A review by jessleigh0918
Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling

4.25

I first read this book in March. Here's what I wrote then ..

It was a good read and I'll definitely get the second one. The spice was good, but not the primary focus. The FMC had issues, but I thought they were dealt with well. There was internal monologue, but it didn't feel repetitive or overwrought. 

If you're reading this for dragons though, you may be disappointed lol. They are in the book, but not in the way I expected. That's about all I can say without a spoiler...

They were in dreams/visions until most of the way through. Then we got them irl, but they weren't really interacting or doing much. The first real dragon stuff we got was literally the last couple pages. I expect we'll get more dragons in book 2.

I just finished it again today, since book 2 is out. As I started it and got through the first third or so, I found myself wondering why I'd rated it so high back in March. It felt kind of cheesy and tropey. And the MMC goes gooey for her way too fast. 

But I kept reading, and realized that the cheese was actually making me grin. And kick my feet. So, yes, this book is tropey, but it's fun too. 

Like I said in March, the spice is good, but they aren't going at each other nonstop at the cost of the plot. The plot might not be the most surprising shocking thing full of twists and turns, but due to the original setup at least we are spared things like finding out she's a secret princess all along lol.

Ailliard's

betrayal at the end isn't a huge shock, but I think it plays out nicely, so it didn't feel badly done. 

The dragon flight at the end made me giddy. And I am interested to see how she makes him grovel over that clause. 

Overall, I'm not changing this from the 4.25 stars I originally gave it. It lived up to my original review on my second read.