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Cast in Firelight
by Dana Swift
Wow! What a way to start off my 2021 reading year! I went into this book with fairly low expectations - elemental magic isn't exactly new, and the promise of romance is, if anything, a deterrent to me (I'm picky about my YA romance, ok?). I also feel like that last few years of YA fantasy have been full of hackneyed books that all read the same way. Ultimately, though, I raced through this! It was a super fast read, and the take on the elemental magic was cool enough that it didn't feel trite. Was it tropey? For sure! But I loved the tropes - I love an elemental magic system done well (and it was, here), the mistaken-identity-romance trope AND the princess is a street-fighter at night trope and they are combined quite well in this book. Whenever I thought we were going to veer headlong into some angsty romance problem that is completely solvable with the teensiest bit of talking, the characters would use communication to head off those issues and they weren't long and unnecessarily drawn out. Basically, the author could've been lazy to create tension and whenever it looked like she was headed down that road, she would pretty quickly have the characters reach a solution themselves. Speaking of the characters, they were great! The book alternates between the perspectives of our main characters, and I really enjoyed both perspectives. Adraa, our female lead, is capable, fierce, and smart with a touch of very relatable insecurity and a strong moral compass. Jatin, the male lead, is capable, fierce and smart with a ton of empathy - he's going to make folks who like men swoon. The book arguably had a few too many things going on, but nonetheless, it's an amazing debut, and I for one will be eagerly awaiting the next installment.
If you love action-packed fantasy with a healthy dose of romance, this is for you! I'd generally recommend it to fans of YA fantasy. 4.5 stars. Thanks to Delacourte Press and Netgalley for the eARC, which I received for an unbiased review. Cast in Firelight will be available on 19 January.
If you love action-packed fantasy with a healthy dose of romance, this is for you! I'd generally recommend it to fans of YA fantasy. 4.5 stars. Thanks to Delacourte Press and Netgalley for the eARC, which I received for an unbiased review. Cast in Firelight will be available on 19 January.