Authors: CJ Daugherty & Carina Rozenfeld
Part of a series? Yes, The Alchemist Chronicles
Synopsis: Sacha Winters lives in Paris. He can't die until he's supposed to, and that isn't for eight weeks. But after those eight weeks, something terrible is meant to happen.Taylor Montclair lives in England. She is ordinary, until it becomes clear that she isn't, and her whole life is thrown into chaos. Taylor and Sacha's lives are connected. Together they can stop the destruction Sacha's death will cause, but with only eight weeks left, the clock is against them.
Rating: 4.5 stars.
*Will be published on the 10th September. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
The Secret Fire was fast-paced, unpredictable, and amazing!
There was never a moment when you could tell that it was written by two
authors, as every chapter ran into the others well. I liked how in the
beginning Taylor’s parts were relatively calm, while Sacha’s were
action-packed. I also liked how Taylor’s and Sacha’s families still remained an
important part of their lives even though other events were happening, as
sometimes it feels like families disappear in YA books when the protagonist
discovers something magical about themselves!
Taylor was a great main character; she really felt like a
real teenager, and she reacted to things how a real teenager would react. I
thought it was good how she was ambitious and wanted to know as much about The
Secret Fire as possible. I liked how much Sacha cared about his family, but it
took me a while to actually like him as in the beginning, when we don’t know
certain things, it feels weird that he’s given up on everything. I started to
care about him about halfway through, though. Also, the two dogs in The Secret
Fire have the coolest names!
The plot was interesting, and the powers/alchemy in The
Secret Fire was different to the powers in other books. The world-building was
excellent, and I liked how Taylor lived in a small town instead of London, as
it felt more relatable to someone like me, who doesn’t live in a city. Taylor’s
world definitely felt like the Britain I know, and the descriptions of the
parts set in France were amazing; I especially loved the description of the
vineyard at night.
The only criticisms I have were that the ending was a
strange place to introduce new characters that seem like they’ll be important
in the next book, and that for a time Taylor and Sacha’s relationship felt a
little odd once they had met in person. Having said that, I really enjoyed The
Secret Fire! I think it will appeal to fans of the Ruby Red trilogy, and
perhaps people who really liked the Circle aspect of The Mortal Instruments. I
feel like we still have lots to discover, and I can’t wait for the second book!
4.5 stars out of five.
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