I recieved a review copy of this book at no cost. 

The Dagger and the Flame follows two POVs on opposite sides of a generations-long rivalry for the magical underbelly of a city: the daggers, who use magical (and deadly) Shade to complete assassinations for hire, and the Cloaks, who wear their Shade in clothing that helps them commit thefts & heists. 

The worldbuilding in this is a little sparse, and some things don’t make a lot of sense (why is the king okay with thieves? why can’t assassins also steal? why is this entire city seemingly empty of every character except the named characters in the plot 95% of the time?) and there are a slew of side characters that are meant to add interest, depth, additional plot lines, etc but really don’t get fleshed out. We know the most about Ransom’s relationship with Lark and Nadia—not a ton, but a little—but Sera’s found family team just instantly assembles itself. The plot is also reasonably predictable BUT not 100% and not more so than other YA fantasy. I would actually say this is a little less hand-holding, plot wise, than many other YA fantasies and I appreciated that.  

However, what I really liked was the relationship between Ransom and Sera. Its enemies to lovers in a way that it makes a ton of sense for them to be enemies, but also not so deep that it makes no sense for them to change their minds. The banter is funny & works, which is so refreshing after reading a bunch of romantasy books this year where “banter” is just two people insulting and cursing at one another. I liked the build up of the relationship. 

I do kind of wish this were a standalone. I thought we were headed in that direction until the last few chapters and I feel like it could have been wrapped up without a need to take the story further. I will be picking up book 2 though.