A review by sagittarian
A Fate of Wrath & Flame, by K.A. Tucker
4.0
once again, i'm in the position of having read a great book that serves as a fantastic start to a series with months to go before the next book is published. and with a cliffhanger end that broke my heart but left juuuuuuuust enough potential to have me salivating for the next one.
it took a while to get into this story, probably because it started out in modern-day NYC (and urban fantasy is so not my thing, *nudge nudge* crescent city..........), but the minute it shifted setting, i was all in. we have body-swapping, castles, magic, gods, political scheming, enemies (of the 'you tried to kill me and my whole family' variety) to lovers, the idealist, doesn't-want-the-crown, advocates-for-human-rights love interest, and a little bit of spice to keep you on your toes. surprisingly, the fact that the main character came from a modern day setting into the more traditional, fantasy-style setting made the story richer, rather than trite. (romeria designing herself scandalous modern dresses? love it.)
the mystery of the story is not only well constructed within this first book, it's built perfectly to withstand a multi-book series. as much as i love JLA/FBAA, there are few things more annoying or cheap than being given answers to questions only for those answers to be deemed incorrect or irrelevant in later books. the way the author tells the story in this book poses questions that are answered satisfactorily, but leaves enough of an open-end that there is so much potential for more depth in the book(s) to come without resorting to tedious retconning.
everything about this book is delicious as the introduction to a larger, interesting story. because it's the appetizer, it lacks the emotional punch that makes a book 5 stars for me, but detailed world and character-building takes time, and i just know book two is going to be so, so, so good. sopleasereleaseitearlyasapimmediatelythankyouuuuuu
it took a while to get into this story, probably because it started out in modern-day NYC (and urban fantasy is so not my thing, *nudge nudge* crescent city..........), but the minute it shifted setting, i was all in. we have body-swapping, castles, magic, gods, political scheming, enemies (of the 'you tried to kill me and my whole family' variety) to lovers, the idealist, doesn't-want-the-crown, advocates-for-human-rights love interest, and a little bit of spice to keep you on your toes. surprisingly, the fact that the main character came from a modern day setting into the more traditional, fantasy-style setting made the story richer, rather than trite. (romeria designing herself scandalous modern dresses? love it.)
the mystery of the story is not only well constructed within this first book, it's built perfectly to withstand a multi-book series. as much as i love JLA/FBAA, there are few things more annoying or cheap than being given answers to questions only for those answers to be deemed incorrect or irrelevant in later books. the way the author tells the story in this book poses questions that are answered satisfactorily, but leaves enough of an open-end that there is so much potential for more depth in the book(s) to come without resorting to tedious retconning.
everything about this book is delicious as the introduction to a larger, interesting story. because it's the appetizer, it lacks the emotional punch that makes a book 5 stars for me, but detailed world and character-building takes time, and i just know book two is going to be so, so, so good. sopleasereleaseitearlyasapimmediatelythankyouuuuuu