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A review by spinesinaline
Fire with Fire by Destiny Soria
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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
4.25
A contender for my favourite reads of the year! I love a sibling story and this one comes with Buffy-esque drama, dragons, and anxiety representation so there’s much to love. Big thanks to Clarion Books for the review copy!
I loved the humour in this one, which started right from the first page. But along with the constant humour and sarcasm in the dialogue, it’s also quite a serious story as it looks at the dangers of fighting dragons, but also the struggles of and coping methods for people with mental illnesses and handling others’ perceptions and demands of you, as well as the beautiful and honest depiction of the relationship of these two sisters.
It’s a quick read despite its length (over 400 pages!) so I don’t want to give too much away beyond what the blurb offers (and you’d be fine following along by skipping the blurb altogether). I will say that I felt the representation the author offers felt very real, and while I can’t speak from an own voices perspective, it felt true. Dani, the youngest sister, is proudly bisexual and directly combats biphobic assumptions and stereotypes. The eldest, Eden, deals with anxiety and panic attacks and there are very detailed descriptions of these attacks and their impact on her life.
The characters are endearing and funny and still have their (sometimes significant) flaws, the story moves quickly and easily so you get sucked in, and it’s a creative modern take on dragon stories that incorporates Mexican mythology.
I loved the humour in this one, which started right from the first page. But along with the constant humour and sarcasm in the dialogue, it’s also quite a serious story as it looks at the dangers of fighting dragons, but also the struggles of and coping methods for people with mental illnesses and handling others’ perceptions and demands of you, as well as the beautiful and honest depiction of the relationship of these two sisters.
It’s a quick read despite its length (over 400 pages!) so I don’t want to give too much away beyond what the blurb offers (and you’d be fine following along by skipping the blurb altogether). I will say that I felt the representation the author offers felt very real, and while I can’t speak from an own voices perspective, it felt true. Dani, the youngest sister, is proudly bisexual and directly combats biphobic assumptions and stereotypes. The eldest, Eden, deals with anxiety and panic attacks and there are very detailed descriptions of these attacks and their impact on her life.
The characters are endearing and funny and still have their (sometimes significant) flaws, the story moves quickly and easily so you get sucked in, and it’s a creative modern take on dragon stories that incorporates Mexican mythology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Grief, and Murder