Fire With Fire - Review

Title: Fire With Fire
Author (s): Siobhan Vivian and Jenny Han
Synopsis (from Goodreads): Lillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn’t exactly go the way they’d hoped at the Homecoming Dance.
Not even close.
For now, it looks like they got away with it. All they have to do is move on and pick up the pieces, forget there ever was a pact. But it’s not easy, not when Reeve is still a total jerk and Rennie’s meaner than she ever was before.
And then there’s sweet little Mary…she knows there’s something seriously wrong with her. If she can’t control her anger, she’s sure that someone will get hurt even worse than Reeve was. Mary understands now that it’s not just that Reeve bullied her—it’s that he made her love him.
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, burn for a burn. A broken heart for a broken heart. The girls are up to the task. They’ll make Reeve fall in love with Lillia and then they will crush him. It’s the only way he’ll learn.
It seems once a fire is lit, the only thing you can do is let it burn...  
Part of a Series? Yes, the Burn for Burn Trilogy.
Rating: 4.5 stars.


It's been a while since I read Burn for Burn, but I loved it when I did. People getting revenge and cover up their tracks are my kind of books, so I don't know why I wasn't expecting Fire with Fire to not be as good as Burn for Burn, because it definitely was! I highly recommend picking this series up, so go read them and come back!




*SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON - SERIOUSLY, GO READ FIRE WITH FIRE FIRST!*




         *SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY. DO NOT RUIN THIS BOOK FOR YOURSELF!*




The characterisation was strong, like in the first book; everyone's personality is clearly defined. Out of our main three characters, I have to say Kat is my favourite, as I love how she has a no-nonsense attitude towards most things, but is still vulnerable at times. Their - Lillia, Kat, and Mary - relationship was another thing I really loved. I was kind of expecting them to drift away from each other a la Pretty Little Liars (books, not TV show), so I was really happy to see them all sticking together! The way Kat supported Mary was especially sweet.




The writing styles of the two authors blended together well, and while there was the occasional paragraph which didn't flow with the rest of the story, but it never felt disjointed. Han and Vivian have also perfected the knack of reminding people about what happened in the first book. Sometimes authors just info-dump in the first chapter of a second book, which is really annoying, but they definitely didn't do that. I haven't read Burn for Burn for months, but I felt like I knew the important facts about it without feeling like the story was paused while we had a recap.




Can we just talk about Reeve and Lillia for a second? Like, I completely did not expect to like them together when Lillia first started trying to get him to love her, but by the end of the book I was starting to ship them (I'm about halfway through Ashes to Ashes and the shipping is still going strong). The way they left Rennie's party together and Rennie was screaming at them and...oh, it was emotional.




I don't think I can do a review on Fire with Fire without talking about THAT ending. Two bombshells in the space of a few chapters...I needed to find out what was happening so badly I almost forsook revision (but didn't...kind of...). Now, I never liked Rennie, not even when she arrived at Kat's house. I was sure she was just getting close to Kat to get back at Lillia. But at the party I did feel sorry for her; that scene was so intense I couldn't stop reading it! And even though I didn't like her, it was such a shock when she died and what had happened just before she died that I really did pity her.




Which leads onto the next bombshell nicely. Mary. Throughout the entire book I was sure that the paranormal aspects of the book were fake. I mean, SURE. I thought Mary zoned out or something
and did the things that she thought of, but that clearly didn't happen (I'm so good at guessing plots). And then we get this:




'I'm dead.'


Me: Wut




'Elizabeth Mary Donovan Zane. Sleep, my little one, sleep.'


Biggest. Plot twist. Ever. EVER.




(well, that I've read anyway).




I still can't believe it! Characters dying in the middle of series, characters dying at the end of series, narrators dying (we all know which one I'm talking about) - those I've read. But one where one of the three main characters HAS BEEN DEAD SINCE BEFORE THE BOOKS BEGAN  is new. Well done to Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian for creating such a mind-boggling plot twist - and well done to Burn for Burn fans, because I was never spoiled for it once! I was too shocked to even cry. It was more surprising than Rennie's death (but that's because I was spoiled for that one, thank you blurb of Ashes to Ashes!).




I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 because, as I've said, there were a few points that didn't flow well, but everything else was very strong. I've carried straight onto Ashes to Ashes, and it's just as good, so I might do another review of that book when I'm done (or I could revise...that would be wiser). What did you think of Fire with Fire? Favourite moments, lines, characters? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading, and I'll leave you with a quote from Kat that I loved and found helpful for exams:




'It doesn't make sense to feel sad about something you can't do s*** about.'