When I first heard about The Boy with Fire I was immediately intrigued. The book is described as Dune meets The Poppy War which are two books that I enjoyed immensely. Therefore I had high expectations for this novel, and Aparna Verma managed to exceed every one of them.
The Boy with Fire is, by far, one of the most entertaining books I've read this year, and a breath of fresh air. The author from the first page sets you right in the mood for the book, with the writing, the aesthetic. If you love or want a story inspired by Indian mythology with science fiction, romance, a good cast of characters with desi representation, badass women, who are morally grey then you should definitely pick this book up!
I am very very excited to read the sequel!

It was so good , I couldn't put it down . The indian representation won over my heart , everyone needs to give it a try

Wow, this book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The story itself was beautifully written with STUNNING detail that painted the world of Sayon in glorious colours. I loved getting to see the points of view of Elena, Yassen and Leo as it allowed you to see the full spectrum of events happening within the book, I looked forward to every viewpoint! The plot twist at the end had me gasping in utter shock. Despite having had ever changing theories, the answer to my questions left me speechless. There was so much that was perfect in this book: the diversity, the powerful females, the character flaws, and I need to make a special mention to the INCREDIBLE clothing descriptions which blew me away. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone I know, and I can't wait until the rest of the series comes out!!

I feel like The Boy with Fire had great potential to be a solid debut especially since the writing was really good-- it was simple but also beautifully worded and there were a lot of memorable quotes throughout the book, and the world and the lore were both very interesting. However, this book had too many misses. Firstly, the pacing was... not good at all. Reading through the first half felt like a slog even though it wasn't even that long. There really wasn't anything significant that was happening and there were even times when it felt a little too repetitive. The pacing definitely got better when I reached the 70% mark, which was the reason why I decided not to dnf and just push through til the end of the book. But it took too long and the payoff, unfortunately, wasn't really worth it in my opinion. Now usually I can excuse bad pacing if I find myself engrossed by the characters, but for this book that wasn't the case. I'm a character-driven story kind of reader so this was probably the biggest issue to me. The characters felt flat-- I formed no emotional attachment towards them and I couldn't care less about their motivations or backstories. Furthermore, the characters were just so underdeveloped to the point where their relationships with one another just felt forced and awkward. The author has potential for sure but there's still more room for improvement.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with a free earc in exchange of a honest review.

Rating: 4.5

Aparna Verma’s debut novel follows Elena Ravence as she prepares for her coronation and tries to figure out how to wield fire - an ability required of her as the heir to the kingdom; Leo, Elena’s father, who’s planning a battle against The Phoenix and is not interested in losing; and Yassen, who embarks in a journey with his oldest friend Samson and ends up being thrusted into the hearted Ravence.

There are a lot of things that I enjoyed in this book:

The worldbuilding and lore of Sayon, which Verma managed to blend aspect from India and SEA countries as well as futuristic technologies, the religion based around The Phoenix, the fire wielding, the yumis!!, how each kingdom presented to us had an affinity to something: Ravence with fire and Jantar with metal.

The characters, it’s fair to say that 50% of the book is spent on getting to know the POV characters, how Elena, Leo and Yassen think and rationalize their actions, it’s especially interesting to see how the events of the book actually have an effect on them.

The epilogue - does this count? Oh my god I was left speechless I need the sequel NOW

My only problem was the pacing, it took half of the book for the events leading up to the climax to happen, the action really takes off at 70% of the book and then it fizzles out up until the last 3 chapters and the epilogue.

Overall the boy with fire was a great quick read for fans of fantasy, new adult or those who want to be introduced to the genre.

Slow burn enemies to lovers? Yes.
Morally grey characters? Yes.
Desi fantasy (inspired)? Yes.
WOMEN WITH GUNS? YES.
Hotel? Trivago.

This book had it ALL. I was in love with the story and I am 100% excited for the rest of the series. The world-building, the characters, EVERYTHING!!


DON'T BE SHY APARNA VERMA DROP THE REST OF THE BOOKS ;))

I'm sure it is no surprise the wonders of reading a great fantasy story can do to my mood after seeing this book is loved by so many bloggers that I follow I was delighted when I got approved for an ARC and immediately jumped into it even though I had 10 others waiting on the shelf I have no regrets the book follows the story of this girl names Alina reason the princess of a Kingdom who is about ascended the throne but she has to learn to hold fire as her magic, or she might never be able to be Queen.

On the other hand, Leo Ravence, Elena's father and the King, is not ready to give up the kingdom yet. He is obsessed with finding and killing the Prophet, a prophecized hero who is supposedly not burnt by fire and can be a danger to the throne of Ravence.

Then there is our other main character (also my favorite) Yassen Knight, who was the best Assassin of the notorious guild of assassins, the Arohassin.
But after a terrible accident, he is on the run from them, until he gets the chance to save himself by becoming the personal guard of Elena, the Ravence heir.

The story is very fast-paced, full of explosive high-stakes action, (literally and figuratively) with shocking plot twists and a lot of backstabbing. I was honestly second-guessing myself at every turn because I couldn't predict which character would turn out to be the traitor next.

The atmosphere is very intense and things go wrong at the speed of light. If that sounds like your cup of tea, or if you just merely trust my reading tastes, do not miss this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and give my honest review of this arc.

Rating: 4 STARS

Wow. I enjoyed this book so much more than I originally thought I was going to. It surprised me in all the best ways throughout, with character relationships, plot twists, morally grey characters and plot developments. I got this arc after seeing that the author advertised it as being in the "read now" section of Netgalley and was not left disappointed after going in with really no knowledge or expectations of what was going to happen.

The slowburn romance was exactly the right touch on top of an already interesting premise. I really think it was a romance that .. wasn't exactly needed but was overall beautiful and a definite nice touch to the story in deepening certain characters and their motivations. It really changed how certain characters thought about themselves and even how myself as the reader looked at them.

I have to say that the absolute standout point of this book for me was the relationship between Princess Elena and Ferma. Absolutely stunningly written and gut wrenching at the right moments. It has been a long time since there has been a female friendship that has hit me that good.

The foreshadowing/plot twists of this debute was fantastically written and plotted out, to the point that sometimes it went completely over my head until coincidences would occur and suddenly my brain would go "oh my god!! you should have seen this one coming!!".

I loved how each pov character was morally grey. Whether that was something they already had, or something that their character grew into overtime of the events, it was such an interesting read and I thought the 3 povs really worked well together. I'm someone who believes that multiple povs can either be a hit or a miss, and for this book it was a definite hit.

If you're looking for a good read with some morally grey characters, politics, royalty, friendship and family relationships, slight corruption arc, arranged/marriage of convenience, slowburn enemies to lovers, guard and Princess romance? This is a fantastic story.

I'm very excited to see where the rest of the trilogy takes these characters.

Some trigger warnings for this book include: War themes/crimes, self-immolation, grief/loss of loved ones.

Thank you so much for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If you read this book you’re sure to get a story rich with culture, character development and excellent worldbuilding. You’ll also get morally ambiguous characters who you’ll love to hate and hate to love.

I have to warn you though this is a fantasy book that will require you to make use of the glossary in the back and the pacing is a bit dodgy at times.

The Boy with Fire is an adult fantasy novel based on Indian mythology and is set in the kingdom of Ravence in which our three protagonists Elena, Leo and Yassen take the lead.

I was a fan of the lore/mythology and the fire magic of this fantasy world, but I was not in love with the pacing. Nonetheless, the writing style was easy to read and is a credit to the author.
I wasn’t overly attached to any of the characters or relationships but of the three POVs, Leo was the most developed and his motivations were the most compelling to read.

For the right person, these characters could be well-loved as they are all morally grey and have their own ambitions.

Wow that was... AMAZING !!
The plot was soooo unexpected it blow my mind away, it was well thought! The energy put in such little details that made the whole plot/world more real is really spectacular. I loved it, I absolutely loved it. The world was really well developed as for the culture of each country it was so interesting reading so many different ways of living.
The characters were so interesting as well. The way they all evolve differently but strongly, you see the changes at the end of the book, how they matured and how they grew into different person. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because I was not attached to any character particularly. Otherwise, I definitely recommend this book.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

DAMNNNN MAN THIS WAS AWESOME! Top 10 of 2021 ♥️
CW: this book contains burning people, and talk of past sacrifices

When I was accepted as a member of the street team, trust me I was ecstatic! And then I started reading the eArc (thanks NetGalley), and I literally fell in love with this book! It was written so beautifully and it had an Indian themed. Indian culture is so beautiful, but unfortunately its very neglected in the fantasy genre. So when I heard about this book, I HAD TO READ IT!

The characters personalities were so well thought about and they blended together wonderfully! Ferma and Elena we’re definitely my favourites ♥️ but I loved Yassen and Samson and Leo as well! Most of the characters were literally so dynamic and the characters’ art was just 👌 The characters’ thoughts and emotions were so beautifully presented, i felt everything with them! They had such complex personalities, it was honestly a treat to read about them! The imagery in this book was perfect ✨ I was always (pleasantly) surprised at every twist and turn because literally nothing in this book was even remotely predictable!

This book was written in three POVS, Elena (she makes you want to burn your enemies), Yassen (precious bb) and Leo (scares the sh*t out of you)!

Aparna’s writing style flowed so smoothly, I loved it! Honestly, this doesn’t feel like a debut novel, it feels like its been written by a VERY seasoned author who has been writing for a long time. And the dark feel of it was so awesome! And again, I am highlighting that i LOVED the indian feel of it! And the romance in ittttt mannnnnn was it awesome! Enemies to lovers ♥️

Another thing I loved was that it had morally grey characters and villain protagonists! I’m hooked to these kind of stories now! Villain protagonists are so so so so so good! So overall I REALLY LOVED this book! And I hope that whenever its released, you guys will read it too!

I have an interview with a q/a panel with the author on Instagram on 6th August, I hope you guys can join!

I was really excited for The Boy with Fire, as it has a lot of things I love, but I struggled to get into it, which I believe is more due to the fact that I'm rarely in the mood for high fantasy these days. I'm sure if I read it again when I'm more in the mood for high fantasy, that I'd find it more enjoyable and would rate it more highly!

actual rating: 2.5

dnf @ 65%

i got through so much of this book but i feel like nothing significant happened. i've had people tell me that the last part is interesting. and i know some people reading this want to tell me to just finish this considering how far in i am. but hey - it's a sunk cost. i just can't be compelled to continue reading when i'm simply just not interested anymore.

in the beginning i was super into the mix of Dune and Indian-inspired aesthetics. it was cool as hell. i would say that's where this book really wins: the descriptions and vibes were on point. and i was interested in the characters and relationships and i looked forward to understanding more about the world.

but in the end i felt like neither the characters nor the relationship dynamics were developed enough for me to actually be invested in any of them. we spend a lot of time watching Elena train but she doesn't learn anything meaningful. Leo was interesting, but his POV also felt repetitive. Ferma seems like she should have been an important character but we only know her at a surface level. the same goes for Samson and Yassen.

the lore and the worldbuilding just felt messy to me because there isn't any logic in how the facts of the world were revealed. i couldn't fully appreciate the stakes of a situation becuase i wasn't fully informed. a lot of the time those facts were then revealed at a later, seemingly random point in the plot. maybe i just wasn't paying enough attention.

but for what it's worth, i still had fun reading the book and getting to know the world. i thought the split in power between the throne and the order was interesting. which is why i was interested with the High Priestess as a character. i want to know more about the power factions in the world. maybe i will revisit this one when the second book comes out.

posted on goodreads also; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4082471479

I received this book from netgelley to review. This book was at first really hard to get through. The first half of this book was a lot of terms and world building I had to look into to understand more. However, I did enjoy that it was a cross between science fiction and fantasy. The gods and prophesies are prominent in this book which was cool and I enjoyed that it was a Desi inspired book. It definitely gave me a cross between Dune and The Poppy War. I enjoyed the beautiful written descriptions that the author used. However, this book would have been a five star if it wasn’t for such a slow first half of the book. It definitely built up and left on a cliff hanger so I’m excited to see if there is going to be a second book and where the author takes it.

OPRAH GIF

The Boy With Fire is, as the description says, an Indian-inspired epic fantasy. I think it goes beyond just fantasy though, since it has elements of sci-fi to it as well. I saw somewhere that someone mentioned Star Wars, the description mentions Dune, but this manages to break into its own category.

Admittedly, the first part of the book is slow-paced. There is immense world-building done here (and, helpfully, there is a glossary in the back...hopefully the final version of the book will include a map!). The book alternates between Yassen Knight, an assassin who is trying to escape from the criminal organization he has been a part of for years, Elena Ravence, the Princess-soon-to-be-Queen of the kingdom of Ravence who knows she cannot withstand the flame that is her birthright, and Leo Ravence, Elena's father and the King of Ravence, who aims to avoid the apocalypse by scouring the kingdom for the "Prophet" who will burn the kingdom to the ground.

As a result of the focus on world-building in the first half of the book (or so), I feel like we really got to know the characters more deeply in the second portion of the book but once that happened I became so attached. Yassen....my Knight, Elena, the light of my life, Leo...DILF. This story is brutal, and the ending was devastating and I can't believe it ended like that and I don't know what to do now.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

the concept was what made me want to read this book. however, i found the pacing a bit all over the place and i couldn't connect with the characters. the writing was very good and it definitely was what kept me reading. i will wait for the following book in this trilogy to see how it will all develop.

Wow, that was quite a ride!

First of all, this novel immediately gets bonus points in my eyes for having characters that have a slightly more grey moral code - it's a personal favourite of mine, and this has not one, but three main characters with dubious morals. It's amazing, I love it. Each characters motives are clear and they act in favour of their goals, whether they be material goals or personal growth, even if the path taken to achieve those goals is not necessarily the most morally good or ethical.

But enough of me rambling about morals, lets talk about the characters. Firstly we meet Yassen, an assassin turned royal bodyguard who wants freedom from his past. Despite all that he has done in the past, he is a very easy character to sympathise with, his decisions fit his charater, and he is just generally a very well written character. The second of the main three characters that we meet is Elena, future queen of Ravence, who is a strong-willed princess with plans to peacefully unite her nation and deal with the war with the neighbouring country Jantar. In my opinion, she changes the most throughout the book, and it was fascinating to watch how her attitudes developed. Third is Leo, king of Ravence, and Elena's father. Leo has such a good arc, and his loyalty to his country and Elena is admirable, even if his actions are questionable.

Plot was also a really strong point for this novel, it had unexpected twists, action-packed sequences, and those slower character moments that give the ups and downs more impact. Some parts were shocking, and some were able to be predicted, but only because they made sense for the characters to behave that way, so for me, the predictability is not a bad quality, but a testament to the level of care and detail that went into creating the characters,

I loved the worldbuiling, from the metal cities of Jantar to the deserts of Ravence, the worship of the Phoenix to the history of the Jantari, all of it was incredible. It's a world I hope to be able to read more because there is definitely so much more to see and learn. As well as this, I loved the way the language changed from one person's perspective to another without hindering the overall flow of the book.

This is defintely up there as one of my favourite reads this year!!

The Boy with Fire est surtout un excellent premier roman et début de trilogie. Aparna Verma y décrit ce qui semble un thème assez classique en fantasy : une histoire de vengeance, de rédemption et de découverte de ses propres pouvoirs. Mais elle le place dans un univers résolument de science-fiction avec des holopads en guise de smartphones, des robots et armures à retour de force pour l’entraînement des soldats, toute une série de véhicules flottants (avec ou sans utilisation du champ magnétique) et des armes à impulsion laser.
The Boy with Fire est basé sur Sayon, une planète qui à l’image de Madripoor et ou de celles de l’Empire dans Dune, a été colonisée depuis des millénaires par l’espèce humaine (et assez longtemps pour que certains membres changent d’apparence comme les Yumi aux cheveux tranchants ou les Jantari aux yeux décolorés). Nous y suivons en parallèle deux destins : celui d’Elena, héritière du trône de Ravence à quelques semaines de son couronnement, qui se révèle incapable de maitriser la voie du feu (ou Agneepath) comme l’ensemble des monarques avant elle ; et celui de Yassen, orphelin métis de deux nations en guerre et assassin en fuite qui tente de se reconstruire et de trouver sa liberté en acceptant l’offre d’un vieil ami. Et pourtant, rien ne se passera comme prévu. Les deux protagonistes auront leurs lots d’épreuve et devront remettre en cause certaines de leurs certitudes. Mais, The Boy with Fire n’est pas aussi prévisible que prévu et l’ensemble des personnages — et pas uniquement Elena et Yassen — sont attachants, et tout en nuances. Si les parallèles avec Dune (Yassen en Dr Yueh jeune par exemple, Elena en mélange entre Paul et sa fille Ghanima, etc.) et La guerre du Pavot (que je n’ai pas aimé) sont évidents, ils ne gênent pas la lecture et surtout, The Boy with Fire n’est pas une énième resucée de ces histoires. L’utilisation d’éléments de la culture desi (c’est à dire venant du sous-continent Indien – Inde, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh et la diaspora qui en découle) par petites touches dans le mode de vie de Ravence et par l’utilisation de certains concepts et non en calquant des dieux et des avatars connus dans l’histoire, aide également à se plonger dans cette épopée très originale. Pris un peu au hasard, j’ai eu un gros coup de cœur pour ce livre et je guette déjà la sortie du tome 2.

3.8; Thank you to NetGalley and New Degree Press for the e-arc.

Review: This was a solid debut novel. I thoroughly enjoyed the worldbuilding and the interweaving of SEA culture. I'm looking forward to what Verma writes next.

At the same time, I will admit that the book felt a little slow in the beginning, despite having the aforementioned seamless worldbuilding. Leo's POV felt a little stunted compared to Yassen's and Elena's -- the book really started getting interesting right around the 70% mark. I understand that his POV is equally important and not dispensable whatsoever, but I think I would have preferred seeing more of Leo's actions/intentions through Elena's POV instead. This is all to say that the book began to get somewhere only for it to end so soon, which makes me a little disappointed about how it almost seemed that the exposition of book 1 dominated the entire thing.

My main critique is the multi-POV structure affecting pacing, which significantly lessens the potential impact that the final reveals/~betrayals~ have. Multi-POV works can be tricky because it takes a lot to convince a reader that each character POV is significant enough to stand on its own AND further the plot.

Regardless, I think this is a solid book that any lover of SFF-- particularly SFF centered in non-white roots -- should definitely consider reading once it releases on August 31.