This review has spoilers so warning if you haven’t read Havenfall yet!

After reading Havenfall and being left with that ending I was so excited for the sequel. Now that I’ve finished Phoenix Flame I have to say that I didn’t love it as much as the first book. Which *sigh* is so sad.

So I’m going to start with what I liked.
The whole Phoenix Flame armor was very cool.
Still enjoyed the magic system and since I haven’t been handling fantasy well lately..it was nice to read something that wasn’t to complicated but still enjoyable
Brekken is in this book more and he’s definitely my favorite character so course I loved that haha
We got to learn a little more about the different world and even got to travel to one so that was interesting

What I didn’t liked
Geez this book felt like it was rushed. I felt like this book could have been longer or Havenfall should have been a much longer standalone.
The love triangle...if you could call it that. more like a crush triangle between Maddie, Brekken and Taya was just weird and kinda over done/ unnecessary.
Also did not like the ending and felt like a few plot points were not answered at all.

So I didn’t hate it but i didn’t entirely love it either. I just wish that the book wasn’t as rushed as it was.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance digital copy of this book!

*I received a advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Phoenix Flame continues Maddie's journey at Havenfall, the Inn that serves as a bridge between worlds. However, now the stakes are higher than ever for Maddie and her friends.

Compelling Sequel

Phoenix Flame is a compelling sequel that was more engaging than its predecessor. The momentum here is non-stop, making it a compelling read.

It is a thrilling, action-packed sequel with more action that did not exist in the previous novel. The story moves at a rapid pace. Havenfall established the world-building and the character dynamics, whereas Phoenix Flame delves deeper into the fantasy involved in making this world. A mythical object called the Phoenix flame allows its wearer to live in another realm other than their own. Furthermore, Maddie is also discovering more about her mother's past. The tension rises when Maddie finds her father, ventures to Frioden, and reunites with Taya. As the story develops, the dynamics shift, and the tension rises higher, giving the story an engaging pace.

Holland also delves more into fantasy, magic, and folklore. These elements were lacking in the previous novel and to see them explored makes this a sequel that is more interesting than its predecessor.

Character Growth

Given everything that happened in the previous novel, the characters have grown. The dynamics have changed and become more complex, and the story delves further into exploring the politics of the fantastical realms surrounding Havenfall.
Maddie has changed since the previous novel. Her relationship with Brekken is strained and has changed. Readers can see that Maddie has outgrown who they were, and it is unclear if the relationship is going to change or if they are going to grow together.

Then, of course, there is her relationship with Taya. Hollands leaves it up to the reader if they will explore their mutual attraction or remain friends. Too much has happened too quickly for both characters. It adds good character development and tension to the dynamics.

The characters, alongside the plot, have evolved since the previous book, and it was nice to see. The characters have more personality to them that makes them more relatable as far as characterization goes.

Final Thoughts

Phoenix Flame is far more engaging than Havenfall, with a more action-packed and engaging plot giving the characters more personality while also creating great tension.

This was a decent sequel to Havenfall, but I felt like it was lacking a little still in the development of the characters and relationships. I did purchase a copy of Havenfall for my classroom and will grab a copy of this because some of my fantasy fans will enjoy seeing where Holland takes the story next. Overall, a good read but not one that wowed me.

I love the fantasy world of the Havenfall series and it was great to be back! Holland presents a well thought out and balanced magical system, with a new twist (sorry, that's spoilers). With the returning health of Maddie's uncle, she steps down from being the Inkeeper of Havenfall, but that doesn't stop her adventures! The soul trade is alive and well, the Silver Prince has escaped to Byrn, and a new soul trader has been discovered in Fiordenkill. Can Maddie successfully pull off her infiltration mission? Will her relationships, especially her two crushes, survive the turmoil ahead?

One of my favorite aspects that I truly appreciate about this series is Maddie's bisexuality. It's not an in-your-face part of the book, and I don't think sexuality has to be. I love that the book is not about Maddie struggling with her sexuality and it's not about Maddie having an identity crisis. She lives her life and just happens to be bisexual. The book is not super romance heavy, but when she talks about her crushes one is a guy and one is a girl. It feels like a totally natural representation and it is so refreshing to finally see someone like me reflected in the characters I read.

I do wish that Maddie's character had more of an arc in Phoenix Flame. I still enjoyed Phoenix Flame, but she felt more complicated and had more depth in Havenfall that was not quite replicated here. I couldn't help but notice that Maddie appeared more passive in this one, though to be fair many of the situations she was in were totally out of her control. That being said I was still hoping for a bit more, especially from the climax itself. This is what took the book down one star for me.

The sequel unfortunately suffers from all the same flaws as the first book: lack of interesting characters, a rushed plot, and an abrupt ending. I would have loved to have gotten more than a one-dimensional look at each of the characters, but there was no time for character backstory or personality. No one felt likeable or interesting to me. And part of the reason why the plot is so rushed is that for most of the book, not much happens, so everything has to be crammed in to a few pages sprinkled here and there. This book read more like a short story that the author tried to turn into a novel but didn't have anything fleshed out enough.

Huge thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing, Netgalley, and Sara Holland for the opportunity to review this eARC of Phoenix Flame out in March of 2021!

-Characters- (0.5/1)

I enjoy reading Maddie's character and I look forward to seeing how she develops and discovers herself in later installments. That said, I did not see the depth in her character that I love in YA Fantasy novels. The plot was so fast-paced that it felt like she didn't get any time to really understand who she was and become more confident in herself. Hopefully she will get more of that time in later books.

-Plot- (0.5/1)

As I said in the previous paragraph, the plot was very fast-paced. There wasn't enough room for depth even in the plot, as if everything was happening at a surface level. However, the plot itself was unusual when compared to other YA books. Souls trapped in steel? A crossroads between worlds? All stunning and unique, as is Holland's world-building, which I will get to in the next paragraph.

-World-Building- (1/1)

This is something that authors can either do very well, or very poorly. Thankfully, Holland crafted a world that the former can support. I absolutely love books with fictional races, each with pasts that are woven in throughout the story. As a whole, the world inside of PHOENIX FLAME is enrapturing in its beauty, and leaves the reader awestruck.

-Romance- (0.5/1)

I don't feel that romance was a key part of this story much at all. While I have no problem with that in other books, Maddie is a different case. She is trying to figure out her feelings between Brekken and Taya, both of whom love her in different ways. Personally, I feel there should have been more tension and depth to this side of Maddie as she begins to understand who she is and accepts herself.

-Writing- (1/1)

A dazzling world, to be sure. And a world such as the one Holland crafted can only be executed through skilled writing and diction. Her writing style is captivating, her pacing extraordinary. Overall, a well-written story despite the need of a few tweaks.

Final grade: 3.5/5⭐

I'm happy this sequel "fixed" many of the flaws of the first book. I still believe the duet could have been so much more, but I'm happy none-the-less with the resolution of the story. I feel Maddie as a whole is an immature protagonist and her decision to risk the well-being of the entire universe to save her mother (who had already been slated for death) was ridiculous. Again, the plot itself was somewhat predictable (not quite as much as book 1 though). A fun read but could have been so much more.

I am unhappy with how this series ended. At first, I really liked this book better than Havenfall, but I guess I must have jinxed it because it quickly took a turn for the bad. The plot was so generic and rushed, the characters were predictable and undeveloped, and the ending did not create a sense of peace that usually comes with the ending of a series. So many characters fates were left in the air!
Maybe I just don't mesh well with Holland's writing because I had the same problem with her other series Everless. I think this book could have been great and interesting but it seemed as everything remotely fascinating was rushed through or ignored.
And don't even get me started on the lack of romantic chemistry between the characters, it was like she put in a love triangle JUST TO PUT IN A LOVE TRIANGLE.
If I had to describe the book in one word, it would be: Unfinished.
Maybe it will go through more edits before its publication in March, and maybe I will read it again then to see if anything changed but honestly, the chances for that are slim.

"Havenfall might be dangerous, but I am equal to it. I am part of it. I belong here. more than anywhere else." -Havenfall
Phoenix Flame by Sara Holland is the conclusion to the Havenfall duology that follows Maddie Morrow, the Innkeeper heir, on her journey to finding the truth about her past, and the tensions between the realms at Havenfall.

Phoenix Flame picks up just days after where Havenfall ended for readers. Maddie, her uncle, and the rest of the staff at Havenfall have begun to pick up the pieces of the shattered trust caused by the events at the end of the first book. The Silver Prince fled back to the Oasis, and sealed off the door to his realm in order to prevent any retaliation for the chaos he caused while in Havenfall.

One of the fundamental changes in adolescent growth is when the teen stops seeing their parents as just parents, and starts to see them as actual people. That particular turning point of Phoenix Flame happens when Maddie realizes that her mother’s past holds the key to stop the soul trading that has plagued the realms. It becomes clear to Maddie, as well as Marcus, that Fiordenkill is the place where she must go.  Once there, Maddie runs into the last person she thought would be there, along with one big complication. Once again Maddie is meant to make some hard choices, and yet, those around her have to pay the price.

By the end of Phoenix Flame, Maddie had reached a point in her character development that still seemed unresolved. I know that Phoenix Flame is meant to be the end of this duology, but there is still so much that feels unfinished. Even though I’m conflicted about the ending, as well as the quickness in the resolution of the book, I did enjoy the overall story. The world building is gorgeous, as well as the attention to detail. This duology is fun, and can be enjoyed by readers of any age. Congrats to Sara Holland on a gorgeous new release!

A solid 4.5!!!

I thought the first book in the series was okay, neither good nor bad, but had hoped because of the complex world in which the novel takes place, the first novel was laying the groundwork for something much bigger in the second novel. In the first novel, I enjoyed the overall mystery of the plot and the love story. I was sad to discover the elements I enjoyed in the first book were missing from the second book altogether.

The story felt rushed and for what reason, I do not know, the book was only 320 pages. It was not until 30% into the book that something notable finally happens. Most scenes felt rushed and unexplored., i.e. Maddie travels with Brekken outside of Havenfall to explore a fireworks celebration. Considering this is the first time Brekken has experienced Earth outside of Havenfall, you would think it would be a momentous occasion deserving more than a few sentences.

With that being said, the book rushes to the end, and then it literally just does that, it ends. I thought there was at least another chapter until I realized the heading that followed said Acknowledgments. The book is supposed to be the finale of a duology and leaves the fate of a main character in limbo..

The book was anti-climatic and overall fell kind of flat for me. I found my mind wondering while reading. I put the book down several times while reading it and started other books.

I definitely would recommend a re-read of the first novel immediately before starting this book. I had forgotten a lot of the plot and elements of the different worlds since some time had passed since reading the first novel. During the first few chapters there is quite a lot of recap all at once and I found it to be overwhelming.

The love story was completely absent from the book. While Maddy constantly reiterated in her internal monologues about her feelings toward Brekken, aside from the first few pages of the book, Brekken could be her friend or frankly even her brother with the lack of chemistry between them. The love triangle felt unnecessary and forced.

I liked this book, but it felt a little...anticlimactic, I guess is the word. I wasn't expecting everything to wrap up as neatly as it did. Yet at the same time, it feels like there's more world to be explored and story to be told, Maybe this series would have worked better as a trilogy than duology? Opportunity to enter more worlds, explore some plotlines more fully and draw out others so the stakes felt higher - I don't often love cliffhangers, but I think this story could have used some. As is, it felt a bit lacking.

The book begins where the last one left off. A new peace treaty has been drafted to allow Solaria back into Haven if they so choose. The door to Solaria remains closed. Maddie and company are trying to decide the best way to go about combatting the soul trade. Maddie visits her mother in prison and finds out that there may be a suit of armor that allows the wearer to pass through to other worlds without the use of a doorway. Maddie uses a gauntlet from the set of armor which she finds in her mother's old room at the inn to go into Fiordenkill. While there, Maddie finds her lost "brother" Nate, now Nahteran, who helps her find the armor. These past 10 years, Nahteran has been forced to work for the Silver Prince, whom he is terrified of. Nahteran steals the armor, but instead of taking it to the Silver Prince, he uses it to go to Solaria and find his sister Taya. Maddie, Nahteran, and Taya end up being able to lure the Silver Prince to the inn with fake armor in exchange for Maddie's mother,
whom the Silver Prince kidnapped. They kill the Prince, mom is reunited with her children (although she is now a fugitive), and Maddie invites her father to the inn to learn the entire truth.

This was worth reading to conclude the story we were introduced to in Havenfall but I didn't enjoy it quite as much. The start of it felt a bit slow to me, and then the end didn't actually wrap things up well enough for my taste, there was one major thing that I wanted to know that is left open-ended and it bothered me. I enjoyed getting to see another world, but I wish we'd been able to see a little more of it, and also see more than just one. I enjoyed the magic system, but parts of the way the new magical phoenix flame armor that is introduced in this book seemed inconsistent in the way it was supposed to work, and all-in-all didn't make total sense. And then there were a few things that were introduced, like the fact that the people of one of the realms would eventually need a new place to live, that was never actually dealt with. All-in-all this book was just okay for me, not bad but not great.

Thank you to Bloomsbury YA and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this as a follow up to Havenfall! It continued almost directly after the events of the first book so there wasn't any time jumps or things to account for. The only thing that somewhat bothers me about this series is that names of some places seem to be blatant copy of Game of Thrones. Myr is literally a place in GoT and Winterkill is very similar to Winterfell. Otherwise I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed it! Trying to compare this book with the second book is hard as they each had their own merits. Phoenix Flame as itself was great as the story unraveled from the first book and there was some more questions there were answered. I’m looking forward to the release next year!

Phoenix Flame is the amazing conclusion to the Havenfall, a story about a young girl working to save the Inn that serves as the neutral territory between many different worlds. Maddie is back in this book after saving the Inn, but there is a new challenge in her path. Maddie must figure out who, and what, is most important to her to save, because she might not be able to save it all.

I LOVED this sequel. I enjoyed this book even more than Havenfall, I feel like there was a lot more action and intrigue happening, and was far better paced. I liked the additional characters added to bring some dimension and further the story in ways I didn't expect. I felt more engaged and interested in this book, and I really didn't even put it down, even though I should have to get sleep!

I feel like the ending was left open to allow a return to the world in the future, which I generally enjoy. The story is wrapped up however, except for one character's story line - which is why I say it's possible there could be a return to this world. Or, it's just left up to the reader to interpret what happened - which is also possible. Also, at the end you get a chapter from a different POV, which was very interesting!

You should definitely check out this duology if you enjoyed Sara's Everless duo or A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer.

**Thank you to Bloomsbury YA and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Here we go, the sequel to Havenfall. The story picks up where the previous one ended, with our protagonist Maddie facing the aftermath of the Silver Prince and her uncle Marcus recovering. The plot starts off pretty better than the previous story but fades by the time we reach the end and suddenly it abruptly ends. I was honestly surprised when I finished reading the e-arc and was greeted with the acknowledgements page. The story abruptly ends and left me feeling like there should have been more chapters wrapping up what was even happening. As opposed to the previous novel being about a murder in a inn, this one is about Maddie’s journey into a new land, a heist, a prison break, and a final battle that just ends. This story felt a bit unfinished. If I’m being honest this one left me feeling even more underwhelmed than by the previous book. The story has so much potential to be so much more but sadly it just did not work for me and wraps up in a way that is unsatisfactory. The characters aren’t expanded further and there isn’t really any growth in them. I found the weird love triangle between Maddie, Brekken ( her childhood friend/ soldier), and Taya ( Maddie’s not adopted brother’s sister) to be unnecessary and a bit odd. Maddie constantly flipping between her feelings was kinda of irritating especially when she clearly was in a relationship with one of them and not with the other. Maddie’s character kinda grated on me more than it did in the previous book, the decisions that she makes throughout certain situations had me asking myself “ should this powerful and all important inn really be left in her hands???” If I’m being honest, you could have just read the first book and left it off there. All in all, this was on par with the first book, but I honestly prefer the first book. The story was okay but considering this is the final in the duology it seems a bit lacking in the end. If you like the first book than maybe you’ll enjoy this one, but sadly it didn’t work for me.

* Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review *

Phoenix Flame is a well written addition to the Havenfall series. It felt as if it was more of a "filler" novel than getting into the "meat" of the story. I did enjoy it. It just didn't have the same page turner demand that the first novel had, but it still was worth the time I spent reading it.

The story of Havenfall and Maddie continues as she now tries to stop the soul silver trade. I liked this book a lot more than I did the original Havenfall. It still feels a bit dense and definitely short but it was much more enjoyable. Now that Marcus is back, Maddie wants to look for her brother Nate and stop the evil Soul Silver trade. Her only problem is that Marcus wants to focus on the peace summit and stopping the Silver Prince. The story opens up with a Fiordenkill tale of Phoenix Flame armor which is the main focus of the book and how Maddie can now travel through worlds. Overall the plot did move much faster than Havenfall because it wasn’t all just diplomacy, much more action and adventure. As Maddie travels the different worlds we see more of what is happening but it doesn’t really move until the last third of the story where everything happens. I kinda wish the two books had been combined into one longer book, it may be a bit unrealistic but each story just felt a little bit too short to be separate. The ending especially seemed rushed with what happened in the final battle. We don’t even find out what happens with a certain character.


Maddie was the same headstrong but caring girl she was in the first book and I like that consistency. Brekken is a bit less consistent constantly going from I would die for Maddie to something else. He was also quite pouty when a certain someone came back. I wish that his and Maddie’s relationship was cleared up a bit more.

As more side characters like Nate reappear I don’t really know how to expect them to act. He seemed nice enough but all we have is Maddie’s history with him and that’s it. Especially when he acts odd there is nothing that makes me want to trust him. He’s another character that could have been explored more especially with that extra chapter.

The villain was just as evil as before. He didn’t really have any motive other than power but it was enough to continue the story.

Overall I just feel the characters aren’t as developed as they could be. Honestly my favorite character of this book is either Graylin or Willow, both of which were very minor.


The world building is a bit more clear in this story but we still don’t get to see too much even with Maddie visiting Fiordenkill. It’s mostly that it is an artic wasteland with huge animals and plants and that was about it. This book mostly focused on the conversations and keeping the story line moving. The parts that were described were great! It’s just not much. With how much we heard about the Solarians I was hoping we’d visit their world and see this place that was sealed off so long ago. I was upset we didn’t even get it from one of the Solarian characters POVs. The world seem fascinating just we didn’t see enough.


Phoenix Flame was a great improvement in my opinion from the first book. It just didn’t quite make it to the point where it seemed like an amazing story. I’m not sure what it is about these books but the story seems short and over before it could really take off.

Yikes.

“Phoenix Flame” picks up a few short weeks after the events of book 1 and we find Maddie and her uncle Marcus trying trying to pick up the pieces left after the devotion at the hands of the Solver Prince is revealed. With the injustices of the soul trade looming over their heads Maddie works to find the mysterious piece to allow travel through worlds and stumbles upon someone from her past.

This probably should have been a standalone novel as the book begins with a fairytale like story that suddenly has so much meaning it serves as the driving force for a rather weak plot that left me feeling underwhelmed and unsatisfied.

The strength of book one was the building of the dynamics between the different realms and the mystery which allowed us to take all of this information in organically but this book never managed to achieve this rather it spent time tearing down a character and relationship that was already weak in order to deliver on a shared look between someone else and I just don’t understand the point of this novel at all.

If it had spent more time on building the characters more I think it could have had a different impact. The antagonists here are nonexistent and not in the puppet master sense where you may not see them on the page but you can feel them steering the hero/heroine headfirst into different obstacles and that’s where this book suffered the most. There were multiple instances of betrayal by different characters and not once did I care because the book didn’t even bother to give one of those moments/characters a second of dialogue which felt like a waste. I feel like there were a lot of regressions with some of the characters as well in order to move them from point a to point b without much care for their individual and shared arcs which is a shame as it comes off rather lazy.

It’s hard not to go into more detail especially since I want to give specific examples as to why this is such a flop but in an attempt to not share spoilers I’ll say while reading I saw the bolded “acknowledgements” section and immediately thought it was a formatting error on my e-galley because it just ended and the best example I can give is the Sopranos finale where you’re left staring at a blank screen asking “wait that’s it?”.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**