Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Together We Burn

Quote: “I trudge after them, unable to stop thinking about that cloak made of grass and how the tamer had spent years making it. And how he’d given it to me.”

― Isabel Ibañez, Together We Burn

Rating: 5/5

Review:

Dragons, vibrant culture inspired by Latina/spanish culture, and a romantic story.

The first pages where background which for me sometimes can get hard to get into but it didn’t slow my reading down which was great and I did love that introduction to Zarela and how her family was seen in the community.

Through out the story I felt all the vibrance of the influence of hispanic culture and I just loved it and the determination of Zarela only made these vibrant colours that I imagined more vibrant.

And dragon! Can we talk about dragons!? I love dragons. Dragones makes things like ten times better.

Again, I loved Zarela. Her bravery and determination was admirable and even though it clear that she’s afraid she follows her heart and won’t take no for an answer.

Now, there is also a love story in this book. Was enemies to lovers? Yes. Did I love it? It literally had me smilling at the freaking pages, so yeah I think I like it okay. Jk I loved it. So cute.

So overall. A fast pace read. Had personally for me a good balance of dialogue and action and I would totally recommend if youre looking for a fantasy standalone with dragons, vibrance and a slowburn romance.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.0

This reminded me of How to Train Your Dragon but for older readers and I am here for it. I didn't even realize this was about dragons until I started readin git, but yay! We need more YA dragon books, honestly. They don't get nearly the amount of attention that they deserve.

I basically listened to this book in one sitting because it was so on the edge of your seat. I needed to know what happened next! Ibañez does such a great job with world building, and even if the plot was a little predictable, I found I didn't mind. I was engrossed in what was happening and the chemistry between Zarela and Arturo. So well done.

All in all, if you think you'd like an aged up version of How to Train Your Dragon with Spanish influences, you'll definitely love this book!

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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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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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roget's review

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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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averyconfusedhomosapiensbooks's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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patricktreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The jump in on this work was very quick. Immediate fight situation which sucked me into real quick. I kind of wish the chapters were slightly longer, but they were still good.

I loved the representation, and I was honestly very excited with the Spanish being spread throughout. As someone who doesn’t know much, it wasn’t hard to follow along and still be able to understand. Honestly, I probably learned a lot just from the way the book mixed the language.

It was technically long page wise but it was still a very quick and easy read with constant motion. It wasn’t a….slow burn 🔥 if you will. I really wish there was a second one.

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bandysbooks's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Together We Burn features a young female character who is the heir to her mother’s flamenco legacy and her father’s dragon fighting legacy. When tragedy strikes, she must face the dragons she’s feared to save her inheritance. In order to learn how, she solicits the help of a retired, disenchanted dragon fighter to train her.

I really wanted to love this book, but it ended up just being okay for me. I had issues with the characterization, the setting, the plot twists, and the pacing.

First of all, the setting. The country in the story is called Hispalia and is pretty much Spain. I don’t really understand the point of making up a country if it’s literally going to be a country that already exists. I kept waiting to see what would differentiate it from Spain and it’s never really made clear…aside from dragons existing.

Second, it’s incredibly hard to relate to or feel sympathy for the main character. Her father is a famous dragon fighter and initially that isn’t so bothersome…but then they talk about how the dragons are treated and it makes it hard to feel any sympathy for anything bad that happens. Additionally, the MC comes across quite entitled. Clearly, she comes from a rich family and I can see how that would make her out of touch…but at times she comes across as spoiled and inconsiderate.

Third, I was able to figure out who the bad guy was pretty early on. I also figured out what would happen when the MC faced a dragon. It just felt like a pretty predictable plot. Add to it pacing issues and it gets kind of difficult to stay engaged at points.

All in all, I think the idea was good, but the execution was a miss. There were definitely moments of engagement that I wish the author would have built upon more. A quick enough read if you want something fairly light about dragons.

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lizgriffinwords's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

4.75

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC and Libro FM for the early audio copy of TOGETHER WE BURN by Isabel Ibañez, available from Wednesday Books on May 31.

❤️‍🔥 What a mesmerizing book! Set in a Spanish-inspired fantasy kingdom, Dragonadors (dragon fighters) entertain crowds by facing off against captive dragons in arenas. Zarela is the daughter of one such Dragonador, but after two family tragedies, she finds herself managing the household and in need of more dragons and dragon tamers to uphold her family’s legacy. She recruits Arturo, a surly but handsome dragon tamer with a soft spot for the dragons he hunts, and sparks inevitably fly!

What I loved so much about this sunshine-and-grump-romance book is how feisty Zarela is, and she didn’t have to make herself less for love. Arturo succeeded in being protective without being controlling, which I applaud. And nobody writes mouth-watering food and gorgeous attire quite like Isabel.

For those curious about the steam level, I’d say quantity-wise, it’s about equivalent to Lakesedge, or a little less than Serpent & Dove. There is a lot of great tension and sizzle and build-up between our romantic leads. ❤️‍🔥

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