A review by nerdynatreads
Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

 
~Thanks to Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Fire with Fire in exchange for an honest review. ~ 
I was automatically sucked into this because it seemed reminiscent of How to Train Your Dragon and I love good sibling relationships in stories. I did like the basis and struggle we see between Dani and Eden, the thing that should bring them closer is also what's driving them apart. However, I think the dual perspective was used so that we could connect and sympathize with both characters, but I had a very hard time doing so with Eden. Her anxiety gave her a bit of depth, but all in all, she seemed pretty heartless and narcissistic. Dani, on the other hand, was funny and proud of who she was, if a bit annoying at times, but she's a teenager. 

Other characters? Nox was a sarcastic ass and I loved him. Tomas fell a bit flat for me. I liked the drama revolving around Sadie and Dani's past and actually wish more time had been focused on questioning one's sexuality. Kiernan was intriguing and brought some depth to the history of dragons, but my god, the romantic aspect was so insta-lovey and creepy as well. Can we please stop putting teenagers with dudes who are hundreds of years old? Oh, and the villains were fairly bland. 

When I initially went into this, I thought the setting would be more fantastical, rather than urban fantasy, but I was intrigued to see how it would be handled. Unfortunately, the worldbuilding was pretty minimal and not explained very well, which meant I was never completely immersed in the world. 

The writing was very tell, not show, and possibly because I thought this would be more fantastical, I also expected much more action and fighting, but that didn't really happen until the final climax. The story dragged a lot and ended up being pretty predictable. I thought there'd be some surprising twists, but in the end, this fell pretty flat. 
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