dewey007's review against another edition
" It also takes murder. You call it history, I call it archaic." Agreee. I don't like bull fighting in general so idk why I thought I could read about it but with dragons. Killing for entertainment is barbaric to me, I don't care what's being killed. Maybe if the book presented it with more flourish, it would be an entertaining read, despite my opinion. The Mc acts her age which is okay but I find myself disliking her. Good book for a younger audience.
gretaswags's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
thepagemasterr's review against another edition
5.0
Flamenco dancing, enemies to lovers, magic, and dragons?! Sign me up for all of it!
"Together We Burn" has everything I wanted in a fantasy and more. It is jam packed with creative and imaginative concepts that blend real-world culture with fantasy stakes.
After a dragon fight turns deadly, young Zarela Zalvidar is willing to do anything to save her family's arena and protect the dragonador legacy she’s inherited. Even if this means teaming up with someone who's against everything her family's legacy stands for. Enter the forever-scowling dragon hunter Arturo Diaz de Montserrat. Through their partnership they find an entirely new way to build a legacy.
At times I felt that the 'villain' of the book felt a bit predictable, I felt that way because Isabel did such a great job at constructing the character arc that it could only mean one person was responsible. Ibañez does an amazing job writing the tension between Zarela and the patriarchy, Zarela and her father (+ his expectations), as well as Zarela and the love interest, Arturo! The magical world she built blends classic components of Spanish culture and heritage with fantastical elements.
Sidebar - I absolutely loved the use of Spanish words/phrases/foods interspersed throughout the book. I never had to look anything up because the author did such a good job of contextualizing her word choices and made the book & world building richer for it!
* I received this ARC through NetGalley, which has not impacted my review in any way *
"Together We Burn" has everything I wanted in a fantasy and more. It is jam packed with creative and imaginative concepts that blend real-world culture with fantasy stakes.
After a dragon fight turns deadly, young Zarela Zalvidar is willing to do anything to save her family's arena and protect the dragonador legacy she’s inherited. Even if this means teaming up with someone who's against everything her family's legacy stands for. Enter the forever-scowling dragon hunter Arturo Diaz de Montserrat. Through their partnership they find an entirely new way to build a legacy.
At times I felt that the 'villain' of the book felt a bit predictable, I felt that way because Isabel did such a great job at constructing the character arc that it could only mean one person was responsible. Ibañez does an amazing job writing the tension between Zarela and the patriarchy, Zarela and her father (+ his expectations), as well as Zarela and the love interest, Arturo! The magical world she built blends classic components of Spanish culture and heritage with fantastical elements.
Sidebar - I absolutely loved the use of Spanish words/phrases/foods interspersed throughout the book. I never had to look anything up because the author did such a good job of contextualizing her word choices and made the book & world building richer for it!
* I received this ARC through NetGalley, which has not impacted my review in any way *
leahegood's review against another edition
3.0
Good story telling. Not squeaky clean.
Summary
What happens if you take Spanish bullfighting and make it dragon fighting instead? That is the world Zarela lives in. Her mother dances flamenco before an adoring crowd and then her father fights a dragon. Though it is her father who faces the fearsome beasts, tragedy strikes her mother first. In an awful accident, a dragon escapes and its fire takes her mother from them. Though Zarela would like her father to give up dragon fighting, he presses on. Until tragedy strikes again. With her father gravely injured, her home and livelihood in ruin, and an unknown saboteur still at large, it falls to Zarela to find a way to save her family and her home.
Thoughts
This was a fun twist on a historical/cultural setting blended with fantasy elements like dragons and magic (which gets stored in little wands and released when the wand is snapped). I've been working on learning Spanish for several years and was delighted to understand most of the Spanish words and phrases sprinkled through the story. This is a good book if you're looking for a fantasy that fits for Hispanic Heritage Month.
I can't think of another book that manages to do "bad to worse" so consistently and effectively. Every time Zarela turns a corner, things have spiraled out-of-control in a more dramatic way than before. This isn't a case of undeserved misfortune, but rather undeserved misfortunes.
With the exception of two scenes (see content section below), the romance is generally sweet. Arturo is a young dragon tamer Zarela hires to teach her how to fight dragons. He refuses to fight dragons himself and is unwilling to explain why. Despite the barriers he holds between them, he's protective of Zarela and strangely loyal. He also holds a secret with the potential to tear them apart.
If you're into mystery elements, the mystery subplot in this story fell a little flat for me. I'm not a big mystery reader, so I didn't really mind, but I figured out who the secret saboteur was long before Zarela finds her proof. When she finally gets the proof she needs, my interest in the ensuing scenes was more about uncovering the person's motives than reveling in a big reveal.
Finally, I was slightly annoyed that the ending felt 100% 2022 instead of the historical setting the story world lives in.
Content
Language: Some low level swearing.
Romance: As mentioned at the beginning of this review, this book cannot be categorized as squeaky clean. There were two "bedroom" scenes which I felt went too far and were too detailed, especially considering this is a YA. One was hardcore making out. In the other, they went all the way. There's enough lead-up to give clues to flip ahead/skip ahead if you want to get the story without catching those scenes. Outside of these scenes, there is awareness of each other's physical proximity and a few kisses.
Violence: There is surprisingly little violence and gore for a story about dragon fighting. While there are scenes where dragon attacks cause panic and death, the carnage is described with a light hand. The focus remains firmly on Zarela's actions and emotional response to what is going on around her.
Substances: Characters enjoy wine with their meals. On one occasion, Arturo drinks a little too much and Zarela comments that she likes "slightly drunk" Arturo.
Religion: None that I can think of.
Summary
What happens if you take Spanish bullfighting and make it dragon fighting instead? That is the world Zarela lives in. Her mother dances flamenco before an adoring crowd and then her father fights a dragon. Though it is her father who faces the fearsome beasts, tragedy strikes her mother first. In an awful accident, a dragon escapes and its fire takes her mother from them. Though Zarela would like her father to give up dragon fighting, he presses on. Until tragedy strikes again. With her father gravely injured, her home and livelihood in ruin, and an unknown saboteur still at large, it falls to Zarela to find a way to save her family and her home.
Thoughts
This was a fun twist on a historical/cultural setting blended with fantasy elements like dragons and magic (which gets stored in little wands and released when the wand is snapped). I've been working on learning Spanish for several years and was delighted to understand most of the Spanish words and phrases sprinkled through the story. This is a good book if you're looking for a fantasy that fits for Hispanic Heritage Month.
I can't think of another book that manages to do "bad to worse" so consistently and effectively. Every time Zarela turns a corner, things have spiraled out-of-control in a more dramatic way than before. This isn't a case of undeserved misfortune, but rather undeserved misfortunes.
With the exception of two scenes (see content section below), the romance is generally sweet. Arturo is a young dragon tamer Zarela hires to teach her how to fight dragons. He refuses to fight dragons himself and is unwilling to explain why. Despite the barriers he holds between them, he's protective of Zarela and strangely loyal. He also holds a secret with the potential to tear them apart.
If you're into mystery elements, the mystery subplot in this story fell a little flat for me. I'm not a big mystery reader, so I didn't really mind, but I figured out who the secret saboteur was long before Zarela finds her proof. When she finally gets the proof she needs, my interest in the ensuing scenes was more about uncovering the person's motives than reveling in a big reveal.
Finally, I was slightly annoyed that the ending felt 100% 2022 instead of the historical setting the story world lives in.
Content
Language: Some low level swearing.
Romance: As mentioned at the beginning of this review, this book cannot be categorized as squeaky clean. There were two "bedroom" scenes which I felt went too far and were too detailed, especially considering this is a YA. One was hardcore making out. In the other, they went all the way. There's enough lead-up to give clues to flip ahead/skip ahead if you want to get the story without catching those scenes. Outside of these scenes, there is awareness of each other's physical proximity and a few kisses.
Violence: There is surprisingly little violence and gore for a story about dragon fighting. While there are scenes where dragon attacks cause panic and death, the carnage is described with a light hand. The focus remains firmly on Zarela's actions and emotional response to what is going on around her.
Substances: Characters enjoy wine with their meals. On one occasion, Arturo drinks a little too much and Zarela comments that she likes "slightly drunk" Arturo.
Religion: None that I can think of.
rinakei's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
mw_rose's review against another edition
4.0
I can see the negative reviews rolling in because people don’t understand the Spanish culture. I actually really enjoyed this book and the twist the author put on the tradition of bull fighting. I think it takes a good look at the depth of tradition while also questioning why traditions such as these can’t change. For some reason, I never really saw the twist at the end coming, but it felt a little abrupt to me (maybe that was from the element of surprise).
kayladaniella's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 stars
I really loved the concept of this book, but it was executed AWFULLY. The setting is in a fantasy Spain where they speak Spanish and instead of bull fighting its dragon fighting. It was a super unique setting and way of writing the story, incorporating Spanish language.
The plot is the real bummer of the story. Zarela decides that after her Dragonador father is gravely injured, she is going to become a Dragonador herself. Thing is, she literally never becomes one and theres only like 2 training scenes. Very pointless plot point. The prologue is Zarela's mother dying and then chapter one is the same sort of attack exactly a year later. It made the prologue pointless cause its literally EXACTLY the same as chapter one. The only reason the prologue existed is because It just had no good reason to exist and made me angry. It wasn't a good start to the story. And now onto the other spoilery stuff thats making my blood boil.
Also, there was WAY to many "burning" metaphors. I get it, the book is about dragons and the title is Together We Burn, but if I have to here another reference to them burning and being like fire and being red, I will scream. So yeah, this book had lots of potential but just the execution and plot was such a painful let down that it didn't just disappoint me but it angered me.
I really loved the concept of this book, but it was executed AWFULLY. The setting is in a fantasy Spain where they speak Spanish and instead of bull fighting its dragon fighting. It was a super unique setting and way of writing the story, incorporating Spanish language.
The plot is the real bummer of the story. Zarela decides that after her Dragonador father is gravely injured, she is going to become a Dragonador herself. Thing is, she literally never becomes one and theres only like 2 training scenes. Very pointless plot point. The prologue is Zarela's mother dying and then chapter one is the same sort of attack exactly a year later. It made the prologue pointless cause its literally EXACTLY the same as chapter one. The only reason the prologue existed is because
Spoiler
Arturo was the dragonador who failed to kill the dragon so therefore “killed” Zarela's mother.Spoiler
The whole mystery of this book is just a man who just wanted a daughter and was jealous of his brother, so he caused all these murders because his brother had a kid with the woman who he loved and he believed Zarela should be his and not his brothers? Wtf. Then, he captures her and wants to cart her away to an estate where she'll be fully taken care of, just so that she'll be his daughter? Idk man, it seems stupid. Just like why. It was possibly one of the most stupid things I've ever read. Oh, and another dumb plot point. Zarela's fathers death. It was so brushed over that there were no emotions. We were basically told "yeah I poisoned your father and he died" and all Zarela does is be like "oh no why wasn't I there" which is so stupid beyond belief. There was no point of her father's death. Ok and then also, the whole talk about the association and Martina Sanchez being at fault when they literally weren't. What was the point of them? They just feel so random and there is no closure to their story. They are fighting that dragon fighting is bad and in the end dragon fighting is still like socially acceptable because of tradition and history? Huh? What side are you on Ibañez? All these things made this book suck. It would've been cool if the twist wasn't so painfully stupid.Also, there was WAY to many "burning" metaphors. I get it, the book is about dragons and the title is Together We Burn, but if I have to here another reference to them burning and being like fire and being red, I will scream. So yeah, this book had lots of potential but just the execution and plot was such a painful let down that it didn't just disappoint me but it angered me.
artemismoon's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
mamabirdgraph's review against another edition
5.0
THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE BOOK!!! I AM OBSESSED! I AM CRYING! SCREAMING! THROWING UP! TOGETHER WE BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jenpica_arsenault's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0