Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez

16 reviews

pattyblom's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I was a little annoyed by the Spanish, because it's an English book (which is also not my native language). But very unique take on a world with dragons, heavely inspired by Spain. I do wish the story was a bit longer to really develop from an enemies to lovers, now it seemed to move a bit to quick. But maybe also because i read this book in one go.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Murder

kbowles24's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Grief

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

alyxbeau's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. It started right of the bat VERY quickly into action, and while the majority of the book was not action, the fast pace continued. There is a lot of latinx culture represented here. In my limited experience with family and friends from Mexico, it seems really genuine. With an author of Bolivian descent I trust her expression of the culture on the page too! I really enjoyed getting to practice a bit of simple Spanish too. The phrases started off translated at the beginning and then translation tapered off or became loose. It was lovely to explore such a different fantasy world than your typical white European universe.

About the ending:

Around the first time the villain was introduced, i took a guess that it was him who was causing the issues. I did turn out to be correct. I dont think its really hinted that its actually him, i think ive just read enough to know to be suspicious. The ending was very fast paced. So much so that i was 20 pages from the end and sure this would have a sequel, but it all wrapped up nicely, though rushed. More pages could have been dedicated to the end. We had a huge buikdup to the arena event and got around half a page really. Thats my only conplaint!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury

chaptertraveller's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

I'm not quite sure how to put into words what I thought of this book. I really wanted to love this book, I find the setting and premise really interesting, but it just fell flat for me. It took me nearly two weeks to read the first half and one day to read the second, if that says anything. 

The first section of the book was just weirdly paced, I didn't feel drawn in or attached to the characters (I found the MC sooo insufferably annoying and out of touch to the point of it drawing me out of the story because I couldn't get on board with her points of view on things) and I just was not very interested in what was happening so found it super difficult to want to pick up the book and when I did, I was reading in very short stints. However I still wanted to finish the book and found that once I reached the 250ish page mark, I was a lot more drawn in. There was more happening, faster pacing, the characters started revealing things which improved the plot etc. and from there it got a lot better (except the time when (very small spoiler)

amongst all the other shit going on, Zarela complains about fucking washing and drying her hair saying its 'the worst thing in the world' like GIRL GET A GRIP

). I still found the plot a little haywire at best, but I at least was more attached to the story and wanted to keep reading, and I appreciated how the story ends. 

Overall, I did like the setting and some of the side characters, but really struggled with the MC and that took away a lot of enjoyment of reading for me. If you're super intrigued by the plot and can handle explicit POVs and scenes related to supporting animal hatred/violence/killing for sport (not saying the author supports this or anything, but a lot of the book is actively pro these themes in regard to dragons) then I would say give it a go, keeping in mind that it gets a lot better in the last third of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

amberinpieces's review

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

druzyquartz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

gabibrose's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A wholly enjoyable adventure tale with a cast of lovable characters and unique world building. I was swept away by Isabel Ibañez's Together We Burn from the start. 18-year-old Zarela Zalvidar, following in her late mother's footsteps, has become a talented flamenco dancer performing alongside her father, one of Hispalia's most famous Dragonador's. They perform dragon fights for the public, putting on a spectacle for ticket buyers, but when disaster strikes during their five hundredth anniversary show, leaving Zarela's father and many others injured, the Dragon Guild requires they pay retribution. Zarela enlists the help of a broody dragon hunter to train and prepare her as she decides to step in her father's place and save her ancestral home from ruin. But there is something or someone determined to destroy Zarela's family, and they won't stop until fire rains down on everyone. 

 

The concept of dragon fighting in a historical society and the business behind owning and operating a dragon ring was fascinating. Ibañez mastered the world building, adding in details like dragon ring owners referring to dragons as "investments." These details helped flesh out the occupation of owning a dragon ring and made the business side of things believable. The tension between Zarela and dragon hunter Arturo was built up nicely, and one of my favorite parts of the reading experience was watching their relationship shift from enemies, to reluctant allies, to more. The fashion, food, and cultural details that were woven throughout made the story come alive in a rich, vivid way. This was such an exciting, romantic read and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

sar_i's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

*Vague talk of the plot but nothing specific

In theory I loved this book. When I read the description I thought that it was going to be a mix between How to Train Your Dragon and the Hunger Games which was not completely wrong but didn’t come through as much as I wanted. It was incredibly slow until the last 50 pages which held most of the plot. The author kept repeating things and pointing out things that were seemingly obvious. I felt that the enemies to livers slow burn was also not well illustrated. Zarela had no reason to hate Arturo at the beginning of the book but something that is revealed much later would give her plenty of cause. However by the time that this has been revised they are in love. Overall it was a unsatisfying read that j would not recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

*Vague talk of the plot but nothing specific In theory I loved this book. When I read the description I thought that it was going to be a mix between How to Train Your Dragon and the Hunger Games which was not completely wrong but didn’t come through as much as I wanted. It was incredibly slow until the last 50 pages which held most of the plot. The author kept repeating things and pointing out things that were seemingly obvious. I felt that the enemies to livers slow burn was also not well illustrated. Zarela had no reason to hate Arturo at the beginning of the book but something that is revealed much later would give her plenty of cause. However by the time that this has been revised they are in love. Overall it was a unsatisfying read that i would not recommend.

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I'll have more to say later, but for now all I'll say is I enjoyed the heck out of this. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this.

Zarela Zalvidar is a character who kind of sneaks up on you. At first, I disliked her initial attitude towards the protestors who oppose dragon-fighting - a traditional sport in the fictional land of Hispalia, rather like bullfighting in Spain - but I understood her fear of dragons. But as the novel progresses, her determination, toughness, and stubbornness made me root for her. And it did seem that she

changed her attitude at the end

, which I appreciated. I also enjoyed her relationship with her father, it is obvious how much she cares about him.

Of note too, is that Isabel Ibañez takes care to show us that Zarela's opinion is not the only one to be valid, and she does that with the character of Arturo Díaz de Montserrat, Zarela's reluctant trainer and

eventual love interest

. Arturo, a brooding and rough-hewn ex-dragon fighter is now vehemently against dragon fighting, and both he and Zarela are stubborn to a fault. Their growing relationship was a beautifully written slow burn.

It is here that I need to warn you - do not read this book if you are hungry. Ibañez describes food - Spanish food, in this instance - in a way that truly makes your mouth water. I'd like a slice of toasted bread with Jamon, tomatoes, and a generous slathering of olive oil, please.

Having said all of the above, there were ways in which I think the novel fell ever so slightly short. The climax - although I loved the way in which the tension slowly built - felt ever-so-slightly rushed. And the eventual villain reveal was a bit unbelievable, which I thought could have been helped by  Ibañez showing us more of his character. The timeline also occasionally confused me (

how many years ago did Zarela's mother die?

).

But that ending? Where Zarela ended up

dancing with the dragon instead of fighting it

. Chef's kiss. 

A good YA read for anyone who is a fan of spicy slow-burn relationships and Spanish culture.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Medical content

Scenes of immolation causing death via dragon fire,

including Zarela's mother

. Non-graphic descriptions of bodily mutilation. There are sexually-charged moments (including one

sex scene

) but these are tastefully done and not very graphic.

roget's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexism, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Excrement, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Self harm, Terminal illness, and Vomit

More info on the SA tags:

****There are scenes where the Zarela assumes Arturo is resisting out of trying to make a decision for her, rather than because he just doesn’t want to kiss her or be close to her. In these cases, she does push him for more after hearing a clear “no,” and while the specific “women are owned by their male relatives” context should be taken into account (because that impacts cues in romantic situations, even though it should not), I wish those scenes had practiced the same respect for consent that we see Zarela herself offered by Arturo. On paper, she does assault him, even if the tensions and plot and everything don’t make it out like she did. (Tldr: it’s the surprise kiss/I know you like me tropes). Even if he wanted more, she should have respected the “no.” I don’t think the writer intended the scenes to carry that sort of negative meaning, but it’s important to mention. This writer isn’t the first or thousandth author to use these tropes romantically, but I think it’s important to talk about when it comes up. I loved so much about this story—the setting, the characters, the world—but I wish those moments had been done differently.