Review: Cast in Firelight by Dana Swift

Cast in Firelight

Dana Swift

(Wickery #1)

Publication Date: January 19, 2021

Hardcover, 448 pages, Delacorte Press

Genres: YA, Fantasy

Goodreads

The first book in an epic, heart-pounding fantasy duology about two royal heirs betrothed to be married, but whose loyalties are torn, and a ruthless enemy who threatens their world, perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Hafsah Faizal, and Renée Ahdieh.

Adraa is the royal heir of Belwar, a talented witch on the cusp of taking her royal ceremony test, and a girl who just wants to prove her worth to her people.

Jatin is the royal heir to Naupure, a competitive wizard who's mastered all nine colors of magic, and a boy anxious to return home for the first time since he was a child.

Together, their arranged marriage will unite two of Wickery's most powerful kingdoms. But after years of rivalry from afar, Adraa and Jatin only agree on one thing: their reunion will be anything but sweet.

Only, destiny has other plans and with the criminal underbelly of Belwar suddenly making a move for control, their paths cross...and neither realizes who the other is, adopting separate secret identities instead.

Between dodging deathly spells and keeping their true selves hidden, the pair must learn to put their trust in the other if either is to uncover the real threat. Now Wickery's fate is in the hands of rivals..? Fiancées..? Partners..? Whatever they are, it's complicated and bound for greatness or destruction.

My Review

Arranged marriages, unique fantasy magic, and an enemies-to-lovers romance? Yes, please! Cast in Firelight is perfect for YA fans who want more fictional lands and sassy characters in their lives.

Cast in Firelight actually reminds me a lot of the Dark Caravan Cycle by Heather Demetrios and the show Avatar: The Last Airbender. There’s a lot of color magic based on the four elements or similar concepts. Like the Dark Caravan books, this one has an atmospheric setting with a world full of those unique magic users. Although, I do have to say that the magic system is pretty loose in terms of what limitations people have. It’s not a major complaint, as Swift does a good job of moving the plot along in a way that has me focusing on the coming events versus how high someone’s power level is. It’s very similar to Avatar in that way.

The main characters and narrators of the book are Adraa and Jatin, and both are magic users. The two are childhood nemeses put in an arranged marriage by their parents. A recipe for a tension-filled romance. Adraa, the heroine, starts the story as a somewhat mediocre character. In fact the beginning had me believing all of the characters were super naïve and that this book would read as more of a younger, early teens YA. You start believing Adraa’s like every other YA fantasy heroine because of the narrative tone, but that’s because as a reader you don’t know all her secrets yet. And boy, those secrets really drive the storyline somewhere I didn’t expect. Adraa is a full-fledged bada$$.

As for Jatin, he seemed like that arrogant prince set up in every other YA novel as well, but he really just wants to be loved. Aww… The dynamic between these two characters through the entire middle of the book was so fun and simultaneously frustrating. I very much enjoyed all the angst, and I wish it could have gone on longer and not been resolved so easily. Though both characters had good heads on their shoulders and didn’t blow things out of proportion when major secrets were revealed. Good for them.

The side characters were also interesting. However, I was hoping there would be more page-time for them. There were glimpses of other characters’ relationships with Adraa and Jatin, but it would have been nice to get a little more interaction, especially with the two guards, Riya and Kalyan.

Tying into the side characters, is the ending of the story. There’s isn’t really a cliffhanger to this first duology installment, which I feel was a bit of a mistake—the final pages could have been stronger if it had cut off more abruptly. Yet even so, there are some important conversations between family members that did give the story a bit of a boost. It also made me happy to see living parents who love their kids. We don’t get a lot of that in YA fantasy these days.

All in all, Cast in Firelight is a super fun time. It has a fascinating magic system with two complex characters who I very much want to see succeed. I’m definitely looking forward to book two!

*Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.