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A review by alibrareads
Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
I held out hope for most of this book that it would eventually give me the Sailor Moon vibes that the author promised, but it did not. Yes the girls can manipulate elements, but even that wasn’t shown off in a reliably engaging way, and the dynamic between them is certainly not like the Sailor Senshi. It did give a “depressed Avengers” vibe though, which was not really fun to read about but at least that comparison felt accurate.
Maia was… Useless. Obviously there’s an appeal to reading about a heroine who is struggling to master their powers/their fears, and who isn’t just super powerful right out the gate. But she spent the entire book being terrified and not even trying to use her fire abilities at all. It wasn’t like she was trying and just didn’t have control, she literally didn’t use it except SORT OF accidentally in two brief instances that weren’t battles (one to arrest a fall early in the book, and another after she just wakes up from being unconscious and suddenly a house is on fire). She manages to actively use her fire powers ONCE, 14 pages from the end of the book, and it lasts for SINGLE page. Really disappointing. She also has the gall to judge and lecture the other Effigies about their work ethic and how they deal with their responsibility when, again, she spent the whole book being afraid, or literally running away, or cowering, etc.
Almost nothing gets resolved or revealed by the end, honestly. And I just felt my confusion growing during the final confrontation with the bad guy Saul. The worldbuilding felt haphazard and things felt half-explained. The Effigies aren’t likable… The main character isn’t likable… Half of this book was spent trying to wrangle all the Effigies together and then the other half was trying to follow these clues that Natalya, the previous fire Effigy, left behind and wondering who killed her but not feeling like any significant progress is made. The girls don’t feel like a team whatsoever and they’re all moody and difficult and obtuse and this was just not what I was hoping for.
I like that the Effigies are each from different parts of the world and not just America. I love the cover of this book. Theoretically I like the idea of this book: I love Sailor Moon, I like Marvel films. My hypothesis before reading this was that it would objectively not be the most well-written, but that I personally would have a good time reading it. The first part was true, the second part was not, sadly. I was blue-balled the whole time waiting to fall in love with cool element-slinging girl-bosses, and it never happened. And I’m bummed about it!
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/w0L-m_Rxk7M
Maia was… Useless. Obviously there’s an appeal to reading about a heroine who is struggling to master their powers/their fears, and who isn’t just super powerful right out the gate. But she spent the entire book being terrified and not even trying to use her fire abilities at all. It wasn’t like she was trying and just didn’t have control, she literally didn’t use it except SORT OF accidentally in two brief instances that weren’t battles (one to arrest a fall early in the book, and another after she just wakes up from being unconscious and suddenly a house is on fire). She manages to actively use her fire powers ONCE, 14 pages from the end of the book, and it lasts for SINGLE page. Really disappointing. She also has the gall to judge and lecture the other Effigies about their work ethic and how they deal with their responsibility when, again, she spent the whole book being afraid, or literally running away, or cowering, etc.
Almost nothing gets resolved or revealed by the end, honestly. And I just felt my confusion growing during the final confrontation with the bad guy Saul. The worldbuilding felt haphazard and things felt half-explained. The Effigies aren’t likable… The main character isn’t likable… Half of this book was spent trying to wrangle all the Effigies together and then the other half was trying to follow these clues that Natalya, the previous fire Effigy, left behind and wondering who killed her but not feeling like any significant progress is made. The girls don’t feel like a team whatsoever and they’re all moody and difficult and obtuse and this was just not what I was hoping for.
I like that the Effigies are each from different parts of the world and not just America. I love the cover of this book. Theoretically I like the idea of this book: I love Sailor Moon, I like Marvel films. My hypothesis before reading this was that it would objectively not be the most well-written, but that I personally would have a good time reading it. The first part was true, the second part was not, sadly. I was blue-balled the whole time waiting to fall in love with cool element-slinging girl-bosses, and it never happened. And I’m bummed about it!
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/w0L-m_Rxk7M