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A review by betharanova
Set Fire to the Gods by Kristen Simmons, Sara Raasch
2.0
An unfortunate example of an interesting premise poorly executed.
The world is divided into countries, each ruled by a god. The gods are physically present and absolutely decadent, which is a fun and interesting choice. Children of the gods have the gift of that god's magic, which means about half the population has cool powers. The other half of the population is treated like the lowest dirt. The main two characters, of course, have powers. Ash is our fire girl and wants to overthrow her god; Madoc has an unusual plot-twist power but wants to impress his god. Each of them comes with a supporting cast of interesting side characters.
Not a bad setup, but when the two meet, it all goes downhill from there. The plot hinges on bad or senseless decisions. The plot twists are predictable from the first few chapters. It's all so childish. The writing feels like it might be meant for a younger audience, but there's so much quasi-erotic focus on heaving bosoms and exposed, sweaty flesh, so it can't be that.
Ash and Madoc are unbearable when they're in the same room. Their banter makes me wince. They admire each other and think themselves unworthy in ways that are simply goofy. And unfortunately, those interesting side characters don't get fleshed out enough to improve matters.
Fun world, middling basic plot, bad writing, bad characters. 2/10
The world is divided into countries, each ruled by a god. The gods are physically present and absolutely decadent, which is a fun and interesting choice. Children of the gods have the gift of that god's magic, which means about half the population has cool powers. The other half of the population is treated like the lowest dirt. The main two characters, of course, have powers. Ash is our fire girl and wants to overthrow her god; Madoc has an unusual plot-twist power but wants to impress his god. Each of them comes with a supporting cast of interesting side characters.
Not a bad setup, but when the two meet, it all goes downhill from there. The plot hinges on bad or senseless decisions. The plot twists are predictable from the first few chapters. It's all so childish. The writing feels like it might be meant for a younger audience, but there's so much quasi-erotic focus on heaving bosoms and exposed, sweaty flesh, so it can't be that.
Ash and Madoc are unbearable when they're in the same room. Their banter makes me wince. They admire each other and think themselves unworthy in ways that are simply goofy. And unfortunately, those interesting side characters don't get fleshed out enough to improve matters.
Fun world, middling basic plot, bad writing, bad characters. 2/10