Someone should've filmed me during my reading process as I was freaking out every five seconds!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!
Incendiary totally suprised me and owned my heart, and I can't stop obsessing over it. Usually I'm very hesitant in terms of "royal fantasy" as I like to call it. Most of the times I have been underwhelmed by such stories as they follow the same structure, use the same good old YA tropes and are predictable. Not that I didn't enjoy one or the other, they just didn't blew me away. This book though? Killed me. And I was not expecting it!

So is this book so different to others? No, but also yes.

Generally it follows the same structure as many YA fantasy novels that involve a royal court and opression. A kingdom that want/does rule over the entire world? Check. A group of rebels that came from a kingdom long ago destroyed or opressed? Check. That group having the magic that needs to be forbidden or get rid off? Check. Killing being the olympic game of the villains (the opressing kingdom)? Check. A protagonist that has rare magic and therefore is different to the others? Check. A love interest that seems to be smart and the hero/ leader of the good ones? Check. Check. Check.

While nothing new has been invented with this book, it was the way each of these aspects have been executed that totally suprised me and made me obsess with the full story line. Staring from the worldbuilding, magic system to the characters and all the twist and turns this book kept me on edge and my head boiling making all these theories. (and boy did I cooked up tons of theories!)

To elaborate why this book despite the general known structure is so good, we gotta start with Ren. As all ties are connected to her. And I'm not even bothered.

It's to be expected that the protagonist of a story is the special snowflake to some extent. Same goes for Renata who among the Moria is capable of their rarest form of magic - which is the most feared and hated at the same time: stealing memories. Not just having access to them, completely being capable of stealing them to the extent of even leaving so-called "Hollows" behind: empty living bodies. And Ren has surely made a trail of hollows in her past.

That's where both - the worldbuilding and magic system - are so nicely tied to her. Kidnapped as a child, she spent a good amount of time in the palace, being used as the weapon by the enemy. Did she do it volunteerily? Yes. Did she know what she was doing? No, she was a child. This doesn't change anything about the mistrust and hatred she's being confronted with from the Whispers, a group of Moria rebels that have saved her from the palace and are working against the opressing kingdom. In fact, she seems to just be out of place with the rebels - the supposedly good guys in this story - as she might have been in the palace though she doesn't remember anything of that time. And that's where I started to become obsessive with the story. A girl that owns thousands of stolen memories? That by touching can turn you into a hollow? Not. Able. To. Access. Her. Own. And that from a time period that could be vital for the rebels as it was when she was a child in the palace. Every time, a memory tried to break the surface and Ren kept pushing it back I was screaming for information, my head bubbling some more. Ren seemed to be a vital key that could open new doors to the history of this world, and I wanted her to break the Grey - as she referred to the incapabiltiy to access her own memories.

But this isn't where my fascination with the magic system stopped. People who could persuade other, cast illusions, and read minds? Love it. But what I loved more was the physicality of it. Not only was their power amplified by metals like gold, copper, platinum, and silver, but also took a toll on them, and especially with the Illusionari and Robarí (like Ren) it was the act of touching that made their power possible. (Though I'm still convinced there is a no touchy all mighty twist to this.... HA!)

Just as Ren is tied to the magic system and worldbuilding, she was also tied to the characters we get to meet throughout the book. Admitting, I enjoyed the characters - especially because I find myself in a dilemma of trust and mistrust. As Ren was met with mistrust and hatred due to her powers, I couldn't help myself but keep questioning the intentions and words of her ebel unit. Which made the storyline so much more intersting fo rme as the supposedly good ones didn't seem good enoguh for me - and let's be honest, purely good and purely bad sides are kinda boring. And that's definitely something the book twisted into a very confusing but amazing perception. We knew Ren trusted these people, but I still kept questioning their actions. Even Dez - the love interest - whom I enjoyed as a character and his relationship to Ren was beautifully exectued, wasn't able to gain my trust from the beginning. At some point, I kept questioning everyone except Ren. And it doesn't stop with the supposedly good people, but also with the villains of the story. While it was quickly clear to me who I have to hate, I also saw way too many hidden secrets of the "bad" guys to truly only see them as the monsters they were - and especially one wouldn't let my mind in peace: the prince. From the very beginning, I questioned his motives, and I craved to find out more about him. My head boiling up those theories.

In fact, the prince himself was a delight as a character. As the first character we properly meet in the tale he got me intrigued quite early on, and was the first characters whose secrets I wanted to have revealed. To follow Ren's journey of her revenge turned toward the prince was a journey not only of hopefully finding out more about him, but also hoping for a twisted turn in the romance department. (Well ... I guess I really like the bad guys, huh?)

It were these three aspects that were connected to Ren that made the plot a roller coaster that differs from other stories. Not only did we have an amazing worldbuilding where Ren needed to see the ties between kingdoms, recognize allies and try to find the real history (btw. Can the sequel please have a map? thank you very much), but also the way her magic plays into the plot, the importance of it but also the struggle with her own lack of remembering vital information, and the constant questioning of characters, motives made this a story a delight of its own. And I didn't even reach the part of all the twists and turns.

I have already mentioned that my head was steaming. One theory after another came up, and I couldn't stop looking for those bread crumbs of foreshadowing, which Zoraida Córdova placed nicely into the story, and tied them nicely together to big reveals that made me gasp for air! There was such a satisfaction when I realized that all my theories for this book came out to be true, which didn't stop my brain to come up with even more for the sequel (the list is already longer than it was before!). While I usually enjoy to taken by suprise, I actually loved how the bread crumbs were thoughtfully placed among the story, and truly lead us to all the destinations.

Honestly, I'm obsessed.

Overall, this story has done a fantastic job in using typical elements of YA royal fantasy but turning them into something amazing by presenting us with an amazing worldbuilding, a brilliant magic system, questionable realistic characters, and perfectly placed bread crumbs to follow for all the twists and turns!

Honestly guys. READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


and now ... can someone send me the sequel???? I've got bread crumbs (and Prince Caspian) to follow.