Marie Brennan|105839|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277921611p2/105839.jpg] created was a bit wasted because of the novella format. It could have been much better if we only had the chance to explore it more.
feelingferal's review against another edition
4.0
Fast but fun read. The character and story were engaging. There was enough worldbuilding to serve the story and enough left unsaid to make me want to reach for the next book.
jaymeks's review against another edition
3.0
This is everything a novella should be: short, packing a punch, and not necessarily worrying about the small details. There really wasn't a complicated set up, which it didn't need, and the story hurried along. It felt natural...
I thought the characters were interesting, the world building shallow but decent for the story, and the ending done well enough to be satisfied, yet wanting more. Will look forward to seeing more of these stories in the future.
I thought the characters were interesting, the world building shallow but decent for the story, and the ending done well enough to be satisfied, yet wanting more. Will look forward to seeing more of these stories in the future.