gracedwithbooks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Tw: Panic disorder, torture, animal killing
Fire with Fire follows sisters Dani and Eden who are from a long line of dragon hunters. While younger sister Dani doesn’t really want to spend her life slaying dragons, to Eden it its her entire world. When Dani ends up forming a “soul bond” with a dragon, the two sisters end up on opposite sides of a centuries-long war.
I thought this was a pretty good read, I love the creativity of the plot and the fact that dragons are now making a comeback in YA literature. I loved the emphasis on sisterly bonds and family over romance because as the oldest of three girls, sisterhood is something really important to me.
I thought the characters were well thought out and interesting thought there were times (many times) I found Dani to be annoying and obstinate. I found myself really drawn to Eden (yes oldest sisters!), because, like her, I too have generalized anxiety and panic disorder. Her struggle with these things made her a really compelling character and it was her journey I found the most interesting over the course of the story.
I thought the setting was wonderful and despite a few plot holes, it was a generally solid YA fantasy
Tw: Panic disorder, torture, animal killing
Fire with Fire follows sisters Dani and Eden who are from a long line of dragon hunters. While younger sister Dani doesn’t really want to spend her life slaying dragons, to Eden it its her entire world. When Dani ends up forming a “soul bond” with a dragon, the two sisters end up on opposite sides of a centuries-long war.
I thought this was a pretty good read, I love the creativity of the plot and the fact that dragons are now making a comeback in YA literature. I loved the emphasis on sisterly bonds and family over romance because as the oldest of three girls, sisterhood is something really important to me.
I thought the characters were well thought out and interesting thought there were times (many times) I found Dani to be annoying and obstinate. I found myself really drawn to Eden (yes oldest sisters!), because, like her, I too have generalized anxiety and panic disorder. Her struggle with these things made her a really compelling character and it was her journey I found the most interesting over the course of the story.
I thought the setting was wonderful and despite a few plot holes, it was a generally solid YA fantasy
polaris42's review against another edition
4.5
Actual rating: 4.5
Review summary: absolutely fantastic! The kind of book that hooks you in and consumes your being.
Rep: mixed race Latina (mexican) bisexual mc, mixed race Latina (mexican) mc with anxiety.
Recommended for: urban fantasy lovers, dragon lovers, great book to get out of a reading slump!
I really enjoyed this. Partially the subtle weaving of the landscape of the world. The characters are influenced by their culture and their position in the world as women of colour. The worldbuilding was fantastic and the prose was really good! I always consider the start of a book adjustment period as I get used to the prose and adjust to the author's style but this book definitely had less of an adjustment period then most.
I really liked the characters, they were well explored. I have to admit to liking Dani more then Eden and while I did enjoy Eden's povs, especially as the two were entertained I enjoyed Dani and Nox a lot more! I liked Kieran a lot too, although I wouldn't want there to be more romance between the two then there is already. I definitely liked him more as a character then as a love interest, his view of himself as an irredeemable monster because of traumatic events and loss is highly relatable. Tomás is absolute MVP! And Sadie was enjoyable. Edens struggles with anxiety and mental health were well handled and relatable.
I liked the ending but my only complaint is that there isn't more of it! I felt we could've had a solid chapter or two going through Dani, Kieran and Eden recovering from the final. It felt a bit rushed.
Overall a really solidly good book! Definitely one I'll re read and I found a lot of myself reflected in the characters!
Review summary: absolutely fantastic! The kind of book that hooks you in and consumes your being.
Rep: mixed race Latina (mexican) bisexual mc, mixed race Latina (mexican) mc with anxiety.
Recommended for: urban fantasy lovers, dragon lovers, great book to get out of a reading slump!
I really enjoyed this. Partially the subtle weaving of the landscape of the world. The characters are influenced by their culture and their position in the world as women of colour. The worldbuilding was fantastic and the prose was really good! I always consider the start of a book adjustment period as I get used to the prose and adjust to the author's style but this book definitely had less of an adjustment period then most.
I really liked the characters, they were well explored. I have to admit to liking Dani more then Eden and while I did enjoy Eden's povs, especially as the two were entertained I enjoyed Dani and Nox a lot more! I liked Kieran a lot too, although I wouldn't want there to be more romance between the two then there is already. I definitely liked him more as a character then as a love interest, his view of himself as an irredeemable monster because of traumatic events and loss is highly relatable. Tomás is absolute MVP! And Sadie was enjoyable. Edens struggles with anxiety and mental health were well handled and relatable.
I liked the ending but my only complaint is that there isn't more of it! I felt we could've had a solid chapter or two going through Dani, Kieran and Eden recovering from the final. It felt a bit rushed.
Overall a really solidly good book! Definitely one I'll re read and I found a lot of myself reflected in the characters!
craftymxlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
4.5, just because I felt like the ending was too quick and a little too perfect, with too many unanswered questions. I'm really hoping there will be a sequel!!
darkndani's review against another edition
2.0
2.5**
The concept of this book was great, the execution was not so great.
The writing and overall story telling was fine, it was enjoyable and I was very tempted to give this book 3 stars for that fact. However, there were a few things I did not enjoy about this book that made me lower my rating.
Let’s start with what I did enjoy though.
- the relationship between Dani and her sister Enid. It felt like a true sister relationship to me and their love and yet rivalry was the best part of the story.
- the plot. Was it predictable? Sure. But in a good solid enough story that you see where it’s going kind of way. A comfortable predictable.
- the representation. Having bi-rep that was subtle just like it can be in someone’s life. The Hispanic/Latino representation with her family and friends was great as well. A nice touch to the modern fantasy story.
What I didn’t really like.
- her relationship with her dragon Nox. It was fine and enjoyable but needed more. I feel like the story would have been elevated if we got to see more of a relationship and bond grow between the two.
- the randomly forced romance
The concept of this book was great, the execution was not so great.
The writing and overall story telling was fine, it was enjoyable and I was very tempted to give this book 3 stars for that fact. However, there were a few things I did not enjoy about this book that made me lower my rating.
Let’s start with what I did enjoy though.
- the relationship between Dani and her sister Enid. It felt like a true sister relationship to me and their love and yet rivalry was the best part of the story.
- the plot. Was it predictable? Sure. But in a good solid enough story that you see where it’s going kind of way. A comfortable predictable.
- the representation. Having bi-rep that was subtle just like it can be in someone’s life. The Hispanic/Latino representation with her family and friends was great as well. A nice touch to the modern fantasy story.
What I didn’t really like.
- her relationship with her dragon Nox. It was fine and enjoyable but needed more. I feel like the story would have been elevated if we got to see more of a relationship and bond grow between the two.
- the randomly forced romance
ark99's review against another edition
5.0
~I received an e-arc from netgalley~
This was a really cool book! I wasn't expecting to actually like it as much as I did as it was a bit slow to start. The beginning of the novel was just a bit hard to get into because it was introducing all the characters and just getting the plot set up but after all of that and all the action started it got really good!
I really liked the two points of view of both sisters and it really showing two different sides and how differently both of them think. I think especially showing their mental state, really, and showing how they deal with certain situations.
I also think it's interesting how the sorcerers also get fit into this plot, they do serve a role and a pretty big one, they aren't just added to the story for no real reason like some books do. I also really liked Kieran's character he's got that morally grey dark haired sad boy vibe which I always ~love~
I do think overall this book really could've been longer or at least some kind of series, it was finished good enough but I feel like it really could've been expanded, the background info was not as fleshed out as it could've been. I feel like even though the story is about dragons, there werent enough dragons in the story, like there could've been more I feel. But it did mention in the book that there are not as many as there used to be. As a standalone I still really loved and enjoyed it.
I also really liked the setting of the story and the little random tidbits of conversation at times because the author is local to where I live, and so I got like those little tidbits of like a college that everyone thinks about going to in my area is mentioned in the story or mt cheaha where I go to all the time is mentioned and that was kinda fun to read for me, personally! It's funny to imagine a bunch of dragons just chillin in cheaha tbh!!
This was a really cool book! I wasn't expecting to actually like it as much as I did as it was a bit slow to start. The beginning of the novel was just a bit hard to get into because it was introducing all the characters and just getting the plot set up but after all of that and all the action started it got really good!
I really liked the two points of view of both sisters and it really showing two different sides and how differently both of them think. I think especially showing their mental state, really, and showing how they deal with certain situations.
I also think it's interesting how the sorcerers also get fit into this plot, they do serve a role and a pretty big one, they aren't just added to the story for no real reason like some books do. I also really liked Kieran's character he's got that morally grey dark haired sad boy vibe which I always ~love~
I do think overall this book really could've been longer or at least some kind of series, it was finished good enough but I feel like it really could've been expanded, the background info was not as fleshed out as it could've been. I feel like even though the story is about dragons, there werent enough dragons in the story, like there could've been more I feel. But it did mention in the book that there are not as many as there used to be. As a standalone I still really loved and enjoyed it.
I also really liked the setting of the story and the little random tidbits of conversation at times because the author is local to where I live, and so I got like those little tidbits of like a college that everyone thinks about going to in my area is mentioned in the story or mt cheaha where I go to all the time is mentioned and that was kinda fun to read for me, personally! It's funny to imagine a bunch of dragons just chillin in cheaha tbh!!
val_booksandtea's review against another edition
4.0
Dragons, magic, sorcerors, sisterhood, and secrets. What's not to love? A compelling premise of two sisters on different sides of an age-old war, one desperate to prove herself and one who just desperately needs a normal life. Through a grumpy sarcastic dragon into the mix and you have yourself, a funny, action-packed, heart-warming, emotional rollercoaster. Though slightly predictable in its storyline, that is the be expected from YA. If you like dragons, you'll enjoy this.
hailsb22's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
rainey_el's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
readabookorfive's review against another edition
3.0
Fire with Fire was a really interesting novel and I enjoyed my time reading it overall.
The story follows two sisters, Dani and Eden who have grown up in a family of dragon slayers. Eden is fully committed to the cause and wants to prove herself to her family and Dani who is naturally gifted but is not committed to the cause and then when Dani forms a connection with a dragon named Nox, everything begins to change.
For the most part, I really enjoyed the writing. It did flow pretty well and was easy to read.
However, I did have a few issues with it. I didn’t like the fact that it just switched POV’s randomly in the middle of a chapter, I found it quite jarring and it made me really confused in some places. Also, I found that sometimes, there was too much telling rather than showing but the writing was really descriptive and it did help imagine what was happening.
I absolutely loved Dani as a character! I also loved that she was bisexual and half latinex so that people are going to be able to read about her and see themselves, representation is so important and I’m so happy when I read solid fantasy novels with rep in! Dani was very strong and just such a freaking badass, she was on her own journey of self discovery and it was just wonderful to see her and her journey.
Eden is a character I really struggled with, I didn’t really love her character at all. She was really selfish and abrasive, she didn’t really seem to care about Dani, she was just consistently jealous of her and almost got her killed because of it.
I LOVED NOX SO MUCH HE WAS SARCASTIC AND FUNNY AND HE REALLY WARMED MY HEART.
Overall, Fire with Fire was a solid novel. It had dragons and action and a great leading character. However, as I stated before, I had a few problems with the writing because one of my pet peeves is when people change perspective in the middle of a chapter and I wish there was more showing rather than telling. And, I also found some parts in the middle a little boring and felt like it dragged a little. But, I loved Dani, I loved the plot and story overall and I’m so glad that we’ve got another good fantasy YA novel with dragons!
Please keep in mind that I read an arc copy of this book and it doesn’t come out until June 2021 so things could change!
thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for sending me an arc copy in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own
The story follows two sisters, Dani and Eden who have grown up in a family of dragon slayers. Eden is fully committed to the cause and wants to prove herself to her family and Dani who is naturally gifted but is not committed to the cause and then when Dani forms a connection with a dragon named Nox, everything begins to change.
For the most part, I really enjoyed the writing. It did flow pretty well and was easy to read.
However, I did have a few issues with it. I didn’t like the fact that it just switched POV’s randomly in the middle of a chapter, I found it quite jarring and it made me really confused in some places. Also, I found that sometimes, there was too much telling rather than showing but the writing was really descriptive and it did help imagine what was happening.
I absolutely loved Dani as a character! I also loved that she was bisexual and half latinex so that people are going to be able to read about her and see themselves, representation is so important and I’m so happy when I read solid fantasy novels with rep in! Dani was very strong and just such a freaking badass, she was on her own journey of self discovery and it was just wonderful to see her and her journey.
Eden is a character I really struggled with, I didn’t really love her character at all. She was really selfish and abrasive, she didn’t really seem to care about Dani, she was just consistently jealous of her and almost got her killed because of it.
I LOVED NOX SO MUCH HE WAS SARCASTIC AND FUNNY AND HE REALLY WARMED MY HEART.
Overall, Fire with Fire was a solid novel. It had dragons and action and a great leading character. However, as I stated before, I had a few problems with the writing because one of my pet peeves is when people change perspective in the middle of a chapter and I wish there was more showing rather than telling. And, I also found some parts in the middle a little boring and felt like it dragged a little. But, I loved Dani, I loved the plot and story overall and I’m so glad that we’ve got another good fantasy YA novel with dragons!
Please keep in mind that I read an arc copy of this book and it doesn’t come out until June 2021 so things could change!
thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for sending me an arc copy in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own