Name of Book: Together We Burn
Author: Isabel Ibanez
Genre: Fantasy/YA
Publisher: Macmillan Audio/ Wednesday Books
Pub Date: May 31, 2022
My Rating: 4


Zarela Zalvidar is eighteen-tears old and dances with dragons. Her mother dies from the fire of a dragon and her father, a Dragonador gets injured. Zarerla is fascinated by dragons and decides that she wants to become a Dragonador.
She trains with Arturo and they soon created their own fire!

I was drawn to this story as sometimes it is nice to get lost in the world of fantasy plus I love to dance so this sounded like a story I would like.

Awww it was so much better than expected.
Narrator Ana Osorio did a beautiful job of performing all the character ~ her accent was an added pleasure to hear. Her voice is so pleasant it made this story totally enjoyable

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and Wednesday for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 31, 2022.

Zarela is a flamenco dancer trying to follow in her mother's footsteps, but she's got big shoes to fill and can't quite seem to win the love the crowd like her mother did. Her father is not only a Dragonador but also the most famous one in Hispalia. When her father is seriously injured, Zarela takes his place as a Dragonador in an attempt to save her family home. With the help of dragon tamer, Arturo, Zarela begins training to become the next Dragonador.

First of all, I commend Ibañez for such a unique concept. I don't know whether this was her intention or not but this book struck me as an allegory for bull fighting in Spain. I loved Zarela. She was a well-written character. I wasn't sold on Arturo and the romance there fell flat for me. I was also not surprised by the twist, but I think that's just because the author did her job planting clues. Also, I wanted more dragons! The dragon scenes were some of the most interesting in the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Ana Osorio was a fantastic narrator and she really brought Zarela to life. I recommend this book.

I loved this narrator and she was the perfect choice for this story. Sometimes I struggle with audiobooks but I was so engaged with this narrator the entire time. It was the perfect performance of this really beautiful story crafted by Isabel Ibanez. I've never heard any other story like this and I loved the story of strength and triumph in the face of some very scary opponents. I was hooked on the mystery of it all from the very beginning and the pacing was so good. As soon as I caught my breath, there was something new happening.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillain Audio for an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

I mean, first of all, flamenco dancing and dragon taming?! What more do you even need to hear? This book was so absolutely rich in culture, and I couldn't get enough of that. It made me feel as though I was in medieval Spain myself. Even the chapter titles themselves were in Spanish. Everything really just pointed you back to Spain, and I adored it. The incorporation of flamenco and the way that Zarela had such love and life for it was beautiful. The way that it developed along with her and helped show her who she wanted to be was absolutely amazing.

And don't get me started on the romance! I loved the way this was sorta enemies to lovers but was also sweet and soft. Zarela also was strong before the romance and didn't need anyone to save her, and I loved how refreshing that was, especially for a woman in medieval Spain.

The narrator was amazing at switching between English and Spanish and making it absolutely seamless. I really enjoyed listening to her and getting immersed in her words!

I did feel like I was a tad bored around the middle and wanted more action, and I also ended up projecting who the villain would be from the first page they were introduced.

If you like fantasy, check this book out for sure! It is such a rich book, and you will not want to miss it!

3.5 stars

Zarela, the m.c., of this novel that for me reads more like New Adult than Young Adult, is in a challenging predicament. When her father no longer can, she is left with having to support the family and keep the family business (humans vs. dragons!) alive. She's sad and she's not trained, but she definitely has the will of any great heroine, and she puts it to good use.

I've really enjoyed Ibanez's previous novels (this is my third), and while this was a great listen (I opted for the audio book), the kind of description and adventure I'm used to from earlier installments just didn't come through as powerfully for me here. This felt a bit too predictable, and I found the romance tedious at times. Also, when there are animals involved, and readers have to pick a human or animal side, I'm just never going to be able to root for the human characters. Early in the book, this happened, and I think my perceptions about what kind of people some of these characters were just kept me feeling judgy throughout.

These minor gripes noted, I was entertained enough to listen to the whole book in less than a day and will continue to excitedly seek Ibanez's work. She creates lush and intriguing worlds, and this is no exception.