The Nightbirds’ magic has been discovered. And as legends arise from the past the girls have to who to believe and how to fight.

Read if you like: fantasy that feels like Gatsby, gangs and undergrounds, powerful girls, unique magic systems, multi POV, slow burn romance that keeps you on your toes.

With the news of magic spreading all around Simta- long hidden truths are uncovered and the Nightbirds have to figure out what that means for them and their new found power. The gangs, the church, and the Great Houses are all clambering for power, and of course disregarding the girls’ who wield it. But the news of magic is spreading father than anyone realizes and a new thereat is on the horizon. The Nightbirds have to find how to work together and rise as Fyrebirds.

This second installment of Nightbirds is again- delightfully surprising. It has less slow burn and more action as all the characters have to work together while fulfilling their own roles and agendas. There was so much happening that I was expecting a cliffhanger and book three. However, everything was masterfully wrapped up at the end. The characters are so fun and layered that I really had no idea how things were going to play out or how they could possibly get out of trouble. I swooned. I laughed. I was shocked and impressed. I really enjoyed the social discourse around power and women and how things can get twisted but we can still find the truth. And I really loved the characters’ relationships with each other. The girls’ relationships with each other were just as important as the romantic relationships. Lots of personal growth and working together. A great end to a fun duology.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this! From the incredible characters, to the plot, to falling in love with everything so quickly- I couldn’t put this down. I highly recommend this! It really just sucks you in and makes you never want to leave. In my opinion, those are the best books and I couldn't get enough.

Fyrebirds is the sequel to Nightbirds and the story is beautiful. It doesn’t have quite the same captivating power as Nightbirds but it is still a wonderful read and I will be watching out for future Kate J Armstrong works in the future.

# Fyrebirds
# 9/8/2024 ~ 9/9/2024
# 4.0 / 5.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fyrebirds by Kate J. Armstrong continues where The Nightbirds left off, with Matilde, Sayer, Fen, and Aesa scattered and separated, longing for the connection and friendship they shared, for the magic they performed. While separated, they remain united in purpose, namely trying to help save other magical girls however they can, each in their own way. However, something much darker is on the horizon as a jealous king prepares to invade Simta and take all the magical girls for himself, and so the girls must come back together and fight off this new threat, all while avoiding the dangers still lurking in the streets of Simta, for magical girls have begun to go missing and there are rumors of a new drug, called Sugar, that can make a magical girl susceptible to someone else's commands.

The great worldbuilding and character writing of the first book continues as we learn more about magic, the mysterious Fyrebirds of the past, other nations, and explore relationships. Of the four main girls, Matilde was definitely my favorite and I loved to see her grow into herself throughout this book and trying to find her own way despite everyone around her trying to decide her fate for her. Of the relationships however, Sayer and Fen were definitely my favorite, with a tragic friends to lovers arc. Meanwhile, Aesa, initially scared of her powers, learns to accept who she is and learn just what she is capable of.

Content warning for brief depictions of sexual assault and parental abuse.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an excellently written YA fantasy book inspired by the magical girl genre with fantastic worldbuilding and incredible characters

Such a different book that was really well written that I could not put it down. I loved it including the characters and the world building.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for the e-arc!
At last the sequel Nightbirds is finally here! Nightbirds was such a wonderful read and I am so excited to be continuing with this series. The first book was such a unique read with amazing characters and such a interesting magic system. I had such high hopes for the second book and I am glad to say it definitely lives up to expectations. I found that the pacing was a lot better in this book as the story starts right up. From the first chapter, there is action drama magic, which just leaves you wanting more and more and more.

I really enjoyed this installment - and was so pleasantly surprised to see that the formatting issues I had struggled with for Nightbirds was not an issue in Fyrebirds. I thought the elements from the first book really continued on their growth - from the characters and magic system to the plot and worldbuilding. There were some parts where the pacing felt a bit off and rushed, but otherwise this was a great read, I'm looking forward to what the author does next.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an e-arc.

While the magic of the world of Nightbirds remains, the 2nd installment in this series does suffer from a few sequel issues. The usual pacing issues and picking up the story for 4 different main characters that are in 4 different locations with 4 different mindsets is a little daunting. Overall, this world is one that I love but my favorite part of the story is the development of the characters. Coming into their own powers as well as their voices is uplifting to read.

Thank you again for the arc!!!

"She's the kind of star that burns."

I got the uncorrected ARC from Netgalley of Fyrebirds. Me, being an idealist reader, I read the first book first, Nightbirds. I didn't know that I'd spend the next 3 days ravishing both book 1 and 2!

Fyrebirds is the sequel to Nightbirds, a tale of four girls from different backgrounds, with contrasting personalities, and with forbidden magic flowing through their veins. These four unlikely sisters will have to learn to control their growing powers while hiding from a rooted patriarchy system that thinks women are not suited for such great power... that is until they decided not to hide anymore.

Like the first book, Fyrebirds is a fast paced full of action story. Every chapter has got me wanting to read more, gripping the edge of my seat. But despite the quick pacing, the author managed to develop the characters beautifully. All four characters, and even more. The worldbuilding was complex but the author managed to describe them in between the actions, making it not boring at all. I have grown to love Simta and it's magical setting. It was also an easy read, with beautiful description and metaphors which made my heart flutters and filled with dread at times.

Stories like this always touches me deeply; stories about sisterhood against patriarchal system, stories about women empowerment; about found family; and about believing yourself when the world is against you. I loved every bit of this duology and I just had to give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars!

This duology is one of my favorites i’ve read in a while. All the characters were so good, the magic system, the world, the relationships especially between Fen and Sayer, they were so cute. The moment the sisters reunited was my favorite part! The only complaint i had was that i’d like it to be a bit longer so we could see more of the relationships between the sisters and their love interests better. A spin off is needed!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the free copy of Fyrebirds in exchange for an honest review!

I was a huge fan of Nightbirds, so I was ecstatic to have received an arc of Fyrebirds. It was enjoyable to read and I would recommend it to a young adult audience.

Matilde’s character develops a lot in this second book, and honestly, it’s pretty impressive how well she handles everything that happens to her.

The messages from the story are great for young adult readers, such as- embrace who you are meant to be, love who you want to love, and you are enough- no matter what. I appreciated those messages myself, even at 30 years old 😆

I only have a few complaints: I wished we had gotten more time with Æsa and Willan. (Seriously, a spinoff?? Please??), and some of the pacing felt a little off. Some of the most impactful scenes happened so quickly, and I felt they could’ve been a little longer to deliver a more emotionally compelling scene.

That said, I still really enjoyed this duology and would recommend it to readers who enjoyed stories like Heartless Hunter and Six of Crows. I look forward to hopefully reading more from this author in the future.

If you enjoyed the world of the grishaverse this series gives similar vibes. It was so easy to hop back into the world upon reading this and I forgot how much the catch phrase of this series "blazing cats" makes me chuckle.

This is the sequel of the book Nightbirds. Nightbirds is a secret society of women with magical abilities that have been outlawed. These magical beings have been outlawed and live in a secret under ground hidden from the powers that want them destroyed.
These magical women are supposed to be apart of a prophecy and a past where they have won wars with there powers.
These women seem to be fated to find each other and use their powers to protect each other and their country. I really enjoyed this fantasy, and loved the girl power energy and their love for each other. A true sisterhood. Loved seeing these women navigate their powers and political powers that want to use them to rule kingdoms.
I really enjoyed this series, and was very excited to read Fryebirds.
Thank you Netgalley and Nancy Paulson Books for the opportunity to read this arc.

This was a delighful and amazzing conclusion to this series. This is a series that really does inspire me to start and save revoultion and with three four main characters and three very different romances and also all the other elements to end this series I was captivtied and so excited to see where this author goes next. If you are looking for book with magic and a one of your heros is a pirate please check this one out, i loved where this book went as well!!

I loved reading book one Nightbirds. So I immediately had to request book two Fyrebirds by Kate J. Armstrong.
And it did not disappoint!
I loved this magic system and world building.
This intriguing YA Fantasy/Paranormal was incredibly well written and wonderfully paced.
The characters, the evocative writing, the excellent pace of the story. Everything was so tastefully well done for a spellbinding story!
The conclusion was satisfying and everything was wrapped up nicely.

Thank You NetGalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I had high hopes for Fyrebirds, especially after loving Nightbirds, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. There was just too much going on, and the pacing felt off, which made it hard to stay connected to the story. It wasn’t until I was about 75% through that it finally started to grab my attention. The whole situation with Joost felt underdeveloped—it could have been explored more deeply, maybe even in another book. I was hoping I would get more Æsa and Willan (my favs) and more of Fenlin, Sayer and the other supporting characters, but it felt like this was Matilde's story.

On the positive side, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the chance to explore beyond Simta. The world-building was excellent, and I loved meeting the new characters in those places. The magic was great too, but I wish there had been more of it, and that the pacing had been better. Fyrebirds had some strong elements, but overall, it didn’t fully live up to what I was hoping for. I don't quite want to leave this world yet and although I didn't enjoy Fyrebirds as much as I did Nightbirds, I will definitely still read future books that Kate J. Armstrong writes.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC. Fyrebirds will be out on August 27, 2024.

✨Book Review✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: ebook

I received a free copy of the first novel, Nightbirds, in this series about a month ago through NetGalley, but I had already read Nightbirds in March of 2023. It quickly became one of my favorite books of 2023. The same can be said of Fyrebirds.

Our story picks up where Nightbirds left off. Matilde is being protected at the palace while her family still pressures her to get married; Sayer is trying to save endangered magical girls; Fen is haunted by the trauma her magic brings forth; and Æsa has traveled back to her homeland with the fledglings (i.e., girls with magic). Each girl must make her own choices about what her heart desires, what she is told to do, and what her duty requires. Readers are taken on an epic, jazzy adventure where the girls must decide whether to play by the rules of men or make their own.

Highlights:
⭐️ The plot. As mentioned in my review of Nightbirds, only girls have magical powers, and powerful men want to control them.
⭐️ Dual POV chapters from all of our Fyrebirds.
⭐️ Decent cliffhanger/ending. Everything tied up nicely without me feeling like I still have unanswered questions. There were some minor details that felt a little... convenient, but considering this is a YA novel, some flexibility in the unfolding of events is expected.
⭐️ Strong female protagonists.
⭐️ Easy, engaging, and flowing writing style.

Pitfalls:
❌ Since I read the first novel more than a year ago, I had a difficult time getting into this one, mainly because I didn’t remember the details of the plot, characters, love interests, and who had what powers. I think a prologue or recap would have been beneficial for returning readers.
❌ Not a major pitfall, but I felt there was a lack of world-building compared to the first novel. I understand that the first book needs more world-building to set the story, but that was one of my favorite aspects of the first book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I really loved Nightbirds so this sequel was one of my most anticipated reads. I thought Fyrebirds was a great sequel. I’m living for feminine rage and f the patriarchy stories. So often girls and women are told to be quiet and the ones who are loud are dangerous and corrupt. These themes are woven into this story beautifully. Girls / women with magic were once the city’s best kept secret but now the secret is out. They are feared by men who are afraid of their power and seek to control them. Girls with magic are being hunted, captured and drugged. There is also a war looming from an ambitious Farlands King.

This story has so much going on but I couldn’t put it down. The writing is atmospheric and loved the character development. The story picks up after the ending of Nightbirds following Sayer, Fen, Matilde and Æsa as they each save the other magical girls in their own way. We do see them coming together again as the magical girls start to go missing and a dangerous drug is found that makes them submit. This is a multi POV 3rd person story. While I usually prefer 1st person POV I still really enjoyed how each character was written. I did wish there was more of a split between the characters POVs because I love them all and it felt as if Matilde’s POV was the most featured. The romances were all beautiful and never felt like they took over the plot.

Overall I thought this was a fun exciting conclusion to this duology. I definitely think if you enjoyed the first one you won’t want to miss this! If you haven’t read this series I highly recommend it. It has action, adventure, magic, and small bits of romance all wrapped up into a story about powerful women who won’t quietly submit to the men who seek to control them.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

A soaring 2nd book in this series. While I am disappointed in the cover change, I still loved all the characters. We get a bit more romance and magic and that is always great. The writing is great as usual and I enjoyed the second installment!

This one was a bit slower, and a lot more political in nature. Matilde, Æsa, Sayer and Fen have their work cut out for them as they escape and are separated. The Fyrebirds. They will be more powerful than anyone can imagine, and there are many who won't let that happen.

Through their bonds, the girls work together trying to save everyone they can, but it feels like the world is against them at times. As they fight to stay alive and find one another, each has their own story to complete and a sacrifice to make before they can reunite.