As a short person, I am begging authors to please stop making their characters 5 feet tall or shorter. Please. Not every ship needs a three-foot height difference.

Steel & Spellfire is a YA fantasy with elements of a murder mystery and court intrigue, and while I initially picked it up because of the Divine Rivals comp, I think it reminded me more of Kristen Ciccarelli's Heartless Hunter or, weirdly enough, Holly Webb's Rose series. I definitely think this book is more fitting for the younger audience of YA (12-15 range), but I think older teens might enjoy it too. It's fairly trope-y, and there are some details or jokes that I found a bit cringey, but overall it didn't detract too much from my enjoyment of the story.
Pandora Small is perhaps the most powerful mage of her time, but she's been raised as a weapon by her mysterious patron. Determined to find whoever holds the key to her power, Pandora poses as an Ingenue - a young woman seeking patronage - to gain access to the royal court so she can find her secret patron. Once she arrives in court, the murder mystery aspect of the plot begins, as does the romance when Pandora meets Ellis Beacon, a young guard. The plot did feel a bit slower than I would've expected for a murder mystery, but that was because a lot of the scenes still focused on court intrigue. I also felt that there was a lack of tension/suspense in some parts because Pandora's magic feels a bit overpowering, in that the only thing that could probably hurt her is herself. There were a handful of action scenes and investigation scenes that I really enjoyed, and I did like watching the mystery play out, although I don't think it was too unpredictable. However, I also don't think the twist was foreshadowed too well, and I only sort of guessed it because I'm familiar with the shape of these kinds of stories and not the actual details of the story itself. Again, I think this will work for younger audiences, but older teens might not be as hooked by the story.
Additionally, I think some of the characters pulled me out of the story because they're even tropier than the plot. Pandora is your super tiny, super plain, super powerful protagonist who has a bit of a tragic backstory; also, the first chapter of the book is titled "Literally Not Like the Other Girls," which I think sets up the sense of humor this book tries to display. Pandora wasn't too bad as an FMC, she was just a bit bland. Beacon was also your typical YA love interest in that he practically worshiped the ground Pandora walked on, which meant the whole relationship was a bit insta-lovey on his side. He had his own POV, but he read more as a love interest than an actual main character. I didn't like Imogen at first, but I grew to like her by the end. Theo was enticing as a character from his introduction, and certain parts of his backstory somehow landed him a spot as one of my favorite characters in this book. Everyone except Pandora and Beacon was a bit flat, but I didn't mind it too much because they weren't in half the scenes.
Steel & Spellfire is a YA fantasy novel with elements of mystery, romance, and court intrigue that reminded me a lot of other popular books, including Sorcery of Thorns and Powerless.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3.5/5