Review: Rise of Fire by Sophie Jordan

Rise of Fire

Sophie Jordan

(Reign of Shadows #2)

Publication Date: February 7, 2017

Hardcover, 304 pages, HarperTeen

Genres: YA, Fantasy

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Luna and Fowler have escaped the kingdom of Relhok, but they haven’t escaped the darkness. When a battle against the dark dwellers mortally injures Fowler, Luna is faced with a choice: put their fate in the hands of mysterious strangers or risk losing Fowler forever. Desperate to keep the one bright part of her life alive, Luna accepts the help of soldiers from a nearby kingdom. Lagonia’s castle offers reprieve from the dangerous outside world—until the king discovers both Fowler's and Luna’s true ties to Relhok and their influence over the throne.

Now pawns in each kingdom’s political game, Luna and Fowler are more determined than ever to escape and build the life they’ve been dreaming of. But their own pasts have a tight hold on their hearts and their destinies. Luna must embrace the darkness and fire within her before she loses not only Fowler, but the power she was destined to inherit.

My Review

I said the first book in this duology was Tremors meets Tangled with a little bit of The Walking Dead thrown in. This book is Tremors meets The Princess Bride with a little bit of Reign, the TV show. There are still weird ground-dwelling monsters, but instead of focusing on the two main characters, Luna and Fowler, Rise of Fire introduces some side characters to mix things up a bit.

This series finale had a Princess-Bride-in-the-Fire-Swamp (ROUSs) feel. In the beginning, Fowler is injured much like Westley, and its Buttercup’s/Luna’s intention to negotiate with Prince Humperdinck to save him. Does it work? Well, you’ll have to read to find out.

Honestly, I loved the court intrigue in this one. The meddling relationships were so much fun. It’s a weird contrast to Reign of Shadows, which was a forest-y survival story mixed with a monster movie. The additional characters really helped push the story to a new level. Chassan was an interesting addition, though I feel like his terrible actions in the beginning were just kind of blown off towards the end. Also, his dad and his sister were stereotypical, but in a fun, bad-guy way. Unfortunately, the endings for all the characters, including the bad guys, was a little rushed. I think another 20-50 pages would have made a more solid and notable conclusion.

As for Luna and Fowler, they still definitely remind me of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, but Princess Buttercup and Westley are in there as well. Luna is a good character, but she’s not particularly memorable like an Aelin or a Katniss. Her and Fowler both are just fun. We also never get a full explanation for Luna’s Daredevil-esque senses.

All in all, this series is a quick read. It’s not meant to be a fantasy to theorize over. It’s simply something you can pick up and read in less than a day. I’d say, if you’re looking for something to fly through between giant fantasy books, pick this one up, but only if you like weirder fantasy stories with strange creatures and a strong helping of romance.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.