Title: A Fire in the SkyAuthor: Sophie Jordan
Series: A Fire in the Sky #1
Pages: 336
Publication Date: Sept. 24, 2024
Publisher: AVON BOOKS
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy / Romantasy
Synopsis:
Dragons are extinct. Witches are outcast. Magic is dying.
But human lust for power is immortal.
Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous…especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it’s her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard…though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.
When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.
The wedding night begins with unexpected passion—and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride…but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors—secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone.
Magic is not dead…it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.
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A Fire in the Sky is a romantasy that follows Tamsyn, a royal whipping girl who is deceitfully married to a brutal warrior from the north. Tricked into marrying Tamsyn instead of one of the true princesses, Fell is furious that his plans to gain influence and push for change have been thwarted. However, he can’t deny his feelings for Tamsyn and the strange connection they share.
Something I found interesting throughout the story is that it’s never clear who the enemy really is. From different perspectives, it seems there are many monsters, both literally and figuratively, that Tamsyn and the others must face. And it’s clear that deception, secrets, and more have blurred the lines between truth and lies.
Tamsyn has suffered abuse in the princess’s name for her entire life. The violence she endured is terrible, as is the manipulation and brainwashing that she and others face. Tamsyn’s physical journey also takes her on an emotional odyssey, and the truth slowly reveals itself and changes her perspective. Her character is layered and interesting, and I wish some of the other characters were fleshed out as well as she and Fell were.
Tamsyn and Fell have an incredible amount of chemistry from their very first meeting, I liked both of the characters and that the story switched between their perspectives. It also is told from Tamsyn’s friends point of view, which reveals a bit of a love triangle. This isn’t my favorite trope, and I think the story could have done without it. After the betrayal, it takes time for Fell to reconcile his feelings for Tamsyn, and there are parts of their love story that felt a little drawn out and repetitive. I wanted to shake this brooding warrior who should surely have been able to see that Tamsyn had and continues to have no choice. Nevertheless, I still rooted for the two of them and hoped that they could get past the past and be a united front against their enemies.
There are other parts of the story that I also wish were explained more, especially in relation to the world-building and dragons and witches, though I think a lot of it will be expanded on as the series progresses. The story went in a direction I kind of expected, and though it wasn’t surprising, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I have A LOT of questions! lol
Also, I would definitely recommend checking out the content warnings before starting the book because there are some parts that might be difficult to read. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
I was not glass. I did not break. I was bred to survive.
Sophie Jordan took her adolescent daydreaming one step further and penned her first historical romance in the back of her high school Spanish class. This passion led her to pursue a degree in English and History.
A brief stint in law school taught her that case law was not nearly as interesting as literature – teaching English seemed the natural recourse. After several years teaching high school students to love Antigone, Sophie resigned with the birth of her first child and decided it was time to pursue the long-held dream of writing.
I just started this, so I’ll try to remember to come back & read your review after I write mine. At 25% in the plot seems pretty predictable, but I’m enjoying how easy it is to read. Just going with the flow!
I’ll be curious to see what you think when you’re done. 🙂
Done with this and my review is up, so I’m back, lol. I gave it a similar rating, but I’m still curious enough to read the next book. In fact, I wish I had it now because my brain doesn’t want to read anything else right now, haha.
lol – I do wonder where the story’s headed, but I might wait to read your thoughts on book 2 before I pick it up. 🙂