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A review by mycupoftealcsw
To Flame a Wild Flower by Sarah A. Parker
5.0
Did I read this in one day while also working a full day? Why, yes I did. So here are my thoughts:
4. 5 stars. A solid addition to the series that explains so much from the previous books and asks more questions to be explored later. Before I give my full review, I just have to say the author and I will have serious beef if anything happens to Zane. The things that I thought were the best (meaning skillfully written and executed) in the story were:
One of the saddest lines I’ve read in a long time: “But I don’t know where my giggles went”. Right to the heart with that one.
Cain - what a sick piece of crap. This guy seriously would have had a podcast talking about “females” and calling himself a “high quality man” if could. He is what Joffrey Baratheon would have been if he had made it further into adulthood and really honed his ability to be calculated in his cruelty and entitlement. I hated him in the last book, but I loathe him in this one. What an entitled, controlling, abusive, insecure, pathetic man. I could write an entire thesis on how disgusting that absolute trash is, but the author did such an amazing job of letting that character speak for himself, I'll just leave it at that. One of my favorite ways the author makes Cain so repulsive is his obsession with women’s hair. She takes something that is mostly neutral - a hair fetish - and shows how Cain makes it a deeply unhealthy way for him to relate to women and try to control them.
I love Zali - want to see more of her. I laughed out loud when she basically called out Rhordyn for not using his big boy words and getting himself stabbed.
Old Hattie - I reread the second book right before this one and I still completely forgot about Old Hattie until she showed up again. I always appreciate when writers pace a story in such a way that you forget key things until they bring them back at just the right time. I am also glad we got to know more about her and the dynamic with Cain. I like how this dynamic is going to be a bit of template/contrast for Rhordyn and Orlaith’s future relationship complications.
Baze - I am glad we got more of his POV and his history with Orlaith.This book took him from being part of Rhordyn and Orlaith’s story and gave him his own mission and goals. I also want to see more of him and Zali together.
Orlaith - I love that she is finding her strength and we are getting to see her use her expertise in areas (i.e. plants) that the other characters really don’t have. It keeps her from being the one who is always on the back foot and needing others to explain things to her.
Rhordyn - I am happy we are able to see more about him because in book one he was pretty repulsive. Finally getting to see him vulnerable and real makes him more complex and generally engaging. I also found him dying over and over again really funny.
Kolden - I want to know more about him, especially why he is so loyal to Orlaith.
The world - I always appreciate when a world takes on complex topics like misogyny, religious oppression, classism, and generational trauma. This book continues to develop on these topics and makes sure to not make things too neat or too black and white. I also want to learn more about the Gods.
What I thought could have been better/clearer
Rhordyn eating - the fact that he doesn’t eat in front of anyone was such a big deal in the last two books then, all of a sudden, he is eating a full meal with Orlaith all because she put the food in the bowl. That seemed very random. I hope we get a better explanation for that.
Rhordyn’s internal vruk - also seemed very random. We see (what I now assume) was a vruk in Castle Noir in the cage when Rhordyn feeds him the deer and then again near the whispers. But it was outside him (at least for sure it was when he was feeding it). Then we see a black one after Orlaith kills those men - there is no reason for us to link it to Rhordyn. But now he has some internal creature, much like Zyke, that he can unleash by transforming. I feel like we needed more information.
Orlaith refusing to talk to Rhordyn - hun, literally everything you’ve been struggling with the last 2.75 books was because no one talked about shit. Now you are perpetuating this same crap. Use your words!
Orlaith letting go of her guilt about her mother - this resolved way too easily. Rhordyn tells her he did it, not her and she basically just says “my bad, I’m all good now”. Like, what? Something so significant wiped out with little effort just doesn’t make sense.
Kai and Vicious - I am happy Kai found a mate but I feel like it was very rushed. He was barely conscious for much of the time they were together before he “claimed” her and they have never even had a conversation. But now they are joined for life and he is all about her?
Orlaith’s uneven hair - nitpicky, I know. But I really need her to fix that or at least make it make sense.
Everybody biting each other - how does this apply to every single species so far? It’s a bit much.
Can we retire the phrases “slow as the rising sun” or “slow as the setting moon” or anything similar for the next book?
Can’t wait for book 4!
4. 5 stars. A solid addition to the series that explains so much from the previous books and asks more questions to be explored later. Before I give my full review, I just have to say the author and I will have serious beef if anything happens to Zane. The things that I thought were the best (meaning skillfully written and executed) in the story were:
One of the saddest lines I’ve read in a long time: “But I don’t know where my giggles went”. Right to the heart with that one.
Cain - what a sick piece of crap. This guy seriously would have had a podcast talking about “females” and calling himself a “high quality man” if could. He is what Joffrey Baratheon would have been if he had made it further into adulthood and really honed his ability to be calculated in his cruelty and entitlement. I hated him in the last book, but I loathe him in this one. What an entitled, controlling, abusive, insecure, pathetic man. I could write an entire thesis on how disgusting that absolute trash is, but the author did such an amazing job of letting that character speak for himself, I'll just leave it at that. One of my favorite ways the author makes Cain so repulsive is his obsession with women’s hair. She takes something that is mostly neutral - a hair fetish - and shows how Cain makes it a deeply unhealthy way for him to relate to women and try to control them.
I love Zali - want to see more of her. I laughed out loud when she basically called out Rhordyn for not using his big boy words and getting himself stabbed.
Old Hattie - I reread the second book right before this one and I still completely forgot about Old Hattie until she showed up again. I always appreciate when writers pace a story in such a way that you forget key things until they bring them back at just the right time. I am also glad we got to know more about her and the dynamic with Cain. I like how this dynamic is going to be a bit of template/contrast for Rhordyn and Orlaith’s future relationship complications.
Baze - I am glad we got more of his POV and his history with Orlaith.This book took him from being part of Rhordyn and Orlaith’s story and gave him his own mission and goals. I also want to see more of him and Zali together.
Orlaith - I love that she is finding her strength and we are getting to see her use her expertise in areas (i.e. plants) that the other characters really don’t have. It keeps her from being the one who is always on the back foot and needing others to explain things to her.
Rhordyn - I am happy we are able to see more about him because in book one he was pretty repulsive. Finally getting to see him vulnerable and real makes him more complex and generally engaging. I also found him dying over and over again really funny.
Kolden - I want to know more about him, especially why he is so loyal to Orlaith.
The world - I always appreciate when a world takes on complex topics like misogyny, religious oppression, classism, and generational trauma. This book continues to develop on these topics and makes sure to not make things too neat or too black and white. I also want to learn more about the Gods.
What I thought could have been better/clearer
Rhordyn eating - the fact that he doesn’t eat in front of anyone was such a big deal in the last two books then, all of a sudden, he is eating a full meal with Orlaith all because she put the food in the bowl. That seemed very random. I hope we get a better explanation for that.
Rhordyn’s internal vruk - also seemed very random. We see (what I now assume) was a vruk in Castle Noir in the cage when Rhordyn feeds him the deer and then again near the whispers. But it was outside him (at least for sure it was when he was feeding it). Then we see a black one after Orlaith kills those men - there is no reason for us to link it to Rhordyn. But now he has some internal creature, much like Zyke, that he can unleash by transforming. I feel like we needed more information.
Orlaith refusing to talk to Rhordyn - hun, literally everything you’ve been struggling with the last 2.75 books was because no one talked about shit. Now you are perpetuating this same crap. Use your words!
Orlaith letting go of her guilt about her mother - this resolved way too easily. Rhordyn tells her he did it, not her and she basically just says “my bad, I’m all good now”. Like, what? Something so significant wiped out with little effort just doesn’t make sense.
Kai and Vicious - I am happy Kai found a mate but I feel like it was very rushed. He was barely conscious for much of the time they were together before he “claimed” her and they have never even had a conversation. But now they are joined for life and he is all about her?
Orlaith’s uneven hair - nitpicky, I know. But I really need her to fix that or at least make it make sense.
Everybody biting each other - how does this apply to every single species so far? It’s a bit much.
Can we retire the phrases “slow as the rising sun” or “slow as the setting moon” or anything similar for the next book?
Can’t wait for book 4!