A review by rainbowbookthief
Phoenix Flame by Sara Holland

2.0

This could have been really great if it took its time—260ish pages didn’t cut it. It went by in a flash and a lot of stuff happened, but none of it was satisfying. The love triangle is unresolved, as well as a few other key points of conflict. But I think the biggest issue I had with this book is that I didn’t have enough time to truly get to know the characters enough, so I wasn’t that invested in the outcome of the story. Maddie, the only character who we get a more complete picture of, is just…really dumb. She continually makes nonsensical choices in the name of pushing the plot forward to the point that it got a bit infuriating. There’s lots of conflict but the stakes could not have been lower.

I think that maybe this duology could have worked if the two books became one book and there was another 100 pages of content added into the mix. The story needed more room to breathe.