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A review by ngreads
Bound by Firelight by Dana Swift
4.0
Actual rating is more like a high 3.5/5.
I feel a bit torn about this one. On one hand, I did enjoy it. Dana Swift's characters are interesting, and her world is fun to exist in. But...
There are a couple issues that drag it down. Let's get into it.
The Good:
- I really like the world of Wickery. There's a whimsical quality to the world, making it feel light in spite of the darker subject matter in the plot. I really like how colourful the whole thing feels.
- I enjoy the chemistry of Adraa and Jatin. They're just plain cute. Part of me liked them a little better in book one, just because their rivalry played a bigger role, but I still found them fun in this one.
- The plot (for the most part) was solid and complex enough to please me. I like that it got into some darker subject matter.
The Not-so-Good:
- There were some concepts that came out of nowhere, but were treated as though they had been well-established as though we, the reader, were supposed to be just as amazed as the characters.
- The villain was very 'meh' for me. While Moolek and the Vencrin had a lot of potential as villains, I felt like they didn't have enough page time for me to really care about them. This was a problem in book one, as well, but it was bigger here, since this was the finale of the duology. The reveal of who the leader of the Vencrin also fell flat for me. There just wasn't enough of a presence from the character they were revealed to be for me to feel the impact I think Dana was going for.
- The pacing at the end of the book went from 0-100 REALLY fast. It was like trial...prison...politics...WAR! BATTLE! DUEL! DEATH! DUEL!...finale. I really feel like this story needed a third book. There were a lot of questions left unanswered, making it feel like the story is unfinished, but as far as I'm aware this is a duology, so...is there going to be another series or something? I don't know.
- As cool as it was, there were a couple points where the magic system felt like it broke from the rules established earlier.
I'm sure these issues would be considered nitpicks to most readers, but they just grabbed my attention. If you just want a fun fantasy read to dive into, I highly recommend this duology. For the most part, for a YA series, this is pretty good and gives me a flicker of hope for the genre's future.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this and hope to see more stories written in the world of Wickery to fill out more of the lore and answer the questions I still have. I'd definitely be interested in seeing what Dana writes next, and seeing her grow as a writer.
I feel a bit torn about this one. On one hand, I did enjoy it. Dana Swift's characters are interesting, and her world is fun to exist in. But...
There are a couple issues that drag it down. Let's get into it.
The Good:
- I really like the world of Wickery. There's a whimsical quality to the world, making it feel light in spite of the darker subject matter in the plot. I really like how colourful the whole thing feels.
- I enjoy the chemistry of Adraa and Jatin. They're just plain cute. Part of me liked them a little better in book one, just because their rivalry played a bigger role, but I still found them fun in this one.
- The plot (for the most part) was solid and complex enough to please me. I like that it got into some darker subject matter.
The Not-so-Good:
- There were some concepts that came out of nowhere, but were treated as though they had been well-established as though we, the reader, were supposed to be just as amazed as the characters.
Spoiler
The scene that comes to mind is when Adraa mind-casts in the final fight, and her sister is amazed. But...when has this ever been something to aspire to? The silent casting was a big deal because we know that words are required, so it was cool to see another form of language used. However, the silent casting wasn't treated as a big deal while mind casting was...and yet it was never said that mind casting was so legendary or seen as such a big deal. I was really thrown off by that, though it wouldn't have been a big deal to me if the characters didn't treat it as such a big revelation.- The villain was very 'meh' for me. While Moolek and the Vencrin had a lot of potential as villains, I felt like they didn't have enough page time for me to really care about them. This was a problem in book one, as well, but it was bigger here, since this was the finale of the duology. The reveal of who the leader of the Vencrin also fell flat for me. There just wasn't enough of a presence from the character they were revealed to be for me to feel the impact I think Dana was going for.
- The pacing at the end of the book went from 0-100 REALLY fast. It was like trial...prison...politics...WAR! BATTLE! DUEL! DEATH! DUEL!...finale. I really feel like this story needed a third book. There were a lot of questions left unanswered, making it feel like the story is unfinished, but as far as I'm aware this is a duology, so...is there going to be another series or something? I don't know.
Spoiler
If this had been a trilogy, it would have been neat to see it end with Jatin being captured by Moolek and Adraa going into hiding with her family, then the third book being the big showdown against Moolek. That way we get more Moolek and more explanation of the gods? I dunno. Just throwing out thoughts, here. It just felt too rushed to me at the end of this one.- As cool as it was, there were a couple points where the magic system felt like it broke from the rules established earlier.
Spoiler
For example, wouldn't it make more sense if the spell to cause the women to go mute was caused by pink magic, since it would be a healing spell used to cause harm? Why would wind be the thing to make someone go mute? Is it yellow magic wrapped around the vocal chords? In that case, why wouldn't it be easily reversible? Also...how would a truth spell and mind spells work? There isn't a god of the mind. What magic combination is being used here? It's little magic system details and small oversights like these that I find draw me out of the narrative.I'm sure these issues would be considered nitpicks to most readers, but they just grabbed my attention. If you just want a fun fantasy read to dive into, I highly recommend this duology. For the most part, for a YA series, this is pretty good and gives me a flicker of hope for the genre's future.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this and hope to see more stories written in the world of Wickery to fill out more of the lore and answer the questions I still have. I'd definitely be interested in seeing what Dana writes next, and seeing her grow as a writer.