Shimmer and Burn by Mary Taranta is a dark, spellbinding fantasy about power, sacrifice, and survival. Faris, desperate to save her sister, becomes entangled in a dangerous journey through a kingdom where magic is forbidden but highly coveted. With vivid world-building and tense, high-stakes drama, it’s perfect for fans of gritty fantasy adventures.

Because I was unable to download this title, I cannot leave a review at this time. I apologize for any inconvenience.

I had a bit of a hard time getting into the book. But then it picked up and didn't stop. I like Faris and North. Bryn was super complicated which was awesome. I wasn't sure if I should hate her or be impressed.

Mary Taranta’s Shimmer and Burn swept me away into a world where magic can be both addictive and poisonous, a kingdom which holds its people hostage and a power-hungry Princess who threatens to topple it all.

There is a lot to love in this duology opener perfect for young adult readers looking for something new in their fantasy reads.

The protagonist Faris is just trying to keep her sister safe after losing her mother who was executed for stealing the king’s magic. I love the fact that Faris makes her extra cash by boxing and how she's not afraid to fall down and get a bit dirty. In the opening pages alone Taranta puts readers hearts through the ringer as Faris is knocked down both physically and emotionally. Determined and fierce and despite the fact she has a scheming princess blackmailing her she holds her own.

The magic is what really helps to set this story apart from other YA fantasy reads.

Shimmer and Burn has a unique world of magic. It can only be carried or wielded by certain people and it can become poisonous and addicting to others. I really liked the unique ways magic can be carried through stones and other objects which act as buffers in order to keep wielders safe. I also found it fascinating the way magic can send out strands (like a choking plant of ivy) of dangerous magic into those who manipulate it too much. I loved the sense of danger it creates as Faris, who is a carrier of magic, must side-step the very nature of this addicting and potentially dangerous magic, in order to fulfill her bargain with Princess Bryns.


I love a dark, tortured hero and North is completely swoon-worthy.

North is a magician who uses the very magic that threatens to infect him in order to protect Faris from the hellborne they encounter in the Burn. Gallant and heroic in nature but mysterious as well, we can't help but want to unravel the secrets he hides behind.

Princess Bryn is a villain that makes you want to throw the book at her.

I love a well written, morally grey character, a villain who is equally as fascinating as the heroes in a story. Princess Bryn is manipulative and scheming, often brutal in Shimmer and Burn, but there are these strange, quiet moments, where hints and glimmers of her peak through, that make you question her motives.

In the End

Shimmer and Burn is an exciting read filled with characters that you come to care about and a fascinating world of magic that holds as much danger as power. The slow-burn romance and a well-written and cunning villain you love to hate, make it a page-turner. I can't wait for the release of Splendor and Spark, the conclusion in this duology! I need more North, Faris, and yes, even Princess Bryn in my life.

You might have seen these fantasy themes before: An overpopulated community stuck within the confines of a certain set of boundaries due to the threat of a plague which has destroyed the outside world with the home-bound population being controlled by magic and death/execution - a common occurrence meant to keep everyone in line. In Shimmer and Burn by Mary Taranta, that's not enough, the King requires an obedience bond between himself and his subjects, administered when they become "adults". Thus our rebels are teenagers who know there is something out there worth risking everything, even their lives, to discover.

Of course, each has their own motivations. Faris Locke originally wanted a better life than one of eking out an existence in the Brim, a slum like community, but now she is forced to fight her way to the prize to save her sister from being used as a drone at the workhouse. Princess Bryn is determined to be Queen of Brindaigel, so she magically binds Feris to her as a servant to not only protect, but to serve as a virtual "whipping boy" who absorbs any pain the princess experiences (even if maliciously self-inflicted). Upon entering the forbidden Avinea they immediately get captured, but are rescued by North, a nomadic magician who wants to free his beloved homeland from the deadly sickness which is creeping throughout the kingdom.

I'm thinking this book should be included under the Steampunk Category. This is a YA fantasy novel full of intrigue, violence, greed/self interests, and a bit of romance, all entangled with the power of magic which can both protect and destroy. While the premise has a few twists using this common theme, the concept is muddled enough to require a bit of an explanation instead of simply leaking details on the fly as the plot unfolds. After a few attempts, I gave up trying to make sense of events by rereading passages which leave out the clues necessary to provide any cohesiveness. While the characters are intriguing, there are so many secrets and scams, it is easy to get confused about their motivations. These young people all have complicated relationships with their parents, most of whom are out of the picture for one reason or another, but who influence their actions, which makes discovering who's who and what's what requiring the skills of a detective.

However, the book is readable if unpredictable (for various reasons), just don't expect a definitive conclusion as the ending is a cliff hanger leading to book 2 of the series. Three stars.

A thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

this book wasn't for me. I wasn't able to finish it.

I went into this book without any expectations and fell in love. I will totally be pimping this book to my patrons.

I lost track of this one. It happens occasionally with eARCs in non-.mobi format, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

I couldn't really finish this one - too predictable for me. But I think many younger fantasy readers will be intrigued by the premise and enjoy it!

This book was incredible - so incredible in fact that we were going to add it to our subscription book box for August, but we didn't get to it in time - it had already been chosen by another box...which is understandable!
The world building is out of this world - seriously! It's so well done and mythical and I can't love it more.
The plot was original, creative and it held my interest well.

Checking in to Goodreads and I see there is a second one in the works...AHHHH! I'm so excited! Can it never end?!

This book has an intriguing, if not altogether original, premise, but suffers from a convoluted plot, a confusing magic system, and characters and relationships so inconsistent as to induce whiplash. The choice to use first-person present-tense (all-too-common in so much current YA fiction!) also did not do the characters any favors. Neither did calling one of the main location "Brindaigel" -- I find this a very silly name.

I liked that the author didn't shy away from violence and gore in what is a pretty dark story. I also liked the attempt to show female characters as more or less equal to males, which is certainly not the case in most pseudo-historical type fantasy-settings. I will also say that a select handful of those plot convolutions did in fact work (or at least, came as welcome surprises). But for me, unfortunately, these factors were not enough to save the book.

4.5 stars

YES!

This book is more than I imagined it could be. I was so hooked!! It was an amazing journey with some awesome characters, although there is a bit I don't quite understand..... which might also be because I had a headache the whole time I was reading it :/

The world was so griping and I love how we learned more the farther in the story got. The diseased reminded me of zombies at times and the Burn was kinda crazy to consider. North and Tobek are like my fave characters (Do they remind me of the cast from Howl's Moving Castle? Perhaps ;]). Faris is also amazing and I love how she is actually affected by what goes on around her! It was very realistic.
The plot moved at a good pace, like a wagon wheel continuously moving in the right direction, and I was never bored. I also almost guessed the twist, but I thought it wouldn't be BUT THEN IT WAS. I shoulda stuck with my gut....

In the end, I think I'm still confused about a few things, like how magic is generated-- is it just there or can only the king manifest it? How is pure magic created?
Also, a few more under the cut, just in case. (view spoiler)
I think that is all for now... I just thought it could be better if it didn't try to hit those YA tropes.


If you like Maria V. Snyder, or fantasy with consequences and adventures, then I think you should try this one out :)

"Wake up, I think helplessly, but she needs magic for that, and the king keeps it all locked in his castle."

Faris is a girl who knows how tough life can be. Growing up in the slums of Brindaigel, she learned to fight, and defend her family at a young age. She knows that her actions always including paying a price, in some way or another. When her sister Cadence is captured while they tried to leave the city, Faris is faced with making some tough choices.

She must choose between her own freedom, or her sister's, and the consequences that come along with either choice when it is made. Forbidden love, menacing magic, and political intrigue are interwoven to create a memorable tale of a girl seeking redemption for those she loves.

---------------------------------
"When the gods went to war, they destroyed everything in their battle for dominance. Nothing survived except a single see that a farmer found buried in the ashes. But it couldn't grow without sunlight or water, so he went to the gods and he made them an offer: If he could defeat their strongest warriors, they would call a truce. Tell would rule the earth and Rook would rule the sky, and neither one would be more important than the other. They would be balanced."

"Farodeen the First," I say.

North smiles, pleased that I know his mythology. He wouldn't be so pleased if I told him the rest of the story we're taught, that Farodeen was sacrificed by his more powerful brother, Overen, the king of Brindaigel, and that Avinea was a consolation prize to his heirs. They would be destined to be farmers like their father.

"Farodeen wrestled Rook's giants out of the sky, and they damned Tell's volcanoes, ending the war. To reward him, the gods threaded their magic through his veins; starlight from Rook and fire from Tell, so if they ever went to war again, man could fight too."

"Shimmer and burn."
-----------------------------

Ohhhh...

But this was so good! I'm already yearning for the sequel!

Despite it's effervescent title, Shimmer and Burn is dark, draining, and dense. (I mean dense as in, thick, juicy, yummy.)

There is no doubt that the author labored over this work to get everything aligned and perfect. The writing mirrors the plot's complexity and deep-seated character development throughout the story. There are layers and layers upon scheming, at all levels of society, which totally makes the intrigue of this story, that much better.

Faris is a difficult, yet believable character. She is hard, yet clearly desires (and mettles in) love. However, her hard edges don't prepare her for when she is coerced into situations that are rather compromising. Being said, she makes mistakes, and is at times reactive rather than pensive. I found her character to be easy to understand, even if the reader didn't necessarily connect with her.

Cadence, although being a pivotal character in terms of the plot, isn't present much. It's difficult to discern from the text her nature, but I believe her role will be much bigger in the book to come.

Bryn, a malicious, rather terrible person, serves as one of the main antagonists. From the beginning to the end, she is manipulative, despicable, and downright difficult to discern. For how much I didn't like her, there were times where I found myself wanting to--which is an interesting pull toward the antagonist that I definitely didn't expect.

North--what can I say that won't spoil him? I shall say nothing other than he too, is heart-wrenching.

I thought how magic is used in Shimmer and Burn is just clever. I won't say more for spoilers, but I just wanted to say that I really appreciated this different take on such a popular theme.

However great majority of this story and world was, the ending was somewhat lackluster. While the scheming is at its finest, it just wasn't the ending I was expecting for having such a tumultuous plot throughout the rest of the story.

Vulgarity: Some.
Sexual content: Some. Kissing and some suggestive speech.
Violence: I found this book to be rather gory, please keep that in mind when picking it up!

4.5 stars

A big thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!

Shimmer and Burn is the first of two installments in author Mary Taranta's Simmer and Burn duology. Faris Locke is the main protagonist. She hasn't had an easy life. Not after her mother tried to kill her when she was 6 years old, and not after her mother killed after being accused of stealing the King's gold. Faris has been labeled the daughter of a drunk and a thief. Faris tries hard to support her younger sister Cadence. She has survived by fighting, and stealing food to survive. In this world, nobody is allowed to leave the kingdom of Brindaigel. 

Perrote, the King of Brindaigel, has powerful magic. He has not only bound all his soldiers to him as though they were puppets, but he has also walled off the country from the outside world. Especially from the country of Avinea which has been torn apart by a magically created plague that seeps into the soil, under your skin, and you end up dying slowly. In this world, just sneezing in the wrong direction can get you executed without a trial. Faris and a friend make plans to escape the city, but the escape goes wrong thanks to unfortunate circumstances, and Faris is forced to find a way to save her sister who is captured by the King's executioner.

With her sisters future on the line, Faris agrees to Princess Bryn's plan to carry stolen magic into Avinea as an incentive to gain an alliance with Prince Corbin and remove King Perotte. What she didn't agree to was Bryn following her into Avinea and being bound to her as her very own slave. Or, the fact that she is now considered a threat to King Perotte because she escaped Brindaigel. Or, finding a companion in North who guides Faris & Bryn across a very dark, very dangerous, world called Avinea where one wrong move will definitely end up you being dead, or losing body parts.  

During their journey they face many obstacles and unveils many secrets. North is a curious character who you will definitely be eager to learn about who he is, what he is trying to do for his country, and whether or not he is an actual ally Faris can count on, or just another layer to her road to save Cadence. Bryn is such a manipulative character. In one moment you want to punch her in the throat, while the next you wonder what she is actually up to, and how her actions will affect Faris. Can Faris survive this journey? Can she save her sister before it’s too late? 

This is also a book that does really well in world building. There is zero complaints from me on this issue. There is also an impressive group of secondary characters who really does shine. While I am loathe to admit I liked Bryn, I did. She's such a curious villain. She is the embodiment of self-entitlement, cruelty and cunning and will cut anyone's throat in order to get her way. She will even force Faris into doing her bidding for her. I am settling on 4 stars because I am truly not happy with the ending. I hate to admit this, but I would love for the book to end on a Games of Throne's full scale slaughter with everyone dying except Faris, North, and Cadence. This is one scary world. There are characters who are just horrible and Faris is caught right in the middle thanks to Bryn's machinations. But, Faris isn't a pushover folks. I am looking forward to the sequel.

Don't you just love when you pick a book for the cover and the writing is just as beautiful?

"To save her sister’s life, Faris must smuggle magic into a plague-ridden neighboring kingdom in this exciting and dangerous start to a brand-new fantasy duology.

Faris grew up fighting to survive in the slums of Brindaigel while caring for her sister, Cadence. But when Cadence is caught trying to flee the kingdom and is sold into slavery, Faris reluctantly agrees to a lucrative scheme to buy her back, inadvertently binding herself to the power-hungry Princess Bryn, who wants to steal her father’s throne.

Now Faris must smuggle stolen magic into neighboring Avinea to incite its prince to alliance—magic that addicts in the war-torn country can sense in her blood and can steal with a touch. She and Bryn turn to a handsome traveling magician, North, who offers protection from Avinea’s many dangers, but he cannot save Faris from Bryn’s cruelty as she leverages Cadence’s freedom to force Faris to do anything—or kill anyone—she asks. Yet Faris is as fierce as Bryn, and even as she finds herself falling for North, she develops schemes of her own.

With the fate of kingdoms at stake, Faris, Bryn, and North maneuver through a dangerous game of magical and political machinations, where lives can be destroyed—or saved—with only a touch.
There were so many wonderful fantasy elements in Shimmer and Burn, and Taranta's writing is so immersive that it was easy to get lost in it. "

The opening scene is so powerful and dark and amazing and I knew after I'd finished the first chapter that I was going to be recommending this book to everyone. Faris's mother attacks her on page one. There are so many emotions, questions, and eye openers in just that one scene there is literally no way for you to put the book down.

And it only got darker. Taranta was totally unafraid to kill these characters and there is no where, on any page, where I believed anyone was safe. 

Faris's characterization is wonderfully new in the world of YA. She is in no way, shape, or form a perfect little snowflake and I loved reading her. She makes mistakes and harbors a lot of guilt for them. She is incredibly well written.

The only place that Shimmer and Burn lost points for me was the romance, and that is really only because I'm tired of seeing that in my fiction. I always feel like romances take away from a character's autonomy. 

Shimmer and Burn is alluring and terrifying and deserves a very special place on your shelf.

War, magic, a sister that needs to be saved. yep that's Shimmer and Burn.  It is a ya fantasy that is a bit political in places but the magic and interludes make it. The world is well built and the characters are great and keep you guessing what side they are on. Overall a great darker fantasy. 4 out of 5 Looking forward to book 2.

I should have liked this book…in fact, from the very first chapter it felt different than most YA fantasy. Faris, a motherless young woman, already has a love interest. They are both trapped in the country of Brindaigel (which gave me serious Brigadoon vibes) by their king, who claims to be protecting them from a magical plague in the neighboring kingdom. Tragedy strikes fairly quickly for Faris and her beloved, and she ends up being blackmailed into taking a dangerous journey into the plague-ridden kingdom.

Faris is also not the only major female character; in fact, her companion on her dangerous journey, Bryn, features in equal amount. This too is unusual in YA and should have been spectacular, particularly as Bryn and Faris do not get along at all. But Bryn is…a weak attempt at crafting a villain. Everything about her is too bombastic and over the top; I get that she’s ambitious and wants to be queen, but I never really understood why.

I think my dislike of this book comes down to one thing: it’s hella confusing. I don’t know if this was just me, or if I wasn’t paying enough attention, but I frequently found myself having to go back and read paragraphs three or four times just to understand what was happening. The plot was ridiculously convoluted (honestly…I couldn’t even explain it to you if I tried) and the magic system made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. It kept getting harder and harder for me to keep track of characters’ motivations. Not only that, but big reveals are staged poorly and cryptically, so that I was never really sure if we had actually figured out something significant or not. By the end I found I did not care one whit what happened to anyone because I had no idea what was going on or why anyone was doing anything.

The basic idea here is…fine, I guess? It’s your standard “magic corrupts” and “kingdom poisoned by magic” only this magic apparently turns people into zombie-like creatures or…addicts? Or were they the same thing? I’m not sure; to be honest I stopped paying much attention halfway through the book and began to skim huge chunks. Like, it’s not a bad idea, but I’ve seen it around before and its execution here was pretty cut-and-dry. Also, magic is…transferred via skin to skin contact? Or something? And there’s four different types of magicians? But their powers aren’t always distinct? Or something? Again, major confusion, and I’m a seasoned fantasy reader, so I’m used to having to take on complex world and magic systems. This was just messy.

The other thing is that the bulk of Faris’ motivation is that she wants to save her sister Cadence, who is being used as collateral to guarantee her loyalty to Bryn. Unfortunately, we don’t get a chance to see them interacting. The single chapter/scene where they interact shows Cadence being kind of bratty and Faris somewhat annoyed. I mean, in conjunction with some other scenes this would have been fine, but on its own it doesn’t really showcase a beloved bond that Faris would risk her life for. I felt little for either of these characters, even though on paper I should have liked Faris. The only character I was interested in was the king’s executioner, Alistair, but he features for only a couple of chapters.

Overall I really did not connect with this book at all. I found it to be a run-of-the-mill YA fantasy complete with instalove, and I really struggled to get through it, The only things I appreciated were the writing, which was often beautiful if somewhat inscrutable, and that Taranta is not shy about blood and gore, which gave this a more mature feel than it would have otherwise had.

DNF 43 pgs - I haven't picked up this book in a few days and have literally no desire to go back to it (actually, negative desire). I think that's a sign that I should give up on it. The world in this book is complicated and not described terribly well. I'm really just confused. I'm not feeling the connection between sisters--honestly, it feels like a crutch. Almost like the author needed to give the main character a reason for doing stuff and so she was just like, "I know, I'll give her a little sister!". I mean, obviously it was probably more thought out than that, but it didn't seem like it to me.