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A review by jessiereads98
A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
3.75
A Fire Endless follows Jack, Adaira, Torin, and Sidra across the Isle of Cadence as they handle the fall out of Adaira going west. It’s a solid sequel, and Rebecca Ross expands the world beautifully. This story was unexpectedly darker and heavier than the A River Enchanted, but it still maintains its atmospheric charm through lush and lyrical prose. A Fire Endless was more plot heavy than A River Enchanted, and I felt this was to its detriment.
This story had almost too
much going on for a final book of a duology. Adaira is learning the culture and politics of the West, Torin is adjusting to his role as laird of the East, Jack, Sidra, and Torin must save the Isle of Cadence from a mysterious plague affecting both the land and people. With this much ground to cover things felt rushed and choppy at times. The character development and main relationships which shone in the first book remain, but to a lesser degree. I felt the relationships were the biggest strength of the first book, and putting them to the side to focus on too many plot elements made this a weaker story. I especially didn’t likethe separation of Torin and Sidra. I expected to see them working on their relationship together, however we instead only got individual character development (mostly Torin) and their relationship was just healed through that at the very end seemingly. I also just didn’t care for the pregnancy plot. It felt unnecessary given everything else going on.
While the main relationships between Jack and Adaira, and Torin and Sidra remain we unfortunately don’t get to continue exploring the familial relationships from A River Enchanted in A Fire Endless. Mirin, Fraeda, and Maisie who played a prominent role in the first book are all but absent here. There was an attempt to explore the fraught relationship between Adaira and her biological parents here, but it ultimately gets lost and falls flat amongst everything else happening. Jack interacts with his paternal relatives 2 or 3 times total in 500 pages despite not having known his father being central to his character. I was disappointed by the lack of connections outside of the two main romantic relationships.
While there seemed to be more magic overall in A Fire Endless, there was less bardic magic. I loved the uniqueness of Jack’s powers as a bard in A River Enchanted and the way it was written. In A Fire Endless the interactions with the spirits are more direct, and initiated by the spirits. This made the magic seem more mundane, and like a plot device that Ross used to get us from one point to another.
Finally, I was disappointed by the ending. It felt rushed to make sure every loose end was tied up neatly, rather than those endings having been earned and making sense. I also didn’t like howJack became king of the spirits then gave up his powers entirely. There was very little build up for this ending to make sense with either the world or his character. I don’t think it was necessary to strip him of his bard magic entirely to prove the point that he loves Adaira.
Overall, this was a fine conclusion to the duology despite being a little disappointing.
This story had almost too
much going on for a final book of a duology. Adaira is learning the culture and politics of the West, Torin is adjusting to his role as laird of the East, Jack, Sidra, and Torin must save the Isle of Cadence from a mysterious plague affecting both the land and people. With this much ground to cover things felt rushed and choppy at times. The character development and main relationships which shone in the first book remain, but to a lesser degree. I felt the relationships were the biggest strength of the first book, and putting them to the side to focus on too many plot elements made this a weaker story. I especially didn’t like
While the main relationships between Jack and Adaira, and Torin and Sidra remain we unfortunately don’t get to continue exploring the familial relationships from A River Enchanted in A Fire Endless. Mirin, Fraeda, and Maisie who played a prominent role in the first book are all but absent here. There was an attempt to explore the fraught relationship between Adaira and her biological parents here, but it ultimately gets lost and falls flat amongst everything else happening. Jack interacts with his paternal relatives 2 or 3 times total in 500 pages despite not having known his father being central to his character. I was disappointed by the lack of connections outside of the two main romantic relationships.
While there seemed to be more magic overall in A Fire Endless, there was less bardic magic. I loved the uniqueness of Jack’s powers as a bard in A River Enchanted and the way it was written. In A Fire Endless the interactions with the spirits are more direct, and initiated by the spirits. This made the magic seem more mundane, and like a plot device that Ross used to get us from one point to another.
Finally, I was disappointed by the ending. It felt rushed to make sure every loose end was tied up neatly, rather than those endings having been earned and making sense. I also didn’t like how
Overall, this was a fine conclusion to the duology despite being a little disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Vomit, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail