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abby_ace_of_books 's review for:
Of Flame and Fury
by Mikayla Bridge
Phoenixes >>>>> Dragons
Of Flame and Fury is a YA romantasy debut focusing around one of my favorite fantasy features: phoenixes. I've always been a lover of phoenixes in books, so I had to request this as soon as I saw it on Netgalley. I was mildly surprised by the truly wild nature of phoenixes in this book, and I really appreciated the questions of freedom and exploitation of nature.
I've seen a lot of reviews comparing this to Fourth Wing, but I honestly preferred this book immensely. Kel is a phoenix tamer who trains phoenixes for racing, and she's desperate for the money that comes with winning. The only issue? She'll need to work with her rival, Warren "Coup" Coupers. I thought the pacing and action were well done, and maybe I'm finally breaking out of a two-month-long reading slump, but I read this in two days, and it kept my attention piqued the whole time. Some of the plot twists were a bit predictable, but there was one major one that I missed completely. I thought the balance of romance and fantasy worked well. Overall, I just really enjoyed the fast-paced, action-packed plot of this book. My only complaint is that the ARC didn't include the epilogue, so I definitely missed some closure there, but I'm hoping this becomes a series.
I liked most of the characters, too, and I really enjoyed the dynamic between the Howlers. Bekn was the unsung hero, in my opinion. I mean, dude wears a fancy apron to cook pancakes...we love him for that. I really liked Dira as well, and her friendship with Kel was nice to see. I wasn't super fond of Rahn, but I think that was because we didn't have much time to connect with her. Kel was fine as a protagonist; I liked seeing her connection with her phoenix, Savita, and her character arc was super fun. I didn't mind Coup too much, and while I wouldn't say he's my favorite book boy ever, he's definitely better than a lot of them. If there ends up being a sequel, I'll be interested to see how the dynamics change with certain developments here.
Of Flame and Fury is the perfect YA romantasy for fans of magical creatures and magical competitions.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
4/5
Of Flame and Fury is a YA romantasy debut focusing around one of my favorite fantasy features: phoenixes. I've always been a lover of phoenixes in books, so I had to request this as soon as I saw it on Netgalley. I was mildly surprised by the truly wild nature of phoenixes in this book, and I really appreciated the questions of freedom and exploitation of nature.
I've seen a lot of reviews comparing this to Fourth Wing, but I honestly preferred this book immensely. Kel is a phoenix tamer who trains phoenixes for racing, and she's desperate for the money that comes with winning. The only issue? She'll need to work with her rival, Warren "Coup" Coupers. I thought the pacing and action were well done, and maybe I'm finally breaking out of a two-month-long reading slump, but I read this in two days, and it kept my attention piqued the whole time. Some of the plot twists were a bit predictable, but there was one major one that I missed completely. I thought the balance of romance and fantasy worked well. Overall, I just really enjoyed the fast-paced, action-packed plot of this book. My only complaint is that the ARC didn't include the epilogue, so I definitely missed some closure there, but I'm hoping this becomes a series.
I liked most of the characters, too, and I really enjoyed the dynamic between the Howlers. Bekn was the unsung hero, in my opinion. I mean, dude wears a fancy apron to cook pancakes...we love him for that. I really liked Dira as well, and her friendship with Kel was nice to see. I wasn't super fond of Rahn, but I think that was because we didn't have much time to connect with her. Kel was fine as a protagonist; I liked seeing her connection with her phoenix, Savita, and her character arc was super fun. I didn't mind Coup too much, and while I wouldn't say he's my favorite book boy ever, he's definitely better than a lot of them. If there ends up being a sequel, I'll be interested to see how the dynamics change with certain developments here.
Of Flame and Fury is the perfect YA romantasy for fans of magical creatures and magical competitions.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
4/5