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readwithria's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Spark of the Everflame opens this series with interesting characters, a strong story, and lots of threads I want to see get tied together.
I really enjoyed reading this book! I read most of it in one day, and it was hard to put down and very easy to pick back up again.
That being said, I’m not sure that it’s as plot heavy as it’s advertised. It’s definitely *story* heavy, but Diem doesn’t have any strong goals that she works toward throughout the book. This felt like a lot of exposition, and that’s fine since it’s the first book in a four book series, but I wanted her to have a little more agency.
I will definitely be continuing with this series! 4 stars!
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC and the opportunity to share an honest, voluntary review.
I really enjoyed reading this book! I read most of it in one day, and it was hard to put down and very easy to pick back up again.
That being said, I’m not sure that it’s as plot heavy as it’s advertised. It’s definitely *story* heavy, but Diem doesn’t have any strong goals that she works toward throughout the book. This felt like a lot of exposition, and that’s fine since it’s the first book in a four book series, but I wanted her to have a little more agency.
I will definitely be continuing with this series! 4 stars!
Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC and the opportunity to share an honest, voluntary review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism and Classism
Minor: Death, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
brenna199x's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I was a bit put down by the reviews and thought it would be a DNF but im glad i gave it a chance it was way better than I expected and i will be reading the next book in no time.
FMC is a bit annoying on the beginning but at the 60% it gets better and her decision makes more sense and it fits her personality more. I think the trick in understanding her decisions is to see her as a sheltered child trying to make her own way in the world and just getting slapped by life.
MMC ist amazing, love Luther no more to say.
The book itself could be at least a 100 pages shorter. Especially begging was very very slow could have been a bit shortened at around 50% things starts to move forward.
If you pick up this book and its struggling in continuing or you are feeling put down by some reviews just pass the 60% mark it gets better I promise.
FMC is a bit annoying on the beginning but at the 60% it gets better and her decision makes more sense and it fits her personality more. I think the trick in understanding her decisions is to see her as a sheltered child trying to make her own way in the world and just getting slapped by life.
MMC ist amazing, love Luther no more to say.
The book itself could be at least a 100 pages shorter. Especially begging was very very slow could have been a bit shortened at around 50% things starts to move forward.
If you pick up this book and its struggling in continuing or you are feeling put down by some reviews just pass the 60% mark it gets better I promise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
mj_86's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Death, and War
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content
iamsammie27's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Terminal illness, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
lovebookish's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sandse2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Good setup for a series but needed more character development. Particularly between characters. The love interests were weakly incorporated and the main character was brash and obnoxious. I wish she would have been developed more in terms of her intelligence. But the storyline is good and I will be reading the second book in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
naluminum's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-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
3.5
This book started by jumping around the timeline a little abruptly. The context for the conflict between the Descended and the Mortals was well presented and a good representation of class differences and how starkly contrasting the priorities on each side are.
Honestly I felt that Diem was not the main character this story needed. Her actions are often rash and other characters, such as her childhood love interest, imply many times that she is ignorant to how her world works. As a consequence Diem is a force of chaos, disrupting the lives of the mortals just trying to survive and the Descended prince who was the last person to see her mother before she disappeared. And of course the ruthless prince wants to protect her as soon as he meets her, no matter how suspicious and standoffish Diem behaves towards him (mostly her personality, but also involvement with a rebel group). I will read the sequel because I’m intrigued by this MC who entirely overdramatic and I hope to see her mature or fail at embracing her heritage.
Honestly I felt that Diem was not the main character this story needed. Her actions are often rash and other characters, such as her childhood love interest, imply many times that she is ignorant to how her world works. As a consequence Diem is a force of chaos, disrupting the lives of the mortals just trying to survive and the Descended prince who was the last person to see her mother before she disappeared. And of course the ruthless prince wants to protect her as soon as he meets her, no matter how suspicious and standoffish Diem behaves towards him (mostly her personality, but also involvement with a rebel group). I will read the sequel because I’m intrigued by this MC who entirely overdramatic and I hope to see her mature or fail at embracing her heritage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
dkgreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
Ooooh, I liked this! I really liked that there was a hint of romance, but the main focus of this installment was on character and world building. There was also action, mystery, and fabulous banter. Definitely looking forward to wherever this series is taking us!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content
sarah_sedai_blueajah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Medical content, and Grief
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Diem is a healer who lives in a divided world. As a human she is a second class citizen to the Descended, those whose ancestors were Gods. When her mother goes missing she starts to question things more.
This was a pretty decent romantasy. The world building was good, yet a little inconsistent. The concept of the plot isn't super original, but kept me interested. There were a lot of common plot devices used in this book - divided society, imbalance of power, secret rebel group, secretly powerful FMC, etc...
There is a lot of this discussion about the injustice of a divided society where one side has all the power and the other has none. Diem struggles between her oath to do no harm as a healer and her rage at the treatment of her people.
Diem is a very frustrating character. She is extremely reckless and doesn't think about the consequences of her actions.It was pretty obvious that she has some magic and was going to be crowned the Queen of Lumnos. There were so many hints throughout the book. I am interested to see the growth of her character.
Henri is a character similar to many others in this genre. I didn't have a great feeling about him from the begining. He is Diem's childhood best friends and wants to marry her.We see very quickly that he wants to have control over her (Think Tamlin).
I had mixed feelings about the second half of the book. I felt like it was too rushed. The romance was not set up well. As the author attempts to speed up the plot line, we miss out on all the buildup and angst of a slow burn. She really needed to spend more time developing the romance for it to make sense and for us to be invested.
I don't have much of an option of Luther yet, as his character was barely developed in this book. He went from casual conversations with Diem to being wildly protective of her for no reason that was explained.
Tropes: enemies to potential lovers, childhood friends to lovers, slow burn
This was a pretty decent romantasy. The world building was good, yet a little inconsistent. The concept of the plot isn't super original, but kept me interested. There were a lot of common plot devices used in this book - divided society, imbalance of power, secret rebel group, secretly powerful FMC, etc...
There is a lot of this discussion about the injustice of a divided society where one side has all the power and the other has none. Diem struggles between her oath to do no harm as a healer and her rage at the treatment of her people.
Diem is a very frustrating character. She is extremely reckless and doesn't think about the consequences of her actions.
Henri is a character similar to many others in this genre. I didn't have a great feeling about him from the begining. He is Diem's childhood best friends and wants to marry her.
I had mixed feelings about the second half of the book. I felt like it was too rushed. The romance was not set up well. As the author attempts to speed up the plot line, we miss out on all the buildup and angst of a slow burn. She really needed to spend more time developing the romance for it to make sense and for us to be invested.
I don't have much of an option of Luther yet, as his character was barely developed in this book. He went from casual conversations with Diem to being wildly protective of her for no reason that was explained.
Tropes: enemies to potential lovers, childhood friends to lovers, slow burn
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment