Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Bound By Firelight

Author: Dana Swift

Book Series: Wickery Book 2

Rating: 3/5

Diversity: South Asian MCs and characters, Disabled side character, Mute characters and characters who experience mutism

Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, romance, South Asian inspired

Publication Date: January 18, 2022

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, gore, mass death, parental death, war, torture, sexism mentioned, grief, romance, drugs referenced, religion)

Explanation of CWs: The book has a lot of scenes of violence and gore and also shows active war/coup and mass death, including a parental death and grief. There is also torture shown in the book. There is some romance. The book also references a drug-like substance. The book has one instance of sexism mentioned and the book has a lot of scenes where the characters practice their religion and see a God.

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 448

Synopsis: After a magical eruption devastates the kingdom of Belwar, royal heir Adraa is falsely accused of masterminding the destruction and forced to stand trial in front of her people, who see her as a monster. Adraa's punishment? Imprisonment in the Dome, an impenetrable, magic-infused fortress filled with Belwar’s nastiest criminals—many of whom Adraa put there herself. And they want her to pay.

Jatin, the royal heir to Naupure, has been Adraa’s betrothed, nemesis, and fellow masked vigilante... but now he’s just a boy waiting to ask her the biggest question of their lives. First, though, he’s going to have to do the impossible: break Adraa out of the Dome. And he won’t be able to do it without help from the unlikeliest of sources—a girl from his past with a secret that could put them all at risk.

Time is running out, and the horrors Adraa faces in the Dome are second only to the plot to destabilize and destroy their kingdoms. But Adraa and Jatin have saved the world once already... Now, can they save themselves?

Review: For the most part this was an ok book. The book is still reading a little young, so it’d be good for younger YA readers. The book did good with the character development and world building. I also still love the South Asian characters and inspiration into this book and I still loved seeing some of the quirks of the MCs from the first book carry over to this one.

However, there are concerns from South Asian own voice readers about the author and how she was chosen to write a story for South Asian readers instead of a South Asian writer. Some of the concerns also revolved around the incorrect terminology. Their voices are valid and should be read in full. They can be found on Goodreads, so please review their concerns. I also have concerns about the use of mutism and sign language in this book. I liked that the characters used some sign when they became mute, but I didn’t like how it quickly became “we write words above our heads instead of just learning sign”. I feel like that aspect could have been done better. I also didn’t like how mutism was treated in the book overall. While the characters were involuntarily muted as a form of torture and it fit the book, it just doesn’t feel very fair to akin being mute to being tortured. It overall gave me a bad vibe and I’d love to see Mute/Sign User ownvoice reviewers point of view on this because I might be completely wrong about this. There was also a lot of stuff to pack into this book and it got confusing very quickly. Lastly, the plot wasn’t really sound in this book and I also didn’t like the pacing.

Verdict: It’s ok, but not for me. Maybe for you!