I loved the premise and I liked the characters but the story was a little too long. I kind of got the feeling that the author wanted to write a novella but then had to stretch it out. I'm actually surprised to see on Goodreads that it's 352 pages. I thought it probably barely touched 300. No wonder it felt a little thin.

Siria seems to not have had the amount of trials or consequences that a lot of protagonists in her genre/novel-length have had (in my experience). There's deep stuff happening but it kind of gets moved on from or resolved somewhat quickly. There would have been scope for a lot of depth and heartbreak here and it wasn't really explored. It was a little predictable at times and there wasn't a *huge* amount of tension.

The romance was fine but kind of felt like it got in the way, while at the same time also not being fully explored. It felt like Howard didn't know if she wanted to write a fantasy novel or a romance novel so she smushed the two together but didn't have a good amount of guidance as to how to handle that well.

Sometimes you see artists "redraw" their old art five or ten years later to show their improvements. I hope Hanna Howard keeps on writing and then rewrites this novel the way it deserves to be written.

First of all, this cover is DROP DEAD GORGEOUS and I can't wait to see what it looks like in person.

The worldbuilding was pretty good and it made me want to read more! The pacing was perfect and made the book a lot easier to read. The romance was also super cute and definitely something I want to see more of.

I think the concept is definitely intriguing, but the quality of writing could use some work. While it is a debut, the storyline still came off as quite simplistic and the mc was rather a "cookie-cutter" ya protagonist. It was difficult to connect with the characters because of this.

Overall, it's a decent debut but I'm not sure if I want to continue with the series

This was a quick, fun read that had a lot of complexities to it. Don't think that just because this book is fast or short that it doesn't pack a punch. First, we have to deal with a genocide as all of the Sunchildren, the enemy to our Queen of Darkness, have been killed to prevent any tampering to her plans. Siria, our main character, deals with a lot of self confidence issues, and has a dysfunctional family. Though, I did love the adopted family story line. This book contains fun, light moments in contrast to the serious darkness that these characters face. It was a good balance. Overall, I enjoyed it and I really liked the ending. I wish we got a little more to the ending, but I'm happy with what I got so far.

Ignite the Sun is an interesting yet fairly unoriginal story. It is absolutely full of cliches such as the chosen one and lost princess tropes and even an “AnD tHeRe WaS oNlY oNe BeD” scene. This book also utilized “childhood friends to lovers” for the romance and though I am normally opposed to this specific cliche, I have to admit Siria and Linden are absolutely adorable. The main character had a very interesting and complex character arc that I really enjoyed except for the fact that it portrayed quietness as something to overcome, a notion that I strongly disagree with. I really loved the side characters, specifically Elegy and Merrall, they’re amazing! The book was extremely lacking in diversity, though. The magic system in Ignite the Sun was also extremely cool although the main character had just too many powers. These powers didn’t come naturally to her, though, and given the huge amount of power she had I felt this was necessary and enjoyed that the author chose to put this in the book. The plot itself was intriguing and extremely action packed, I was completely on the edge of my seat towards the end!
Siria’s journey kept me hooked and though it borrows from many classic tropes, Ignite the Sun stands on its own as a captivating and enjoyable read.

WARNING: This review contains spoilers.

“Ignite The Sun” is a young adult fantasy book centered around the main character Siria Nightingale, a sixteen-year-old who yearns to see sunlight for the first time after living in a world accustomed to darkness.

Siria is taught that Light is dangerous, and she still tries to get used to the darkness and tries to focus on potentially earning herself a place in the court, but once she eventually finds out some crucial information, she and her best friend Linden embark on the adventure that a lot of the plot of the story is centered around. She is the last sunchild, and on the trip, she learns how to use the powers that she has.

The plot of this book was very intriguing, and unlike a lot of the other fantasy books I’ve read, and the adventure that makes up the majority of the plot line kept me captivated as I continued to read this book. Overall, I thought it was a very interesting story and I would definitely recommend that fans of fantasy check this one out.

What is the last book you just wanted to hug? A book that made you want to crawl inside? A book pulled you into the story and made you forget you were reading?

For me, it was this book! I was catapulted along a whirlwind adventure and found myself sneaking off to read whenever I could. The setting was gripping, I want to hang out with the characters, and already have plans to reread so I can visit them again!

I recommend this book wholeheartedly. It is one of the best books I’ve read this year!

I have been reading a lot of fantasy YA books lately and I am always looking for one that holds my interest and keeps me turning pages.
I will admit, the start to this book was slow and not very strong. I was lost for about the first 10% of the book because there wasnt a lot of background or world building at first and it left me feeling underwhelmed.
However, this book really started picking up about 1/3 of the way into the book. At first, Siria, the MC was whiny, felt sorry for herself, and distrusted everyone around her. Right around this point, she grows up and decides to accept who she is, and I really loved her character once she went through this change. I think the supporting characters were stronger than her through the book.
I almost feel that this book would have been better as a duology, because the beginning and ending felt very rushed and I wish there would have been more information on this world and the different people, because this was a great and unique idea.
Overall, it was a good book in the middle half, I just wish the beginning and ending were written better to grab and keep my attention.

This book was incredibly interesting. I found the mythology and overall premise incredibly fascinating, and that was what kept me going, especially the witches and the idea of stealing powers. I have to admit, though, that I really wasn’t a fan of the characters. They seemed really shallow, and I couldn’t find myself connecting to any of them, unfortunately. The romance felt forced and weird, and I didn’t particularly enjoy it.
Great concept, not 100% sold on the execution.

I was hooked at the very first sentence in the prologue: "Yarrow, tell me about the sun." This book is so good!

Siria doesn't know why she doesn't like the darkness. She doesn't know why she is infatuated with the sun. She has only wanted one thing for as long as she can remember: to be on Queen Iyzabel's court. And it's the only thing her parents want her to do, the one thing that may make them proud of her.

I enjoyed how the story unfolds. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out where a story is going. This one kept me guessing until the final scene. I had my theories but those flew out the window. The journey that Siria and her little group of misfits embark on is about more than defeating an evil witch. It's about overcoming everything that holds them back, everything that has brought them together in the first place.

The action scenes are well done. They make the reader feel as if they are there too. I really enjoyed the world building and the magical system. The way these were written made it believable and to seem possible. I felt a part of the story rather than only reading it.

I laughed and cried I became angry. I sobbed and cheered. I see the connection of this story to depression and anxiety now. As I was reading it, maybe not so much. I was too engrossed in the story. Now as I look back, I definitely see it, especially one particular scene close to the end of the book.

This is such a great debut novel! I hope to read many more by this author, I gave this book 5 stars and highly recommend it.

Ignite the Sun is a debut YA fantasy set in a world of darkness ruled by and evil queen, and Siria gets swept up in a plot to take her down. This one's a fast paced and fun read with a fairy tale energy and seems to be a standalone novel. Which is rare in YA fantasy. Very enjoyable, but I would have liked the villain queen to be more developed. She comes off as 'evil just to be evil' could benefit from some more backstory.

3.5 stars

This book surprised me!

I'm not always the best at reading synopses, so when I started this book and realized it was a fantastical work about a world drenched in darkness waiting for a Sunchild to come of age...and maybe save everyone, I was immediately hooked.

The allegorical, strong light versus darkness themes were lovely, and I adored the unique "fairy-tale" elements woven throughout. Also, the romance was adorable, and I thoroughly enjoyed Siria's journey from fear and weakness...to so much more! Hanna Howard is a new-to-me author, and I'm intrigued to read what comes next.

Some notes: As I said before, I wasn't expecting a "magical" book, so the Fae/legend elements did surprise me a bit. There is a witch and a nasty/violent backstory. There is also a small amount of cursing, which came as even more of a surprise, since I was under the impression Blink was a "clean YA" publisher. In my recollection, there were three "d*mns" and one "h*ll," so do bear that in mind if you are part of a younger audience or would simply prefer not to read cursing.

I was intrigued by this premise until the main character was revealed to be the lost princess and magically transformed from a pale skinned girl to a girl who had so many freckles that her entire body was covered in them, basically making her a woman of colour... written by a white woman. I liked the explanation of the mythology and the magic system, and honestly it was the only thing that interested me enough to keep reading. The main character experienced almost instantaneous mastering of her powers even though they had been locked away for years and would usually take years to learn. As well, the pacing of the story was off; almost consistently through the whole book there would be a chapter of explanation, followed by a chapter of the group of characters running away from some dangerous creature.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blink for granting me access to a digital eARC of this book.

In a kingdom ruled by an evil witch, the sun has been banished by darkness, and only a sunchild, a fire nymph, will have the power to "Ignite the Sun" and bring peace and hope back to a broken and desolate land. Siria Nightingale is a young woman of high rank who has always been different from her peers. She not only detests the darkness that they all spend their lives in, but she actively seeks out the forbidden tales, depicting a world of sunshine, told to her by her family's servant, Yarrow. She also spends a great deal of her time playing with Yarrow's young ward Linden as she grows up. Though all her actions are frowned upon in polite society, she constantly seeks the approval of her parents. This means that when she comes of age, she is expected to earn a place at court with Queen Iyzabel. However, as the choosing ceremony draws near, the darkness surrounding the royal city seems more oppressive than ever, and it seems this particular choosing ceremony is not what Siria had hoped it would be... Soon Siria finds herself in possession of powers she never asked for, on the run for her life and trusting her fate in the hands of those who have deceived her all her life. Filled with romance, action, magic and heartbreak, this epic YA tale spans the breadth of a kingdom, builds magical lore and brings colorful characters to life!

I gave this book a strong 4 out of 5. There were some aspects that were a little frustrating to me. For one thing, we're left with quite a few loose ends for several character arcs by the conclusion of the story. (If there are plans for a future installment, then I would have no problem with where things left off, but I didn't get the impression that this story will continue) Also, much of the feelings and thoughts of the main character Siria are spoon fed to the reader, rather than allowing them to see it and interpret the moments for themselves. In my opinion, this story is something that requires some much bigger world building and fleshing out of characters over the span of several books. I felt that we were lacking in a lot of the backstory necessary to feel more emotionally connected to the characters and to be able to grieve over the inevitable losses along the way.

That being said, I truly enjoyed this book. Putting aside the critiques, the writing in this story is just excellent! The descriptions of the battles made everything more visceral and you could feel the tension and the heartbreak. The romance plot was quite nice as well and featured a "old friends to lovers" sort of trope, which I'm always a sucker for! I could not put the book down, and I think many fans of a hero's journey plot line will enjoy it!

Thank you to Netgalley, Blink & Hanna Howard for my arc of Ignite the Sun in exchange for an honest review. 

Synopsis: In a kingdom ruled by an evil witch the Sun is just a myth, a legend of long ago. Sixteen year old Siria has never seen the sun, all her life she's been brought up to believe that the sun is evil, to believe that Queen Iyzabel protects them all with the shroud of darkness she has cast over the kingdom. But after dramatic events unfold at the choosing ball, Siria finds herself on a journey with a small group of rebels, on the hunt for the Sun.

The premise for this story was really great but I think there was too much room for improvement for me to truly enjoy it. Siria's character was very whiney and there were a lot of things that could have been done better. For example there is a Naiad who hates her because she's been pampered all her life but this is not Siria's fault. Equally she gets really annoyed at her friends for never telling her the truth about some things even though they've explained that they were cursed and unable to say anything. A lot of the plot was resolved way too simply which made the bits that should have filled the reader with anxiety for the characters too simple. I think that about sums it up, the plot has no complexity everything is just simple, done and dusted. I think with more editing and rewrites this could have been a great book.

This book looked really interesting but it just... isn't? It's nothing I haven't read a million times before. The characters are flat, everything is told to us, Siria is annoying, and I'm so bored I can't take it any more. DNFing - which is really too bad because the concept is really interesting and could have been done well. The darkness thing is done so much better in the Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo.

Have you ever picked up a book with excitement, wanting to devour its many pages?

That’s how I felt about Ignite the Sun when I first read the description. I was super excited and ready to read. And I wish I could say I wasn’t disappointed.

Now, don’t get me wrong. It was a good book. The characters were solid, Merall, the naiad was refreshingly negative, and Siria’s character arc was very good. But there were a couple of things that I didn’t like. So let’s get the negatives out first, shall we?

First thing was Siria’s whining. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it, really. I could understand where she was coming from with her complaints, but she went a little overboard, and I was glad when Yarrow and Merral basically told her to get over herself. So it wasn’t so much something that was bad in the book, it was just a little irritating, but was fixed quickly.

Second thing—Siria and Linden’s relationship. I have nothing against YA romance. But when a character spends the first 50% of the book going on and on and on about the man she loves but can’t be with because of her powers and she’s really not thinking of anything else but her own selfish desires, it really grates on the nerves. I, to be honest, hated Linden. Maybe other people feel differently about it but I just wanted Linden to die or disappear or something so that he wasn’t Siria’s every waking thought. And she spent a disturbingly large amount thinking about his muscles. When Linden finally was separated from her, I sighed in relief. Finally, she was actually thinking about more important things, like not getting caught and killed.

Lastly, the mild swearing. I did not expect this at all. All the other books I’ve read published by Blink had no swearing whatsoever, so this was an unexpected surprise, and I really felt like the narrative could have gone without it and have still been good. Especially since the author was adding swearing to her characters while also using Bible verses. I don’t think those two mix.

Despite my misgivings, I did enjoy Ignite the Sun, just not as much as I hoped to. It’s a great concept and I love the fight of light against the dark. That was the main reason I wanted to read it in the first place. The magic, the world, everything else was great. I loved the mix of nymphs, naiads, satyrs and elves. Also, the fact that Howard knew that banshees are just heralds of death. They don’t kill. I loved that. Too many people get that wrong.

Overall, Ignite the Sun was a fast and exciting read—I just wish I could have enjoyed it more.

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a fun and exciting story - I buddy read this with my sister and it became a fun part of our day when we got to sit down and read about Siria's journey together. The concept is so interesting and I really resonated with Siria's desire to make her parents proud and the internal battle she faces between seeking approval as well as forging her own path. There's a bit of political mystery as she learns to navigate the Queen's court which is always something I enjoy reading in fantasy. My only bit of criticism was the writing read a bit simple at times especially at the beginning which made the reading experience a bit choppy. However, I still enjoyed seeing Siria grow and develop as a character and as she navigated through her experiences.

Review for Premier Picks:

Hanna Howard’s debut YA novel, Ignite the Sun, revolves around a fantasy world where the heroine searches for light in a world of darkness. Siria Nightingale lives in a world governed by Queen Iyzabel. As the queen came to power she shrouded the land in darkness, supposedly for the safety of the people. Siria grew up without the light and only heard about it in stories; despite that, she has always longed for the sun. The story opens to Siria, the daughter of nobles, attending the Gildenbrook School for Girls in the city to become a proper lady. But as she’s presented to the queen at the Choosing Ball, something happens to change everything for her, and before long she joins a group of rebels who go on a quest to restore the light.

Besides being an exciting fantasy adventure, Howard’s novel is a great option for teens who are dealing with anxiety or depression and are searching for their own light in the darkness. And if you do judge a book by its cover, this one is tops, with The Memory Thief and Romanov vibes.

For fans of female driven fantasy.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest opinion.All thought and opinions are my own.

Siria Nightingale secretly wants to know about the Sun because her world is completely shrouded in darkness after the Queen invaded The Lumiere kingdom to "protect" her people.But little did she know that her life is a complete lie and she has a great deal of responsibility over her shoulders more than she ever imagined, how does she-an outcast, no body from Gildenbrooke who is desperate for her parents approval can ever be the savior of the world?

This is our classic story framed around "Chosen One" troupe with extremely intriguing premise and setting, the gorgeous cover is also partly why I was immediately attracted to the book. It is an entertaining debut but not without its flaws, it reads pretty fast though it is not a short book per se however I had hard time with the world building- there is no proper established magic system, except for the vague details you are not given any particulars on how anything works, for me personally it is very important for a fantasy book to properly have a clear cut world otherwise the book falls flat despite having a great plot line.

The world in this is either too simple or too complicated at time which is confusing and frustrating
While all the characters had great potential, none of them were fully developed which is quite underwhelming, for example the MC has so many personalities which changes as per the need and as per the convince of the story, even though I overlooked the world building this is where my major disconnect had started. She starts off as this self-doubting, non-confident women and suddenly transforms into complete contrast of her own self in the end, there is no character arc-it just happens out of nowhere. The book also has poorly developed friends to lovers romance which I did not care for, it is really silly at times how their chemistry works, although there are a handful of twists the ending is incredibly predictable and the wrap up fight scenes fell flat for me.

I feel like this book had great potential with characters that would have been amazing if fully developed like the antagonist makes a perfect perverse villain but we hardly have any of her presence in the book, while the premise and idea behind the plot is amazing the execution fell short of utilizing these positive aspects. Overall its a one time read for me!

This book feels like a 2000s fantasy book. If you've read one, you've also probably read this one in a sense, since it ultimately treads no new ground.
The gist of the premise is that Queen Izyabel has shrouded her kingdom in darkness that never goes away (but still lets in cracks of light for the crops) and everyone in her kingdom believes darkness is good and the sun, which Izyabel's darkness blocks out, is bad. The protagonist, Siria, is raised as a lady of indeterminate rank and educated at Gildenbrook Academy in order to eventually go to the Queen's castle herself and impress her, which she hopes will make her distant parents actually show affection for her. She also spends time working as a gardener with her two commoner friends, Linden and Yarrow. When she's given a chance to possibly get a jumpstart on her presentation by going to the castle a day early, Siria jumps at the chance, only to discover a group of other girls have been summoned there as well. Their subsequent presentation is interrupted when Izyabel declares that one of the children is actually one of the thought-to-be-extinct fire nymphs, called sunchildren, who turns out to be Siria. After Izyabel announces it's time for Siria--the last obstacle to her rule--to die, Siria escapes the castle with Linden, who turns out to also be a nymph, and the story goes on an adventure-style quest from there for Siria to master her new powers, outrun Izyabel, and eventually find a way to stop the queen.
The plot moves quickly at first--there's a pointless prologue, but after that the above portion happens in the opening 10% of the book--but the chapters afterwards turn to a crawl as Siria's journey turns into a travelling segment spanning a good 30-40% of the total length. The pacing gets better after the characters stop travelling and arrive at their destination, but the plot is almost agonizingly slow up to that point. The only thing distracting Siria from walking is a romance subplot with Linden, which I found uncompelling and tiring. I did find the climax somewhat entertaining, even if I have questions on how it got resolved. Being a standalone, the book also does not end on a cliffhanger.
Siria and the writing were probably my biggest issues with this book. Siria is a brat, being brought up as a spoiled child and remaining that way for most of the book. Her voice grated on my nerves at times. She's often whining, or repeating worries the reader has already heard her worry over earlier, like if she can stop the queen or prevent Linden from getting hurt. She gets better eventually, but again, it takes most of the book. I liked Elegy, but not the rest of the side characters, even with all of the screentime Linden, Yarrow, and Merrall get.
The writing is competent in terms of dialogue, but the rest of it is fairly basic. The similes are underwhelming, some of Siria's inner dialogue feels unnatural, and a lot of characters end up expositing their backstory without any creative flair whatsoever. Siria also ends up conveniently fainting 4-5 times throughout the plot, which reeks of lazy writing.
The worldbuilding is boring, for lack of a better word. Despite the cool premise, the world quickly turns into a generic fantasy setting. There's an evil queen with an army terrorizing various races outside of her city. She took over after the good light kingdom, Luminor, fell. There's no deep history for each race or for Luminor, and no map. There's magic, but Siria accomplishes her sun magic by thinking of the sun or visualizing what she wants to happen. It's nothing you haven't seen before if you've read more than a few YA fantasy novels.

The main takeaway is that each element of this book is underwhelming and/or cliche. The plot feels like a 2000s fantasy book--the twists, the journeying, and the lack of real diversity--the setting turns into a generic fantasy world with nothing really interesting about it, Siria is annoying and the other characters are often aggravating as well, and the writing is not great. There's nothing offensive in here, it's just underwhelming and boring. Unless you haven't read a YA fantasy book at all in the past few years I can't recommend it. This is a debut, though, so I hope the author will be able to improve in the future.