Fire with Fire Review

Dani and Eden Rivera were both born to kill dragons, but the sisters couldn’t be more different.

– GoodReads

My Review

Alright.

Where to start?

First off I didn’t know I needed a contemporary YA Fantasy about dragon slayers. But. I did.

One of the great things about book boxes is getting a chance to read something you might not normally. I do love fantasy and scifi but I tend to hesitate with contemporary fantasy that feels too much in this world, but, then again I also love it almost every time I read it. So, Idk what’s wrong with me.

This book started off with like a very strong voice and setting and I loved that. And honestly the writing voice stays strong and the setting/world only expands in the best of ways.

What did I have issues with early on? The sisters. We didn’t get to see them enough as sharing in this strong close bond, they were too pitted against each other and that was a bit frustrating. I get it, I have sisters, I would cut a wench for an extra blowpop but would never let anyone hurt her. That being said, I just simply didn’t like the immediate sense of rivalry, we only got glimpses of how they cared and you could tell that they did, I just wanted more of it. It’s almost as if the parents pitted them against each other which was a little frustrating.

The parents. Speaking of. *Gestures vaguely to parents* If someone were to say damage something while they were out in the way that Dani did, not saying what cause of spoilers, I think I definitely would have had a bigger reaction/been more worried. I get it, you got bigger problems to worry about than typical teen ones, but, that was like mind blowing to me lol. Also I think I would have appreciated the parents in the book more though I got why they weren’t, like, hello, busy slaying dragons. Still, would have been a nice touch.

Dani and her storyline definitely felt more compelling for me than her sister’s and that was a shame, but, I also loved that Eden’s was a fate that wasn’t set in stone sort of thing.

Eden’s determination was just some sort of Buffy worth dark plot device. So, you know, that was a good read in itself. I just wanted more from her and I wanted more from that situation, it should have maybe been dragged on more but I do enjoy how there wasn’t a clear cut solution and that was pretty great. Sisterly/familial love can be an amazing thing.

As for say Dani’s possible love interest or not, who knows, I don’t spoil, I was kinda there for that, and kinda not sold on it. It was weird, but I will say this, I definitely liked the character a lot.

The side characters for me were pretty weak as a whole but I did love Dani’s vibrancy and Eden’s determination so much that it didn’t make it a huge issue for me.

Pacing was well done, it went a little fast but like in the good way, hit the ground running and don’t stop for breaks until there’s a stitch in your side. So we did have some ‘lulls’ which helped to further the plot along in this quick pacing. The setting was my favorite, having this dragon slaying family in such a southern scene, it was great.

Overall this was an extremely FUN read, but was lacking in a few things I wanted more out of. Totally would recommend anyway. 3.5/5 cups of coffee from me!