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stephxsu's review against another edition
4.0
Reading DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES is like watching a high-action, “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”-like movie. In other words, it’s fantastic and utterly enthralling. Zoe Marriott has a wonderful way of vividly describing details, so that I could see every aspect of what was going on at any time in my mind.
The characters also were interesting and memorable. Zira/Zahira is an awesome female protagonist, kicking butt both literally—in suspenseful fight scenes reminiscent of Asian martial arts movies—and metaphorically—holding her own verbally in mental warfare. Zahira is a young girl who is mercilessly thrust into a position of high power and responsibility, and both her doubts and determination are highly believable.
King Abheron is a perfectly twisted antagonist with a surprisingly touching background, who occasionally does things that are so bizarre, so complex, and so inexplicable that I can definitely, without being able to explain it, see why he would want to do such things. Sorin is less well developed but still likable. I would have liked to see more of his loyalty and love for Zahira throughout the book, but I am still happy with what I got from him.
Upon finishing the book I let out a frustrated cry, so disappointed I was that the book had to end. Zoe Marriott is truly skilled at writing engrossing fantasies, and I definitely want to read more books by her in the future.
The characters also were interesting and memorable. Zira/Zahira is an awesome female protagonist, kicking butt both literally—in suspenseful fight scenes reminiscent of Asian martial arts movies—and metaphorically—holding her own verbally in mental warfare. Zahira is a young girl who is mercilessly thrust into a position of high power and responsibility, and both her doubts and determination are highly believable.
King Abheron is a perfectly twisted antagonist with a surprisingly touching background, who occasionally does things that are so bizarre, so complex, and so inexplicable that I can definitely, without being able to explain it, see why he would want to do such things. Sorin is less well developed but still likable. I would have liked to see more of his loyalty and love for Zahira throughout the book, but I am still happy with what I got from him.
Upon finishing the book I let out a frustrated cry, so disappointed I was that the book had to end. Zoe Marriott is truly skilled at writing engrossing fantasies, and I definitely want to read more books by her in the future.
thebooklovingpanda's review against another edition
4.0
It was really quite enjoyable, with interesting characters and plot and setting. There was suspense, drama and lots and lots of action. I just wished there was more development on her relationship with Sorin and not just oh boom I'm in love. And yet again, the pacing. Fix that bit and Zoe Marriott's books would be fully amazing.
sdb27's review against another edition
2.0
I was so excited to start this book. Firstly, let’s not even lie about my interest in Daughter: it had everything to do with the fact that the main character was supposedly a kick-butt trained martial artist, who also happened to be a woman of color. People of color as protagonists are so hard to come by in mainstream (read: not “black interest”) fiction, and to find one in fantasy young adult fiction is practically like finding a unicorn. So when I read the blurb about this book I made it my mission to read it.
Well, the premise was very interesting. The setting was very colorful and vivid, and I wish that the temple in which the protagonist trained and the area surrounding was fleshed out more. Zira, the main character, is a fifteen-year-old namoa, or warrior priestess of a temple which trains in the martial arts. She has no memory of how she got there or who she was before she arrived at the temple as a little girl. All she has is a horrific scar over her body from a fire she does not remember, presumably gotten when the Ruan castle burned to the ground because of the Sedornes. For the most part, Zira is a strong and admirable character and does have her moments to shine. When faced with a hard decision, she always makes the tough call for the greater good even if it ends up hurting her.
The book hits the ground running. Within a few chapters, Zira defends the life of a handsome Sedornian noble named Sorin in an awesome battle scene that ends up changing the course of everyone’s lives. Good start, right? Overall, however, I felt like I probably shouldn’t have set such high expectations for this book. The entire book felt… rushed. And not in the good, action-packed adrenaline-rush way, either. It just felt like someone sat down and speed-wrote the entire book in the span of a couple of days and didn’t bother going back to flesh out parts of the story or allow a little bit of transition time for each of the plot twists to sink in. As a result of this, I found myself very detached from the events of the story, and rather indifferent to things I probably shouldn’t have.
For example, I found that Zira and Sorin fell in love way too quickly. Like, out of the blue quickly. I actually had to reread the sentence a couple of times, because I thought I imagined it. Zira mentions that Sorin (who is 25-29 to Zira’s 15—a little tidbit for you there) is good-looking on several occasions and mentions her attraction to him in an offhanded way, but then you turn the page and BOOM she claims she’s fallen in love with him… and we’re not even halfway through the book. It gets better—they get [spoiler] almost immediately after. Talk about a whirlwind romance… only without the romance part. Sorin is good-looking (the prerequisite blond-haired, blue-eyed dreamboat) and a decent man, but the way he acts, coupled with his age, makes me feel like he would have been best served as an older-brother type figure. The romance was contrived and dragged down the plot.
The villain, a Sedornian named was absolutely terrible. You find out that he’s [spoiler] to Zira, and the whole reason that he’s trying to kill all these people and take over as Grand Evil SuperKing of Everything Forever and Ever (at least, that’s how I saw it) was some vague prophecy, which claimed that he was destined to do evil things. So, apparently, that was reason enough for him to do evil things. Since he’s destined to do it. Yeeeaahh, okay. Maybe I’m the only person who thinks that reason is kind of flimsy, but regardless, that made the villain laughable.
The ending fight scene was great, but again, I felt like we arrived at it so quickly that I wasn’t even sure any of it was warranted. I’m pretty sure I got whiplash from the pace at which this book moved, at the expense of both character and world development. Daughter had potential to be an epic series, but lost steam (and believability) by book’s end.
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
Well, the premise was very interesting. The setting was very colorful and vivid, and I wish that the temple in which the protagonist trained and the area surrounding was fleshed out more. Zira, the main character, is a fifteen-year-old namoa, or warrior priestess of a temple which trains in the martial arts. She has no memory of how she got there or who she was before she arrived at the temple as a little girl. All she has is a horrific scar over her body from a fire she does not remember, presumably gotten when the Ruan castle burned to the ground because of the Sedornes. For the most part, Zira is a strong and admirable character and does have her moments to shine. When faced with a hard decision, she always makes the tough call for the greater good even if it ends up hurting her.
The book hits the ground running. Within a few chapters, Zira defends the life of a handsome Sedornian noble named Sorin in an awesome battle scene that ends up changing the course of everyone’s lives. Good start, right? Overall, however, I felt like I probably shouldn’t have set such high expectations for this book. The entire book felt… rushed. And not in the good, action-packed adrenaline-rush way, either. It just felt like someone sat down and speed-wrote the entire book in the span of a couple of days and didn’t bother going back to flesh out parts of the story or allow a little bit of transition time for each of the plot twists to sink in. As a result of this, I found myself very detached from the events of the story, and rather indifferent to things I probably shouldn’t have.
For example, I found that Zira and Sorin fell in love way too quickly. Like, out of the blue quickly. I actually had to reread the sentence a couple of times, because I thought I imagined it. Zira mentions that Sorin (who is 25-29 to Zira’s 15—a little tidbit for you there) is good-looking on several occasions and mentions her attraction to him in an offhanded way, but then you turn the page and BOOM she claims she’s fallen in love with him… and we’re not even halfway through the book. It gets better—they get [spoiler] almost immediately after. Talk about a whirlwind romance… only without the romance part. Sorin is good-looking (the prerequisite blond-haired, blue-eyed dreamboat) and a decent man, but the way he acts, coupled with his age, makes me feel like he would have been best served as an older-brother type figure. The romance was contrived and dragged down the plot.
The villain, a Sedornian named was absolutely terrible. You find out that he’s [spoiler] to Zira, and the whole reason that he’s trying to kill all these people and take over as Grand Evil SuperKing of Everything Forever and Ever (at least, that’s how I saw it) was some vague prophecy, which claimed that he was destined to do evil things. So, apparently, that was reason enough for him to do evil things. Since he’s destined to do it. Yeeeaahh, okay. Maybe I’m the only person who thinks that reason is kind of flimsy, but regardless, that made the villain laughable.
The ending fight scene was great, but again, I felt like we arrived at it so quickly that I wasn’t even sure any of it was warranted. I’m pretty sure I got whiplash from the pace at which this book moved, at the expense of both character and world development. Daughter had potential to be an epic series, but lost steam (and believability) by book’s end.
____
For more book reviews, visit my blog The Bookshelf!
_camk_'s review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
Daughter of the Flames was a good book but I couldn't find engage any sort of connection with it. I found the characters to be less than exciting, I had high hopes for Zira at the beginning as she came off as a kick-ass heroine but became less and less so throughout the book.
The insta-love was also a big no no for me.
I'm in two minds about reading the sequel now.
Daughter of the Flames was a good book but I couldn't find engage any sort of connection with it. I found the characters to be less than exciting, I had high hopes for Zira at the beginning as she came off as a kick-ass heroine but became less and less so throughout the book.
The insta-love was also a big no no for me.
I'm in two minds about reading the sequel now.
seven_of_ten's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best just random books I have picked up in a long time!
I really ended up likeing the story and most of the main characters :D
I really ended up likeing the story and most of the main characters :D
hgranger's review against another edition
3.0
This story has great bones. It starts out strong and I enjoyed the protagonist and her journey.
(Spoilers below!!)
What I didn't like was the end. She doesn't actually win the duel. Abheron throws it, after he beats her. I know it was a redemption of sorts for him, but I feel that Zahira needed to win honestly. Not this way. It just petered out for me and made the victory bland. Meh.
(Spoilers below!!)
What I didn't like was the end. She doesn't actually win the duel. Abheron throws it, after he beats her. I know it was a redemption of sorts for him, but I feel that Zahira needed to win honestly. Not this way. It just petered out for me and made the victory bland. Meh.
hans_cosy_corner's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book, the plot was enjoyable, pretty standard but the king surprised me throughput - but it was just so rushed. It bounced from plot point to plot point quickly, but was written in a fluid, super easy to read way - I finished it in a day quite happily. It suffered from something that annoys me often in YA - their ages. With her being 16, 15 at the start, I would have liked to have known his - just saying. I almost stopped reading when the pick up line happened as I was so immediately grossed out. Her being a novice at this age is completely believable, but his role? With no talk of how he got there so young? I had assumed he was in his thirties, and going after a 16yr old girl. 8 years still freaked me out but not as much, I guess.
its_tara's review against another edition
4.0
This review can originally be found, in full here on my blog.
Okay, so it’s been a long time since I initially got this one, which was back at Christmas during the Kindle Sale. I basically got it because it was cheap, the cover was kind of cool, and the synopsis sounded pretty good, but there was always something else I wanted to read more. However, now I’ve read it, I wish I’d got to it sooner – this story was a lot better than I thought it would be.
The story is set in an Asian or maybe Indian kind of culture called Ruan, which has been invaded by another culture – the Sedorne - and is now ruled by a tyrannical leader. As a result, the Rua people are angry, repressed and looking for some sort of saviour, probably in the form of the various resistance groups there are in the country.
Zira is a young girl of fifteen who has been brought up in the House of God, and is training to be a namoa, or priestess. Until this point, she’s only really worried about what kind of namoa she will be designated to be, and her ambition is to be a fighting namoa. However, Zira isn’t as normal as she seems, she’s actually Princess Zahira (and really, that’s made fairly obvious from the beginning) the last of the Royal Elfenesh line of Ruan. Luckily for her, the current King thinks she died in the fire that killed the rest of her family. However, that doesn’t last long, and she’s suddenly swept on a dangerous quest to reinstate her family on the throne of Ruan.
Basically, this story has a little bit of everything. It’s got the typical fantasy elements, a good hero (heroine in this case), a well-written villain, an amount of mystery, good world building as well as some sort of quest to solve. There’s also some fairly nice romance in this, though I do understand why some people had an issue with a sixteen year old girl being married to an older man (although he was only early twenties).
I have to admit though, I thought I’d like Zira/Zahira a lot more than I did. I somehow thought she’d be a lot more kick-butt than she was, and I never really felt that I connected with her. Also, some of her decisions seemed to be a little out of character, and I never really knew what to expect. I was also expecting a lot more martial arts than there actually were in the book, but I think that might have just been me. Basically, I didn’t feel like I knew her enough to really get behind her at the end of the book, which was a shame. That said, there wasn’t anything wrong with her as a character, for me, she just felt a tad underdeveloped.
I have to admit, I liked Sorin. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, though it was a little odd for him to feel so indebted to Zira for one act of heroism, and their marriage seemed a bit strange to me at first. I mean, I see it was borne out of necessity, but still – Zahira was only sixteen at the time. Would the average guy ask a sixteen year old girl to marry him? That said, I’m guessing you could argue it was part of the culture/time that the book was set in, and in that context it may make a lot more sense. He definitely grew on me, though, and by the end I think he might have been my favourite character.
As for the King, he was definitely a good villain. Whilst I didn’t understand all of his motives, I suppose this could be because he want meant to be a little off-centre. I admit, I’d like to have understood them more, but the fact that I didn’t did make him pretty unpredictable, and actually, that worked out fairly well for the way the character was portrayed. I do wish there had been more of him, maybe more background and such, in the book, but in general, he was well-written and easy to dislike. I also liked the fact that at some points I ended up feeling pity for him – for me that was a sign of how well-written the whole thing was.
I’m really curious as to where the next book in this series will go, though I only have to wait until June to find out. This book could definitely be read as a standalone – and I think the subsequent book is actually going to be just set in Zira and Sorin’s world. I have to admit, I’m almost a little sad about that, because I kind of wanted to know more about Zira/Zahira and Sorin.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but there were just a couple of things that would have made it even better for me. Recommending this for those who love fantasy, or just a good love story.
Okay, so it’s been a long time since I initially got this one, which was back at Christmas during the Kindle Sale. I basically got it because it was cheap, the cover was kind of cool, and the synopsis sounded pretty good, but there was always something else I wanted to read more. However, now I’ve read it, I wish I’d got to it sooner – this story was a lot better than I thought it would be.
The story is set in an Asian or maybe Indian kind of culture called Ruan, which has been invaded by another culture – the Sedorne - and is now ruled by a tyrannical leader. As a result, the Rua people are angry, repressed and looking for some sort of saviour, probably in the form of the various resistance groups there are in the country.
Zira is a young girl of fifteen who has been brought up in the House of God, and is training to be a namoa, or priestess. Until this point, she’s only really worried about what kind of namoa she will be designated to be, and her ambition is to be a fighting namoa. However, Zira isn’t as normal as she seems, she’s actually Princess Zahira (and really, that’s made fairly obvious from the beginning) the last of the Royal Elfenesh line of Ruan. Luckily for her, the current King thinks she died in the fire that killed the rest of her family. However, that doesn’t last long, and she’s suddenly swept on a dangerous quest to reinstate her family on the throne of Ruan.
Basically, this story has a little bit of everything. It’s got the typical fantasy elements, a good hero (heroine in this case), a well-written villain, an amount of mystery, good world building as well as some sort of quest to solve. There’s also some fairly nice romance in this, though I do understand why some people had an issue with a sixteen year old girl being married to an older man (although he was only early twenties).
I have to admit though, I thought I’d like Zira/Zahira a lot more than I did. I somehow thought she’d be a lot more kick-butt than she was, and I never really felt that I connected with her. Also, some of her decisions seemed to be a little out of character, and I never really knew what to expect. I was also expecting a lot more martial arts than there actually were in the book, but I think that might have just been me. Basically, I didn’t feel like I knew her enough to really get behind her at the end of the book, which was a shame. That said, there wasn’t anything wrong with her as a character, for me, she just felt a tad underdeveloped.
I have to admit, I liked Sorin. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, though it was a little odd for him to feel so indebted to Zira for one act of heroism, and their marriage seemed a bit strange to me at first. I mean, I see it was borne out of necessity, but still – Zahira was only sixteen at the time. Would the average guy ask a sixteen year old girl to marry him? That said, I’m guessing you could argue it was part of the culture/time that the book was set in, and in that context it may make a lot more sense. He definitely grew on me, though, and by the end I think he might have been my favourite character.
As for the King, he was definitely a good villain. Whilst I didn’t understand all of his motives, I suppose this could be because he want meant to be a little off-centre. I admit, I’d like to have understood them more, but the fact that I didn’t did make him pretty unpredictable, and actually, that worked out fairly well for the way the character was portrayed. I do wish there had been more of him, maybe more background and such, in the book, but in general, he was well-written and easy to dislike. I also liked the fact that at some points I ended up feeling pity for him – for me that was a sign of how well-written the whole thing was.
I’m really curious as to where the next book in this series will go, though I only have to wait until June to find out. This book could definitely be read as a standalone – and I think the subsequent book is actually going to be just set in Zira and Sorin’s world. I have to admit, I’m almost a little sad about that, because I kind of wanted to know more about Zira/Zahira and Sorin.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but there were just a couple of things that would have made it even better for me. Recommending this for those who love fantasy, or just a good love story.