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

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

37 reviews

bookswtheo's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.75

this book went so slow at first and then suddenly real fast. the voice made it a bit hard for me to stay engaged but MAN that ending!!

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eni_iilorak's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.5

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smithmd's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.75

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honeyreads1066's review

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adventurous tense fast-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

5.0

I LOVED THIS BOOK.

I didn't think I would like it, given the fact that it's YA and I think I've grown out of the genre a little but this is honestly a new favourite. I swear I devoured this book in a way I haven't in a long time. Obviously, I love that it centres on Latinx characters and culture so that was an immediate plus and then it's also queer with an enemies-to-lovers trope. I am honestly obsessed.

The characters themselves felt complicated and 3 dimensional. You could really see the difference between their training and their true feelings. They also felt real in their desperation and/or anger. Their actions did not, therefore, feel out of place and even when I was annoyed with what the characters would do, it was still understandable. ALSO THE TENSION BETWEEN CHARACTERS. Masterful that's all I can say.

The setting is something I hope is explored more in the second book but also I understand how difficult it can be to world build and also have a really complicated plot. THE POLITICAL INTRIGUE. I swear that is my new favourite thing because it was done so well in this.

I guess overall I clearly really enjoyed this, I would recommend it and I really hope that the second book is just as good.

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monicalaurette's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

4.0

I’ve had my eye on these rainbow books for a while now. The concept sounded so good, and I heard a rumor that it featured a lovely gay storyline between the two many female characters. So one day, after getting a shot and not passing out (I’m afraid of needles okay?) I treated myself to a trip to the bookstore and picked both books up.

Obviously this review is going to be for only the first book, as while I’m writing this I’m reading the second one, but I wanted to get it out as soon as I could.

“You will find a way to make a life you love.”

This story follows Dani, who has forged papers showing she lives on the ‘right’ side of the wall, and those papers have brought her all the way as the top graduate from Medio’s school for Girls. She’s set to marry the man in line to be president, and finally help her family get higher in life than they were before. But more than one wrench comes into play.

The rebellious La Voz knows her secret and blackmails her to spy on her new husband, and now she is married alongside her school-yard enemy who she may or may not have feelings for. What will Dani do? What won’t she do to protect herself and do what is right? But which way is right?

This book was filled with less action than you’d think, but what it does have is the inner turmoil of a woman who is just starting to get to know herself, and the truth of her world. She can’t run from her past, she has to fight for it to matter. Mixed in with Latinx representation, neck-aching twists, and a love story you can’t help but cheer for.

I really liked the way the world was built, it made me nostalgic for like the kind of classic dystopian world where the rich got to be up on the top with cars and guards while the poor lived on the edge of society in squalor, but they also have the fire in their hearts to fight. While this book was a fiction tale, the way the rebellion and the rich interacted, along with the actions of the police force, was very similar to some of the things we see in the world today. Which is sad to say but very interesting to also see in a book written right before it all got really bad, but during a time that this has been happening for a while now.

“Freedom has a price. People who want easy & pretty stay in their cages.”

I also liked the characters in this book because I felt each one was written so well to work on their own and mixed in with others around them.

For this book I rated it 4 out of 5 stars. I loved the intrigue, the story, and the romance within the book and how each one had its own level of danger, all intertwined together for an even more dangerous world for Dani to navigate. I hope that I’m able to get time to finish the next one before the month is up.

the fact that not only was it a forced marriage, but forced polygamy at that was a unique concept; having each wife serve a different purpose also helped to give a level of control over them that neither could connect with the other, just what was the same.

I wanted to punch BOTH Mateo and Sota, I just didn’t like either of them and I don’t trust them

the amount of double-agent-ness between both Carmen & Jasmin was crazy to me because how many more women within the rich and healthy are spies for La Voz?

I straight up thought Dani was going to die at the end, like she’s be able to kiss a girl and feel love and then die by FIRE, I was ready to mourn</spoiler

After when Carmen did, and all the Dani was dragged through, I don’t know if I’d trust ever again or help either side to do anything

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missh3ll's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

3.25

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criticalgayze's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Allow me to start by saying that I do feel a little unfair in rating this book. I read this for a grad school course where I had to finish it; otherwise, I would have DNF'ed a third of the way in. I don't feel that any of my problems with the book are the fault of the story or author necessarily, but as a group member put it, "this is the kind of book I would've loved as a freshman in high school." In that way, I think the book is a fine piece for its intended audience; however, since I read it, I am going to go ahead with a review.

My biggest hurdle was that the book relied so much on two of my least favorite things in YA literature: indecisive teenage angst and the unearned "perfect chosen one" trope. Think of it like a Divergent or an Eragon in that it has a narrator who seems to just be the very best at what she has to do, and she constantly repeats this fact, so it is not lost on the audience. However, also like those texts, all we ever seem to see is the MC messing up, which leaves you confused on how she was ever the "best." It does not help that there is little exposition, so we do not get to see her go through a "training phase" montage.

Furthermore, it feels like much of what is here is underwritten. The novel will go long stretches where tensions are very low while the MC is snooping around only to be ratcheted up with little warning. Meanwhile, our MC is taking part in a same sex love affair with her husband's other wife with little real explanation as to the social politics of such a thing. On top of that, the greater context is lacking nuance, so the reader is unsure whether this is an urban fantasy or a dystopia as there is no sense of temporal and global placement of the events despite modern technology and use of intermittent Latinx culture and the Spanish language.

This book is not bad for what it is supposed to be. Unfortunately, that product is also just not for me.

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zoepagereader's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I read this on my kindle and at one point I looked down and saw I was 75% through??? All the way from start to finish it felt like this book had no climax. Sure, there was plot, but it was just enough to keep me interested, nothing more. And towards the end of the book, some of the supposedly “obvious” conclusions Dani came to were super unclear to me. Probably won’t read the sequel.

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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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averyrembish's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

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