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anniereads221's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, War, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
foreverinastory's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-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
5.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Damn this was brutal, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Y'all this book is incredibly. There is so much going on and I was thrilled by it. But also there are lots of sex scenes and very graphic ones so if that's not your thing, you probably don't want to read this. There is a shit ton of slow moving action, political intrigue, betrayal etc so you will need to strap in for this read. Think in terms of The Unbroken or The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Silk Fire is an epic fantasy world with a matriarchal society. This story follows Koré, a bastard to his aristocratic father. Koré has had to make his own way in a city that caters to the elite and wealthy. Disowned from his biological family, Koré has worked as a sex worker/courtesan and has made a reputation for himself as one of the best. When the Judge of the city begins to fall ill, Koré knows he'll stop at nothing to keep his father from being appointed the next judge. But a chance encounter with a dying god imbues him with magic-breathing powers and Koré finds himself hunted.
This was so good. I cannot sing enough praises about this book. I loved it so much. I will admit it did take a bit to get familiar with the names and the way this society worked. I wish I knew it was matriarchal from the get go, because once I figured that out so many things made so much more sense!!
There was so much betrayal though and damn it hurt me a little bit. I can't believe this is only a standalone. I have so many questions about what happens next. I loved the journey Koré went on with dealing with all the trauma he's suffered. I want to see more of him being happy. His triad makes me so happy and soft. I want more of it.
Also there be dragons here. You're welcome.
Rep: Mainly BIPOC cast. Polyamorous bisexual male MC, female love interest, achillean male love interest, trans female side character, various queer side characters.
CWs from the author: violence against sex workers, including threatened SA, groping, and one scene of dubcon. Discussions of historical colonization and genocide, cyclical violence. Child neglect, emotional and physical
CWs from me: Emotional abuse, sexual content (there are a lot of sex scenes), toxic relationship, violence, sexism, misandry, sexual assault, classism, child abuse, death, sexual violence, death of parent, murder, sexual harassment, war, violence, alcohol consumption, alcoholism, addiction, generalized trauma. Moderate: fire that doesn't burn, infertility, colonisation, genocide, child neglect. Minor: transphobia/transmisia, queerphobia/queermisia.
Damn this was brutal, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Y'all this book is incredibly. There is so much going on and I was thrilled by it. But also there are lots of sex scenes and very graphic ones so if that's not your thing, you probably don't want to read this. There is a shit ton of slow moving action, political intrigue, betrayal etc so you will need to strap in for this read. Think in terms of The Unbroken or The Priory of the Orange Tree.
Silk Fire is an epic fantasy world with a matriarchal society. This story follows Koré, a bastard to his aristocratic father. Koré has had to make his own way in a city that caters to the elite and wealthy. Disowned from his biological family, Koré has worked as a sex worker/courtesan and has made a reputation for himself as one of the best. When the Judge of the city begins to fall ill, Koré knows he'll stop at nothing to keep his father from being appointed the next judge. But a chance encounter with a dying god imbues him with magic-breathing powers and Koré finds himself hunted.
This was so good. I cannot sing enough praises about this book. I loved it so much. I will admit it did take a bit to get familiar with the names and the way this society worked. I wish I knew it was matriarchal from the get go, because once I figured that out so many things made so much more sense!!
There was so much betrayal though and damn it hurt me a little bit. I can't believe this is only a standalone. I have so many questions about what happens next. I loved the journey Koré went on with dealing with all the trauma he's suffered. I want to see more of him being happy. His triad makes me so happy and soft. I want more of it.
Also there be dragons here. You're welcome.
Rep: Mainly BIPOC cast. Polyamorous bisexual male MC, female love interest, achillean male love interest, trans female side character, various queer side characters.
CWs from the author: violence against sex workers, including threatened SA, groping, and one scene of dubcon. Discussions of historical colonization and genocide, cyclical violence. Child neglect, emotional and physical
CWs from me: Emotional abuse, sexual content (there are a lot of sex scenes), toxic relationship, violence, sexism, misandry, sexual assault, classism, child abuse, death, sexual violence, death of parent, murder, sexual harassment, war, violence, alcohol consumption, alcoholism, addiction, generalized trauma. Moderate: fire that doesn't burn, infertility, colonisation, genocide, child neglect. Minor: transphobia/transmisia, queerphobia/queermisia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Infertility
Minor: Transphobia and Homophobia
elizajaquays's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
When I heard bisexual dragon with a poly endgame relationship, I knew I had to pick this book up! It has absolutely gorgeous world-building and a whole cast of morally grey characters trying their best.
This is not a quick-paced action packed read, but rather one where you will need time to immerse yourself into the world. While Koré was quick to throw himself into the action, the book has a slow buildup in tension and I was about halfway in before I was completely hooked and at that point I wasn’t able to put it down.
Silk Fire’s strengths are definitely in the storytelling and the intricate weaving of motivations and goals that shift with every piece of new information. It’s primary weakness would be that the characters feel like cardboard props for the world building for the first third of the novel and the sex scenes manage to be both gratuitous and clinical at the same time.
Overall, I did really enjoy reading it and am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.
This is not a quick-paced action packed read, but rather one where you will need time to immerse yourself into the world. While Koré was quick to throw himself into the action, the book has a slow buildup in tension and I was about halfway in before I was completely hooked and at that point I wasn’t able to put it down.
Silk Fire’s strengths are definitely in the storytelling and the intricate weaving of motivations and goals that shift with every piece of new information. It’s primary weakness would be that the characters feel like cardboard props for the world building for the first third of the novel and the sex scenes manage to be both gratuitous and clinical at the same time.
Overall, I did really enjoy reading it and am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, and Sexism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Violence, Infidelity, Murder, War, and Alcoholism
Minor: Vomit
e_flah's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Silk Fire had me hooked and excited for the first 35-40% of the story but started to lose me with lack of substantive world-building and rushed pace.
To start with what I enjoyed about Silk Fire, Koré’s growth over the course of the story was well done. His choices could be frustrating at times but they all seemed grounded by his past experiences, which made them believable. He makes strides forward then reacts to situations in ways informed by his past traumas. I was really rooting for Koré to learn to trust others and open himself up to loving, healthy relationships. I wish a little more of this growth had been seen on-page, rather than sort of implied, but still enjoyed seeing Koré grow over the course of Silk Fire.
There are lots of neat, creative details about life in Jadzia that make it seem like the story is set in a well-developed world but didn’t really hold up to close scrutiny. I don’t mind SFF that throws readers in the deep end and leaves them to figure out how things work but there needs to be some pay-off for that. I finished Silk Fire still puzzling over the basic geography of the setting – is the street/ground level accessible to ordinary people? How does travel between these giant buildings work? How many districts are there in total? The details were really great and helped catch my interest in the beginning but more explanation about how things worked would’ve gone a long way to give the plot more meaning to the reader. One example is that a key plot arc is Koré’s quest to get Akizeké elected as the next Judge of War District. However, it’s unclear what the Judge of War’s duties are and why the position is considered the most powerful in the district. The Judge controls a big store of Essence, which makes people stronger and more beautiful, but we don’t learn what they do with all of this magical power.
There is no time to breathe in this story. There are so many elements competing for the reader’s attention in Silk Fire that it’s hard to really take in them all. Koré is basically pulled from one crisis to another, which doesn’t leave a lot of time to see his relationships with other characters develop. While I love a fast-paced story, I wish Silk Fire had slowed down a little bit to make room for additional world-building and character development of important side characters.
Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
To start with what I enjoyed about Silk Fire, Koré’s growth over the course of the story was well done. His choices could be frustrating at times but they all seemed grounded by his past experiences, which made them believable. He makes strides forward then reacts to situations in ways informed by his past traumas. I was really rooting for Koré to learn to trust others and open himself up to loving, healthy relationships. I wish a little more of this growth had been seen on-page, rather than sort of implied, but still enjoyed seeing Koré grow over the course of Silk Fire.
There are lots of neat, creative details about life in Jadzia that make it seem like the story is set in a well-developed world but didn’t really hold up to close scrutiny. I don’t mind SFF that throws readers in the deep end and leaves them to figure out how things work but there needs to be some pay-off for that. I finished Silk Fire still puzzling over the basic geography of the setting – is the street/ground level accessible to ordinary people? How does travel between these giant buildings work? How many districts are there in total? The details were really great and helped catch my interest in the beginning but more explanation about how things worked would’ve gone a long way to give the plot more meaning to the reader. One example is that a key plot arc is Koré’s quest to get Akizeké elected as the next Judge of War District. However, it’s unclear what the Judge of War’s duties are and why the position is considered the most powerful in the district. The Judge controls a big store of Essence, which makes people stronger and more beautiful, but we don’t learn what they do with all of this magical power.
There is no time to breathe in this story. There are so many elements competing for the reader’s attention in Silk Fire that it’s hard to really take in them all. Koré is basically pulled from one crisis to another, which doesn’t leave a lot of time to see his relationships with other characters develop. While I love a fast-paced story, I wish Silk Fire had slowed down a little bit to make room for additional world-building and character development of important side characters.
Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexism
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