Fire by Kristin Cashore

Title: Fire

Author: Kristin Cashore

Age Group: Teens

# of Pages: 480

My Rating: 5/5

In a place beyond the Seven Kingdoms where Graceling took place, there is a girl by the name of Fire. Beautiful as the gods, she has the power to mesmerize people with a single glance and is able to control anyone with her mind. However, she is not one to use her abilities against others and wants to be liked for who she is on the inside.

When a possible war between the kingdoms of the land may occur, she is requested to help out. However she does not want to use her powers on people against their will. With the death of many coming closer, what should Fire do?

If there should be a reason to read Fire, it is for the sake of reading it.

I never got the chance to read Graceling before but I was told that I could read Fire without the first novel in the series since they are completely separate stories. If you are the type of person to do the one-chapter rule before buying a book, don't do that with Fire. The first chapter has got to be the weirdest prologue ever. The prologue introduced a vital character who would reappear again in the story. He had the ability to communicate like an adult when he was still a baby. No offense to the author, but I found it completely creepy! I was ready to put the novel aside before getting back to it but luckily I persisted onwards.

To be honest, I do not care so much for the plot itself. It was the actually writing that was addicting! Cashore was able to have me hooked simply by her words and her characters. Although the novel was long, I kept coming back to it because I wanted to see what Fire would do next. Everything that was happening in the book had me entranced. I love Fire because she is a cursed beauty that you can relate to and root for throughout.

I also liked the things Cashore presented in Fire. Her story is no where near cliche and it has you flipping the pages. I find the ending to be quite different regarding to Fire's relationship of her and her lover, Archer. I don't want to spoil anything but it was something I was sad and happy about at the same time because of the unexpected twist.

I recommend Fire to all fantasy lovers! Fire has a great mix of action, romance, and the supernatural!

Review copy provided by Penguin Canada.