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A review by the_ya_assassin
Bound by Firelight by Dana Swift
4.0
Thank you Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and Netgalley for sending me an eARC of Bound by Firelight. Thank you Dana Swift for writing a great book.
"Appearances can lie and you can never truly tell who is on your side."
This quote leads me to my main problem with this sequel, and this way, I will get the bad things over with now. My biggest issue with Bound by Firelight was the fact that it was very predictable. The people who betrayed the Belwars were obvious from the beginning and nothing really surprised me. I was just waiting for a moment where a twist would catch me off guard, but alas, it was never delivered. I was a little surprised by the fact Adraa's real prison location, but it wasn't HUGE. I also predicted the fact in CiF that Adraa would learn how to cast without speaking.
My second issue - the pacing and plot didn't mix well IMO. The first half of the book was so slow, and all the reader got was Jatin worrying about Adraa versus really doing anything about it. On the other hand, if this entire book had been from Adraa's POV, the pacing would have been perfect because it would've helped build up to Adraa's climactic escape from the Dome.
The worldbuilding was still well-done as it was in the first book, and I saw progression in Jatin's character. Adraa had the same fire (see what I did there?) as she did in the first book, and I'm happy we got to see more of the side characters involved in the plot. I LOVED Harini - she's possibly my favorite character in the book lol.
Most of the loose ends were tied up, but there was one big plot hole that I believe was never addressed. How did Moolek brainwash the citizens/control what Adraa said? The ending left an open spot for future novellas or spin-offs, and I would really enjoy seeing a novella just about Adraa and Jatin.
Maybe the first book, Cast in Firelight, gave me too high expectations, but I think this was a little bit of a step back for Swift's writing. However, it was still a decent read - I laughed out loud and I teared up a bit near the end - and the characters/writing were good.
"Appearances can lie and you can never truly tell who is on your side."
This quote leads me to my main problem with this sequel, and this way, I will get the bad things over with now. My biggest issue with Bound by Firelight was the fact that it was very predictable. The people who betrayed the Belwars were obvious from the beginning and nothing really surprised me. I was just waiting for a moment where a twist would catch me off guard, but alas, it was never delivered. I was a little surprised by the fact Adraa's real prison location, but it wasn't HUGE. I also predicted the fact in CiF that Adraa would learn how to cast without speaking.
My second issue - the pacing and plot didn't mix well IMO. The first half of the book was so slow, and all the reader got was Jatin worrying about Adraa versus really doing anything about it. On the other hand, if this entire book had been from Adraa's POV, the pacing would have been perfect because it would've helped build up to Adraa's climactic escape from the Dome.
The worldbuilding was still well-done as it was in the first book, and I saw progression in Jatin's character. Adraa had the same fire (see what I did there?) as she did in the first book, and I'm happy we got to see more of the side characters involved in the plot. I LOVED Harini - she's possibly my favorite character in the book lol.
Most of the loose ends were tied up, but there was one big plot hole that I believe was never addressed. How did Moolek brainwash the citizens/control what Adraa said? The ending left an open spot for future novellas or spin-offs, and I would really enjoy seeing a novella just about Adraa and Jatin.
Maybe the first book, Cast in Firelight, gave me too high expectations, but I think this was a little bit of a step back for Swift's writing. However, it was still a decent read - I laughed out loud and I teared up a bit near the end - and the characters/writing were good.