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A review by ajb24
Firestarter by Tara Sim
3.0
Perhaps I waited too long to read this after the second book came out so I forgot the plot initially and consequently I didn’t enjoy the book as much. BUT I think maybe it’s just the writing.
It’s not that I wasn’t interested in the story, the world these characters exist in kept me interested throughout. I even had tears in my eyes at points
When I started the series, “fighting ancient gods to control time” is definitely not where I thought the plot was going. And its not that I think this is a bad plot- it fits the narrative given all the other outlandish things that exist in this steampunk world - I just don’t care for the execution. Hmm, maybe that’s not it. I’m not sure how to explain what I dislike about this book. I’ll try..
First things first, a LOT happens. ALL the time.just one damn thing after another. Especially towards the end, when there are so many different groups fighting I couldn’t remember who was allied with who and it just became so chaotic and bloody. And sometimes I got lost in the magic of the universe and had no idea wtf was going on. I was surprised how many principle characters were killed off and how much bloodshed happened given that this is a YA novel. I’m fine with that, it was just surprising.
So, I found sometimes that there was too much happening all at the same time. I was intrigued but also...bored? They were just fighting but there wasn’t depth. I guess the “depth” of character was Danny’s rage and his love for Colton. I think I got tired of Danny and Colton’s relationship really early on. They seem to just conveniently fall in love with hardly anything to base it on! Sure, they talked to each other a lot in like, the first book or whatever, and then they’re immediately ready to Die For Each Other. I know they go through a lot of trauma in this book so I could believe that that would make them closer and more in love, but it doesn’t feel that way, you know? They go through trauma and essentially they’re going through all of it for each other, in a way. I don’t know if that makes sense. I feel like such a hypocrite because I’ve read other YA books where a relationship is less deep but the couple is in such ~passionate love~ that I still love it. And I KNOW I’m being skeptical about Danny and Colton because they’re teens. And that’s SO hypocritical because I read other YA and root for couples and they’re all ALSO teens. So can’t I just accept that Danny/Colton are Meant To Be so that justifies their dramatic, devoted actions the entire bookseries??
**thinks**
NO I can’t! God it’s just like, yknow, every time Colton is ever threatened or injured in some way, Danny yells at the captors like “Don’t hurt him i’ll kill you! That’s the love of my life you bastard!” And I’m always just like, where is this coming from?? How are you so connected/devoted?? ‘Cause he’s pretty and you read some Greek myths with him in his tower for a year? What has either of you done to be this passionately in love?? I hate it!
Hmm, I think I figured out my main problem with this book. I mean, Daphne and Akash are kinda similar (in that I’m not sure what their devotion is based on) but they’re side characters so they don’t drive the plot as much? Whereas Danny and Colton are THE narrative drivers and everything happens around their dynamic. But where is it coming from??
And like I mentioned before, the outlandish world isn’t even what bothers me about this book, because once you accept that Time is something Controlled by gods and blood, pretty much anything goes, right? So I’m fine with all that, and I like what Daphne learns in the end about how “home” can be in multiple places. That’s nice. AND I cried, so the writing was compelling and emotional enough to keep me engaged. Lots of people seem to love this book too so it’s not that horrible. Just personally I have some issues.
**Side note: The final Chronos fight was weak in my opinion. It was cool but like, what did Aetas do to defeat Chronos in the end?? Chronos was just like “Aetas you’re dumb for feeling empathy for mortals but I’ll leave you alone now.” Like, alright. Guess that’s it then. 🤷♀️
**Double side note: I was going back through the last pages to figure out what actually happened to defeat Chronos and I realized like, A. a lot happens and B. Danny and Colton become so powerful from controlling time it’s ??? Like, what?? What the fuck is going on?? And holy shit is Danny indestructible ?? He continually kept like, bleeding out and fainting because of lack of food/water and injuries but he always still had strength to fight for days. I know he, so there’s consequences I guess, but...still?? How does he always have enough blood lmao.
It’s not that I wasn’t interested in the story, the world these characters exist in kept me interested throughout. I even had tears in my eyes at points
Spoiler
when Danny’s mother dies and MEENA T.TWhen I started the series, “fighting ancient gods to control time” is definitely not where I thought the plot was going. And its not that I think this is a bad plot- it fits the narrative given all the other outlandish things that exist in this steampunk world - I just don’t care for the execution. Hmm, maybe that’s not it. I’m not sure how to explain what I dislike about this book. I’ll try..
First things first, a LOT happens. ALL the time.
So, I found sometimes that there was too much happening all at the same time. I was intrigued but also...bored? They were just fighting but there wasn’t depth. I guess the “depth” of character was Danny’s rage and his love for Colton. I think I got tired of Danny and Colton’s relationship really early on. They seem to just conveniently fall in love with hardly anything to base it on! Sure, they talked to each other a lot in like, the first book or whatever, and then they’re immediately ready to Die For Each Other. I know they go through a lot of trauma in this book so I could believe that that would make them closer and more in love, but it doesn’t feel that way, you know? They go through trauma and essentially they’re going through all of it for each other, in a way. I don’t know if that makes sense. I feel like such a hypocrite because I’ve read other YA books where a relationship is less deep but the couple is in such ~passionate love~ that I still love it. And I KNOW I’m being skeptical about Danny and Colton because they’re teens. And that’s SO hypocritical because I read other YA and root for couples and they’re all ALSO teens. So can’t I just accept that Danny/Colton are Meant To Be so that justifies their dramatic, devoted actions the entire book
**thinks**
NO I can’t! God it’s just like, yknow, every time Colton is ever threatened or injured in some way, Danny yells at the captors like “Don’t hurt him i’ll kill you! That’s the love of my life you bastard!” And I’m always just like, where is this coming from?? How are you so connected/devoted?? ‘Cause he’s pretty and you read some Greek myths with him in his tower for a year? What has either of you done to be this passionately in love?? I hate it!
Hmm, I think I figured out my main problem with this book. I mean, Daphne and Akash are kinda similar (in that I’m not sure what their devotion is based on) but they’re side characters so they don’t drive the plot as much? Whereas Danny and Colton are THE narrative drivers and everything happens around their dynamic. But where is it coming from??
And like I mentioned before, the outlandish world isn’t even what bothers me about this book, because once you accept that Time is something Controlled by gods and blood, pretty much anything goes, right? So I’m fine with all that, and I like what Daphne learns in the end about how “home” can be in multiple places. That’s nice. AND I cried, so the writing was compelling and emotional enough to keep me engaged. Lots of people seem to love this book too so it’s not that horrible. Just personally I have some issues.
**Side note: The final Chronos fight was weak in my opinion. It was cool but like, what did Aetas do to defeat Chronos in the end?? Chronos was just like “Aetas you’re dumb for feeling empathy for mortals but I’ll leave you alone now.” Like, alright. Guess that’s it then. 🤷♀️
**Double side note: I was going back through the last pages to figure out what actually happened to defeat Chronos and I realized like, A. a lot happens and B. Danny and Colton become so powerful from controlling time it’s ??? Like, what?? What the fuck is going on?? And holy shit is Danny indestructible ?? He continually kept like, bleeding out and fainting because of lack of food/water and injuries but he always still had strength to fight for days. I know he