Reviews with content warning for Sexism - We Set the Dark on Fire

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

31 reviews

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

I don't love spy books, but my propensity for randomly selecting books without reading the description occasionally lands me in books that aren't my cup of tea but are still good. This is one such book. I loved reading Dani's drive to survive, the world building was excellent, and I enjoy the enemies to lovers trope.

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I so very much wanted to love We Set the Dark on Fire. On an extremely superficial level, the title and cover of this book are both excellent. I think they were the reason I put this book on my TBR to begin with, long before I read Miss Meteor. That was another reason I wanted to love this book so much — I really enjoyed Miss Meteor and was quite certain I would enjoy more of Mejia’s work. This book was rated so highly within the online blogging community, I was sure it was going to be a smash hit. I have some pretty mixed feelings after reading it.

Okay, okay. First of all, I really enjoyed the story this book was telling. Medio is a fictional world, but in many ways, it feels like one of our own countries or cities. Mejia calls out prejudice so easily in this book, but has been so clever as to do it in such a way that it allows the reader to disconnect. We look at classism, colorism, region-related prejudice, elitism, and more. The hum of war is all around Medio and from very early in the book, the reader can feel that in their bones. The subjects Mejia approaches in We Set the Dark on Fire are important conversations to have not just in fictional world, but in our real world.

I liked the characters as well. At the very beginning of the book, Dani is married off to Mateo with her sister wife Carmen, her long time school-hood nemesis. The worldview is set up in the very first pages of the book, and we know what the role of the Primera and Segunda wives are for, and we are well-prepared for this masculine-driven society. The character dynamics as they move along the Garcia family are incredibly interesting, and I like being in Dani’s head because she is so analytical. I like seeing a character with so much doubt because she feels more real to me than many protagonists. I wish her situation was not so real, but I don’t think a better protagonist could’ve been chosen for We Set the Dark on Fire.

What really kills me about this book is the pacing. For some people this is a slow burn, but for me, We Set the Dark on Fire approached each of its plot points at a frustrating pace. It is not a short book by any means, but by the end, I only felt we were halfway to where we should’ve been. For this reason alone, I had a difficult time concentrating on the story because the moments of action and interaction were slow to come. I suppose many people would consider this a slow burn, but for me, it was hard to stay focused. Dani is in such a position where she is surrounded by revolution and political intrigue, there should’ve been more going on and fewer interludes.

The pacing was only good for me when it comes to the romance. Personally, I loved Mejia‘s choice in Dani’s love interest, and I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t read it yet. The romantic scenes were electric and yet so gentle. I am definitely rooting for these two characters.

Did I like We Set the Dark on Fire? Yes, I did. I thought it was an excellent story with excellent characters and has a lot of promise. Is it going to make one of my top ten books of the year? Probably not. Well I read the sequel? Definitely! Will I reread this book? Probably not. It is good, but it hasn’t won that place in my heart to be a book I’m going to crave. I think it’s really worth reading, and I do recommend it, but the pacing was such for me that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

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littlebutton's review against another edition

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Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

I’ve had it on my shelf for a while and I wanted to finally read it, but it really wasn’t my cup of tea. I had trouble getting into the characters. It felt like we were told a lot of things about them (especially Dani) but were shown completely different things, which was hard to square. Honestly, the deeply sexist world was a turn off too.

I read the first half, but will admit to only skimming the second half.

If you’re into the post-Hunger Games dystopia genre, you’ll probably like it. It’s also quite diverse, which is definitely a point in its favor. But, ultimately, not for me.

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livreaderlife's review

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adventurous medium-paced

4.25

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longlost's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

man this was a lot of fun. I wasn't sure I'd like the book considering I wasn't sold on the premise, but the writing style drew me in and I adored reading about Dani & Carmen + the critique of capitalism and societal structures was fantastic.

the ending, however, hurt me </3

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tahsintries's review

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3.75

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thatbookishworm's review

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adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

3.25

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elenamarmiroli's review

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

È passato qualche giorno da quando l'ho finito e devo dire che la cosa che mi ritorna in mente con maggior affetto è la relazione tra le due mogli, che a mio parere sa essere molto dolce,

Anche le citazioni all'inizio di ogni capitolo tratte da questo manuale inventato su come essere una brava prima moglie mi sono parecchie interessate, perché mi hanno ricordato in parte un testo che avevo studiato a scuola su come la donna dovesse comportarsi durante la dittatura di Franco.

Inoltre, questo libro, tramite paralleli nella storia, critica il modo con cui gli americani durante la presidenza di Trump, ma farse anche prima e ancora oggi, trattano i migranti e il popolo messicano in generale, affrontando anche il tema dei confini e il superamento illegali degli stessi. Devo dire che trovare tutto ciò in quest'opera mi ha positivamente sorpresa.

Purtroppo sono rimasta un po' male sul finale, perché mi è sembrato un po' affrettato e quindi non completamente soddisfacente.

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turtlebrainlibrarian's review

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adventurous emotional tense slow-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

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bluejayreads's review

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I picked this up mostly for concept - a world where each man got two wives, one to be a household manager and one to have and raise children. And I put it down because it truly isn't a bad book, it's just not for me.

This is a world of misogyny and political intrigue, where the rich live atop a mountain and anyone from beyond the wall is shot. It's very much a slow burn - in half the book, Dani has graduated, been married off, been asked to spy on her husband, and attended two parties, and spent a lot of time talking about her own thoughts and feelings. It definitely feels slow, but it also doesn't feel boring.

This book also does tension fantastically. I read this as an audiobook and could only listen for two hours at a time because I would start getting heart palpitations from the tension. The danger Dani is in is clear and present and vividly real, and even though I knew she would choose to take the risk to work for a free Medio (because there wouldn't be a story otherwise) I absolutely related to her desire to not help the rebellion, keep her head down, and just survive.

Ultimately, though, a high-tension slow burn is not what I want out of a book right now. Most of my reading is audiobooks I listen to at work to distract myself and engage my brain while my hands work, and this is not a good book for that. I don't discount the possibility that I may pick it up again in the future, but for right now I'm putting it down.

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