Cast in Firelight was one of my most anticipated reads for 2021. I love reading about books influenced by other cultures, especially when it's Indian or Middle Eastern. Once I picked up my copy, I was unable to put it down.
Plot
The plot of CiF was so driven, as Adraa and Jatin are teamed up to expose a massive criminal plot involving Adraa's invention Firelight. There are plenty of action scenes in which they're fighting as vigilantes or as cage fighters in the underground. The pair had a clear goal--to discover what is happening to the stolen firelight--but there were also many subplots along the way, most notably would they discover each other's true identities? I'm always down for a good enemies-to-lovers and hidden identities tropes, and this book did both wonderfully.
World-building
I was slightly apprehensive when I learned there would be 9 different types of magic in the book. Sometimes authors go a little over their heads trying to make their world-building complex. Rather than confuse the reader and making the world difficult to understand, Swift created a wonderfully simple system of magic. This almost never happens, but after a few chapters she could just say the color and I immediately knew which power she was talking about. Beyond the magic, the actual setting of the story was well done. Adraa and Jatin are royals from neighboring countries. While the political intrigue was not particularly strong in this book, readers were still given a glimpse into the politics of each country, some of which included segregation by the Touched (magic users) and Untouched. I'm sure the world of Wickery will continue to be developed in the sequel, Bound by Firelight.
Characters
I attended Dana Swift's virtual book talk and she explained how she wanted the female character to introduce the male character to the vigilante world. I absolutely loved this! Adraa was a strong, female lead, who was not weakened by having emotions or *gasp* a period! Anything that may have been noted as a weakness in another book only made me love Adraa more. I especially appreciated her development, from an insecure witch to a powerful and confident one ready to sacrifice everything for her country.
While I loved Jatin, it was more in his relationship with Adraa than as an individual. He was attractive and funny, which while nice, doesn't really set him apart from other male leads. What did make him unique were the "love letters" he sent to Adraa and his ability to not look down on a woman for being powerful (sad that this isn't more normal). I enjoyed reading his POV and look forward to seeing how their story continues.
Would recommend this book for lovers of Renee Ahdieh, Alwyn Hamilton, and the enemies-to-lovers trope.
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Cast in Firelight: Wickery, Book 1
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Reviews with images
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Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours and author Dana Swift for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.Cast in Firelight definitely sets the tone perfectly at the beginning of the book. We learn that Adraa and Jatin are going to have an arranged marriage once they come of age and as this scene unfolds we get a perfect glimpse of each of the main character’s personalities that flow really well into the rest of the book. As far as MCs go, both of them were wonderful to read about. There were never any dull inner monologue moments that seemed to last forever and it was pretty nice being able to fully delve into their minds while they were on their journey to save their lands.The story itself was deeply original and the magic system is definitely something that catches your attention in the book. Recently, I have read so many books with unique and different magic systems and Cast in Firelight is no different. The gods and their names were a nice touch to this creativity as well. As the story progresses author Dana Swift does an immaculate job of world-building without huge info dumps. All the information presented was relevant to our MCs and the situation they were currently in. The pacing of this book also allowed for long reading sessions that I low key did not want to end. I can definitely say that this series is going to bingeable whenever Swift has released all of the books and yes I will be reading them again when this happens.
Top reviews from other countries
Wendel
Avaliação do produto
Reviewed in Brazil on October 18, 2022
Wendel
Reviewed in Brazil on October 18, 2022
Images in this review
ateachersguidetoreading
Action-packed and magic filled delight...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2022
ateachersguidetoreading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2022
*
Adraa is the heir of Belwar, a very powerful witch waiting to turn eighteen and take her royal ceremony. Jatin is the heir to neighbouring country Naupure and already a master of all nine colours of magic. Their marriage has been arranged for over a decade but the only thing both royals agree on is that they wish it wasn't happening. In an attempt to cure Belwar of its dangerous criminal underworld, Adraa finds herself paired with Jatin. But, with secret identities thrown in the mix, neither realises who the other is. While dodging death spells and drug lords, the two begin to build a partnership of trust which soon gives way to love. But what happens when they find out they have fallen in love with their betrothed?
*
"Why is darkness so much easier to swallow than light..."
*
Cast in Firelight has it all! Like seriously, it ticks all the boxes - a kickass heroine, an action packed plot, an entricate magic system, a swoon-worthy romance, excellent representation and a male hero who respects women (so much so he even tracks her menstrual cycle)! Honestly, I was hooked throughout this story - from arranged marriages, to hidden identities, from elemental magic to a cage casting arenas and a criminal underworld - I just devoured it all. I loved that the book gave dual POV so we got to see Adraa's thoughts and events through Jatin's eyes too. And that ending! I'm so glad I won a copy of book two so that I can jump right in to see what happens next! Bound in Firelight is being released on 18th January so preorder now. Let's just talk about those Charlie Bowater covers too! Wow!
*
"There is only choice, not destiny..."
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Richel (letsreadshallwe)
Packed with my Favorite Tropes!
Reviewed in Canada on January 19, 2021