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elizafiedler's review against another edition
The way this book exotices and fetishizes a Brazilian African religion, while the author is white and Chinese, had me very concerned and uncomfortable.
clumsyqueenie's review
3.0
Rating: 3.1 stars
★★★☆☆
Thank you NetGalley and Running Wild Press for presenting me with an ARC of this book in exchange of a honest review.
Frankly, this was a solid book—but I myself didn't enjoy it. The book, on its own, deserves a 3.5 stars? But due to lack of my enjoyment, I rated it lower. So let's get into what I liked and didn't.
The first good thing about Dance Among the Flames was the gorgeous cover! That was the first thing that pulled me in and made me read this book. I also think the title is very fitting—fire plays an important role in the novel (towards the end, atleast) and the same goes to "dance".
One thing I found misleading was the synopsis. It tells us that the book is going to be about Serafina and her journey into Quimbanda magic. While it does actually do what it says, I personally felt there were other elements shaping the story and plot.
Another thing I liked in this novel was that it was a page-turner. Irrespective of whether the plot's interesting, the pace is really good and it was a very fast read!
That being said, the book took a long time to develop its plot, and when it actually had, it was more than 60% in. I slowly started losing interest after the first half but it wasn't an entire disappointment. To be honest, I quite enjoyed the first part—even the timeskips. And that made me curious to where the story was going. Halfway through, the plot seemed very dry and slow and kinda made no sense, but it picks up again.
The writing style was another thing I loved and Tori Eldridge really knows to write the mystical elements. I was a little underwhelmed when I learned we wouldn't learn more of the magic or Serafina's journey through it, but the way that small disappointment quickly disappeared, I was charmed.
Overall, I didn't personally enjoy this, but I'm sure the others might like this more than I did!
★★★☆☆
Thank you NetGalley and Running Wild Press for presenting me with an ARC of this book in exchange of a honest review.
Frankly, this was a solid book—but I myself didn't enjoy it. The book, on its own, deserves a 3.5 stars? But due to lack of my enjoyment, I rated it lower. So let's get into what I liked and didn't.
The first good thing about Dance Among the Flames was the gorgeous cover! That was the first thing that pulled me in and made me read this book. I also think the title is very fitting—fire plays an important role in the novel (towards the end, atleast) and the same goes to "dance".
One thing I found misleading was the synopsis. It tells us that the book is going to be about Serafina and her journey into Quimbanda magic. While it does actually do what it says, I personally felt there were other elements shaping the story and plot.
Another thing I liked in this novel was that it was a page-turner. Irrespective of whether the plot's interesting, the pace is really good and it was a very fast read!
That being said, the book took a long time to develop its plot, and when it actually had, it was more than 60% in. I slowly started losing interest after the first half but it wasn't an entire disappointment. To be honest, I quite enjoyed the first part—even the timeskips. And that made me curious to where the story was going. Halfway through, the plot seemed very dry and slow and kinda made no sense, but it picks up again.
The writing style was another thing I loved and Tori Eldridge really knows to write the mystical elements. I was a little underwhelmed when I learned we wouldn't learn more of the magic or Serafina's journey through it, but the way that small disappointment quickly disappeared, I was charmed.
Overall, I didn't personally enjoy this, but I'm sure the others might like this more than I did!
jaelmnop's review
3.0
Well researched and written with compelling characters and an engaging premise. Fans of dark, suspenseful stories with strong femme characters would appreciate Dance Among the Flames.
wesinwords's review
4.0
Dance Among the Flames is slick, seductive, suspenseful tale that sinks its roots deep into Brazilian mysticism. Eldridge’s breezy prose is descriptive and accessible while giving weight to issues like race, sexuality, and abuse. The plot’s parallel nature was intriguing further drove home the generational nature of trauma.
dhasenkampf's review
0.5
I hated this book. If I wasn't reading it for a challenge, I would've DNF'd it within the first 50 pages. The writing is awful. None of the characters are fleshed out, the dialogue is cringe-worthy, and the narration is completely disjointed. In one sentence the character says, "I can absolutely never do this." Two sentences later the character says, "I am doing this." No explanation, no discussion, no anything. The plot doesn't flow with any evenness or mastery. The chapters read almost more like little vignettes than parts of a story. The world building is terrible. The religious beliefs are never really explained in any depth, and we don't get more than the faintest glimpse of what seems to be a very vibrant and interesting belief system. It was just a horrible experience.
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