After Darling’s family is murdered by House Dragon, she spends her childhood in the sewers until freed by House Kraken. Her adoptive father is captured and she will do anything to save him, including murder all of House Dragon. The High Prince Regent of House Dragon is acting erratically, threatening his position as factions look to unseat him. His brother, the War Prince, Talon tries to help him until a girl appears that looks like paintings his brother has obsessively been creating for years. Darling and Talon must work together in the games of House politics or their world will not survive.
CHAOS & FLAME is the first book in a YA high-fantasy duology. The first page had me pulled in, with its creepy mysterious vibe. I really liked the premise of the book after reading the synopsis. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me overall. The pacing was slow and within all that time, didn’t provide sufficient world-building or character development. The narration alternates each chapter between first-person of Darling and Talon. Normally, I like dual POV, but in this case the voices of the two main characters were so similar that I frequently had to stop to remember which character was the focus at the moment. Talon’s brother played a large role which makes me wonder what it would have been like had he been included as a narrator as well. The romance of the enemies-to-lovers trope happened too soon and too fast, verging on insta-love, so there wasn’t any tension left to carry interest in that plot line through to the end of the book. There’s some action but not a lot in total. I did like that there was a variety of magic aspects included. The book ends on a cliffhanger, though I didn’t feel very disappointed. I will likely read the second book at some point once it’s released, but it’s not high on my priority list.
CHAOS & FLAME didn’t live up to my expectations but may be enjoyed more by other fans of YA fantasy.
Thank you to Razorbill for the giveaway copy.
CHAOS & FLAME is the first book in a YA high-fantasy duology. The first page had me pulled in, with its creepy mysterious vibe. I really liked the premise of the book after reading the synopsis. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me overall. The pacing was slow and within all that time, didn’t provide sufficient world-building or character development. The narration alternates each chapter between first-person of Darling and Talon. Normally, I like dual POV, but in this case the voices of the two main characters were so similar that I frequently had to stop to remember which character was the focus at the moment. Talon’s brother played a large role which makes me wonder what it would have been like had he been included as a narrator as well. The romance of the enemies-to-lovers trope happened too soon and too fast, verging on insta-love, so there wasn’t any tension left to carry interest in that plot line through to the end of the book. There’s some action but not a lot in total. I did like that there was a variety of magic aspects included. The book ends on a cliffhanger, though I didn’t feel very disappointed. I will likely read the second book at some point once it’s released, but it’s not high on my priority list.
CHAOS & FLAME didn’t live up to my expectations but may be enjoyed more by other fans of YA fantasy.
Thank you to Razorbill for the giveaway copy.