Dana SwiftRezensionen

If you didn't know, Cast in Firelight was one of my favorite reads last year. Thus, I have been eagerly anticipating this one ever since I heard about it.
Overall, it was a decent novel, but there were just a few aspects that I did not like.
Jatin and Adraa did not spend any time together in this book. Most of it was due to the plot, but since they were never together, there was no growth between them.
Secondly, this book is nonstop action. While some may prefer that, I just wished for a little down-time for the characters. Their exhaustion was very noticeable.
I almost forgot to mention, but that cover... :)
Yes, I am glad that I read this one but am not sure that I will read it again for some time. And on that note, I am thinking that the series will continue.

Content: kissing, some language, violence, death

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

I have been anticipating this book since I first heard about it back in May of 2019. I waited for months, the whole time worrying that I was getting overexcited. I was not. This book was even better than I ever imagined that it could be.
I really loved how the characters progressed. Their growth was incredible and also very believable.
All in all, I would highly recommend this one for both fantasy lovers and those who are new to the genre.

Rating: 5/5
Language: N/A
Romance: a kiss or two
Spiritual: N/A
Violence: a bit, never descriptive
Note: talk about periods and cramps

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

Quotes:
"'And if I hat her? Or she hates me?' Maybe I should tell Father about our letters. 'Because she does hate me a bit. She's not avoiding me because she's shy.'"

"'She doesn't hate me. She hates Jatin, or at least the idea of him. Thinks he is arrogant and cold.'
'Where did she get that from?' he asks, deadpan, and raises and eyebrow in case I don't catch his meaning."

*Quotes taken from arc and subject to change.

Woah! I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did. I’m here for the plot, I’m here for the characters, I’m here for the mystery, I’m here for it all. I’m already excited about the next book and I can’t wait to see what unfolds!

4 ⭐️

I actually ended up really liking this story. An arranged marriage, faking who you are with a little bit of fantasy and gods thrown in the mix. Adraa was a very strong female protagonist and Jatin was a young man who wanted his betrothed to like him for him, not because they were being made to marry to join two kingdoms. There were some twists along the way…I look forward to book two!!!

First, I pre ordered both books before they're launched, but I couldn't bring myself to read because I'm not in the mood for YA this last couple of years. What helped me was getting the audiobook, and then I finished it in 1 day. The narrators are brilliant, I loved them both.
Ok, I understand why some people don't like that it isn't a own voices book, but as a fantasy book this works really well. I loved the couple, I think they're so fun together and even if I'm not in the mood for YA anymore I could saw myself enjoying the fight scenes and the progress of their relationship. Anxious to read the next one!

YES YES YES IM ALREADY MISSING THEM

Adraa is the royal heir of Belwar, a talented witch on the cusp of taking her royal ceremony test, and a girl who just wants to prove her worth to her people.

Jatin is the royal heir to Naupure, a competitive wizard who's mastered all nine colors of magic, and a boy anxious to return home for the first time since he was a child.

Together, their arranged marriage will unite two of Wickery's most powerful kingdoms. But after years of rivalry from afar, Adraa and Jatin only agree on one thing: their reunion will be anything but sweet.

Only, destiny has other plans and with the criminal underbelly of Belwar suddenly making a move for control, their paths cross... and neither realizes who the other is, adopting separate secret identities instead.

Between dodging deathly spells and keeping their true selves hidden, the pair must learn to put their trust in the other if either is to uncover the real threat. Now Wickery's fate is in the hands of rivals..? Fiancées..? Partners..? Whatever they are, it's complicated and bound for greatness or destruction.

Alright, alright, alright… this novel is quite promising.

Secret identities, world-building, superb magic system, royal arranged marriages, steady semi slow-burn romance, and diverse characters. What more can a reader ask for? And despite the instant love (one sided) *gag*, minor scenes between Adraa and Jatin that made me want to pull my hair out, and the somewhat slow pacing that made this a dragful read (maybe it’s just me?)—this was an incredible debut and a must read for 2021.

So will I read the sequel? Hell yeah. Adraa and Jatin, the hero and the villain of Belwar that choose to stand and be together, will rise again and I am more than ready to ride along and see where their journey takes us.

I sincerely enjoy books with characters who are equal to each other in wit, fighting skill, and bravery. This is a winning combination in this book. We find out early on about a serious black market operation going on, which has the potential to sabotage the government and lower the quality of life. Luckily, our heroine is sneaky and smart, and she goes on the coolest journey to figure it out.

The romance is well-structured. It's a bit of rivalries-to-lovers plus some mistaken identities. The pacing is great. The magic system was unfamiliar to me, but I was able to catch on quickly.

The sequel isn't out yet, so if you can't handle a bit of a cliffhanger, wait until Spring of 2022. Otherwise, I wholehearted recommend.

Literary Merit: Great
Characterization: Excellent
Recommended: Highly
Level: High School

This book was sooooooo good! Normally when praising a book, I’m much more eloquent, but I really have no other words to describe how much I enjoyed this read. I am a complete sucker for a well-written romance, and I also love the premise of this world. Though the author is white, she mentions in her Author’s Note that she wrote this book to honor her husband’s culture, as well as to make sure her children will see characters who look like them in fantasy in the future. I thought that was a wonderful motivation, and I also just really enjoyed this story and these characters.

Cast in Firelight is set in a fantasy universe where nine gods bless individual witches and wizards with certain powers. While some people are labeled as “Untouched,” others are given the ability to wield all nine magical abilities. For Adraa, the future maharani of a country named Belwar, magic has always been difficult. Though she excels at red magic (the magic of fire), she struggles with the others, and has marks on only one arm signifying that she has been Touched, a very unusual trait for a future ruler. At the age of eight, Adraa was betrothed to Jatin, the young son of a neighboring kingdom, and has been in fierce competition to prove herself to him ever since. Jatin, unlike Adraa, is a natural talent, one who has been training at an academy of magic for half of his life.

Upon Jatin’s return to his country, the two are set to meet again for the first time in nine years, and neither is particularly excited about it. Adraa, who has struggled to prove herself for years, has recently invented a helpful tool called firelight to help her people, and has been going undercover as a cage caster to uncover corruption and illegal drug trades in her country. Jatin, on the other hand, is returning to a father who is basically a stranger, and just hoping he can make a new first impression on the rani who he is sure can’t stand him.

When the two meet under assumed identities, however, things become more complicated, as both are fighting to stop corruption while also dealing with a mutual attraction that seems forbidden. The two future rulers will have to work together to bring peace to their kingdoms, while simultaneously facing the destiny that has bound them together since they were children.

Normally I’m not a huge fan of arranged marriage plots, as I think they’re cliche and overdone. There are also just a LOT of arranged marriage plots in YA, and I was a little nervous that this book would get annoyingly trope-y fast. As I read, however, I found that I genuinely liked both of the main characters, and thought they had real chemistry as a couple. Their budding relationship never once felt forced, and I loved seeing their cute banter and flirting throughout the book.

While the “secret identity” thing got frustrating for me at times, it was a frustration that hooked me and kept me reading to find out how and when their true identities would be revealed. Mercifully, Jatin finds out fairly quickly who Adraa is, and the plot doesn’t spend a ton of time on the inevitable “liar revealed/betrayal” moment that comes when Adraa finds out who Jatin is as well. Because the “liar revealed” plot is another trope I hate, I was glad to see that this book didn’t focus too much on it.

Like I said above, Adraa and Jatin are EXTREMELY likable protagonists, each coming with their own sets of insecurity and baggage. The two characters push one another past their comfort zones, and actually grow throughout the story because of it. Adraa is initially wary of Jatin, preferring to do things by herself, while Jatin feels an immense amount of self doubt. By working together, the two learn and acknowledge their own strengths and weaknesses, and I loved watching their (INCREDIBLY CUTE) relationship develop.

Even cooler, the plot moves beyond the “we’re both aware who the other person is and on the same page now” to MORE PLOT, which rarely happens in books like this. I like that Swift took an overdone trope and gave us more to the story, giving us more substance than the usual trope-y YA. What’s more, the two characters are actually able to develop feelings for one another, and it never feels rushed or forced. Jatin and Adraa have very real chemistry, and feel like a real couple to me, which is always good to see in a fantasy world where nothing is like it is in reality.

Good characters can really ground a story, and this book is chock full of them. I loved the relationships between the characters, not just the relationship between Adraa and Jatin. Both leads have close friends who actually serve a narrative purpose, and both have to reconcile particular familial relationships as well. For example, Jatin has to come to terms with the fact that he really doesn’t know his father that well, and must also overcome the jealousy he feels when he sees how close his father has gotten to Adraa in his absence.

Similarly, Adraa has a few great scenes with her mother and sister, the latter of whom struggles with being handed a gift she doesn’t necessarily want in the gift of healing. There is most certainly an abundance of strong female role models in this book, and I liked the inclusion of subtle feminism and girl power. It is never questioned that Adraa will be the one to rule her people, and her input is actually valued by male characters throughout the book. She also genuinely cares about ruling her people, and takes the responsibility seriously, something we don’t often see with “princesses” in fantasy.

While I genuinely enjoyed this story as a whole, I do have a few relatively minor criticisms. First, while I can feel a huge fantasy world brewing beneath the surface, this book doesn’t really explore that world the way series like Harry Potter do. I loved the information about the nine gods in the beginning of the book, and also loved the glimpses I got of other countries, some of which have serious problems with discriminating against the Untouched or certain magic users. While I loved the story Swift chose to focus on (a teenage ruler trying to save her country from corruption while unknowingly falling for her betrothed), I sensed that there is a LOT more to this world that could be explored, from the gods to the other countries to the lore behind the magic. I’m honestly sad that this is only planned to be a duology, as I think it could be a much bigger series with all of the material there is to work with.

Secondly, while I love Charlie Bowater’s beautiful cover art (I would seriously recognize it anywhere), it upset me that Adraa appears to be much lighter than she is described being in the story. She is described as having “rich dark brown skin,” but is extremely light and almost white-washed on the cover. This is, of course, not Swift’s fault, but something I wanted to point out in my review anyways. Representation is extremely important in YA literature, and I wouldn’t want a teen of color to see this cover and think it’s just another fantasy series featuring white characters. I think the cover art should reflect the ethnicity of the main characters, as Indian culture is very prevalent in the book, so that might be worth changing before the book’s official release in December.

Similarly, I would have loved to have a map and spell list in the front or back of the book, as I like to keep track of everything when I’m reading a large, sprawling fantasy. The information about the gods was wonderful, but I would’ve liked more background info I could flip to while reading. Of course, I read an uncorrected proof, so these things could very well show up in the final product.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this book, and will be happy to recommend it to lovers of fantasy when it comes out in December. Though the initial plot might seem cliche, Swift manages to put her own spin on things, with genuinely likable characters who have realistic and developing chemistry. I like that the heroine is fierce and stubborn, and someone who is smart and resourceful and desperately wants to help people. I think she’s a good role model for teens, and is also (and more importantly) a protagonist of color. I love to see diversity in fantasy, and it’s honestly rare to find YA based in Indian mythology and culture.

I would love to see this trend of strong, diverse characters continue in YA fantasy, which I think is doing important work. The author even acknowledges that she is speaking from the perspective of a white woman who married into this culture, and I think she treats it with a great deal of respect and dignity. I’m honestly going to have a hard time waiting until next fall for the sequel (one of the downsides of reading an ARC way before it’s release date), as this has been one of my favorite reads so far this year. I commend Swift on her debut, and can’t wait to see what she writes next!