The plot of this book was truly remarkable but i found it has to get through at times. On top of that at certain points it felt like there was far too much happening and I found it hard to keep up.

However, the writing style was beautiful particularly the descriptions of the relationships between Ferma and Elaena and Samson and Taseen.

All in all a wonderful book i am excited for it to be released!

I absolutely loved this book it definitely lives up to the hype! I was not disappointed. It was a little slow at times but it was easy to work through.

ambitious concept but did not live up to it for me.

i love prophecies and mythology inspired books so that aspect was definitely interesting to read about. the writing is beautifully worded to draw you into Ravence and the worldbuilding is intricately planned. the magic system, revolving around fire, is a unique addition and made the plot interesting. this is an indian inspired adult fantasy and i'm so happy to see books inspired by my culture! all the indian elements were included so well along with the themes of genocide and colonialism. if you like such fantasies, i'll definitely recommend it to you.

my main issue is with the characters and pacing. the first 50/60% were so slow with repetitive chapters, i considered dnf-ing it. i know it takes time to set up the world in an adult fantasy but there wasn't any significant action happening to move the story forward. the pacing and action get better later on but by that time we're near the end of the book.

i was really eager to see how the characters and the dynamics develop but i felt like we only got surface level development for them and i wasn't invested them or their backstories and motivations. this underdevelopment made me to not care about the interpersonal relationships either. the boy with fire is said to have an 'enemies to lovers romance' so i'm guessing it refers to elena and yassen's romance but there was no such vibes, especially because their shift in loyalties or beliefs were so quick. i was drawn to leo's character as he's a calculating ruler and his pov did not disappoint. ferma and samson, the characters i was actually invested in, did not get much depth.

then again, these problems could be very 'its not you its me' so i'll still recommend this one to people, especially as an indian inspired fantasy by a debut author. i do agree when people say this could easily be read as a young adult fantasy, the only difference being characters over 20. if you like themes of war, religion and politics then you should absolutely give this a shot.

thank you to the author and netgalley for the arc!

A good start to a new epic fantasy series...

I liked this book. Maybe not blown away by it but definitely liked it. I had some problems with this book but nothing major.

The Boy With Fire has been presented as Dune meets The Poppy War; I have read neither and don’t intend to do so anytime soon, so I can’t testify to how true the comparison is, but I can say that this book is absolutely brilliant, and can speak for itself! It follows three points of view, all very different, and is set in Ravence, a great city in the desert in an Indian inspired world. I’m not usually big on desert settings, especially for prolonged periods of time, but I loved the way Verma described the dunes, and the way she has created a world that has a much older feel while using futuristic technology. I was thrown for the first few pages by holopods and other tech in the middle of a bazaar, but soon got used to it, and it certainly helps to make this and exciting and unique story.

The two main points of conflict within this story are the possibility of war with the neighbouring kingdom of Jantar, which has been expanding its borders and causing an influx of refugees into Ravence; and the return of the Prophet, the chosen of the fiery god the Phoenix, who is said to one day return and exact justice through the Prophet, burning everything in their path. With all this happening on the eve of Elena taking over the throne from her father Leo, the king is determined not to hand her a broken kingdom, so he arranges for her to marry Samson, a rich mercenary with a large land army, who will supplement their own forces and provide protection for Elena in the form of Yassen, former Arohassin assassin, and now looking for a quiet life. And, in the shadows, King Leo is hunting the Prophet, burning suspects until he finds the one that the fire won’t hurt.

The royal family only agree to Yassen’s presence to keep a close eye on him, and Elena plans on burning him as soon as she can, but as the two get to know one another they find they have more in common than they believed, and you can tell from the start that Verma has a romance planned for them. I was quite happy with that, and enjoyed watching their relationship develop, and could have even done with more romance than the book had. But apart from Yassen, Elena has Ferma, her Yumi bodyguard whose hair can turn into sharp tendrils and cut through anything, and Elena herself is far from defenceless. I really liked the way the female protagonist could hold her own, and it was a nice change to have a reckless young woman who was nevertheless competent, and didn’t need others to fix her mistakes.

However, Elena still can’t hold fire, and she needs to learn by the time of her Coronation Day, and when her father refuses to teach her, she searches the palace library (a secret library, may I add, with multiple secret passages!) and finds a scroll bearing her mother’s initials, which has illustrated forms for wielding fire. Elena’s mother is another mystery running through the novel, and the way she died and what she was looking into at the time was very intriguing.

I think Yassen was my favourite character, but it’s hard to choose because Verna put an incredible amount of work into each of her characters, even the side ones, but I think Yassen was still the most well-rounded and realistic of them all – his backstory was the most interesting, and his inner conflict drove his chapter on. Despite being the most skilled assassin in his organisation, most of the time I feel like Yassen just needed a hug, but I also liked the fact that despite losing the use of one of his arms, Yassen is never treated by the story as useless – some of the characters see him as such, and he occasionally thinks of himself that way too, but the narrative never makes it a big thing. I would probably say he’s the central protagonist, despite there being two other points of view, because he drives the start of the plot and is the one connecting a lot of the narrative threads.

I found that overall this was a fresh and exciting debut, and while I thought I knew where the end was heading, there was a plot twist that I certainly didn’t see coming, and Aparna Verna made me put the book down and stare at the wall for a bit, and I don’t do that very often, so thank you for that experience! I highly recommend this to anyone who reads SFF, and I cannot wait for the next book, because how could you just leave it like that??

I received an ARC of this book from net-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I would recommend this book to fans of The Poppy War and anyone who loves darker books. After seeing this book was compared to TPW I had to find out for myself. The whole premise of this story excited me and it did not disappoint!

The Boy with Fire follows three main characters in a kingdom at war. Leo is the king. Elena is his daughter and heir to the throne. And Yassen is an ex assassin that is trying to right his wrongs. This novel has dark themes and characters who can only be explained as villains.

This book was absolutely amazing. The world building, characters, plot, and setting all were excellently done. I was enraptured from the beginning.

The characters were all excellent. I loved that they were not perfect and they were on the border between evil and morally gray. Elena's growth throughout the story was amazing. I did not hate any of the characters but I definitely loved her. Leo was awesome and I loved his dedication to his family. Yassen however was my favorite character. I was always yearning to read his chapters and his background and story was executed perfectly.

The world-building was very easy to follow and I felt like I could see Ravence with my own eyes. Aparna definitely is an amazing author because I never felt bored while reading and she made me want to visit Ravence myself.

I only had one issue and that was in some parts of the book I couldn't tell if the POV was in the past or present, but that wasn't a huge issue. Not enough to take any stars off.

The Boy with Fire is an amazing book and I cannot wait for it to come out!

A solid read, I enjoyed exploring the myths and politics of the novel. The only thing I did not care for was the last 2-3 chapters where Elena suddenly became 'I Burning Queen, I invincible so therefore I will make rash decisions' when she always read like a level headed character to me .

the idea of this book was one that appealed to me very much but i wasn’t the biggest fan of its execution. from page one, i was hooked on the writing style and authors ability to portray the setting in such a beautiful and concise way but as i read on, i found myself having to push through the book. i didn’t feel much of a connection towards any of the characters and the romantic relationships in them felt sort of dull and rushed to me. i think for a debut novel it was really good but i wish the characters had been more fleshed out and that more time had been put into developing the relationships. the world-building was probably the saving grace for this book, in my opinion. it felt so developed and i loved reading about it. overall, i think this is a book for those who don’t care much about connecting with the characters and more so care about world-building and plot.

The themes of THE BOY WITH FIRE were very interesting, from what it means to love a country or a land (Elena's attachment to the desert) to the hunt for power (Leo's obsession with finding the Prophet), I also liked how desperation manifested in each character and played such an important role in the story. However, the writing fell a bit flat for me. I found myself constantly wanting more depth, more everything. The themes could have been explored more, or more could have happened, because the pacing was really slow and I feel like the story never peaked.

This was a great fantasy read! I loved the worldbuilding and the characters in it! The comp to The Poppy Wars is what drew me in and I absolutely loved it for that reason! This was a great first installment and I cannot wait to read more!

<b> ↠ 4.0 </b> ★★★★☆

"What else could two broken people do, other than use their broken parts to mend their wounds?"

A fantastic fantasy debut. What I liked the most was the plot twists, holy shit, they are another level, I loved how it guides us to one way for later change everything, is that all the plot were so interesting and the character subplots too, all the characters were reals, I loved their dubious moral but in fact they did what they thought was correct, but Yassen was the one who surprise me the most, O M G.

The book shows us a new world, and though I liked it how the politics, religion and culture are introduced, I think that in the next books it could be expanse a little bit all the different places. At the beginning it surprised me that the world had technology, is something that doesn’t see frequently in high fantasy, but I liked a lot how it was incorporated, definitely I want to know more and I would be thrilled if the palace training arena existed really. The book has a slow pace that is something that generally don’t bother me, but near the 50% it was a little tedious, is good that after the middle of the book the plot progress and the action start, I have to say that I would have liked to see more fights, more attacks toward Elena, because the main point of the deal was protecting her from the attacks, but there is only one in all the book.

Though the end was amazing for the next book, I really didn’t like the final chapters, they felt anticlimactic, for me the book should have ended at the coronation, or maybe one chapter later plus the prologue that was intense. But in general it was a good book, that surprise me a lot and that let me with a the curiosity to the skies about the second book.

Pst: Where is my synopsis of the second book?

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

this one was the first in a trilogy, and it's also a debut novel! for a debut, I think this one just exceeded all my expectations.

if you didn't know the fantasy aspect is heavily inspired by Indian mythology, and the biggest selling factor for me were the morally ambiguous characters! I love a good morally ambiguous character, in fact, one of my least favorite type of protagonists are those who are constantly battling between good and evil, the 'we shouldn't kill' discussions, and etc. and safe to say there was none of that!

there are three POVs, and my favorite was elena's. her character is just so amazing, I love a strong heroine and I got it in this novel! though the book started off with a bit of a weird bang, I kept going and I am so glad I did. the ending was just *woah*, it threw me for a loop. and i am impatiently waiting for the second book now! so excited, and hats off to aparna verma for such an excellent debut.

one more thing, being south asian, I always love seeing books inspired by or related to desi culture, and this one also had hindu mythology, where I am not a hindu/Indian, I still loved seeing the representation. And the rep did not disappoint, I could see so many brown people and their struggles being reflected in this book so 10/10 for that.

thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Boy With Fire is the first book of The Ravence Trilogy. It is heavily influenced by Asian mythology, specifically Indian mythology. However, it's not a retelling; and it's a plus.

Varna's characters are morally ambiguous; They're trying to balance moral integrity with the desire for revenge. But when a prophecy threatens the world they know, they fight back against gods?

The Boy With Fire has some lighter moments, but, overall, it's rather dark. Each of the three POV characters, must make tough choices and pay the price. We get genocide, terrorism, vengeful gods, and humans fighting against fate.

All told, I liked it!

An excellent debut fantasy novel! I loved the multiple POV aspect. Aparna expertly builds the world for her readers, and draws them in with vivid imagery. I loved the quotes at the beginning of each chapter that tell pieces of Ravence history, and their religion and help the story unfold as you read.

Slow burn enemies to lovers with a redemption arc. I loved Yassen’s complicated and heartbreaking backstory, and Elena’s journey towards coming into her own power and not just following blindly in her fathers footsteps.

Characters you’ll love to hate (Leo), characters you question constantly (Sampson), and characters you just love to love (Ferma, Elena, Yassen).

You won’t want to put this book down! Definitely looking forward to the next book!

Thank you Netgalley for proving me with this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much netgalley for an early review.

What a DEBUT! I was nervous going in because the poppy war is my favourite book of all time, and I was scared it wouldn't live up to its hype but it does. This indie small published book reads like a big budget new adult fantasy novel. The world-building was beautiful, and I absolutely loved that it isn't eurocentric at all.

Although the world-building and the pacing can run a bit slow sometimes, I think it is a perfect set up for the rest of the trilogy, and Aparna's beautiful writing style definitely makes up for it.

Can't wait for the rest of the series!

the book is inspired by Indian mythologies, with sci-fi aspects and the quotes in the begging which gived you little insights about the world are just perfect

This book was a roller coaster and if needed i am ready to sit through it again!!
The world building-perfect
The amount of morally grey characters - just right
The desi rep - slaps
Elena and Ferma - I would die for

okay so initially it was little hard getting into reading because of the world building but once I got settled down I absolutely loved it, the south asian based world and the sci-fi aspect with it was perfect it felt real and absolutely magical and ethereal, I loved the characters and I somehow felt the things they were going through, Elena by the soon to be queen who is yet to balance fire, Yassen a ex assassin who is torn between the two worlds , Leo who just wants to protect his kingdom and daughter and will go to any extreme.
and the ending was just-
I need the second book please

the only part I didn't enjoyed was the romance in the last part, it kinda felt forced and rushed, but i do wanna see more of them!!

in total if you loved fantasy and sci-fi genres, don"t think twice and pick this book up

I have already written my review on my instagram @bookswithcas and on my goodreads @bookswithcas and the author is aware of it. Shes so lovely and this book is absolutely brilliant. I've added the link to the review on my instagram. Thank you.

‘The boy with Fire’ is an Indian inspired adult Scifi-fantasy story which follows some morally grey characters and revolves around the themes of love, betrayal, fear, grief, sacrifice and greed.

Now, being a desi I crave for Indian inspired SFF novels ALL THE TIME. The world seriously needs more of them and I mean seriously! So, when read the blurb of ‘The boy with fire’ and found out that its Indian inspired, I immediately reached out to the author and requested for an ARC. And, thankfully I received it via NetGalley.

Now coming to how I felt about this one, it really wasn’t what I expected it to be but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it was bad.

Aparna Verma really knows how to build a lush and vivid world which is incredibly unique and so much her own but yet somehow familiar (in a good way).

The characters we follow are also pretty interesting. But my favorite parts of the book was definitely the dynamics between father and daughter i.e. Elena and Leo. I loved seeing how Leo wanted to do best for his daughter and yet how different they both were from each other.

And then there were some characters whom I definitely wanted more from. I am not going to name them because of spoilers. But if you’ve read it then you will know whom I mean.

There were part that felt a little bland though and I kind of skimmed through them ? But Aparna has definitely stood out to me as a debut author with her writing skills and twists definitely threw me off, specially the one in the Epilogue !

This was overall an enjoyable read and I recommend this if you are looking for a unique blend of Sci-fi and Fantasy with an Indian inspired setting and morally grey protagonists.

<i>The Boy with Fire</i> is a great fantasy debut and was a joy to read! The writing flowed very nicely, and the concept had me intrigued from the beginning. The Indian-inspired setting with subtle sci-fi influences felt very unique and made for a fascinating story background. The world-building was intricate and beautiful, full of lore and mythology. I liked learning about the magic system and could definitely see the inspiration taken from ATLA.

The morally grey characters felt complex and you could feel them struggle with their decisions. It was interesting to see how far they were willing to go to achieve their goals. There's a fine line between ambition and obsession, and some walked that line better than others. At first, I wasn't sure about Leo's POV, but having his perspective actually added a lot to the story. I also loved a certain warrior side character, she was amazing and I wouldn't have minded seeing more from her ^^

This book features a slow-burn enemies to lovers romance (my fave trope), but unfortunately it felt a little underdeveloped. There wasn't really anything happening throughout the book that made me think there might be a spark between Elena and Yassen, so it didn't feel very convincing in the end. I wish the romance had been fleshed out a bit more, but I'm curious to see where it goes next.

Overall, a great book with an interesting setting, strong characters, and unexpected plot twists. I am very much anticipating the next book, especially after how this one ended!!

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!</i>

The Boy With Fire, an Indian inspired fantasy pitched as *Dune* meets *The Poppy War*, without a doubt was an ambitious debut that promised a myriad of tropes many of us in the bookish community crave, as well as an #OwnVoices perspective more of us gravitate towards.

Alas, it disappointed.

It follows Elena, a young ruler ready to ascend to the throne, Yassen, an assassin on the run after an accident, as well as Leo, the current emperor of Ravence.

Perhaps it was thanks to my surreal expectations with it being compared to my favourite fantasy series of all time: the Poppy War, or perhaps it was because I read it in a few sittings and skimmed through it... whatever it was, I hardly remember anything and 50% in was resisting the temptation of a DNF.

"The stars would come and go. Fire was eternal."

Perhaps I'm being a bit too harsh so let me start off with what I appreciated: The world-building at first seemed a little stagnant, with your typical rival nations, social class difference in each and traditions, however it soon burned brightly (pun not intended) thanks to the prophecies and mythology interwoven into the plot such that the religious aspect played a big part. The phoenix, vengeful gods, raring fire were such a force to be dealt with and truly played a huge role in heightening the tension.

"As he stared at the heap of bodies, Leo felt something integral leave him... but as he slowly rose to his feet, he knew it wasn't his fear or his remorse, but his humanity."

However, what good is brilliant world-building when you have stale and inconsistent characters? Those that you can barely remember the names of a few days later, or those that didn't even manage to reign in any bit of your heart after hundreds of pages with them? The characterisation was poor, I quickly recognised typical tropes of the royal, the terrible deed character with tragic past so on and so forth... I was expecting some life to be breathed into these tropes, but throughout the book, these characters remain rather stale, and even worse, their character suddenly shifting dramatically to suit the situation which I found rather unbelievable. With instances of death and atrocities that should have visibly change the characters, only repetitiveness and insincerity was offered.

Furthermore, the pacing of this story was terrible. I understood that fantasy books tend to take a while to set up and carefully shape the world, but come on who likes a story devoid of any true game-changing action until the 70% mark? I was bored and skimmed through the book, only to come out confused when things finally started to pick up.

"...the power of myth. Give the people something to believe in. Make it strong enough, fearsome enough, and they would all bow."

However, my greatest disappointment in The Boy With Fire would be the lack of themes. Perhaps this is just my expectation for the book, but I felt that this adult fantasy had great potential to examine certain themes such as power, fate and equality. The world-building as well as the religious aspect, not to mention the character dilemmas set this book up beautifully for the exploration of these themes, but all The Boy With Fire did was skim surface level on them. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on a debut the first of the series, but I sorely felt that these themes of power when dealing with the gods as well as the ruling of the kingdom through constructs, fate in the different characters' trajectories as well as equality ingrained into the very model of the world, could have greatly enriched the story, giving it more meaning and purpose.

"Someone once told me that ghosts are memories that haunt us before we can let them go."

Overall, The Boy With Fire was a terrible disappointment for me that I felt had so much more to offer. Despite the brilliant world-building, the stale characters, lack of pacing and most of all the absence of any true depth underneath the typical fantasy plotline, caused it to be an aching let-down for me.