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A review by sarahmreads
The Boy With Fire by Aparna Verma
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I received a copy of this book as an e-ARC from NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Elena Ravence soon must rise to the throne in this world at war. However, unlike her ancestors before her, she is unable to wield the Eternal Fire without being burned. Insert an ex-assassin that must earn his freedom and the threat of a foretold Prophet threatening the king's rule, and Elena must come to terms with the real world that she will need to rule.
I heard so much about this book while on Booktok and as much as the idea and the advertisements enticed me, I felt like the book lacked in a few departments. But I would like to start with some of the elements that I found enjoyable.
Although the world-building and mythology behind the kingdom is a bit dense, I really enjoyed it. I really liked the Phoenix and the Eternal Fire and the overbearing feeling of fear and destruction that comes from it. Yet it still maintains this sacredness to it, and almost makes you feel like you are intruding on specific scenes that involve this religion. I also really liked that you could tell the culture and traditions from what was told, like the kissing of three fingers and placing it on someone's forehead. Things like that really did immerse me into the story.
I also really liked that this is a fantasy with a lot of science fiction elements to it, like pulse guns, holopods, just everything from my sci-fi dreams. It brought a new depth to the story that I don't think would have been achievable otherwise. In a way, I feel it elevates the story to that of a modern fantasy than anything, while still retaining typical fantasy elements. Even though this story did have a glossary at the end (that I didn't realize until I got through the e-book), I do wish that there had been a map, which would have helped me navigate the different lands discussed in the book. The only one I could really figure out is Jantar being above the main city where the story takes place.
Now let's get into some of the other parts I wasn't a huge fan of. First, the characters. I went into this expecting to love all of them, and left only really liking Yassen. Even then, I wish we saw more of him and Elena, or just more of him in general. To me, it almost was like we didn't see much of him when other characters had POVs. I just wish we saw more of these characters and their interactions with one another. Instead, we got a lot from King Leo and what he was doing. His parts felt kind of boring, and the author advertises him a lot as a DILF villain. He didn't even read off as a DILF to me. He was just a corrupted villain, and most of his stuff I would have loved to see it be discovered by Elena on her own while she's also focusing on wielding fire and discovering more about her mother. Also it bothered me that Elena calls her parents by their first names half the time, not really mother or father. It read off to me as disrespectful, especially since she's royalty, and detached me from the story. Overall, I was detached from all of these characters and didn't find a reason to really root for them.
Going off of my rant on the characters, because I felt like we didn't see much of them, there were some huge plot twists that, as a result, didn't really leave me with much impact. Except for one thing at the end that I was completely shocked by and was also pissed after thinking it over, which I won't get into because of spoilers. Also this whole ploy to find the Prophet? I had my hopes set on one specific individual only TO BE COMPLETELY PROVEN WRONG? AND I'M SO MAD ABOUT IT! It felt like there was so little foreshadowing leading up to it that it hurt to have that ending. And the worst part? I didn't really care about who the Prophet ended up being. It just felt like a giant plot to make you think it's one person only to have you fall over the edge at the last possible second.
The Boy with Fire is a slow-paced fantasy novel with great world-building potential but lacking in the character department.
Elena Ravence soon must rise to the throne in this world at war. However, unlike her ancestors before her, she is unable to wield the Eternal Fire without being burned. Insert an ex-assassin that must earn his freedom and the threat of a foretold Prophet threatening the king's rule, and Elena must come to terms with the real world that she will need to rule.
I heard so much about this book while on Booktok and as much as the idea and the advertisements enticed me, I felt like the book lacked in a few departments. But I would like to start with some of the elements that I found enjoyable.
Although the world-building and mythology behind the kingdom is a bit dense, I really enjoyed it. I really liked the Phoenix and the Eternal Fire and the overbearing feeling of fear and destruction that comes from it. Yet it still maintains this sacredness to it, and almost makes you feel like you are intruding on specific scenes that involve this religion. I also really liked that you could tell the culture and traditions from what was told, like the kissing of three fingers and placing it on someone's forehead. Things like that really did immerse me into the story.
I also really liked that this is a fantasy with a lot of science fiction elements to it, like pulse guns, holopods, just everything from my sci-fi dreams. It brought a new depth to the story that I don't think would have been achievable otherwise. In a way, I feel it elevates the story to that of a modern fantasy than anything, while still retaining typical fantasy elements. Even though this story did have a glossary at the end (that I didn't realize until I got through the e-book), I do wish that there had been a map, which would have helped me navigate the different lands discussed in the book. The only one I could really figure out is Jantar being above the main city where the story takes place.
Now let's get into some of the other parts I wasn't a huge fan of. First, the characters. I went into this expecting to love all of them, and left only really liking Yassen. Even then, I wish we saw more of him and Elena, or just more of him in general. To me, it almost was like we didn't see much of him when other characters had POVs. I just wish we saw more of these characters and their interactions with one another. Instead, we got a lot from King Leo and what he was doing. His parts felt kind of boring, and the author advertises him a lot as a DILF villain. He didn't even read off as a DILF to me. He was just a corrupted villain, and most of his stuff I would have loved to see it be discovered by Elena on her own while she's also focusing on wielding fire and discovering more about her mother. Also it bothered me that Elena calls her parents by their first names half the time, not really mother or father. It read off to me as disrespectful, especially since she's royalty, and detached me from the story. Overall, I was detached from all of these characters and didn't find a reason to really root for them.
Going off of my rant on the characters, because I felt like we didn't see much of them, there were some huge plot twists that, as a result, didn't really leave me with much impact. Except for one thing at the end that I was completely shocked by and was also pissed after thinking it over, which I won't get into because of spoilers. Also this whole ploy to find the Prophet? I had my hopes set on one specific individual only TO BE COMPLETELY PROVEN WRONG? AND I'M SO MAD ABOUT IT! It felt like there was so little foreshadowing leading up to it that it hurt to have that ending. And the worst part? I didn't really care about who the Prophet ended up being. It just felt like a giant plot to make you think it's one person only to have you fall over the edge at the last possible second.
The Boy with Fire is a slow-paced fantasy novel with great world-building potential but lacking in the character department.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Medical content