A review by noolna
Fate of Flames by Sarah Raughley

3.0

I'm generally a fan of what I like to call "lite YA fantasy", as long as I'm enjoying myself and the characters and the plot, I will forgive glaring errors. It started out promising - it was fast paced, the plot was unique and the writing was simple enough for me to be entertained.

One of the issues that I have with the book is that the characters are so one dimensional, and Maia's "voice" was childish. I understand she's sixteen but there were so many instances where I seriously questioned her reaction. I also didn't realize that she was a PoC until more than halfway through the book, and did a double take when Maia mentioned her Jamaican grandmother! It felt like this throughout the book, where the author would give details like this, which are important, as sort of like an afterthought. The other girls weren't much better either. And the romance lacked any kind of spark or chemistry, it was seriously just boring.

I really liked the vibe of this book, though. I liked that it felt like I was back in my childhood days of watching Sailor Moon. The world building was well-done, as well, all things considering.

I'll probably read the next one because I'm curious to see where the author is going to take it, since I have a feeling the next one will answer some lingering questions.