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

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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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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corvidkings's review

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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rwmccormic's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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? No

4.5

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amanda_t's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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obviousthings's review

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emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I thought the premise of this story was really cool and interesting, and I was impressed with the worldbuilding and how La Voz was written, but the book as a whole just did not work for me.

Dani is naive and totally unprepared for the situations she finds herself in. I think this could have worked if it had been the point of the story - that might have been an interesting exploration of morality - but because this is YA, the narrative is on her side at all times. (Not something I fault the genre for, but because Dani is so far out of her depth, it doesn't work well here). I don't mind characters who make bad decisions, but it's really frustrating to watch a character make a bad decision and then have the narrative try to pass it off as totally reasonable. For much of the book I found myself wishing for a more capable protagonist.

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