Reviews

The Memory of Fire by Callie Bates

bookish_emily's review against another edition

4.0

*4.5 stars* We first met Jahan Korakides in The Waking Land, when he helped Elanna Valtai unlock her powers as steward of the land and save her people. In The Memory of Fire, the story picks up where the first book left off, but from Jahan's perspective rather than Elanna's. We learn more about his childhood and the events that led him to Elanna, and we are with him as he fights to discover his new place in the world and who he truly is. I enjoyed the first book, but this follow-up is better. It was fun meeting a new cast of characters as well as learning more about existing ones. Additionally, it was more settled into the complex world created in the first book, so it wasn't as confusing to keep track of everything. I am interested to see where the third book goes from here!

cbee22's review

adventurous dark

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse

aurora512's review

adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

brittbabblesboutbooks's review against another edition

4.0

I like seeing everything from Jahan’s POV. Listened as an audio book and I enjoyed it!

tmleblanc's review against another edition

3.0

Callie Bates has begun to expand a beautiful, magical, fantastical world with book two in The Waking Land series, The Memory of Fire. As the final page of The Memory of Fire turns, readers will discover that they have only begun to scratch the surface of this world filled with a deep and rich magical history.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

claire_blanchard's review

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

booksandlemonsquash's review against another edition

4.0

A fab sequel!

I wasn’t expecting the POV to change, and actually I really enjoyed getting to see events through Johan’s eyes. His history and experience within his kingdom are really interesting.

I did find it frustrating that so many of his old “friends” abandoned him or didn’t appreciate his actions, and wanted a little more resolution there, but it definitely made for good conflict and interesting reading.

I also liked that we got to see El away from Eren and see what she could do elsewhere. And the witch stones and bells were horrible and brilliant.

And the wells! Those are definitely a little bit of an easy fix it but I loved them.

I am really looking forward to book 3 now :)

mothmans_library's review against another edition

5.0

This book and its predecessor are PHENOMENAL. Period.

Seriously. Callie Bates is an amazing and wholeheartedly underrated author who deserves way more recognition for the effort and incredible-ness that are The Waking Land and The Memory of Fire.

She has me on that SJMaas level of OBSESSED.

I’m so excited for the final installment to come out (The Soul of Power, if you don’t know). I can’t wait to see where Elanna and Jahan’s journey takes them, but I’m so ready to find out!

moknita's review

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

katleap's review against another edition

4.0

4 Stars

I received an e-ARC copy of The Memory of Fire from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Elanna and Jahan are trying to calm things in the aftermath of their revolution in [b:The Waking Land|32671619|The Waking Land (The Waking Land, #1)|Callie Bates|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1498322271s/32671619.jpg|53244644]. When Queen Sophy gets word that the Emperor is readying the Black Ships to attack Eren, she asks Jahan to return to the Empire and negotiate for peace. Jahan also receives word that his younger brother has left the military academy and no one know where he is. With two missions he returns to find that all is not how he left it, his friendships are in shambles, there are witch hunters on every corner and a voice in his head that will not leave him alone.

I struggled a bit with this book. The beginning was slow. Jahan spends a lot of time running from place to place with no plan or idea. It drove me nuts. About half way when he has everything upended that's when I started to get invested. And then I couldn't put it down.

Jahan was good character in The Waking Land and I liked him, but I wasn't sure about a book from his perspective. Mostly because I really came to liked Elanna. Happily I was proven wrong. Jahan is complicated. He has spent his whole life not only hiding what he is but actively misdirecting just about every person in his life and it comes back to bite him rather badly. So he has to figure out what is worth fighting for and what type of person he wants to be.

I love the magic in this series. Jahan's magic is different for Elanna's which makes sense. But I loved learning how it worked. The idea that things remember the way they were or the potential of what it could be was awesome. Also the wells are neat too.

I really hope that there is another book because I need to know what happens next in Eren.