(3.5) i’m a simple girl: I see a dagger to the throat on a cover, and I read.


i’m admittedly struggling a little bit to form my thoughts on this one, but I did like it for the most part. assasins and heists are always such a blast.

this had a good premise, but the world itself didn’t feel fully fleshed out enough for me to really immerse myself in. it was pretty much 50/50 plot + romance, and while I did enjoy aspects of both, the second half of the book fell flat for me.

the characters themselves were also a bit two dimensional, and although this was marketed as enemies-to-lovers and that aspect did seem very promising at first, the enemies aspect of their dynamic fizzled out very quickly. that lost potential stings when you have a set up this promising!

overall I think this was a good start to the series and I can absolutely see the potential for improvement moving forward.


thank you so much to netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review <3

I was excited to read The Dagger and the Flame because I'd previously enjoyed stories by Catherine Doyle. I ended up feeling a bit lukewarm this time around. The premise was interesting enough to keep me turning the metaphorical pages but I didn't connect with the characters. This book is YA and yet it feels almost middle grade in the way everyone behaves on page. The dialogue between the characters is juvenile and a complete tonal mismatch from the plot. The world building is genuinely well done and the main action is intriguing. The subject matter is actually quite serious but when everyone is running around acting like utter children it takes you out a bit as the reader. If you were coming to this book for the enemies to lovers romantasy aspect you might be a bit disappointed. The chemistry between our leads is there but while we're told they're 17-18 it feels like they are 12. I hate to admit it but I don't think I'll be reading the second book in this series. I liked the way Doyle wrapped the story up. It has potential to get better in the next installment but if she doesn't fix the tone I won't be able to bring myself to continue in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions within are my own.

RATING AND OVERALL THOUGHTS:

3.5 stars. This book was easy to consume and read and was for a majority of it, entertaining. It did however, suffer from lacking a solidness to the world and narrative that made me feel somewhat disconnected. I am interested to continue the duology to see what happens though I do think this could’ve been a standalone. We will see if my mind changes with book 2.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

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“Careful, Dagger. I might burn you again.” “Maybe I want to burn, spitfire.”

WHAT I LOVED:

- The enemies to lovers was really well done. Like the banter and the letters was just adorable. I might’ve not felt connected to the characters themselves but I did like this. It did have a cat and mouse dynamic for sure.
- I eat up a found family trope every time. The moments between all of them all were so sweet.
- Pippin <3

WHAT I DISLIKED:

- The worldbuilding and somewhat the magic system. It wasn’t just vague but it also lacked anything concrete. Everything had this barebones concept feel to it that really needed fleshing out to really get immersed into the story and for the whole novel to make more sense. I had a hard time figuring out what the city looked like, the people there, the vibe, etc. The uses of Shade also seem useful for both sides of the Orders and I just don’t understand how both of them weren’t utilizing it to its full advantage. There was also mentions of guns and gunpowder but it didn’t seem widespread? Again, it was all very vague.
- The two warring factions didn’t make sense with the mentions of the King and his soldiers in the city. Like maybe it was supposed to give off this organized crime feel but it feel flat in the execution. There was one scene were Ransom saves Pippin by creating a wall of shadow between them and the forty soldiers on horseback in broad daylight and all the soldiers just comically stepped around it like “Must’ve been the wind!” esque. (Damn. I might need to spend a week modding Skyrim just to play it again.)
- Everyone felt incompetent in this including the adults with a fully formed frontal lobe (of which there were very few). *Everyone* acted like young teens, like 14-15 young and full of hormones and not like 17-18 year olds they were and that this novel is aimed towards. I honestly was having a hard time believing the two Orders were as functioning as they were for so long.
- The end: I felt like there was supposed to be a lot of buildup for Sera to kind of rise from the ashes and bring in a new light to the city but then she just ups and leaves. It fell anti-climatically after the entire buildup of the novel and the constant, “Become the flame and destroy the dark, Seraphine.” and all the talk about how she was going to save the city. I guess going to some far off village will solve that but I guess I am falling to see *how*. There were also a lot of reveals at the end in a short period of time that gave a sense of whiplash.

The Dagger and the Flame has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it did not disappoint. It is a fantastic start to what promises to be a brilliant new series.

Right from the first page I was drawn in, and there wasn't a single moment where I found my attention faltering. Catherine Doyle is a great writer, I love her style and she knows just how to pace things to make sure there's enough time for character development and emotional beats without it feeling like things are dragging.

The enemies to lovers romance in this is perfection. The tension, the banter...I absolutely loved it, and I can't wait to see more of this pair - especially after the cliffhanger things ended on.

Given this is only book 1, it might be a bit early to say it's a new favourite series for me... but I don't think I'm going to be wrong about that. Definitely a recommendation for any fantasy reader, especially those who love found family and enemies to lovers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this, in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE Catherine Doyle's previous series, Blood for Blood, so I was very excited to read this first book in a new series.

There was plenty to love with this book, but some of the highlights were:

- The enemies to lovers romance (best trope out there, and done very well here)
- The world-building was woven seamlessly, no info-dumping here
- The FMC and MMC were both likable
- It was easy to get lost in the story, and indication of strong writing

A minor issue for me was that the middle third of the book seemed to slow way down with its pacing, but overall, I felt the book itself earned 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars.

I will certainly be recommending this book to my students, and I will be buying a copy or two for my classroom library.

Looking forward to reading the next in the series when it comes!

I received an early review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book written only by Catherine Doyle; however, I did read Twin Crowns, which she cowrote. When I first saw that this book followed two orders in the underbelly of the kingdom Fantome, I knew I had to read it. Seraphine, running from her mother’s murder, arrives in Fantome seeking sanctuary with the Cloaks as per directed by her mother before her death. She knows her mother was murdered by the Daggers, but why? As monsters attack the city, Sera and her friends work to not only discover secrets behind her mother’s death, but also a new magic that could save them all. Ransom, a dashing Dagger, gets caught up in the mix when the leader of the Daggers marks Sera and orders Random to kill her.

I really enjoyed this book. The magic system of Shade was intriguing and who doesn’t like a city’s underbelly. Give me all the assassins and thieves. And naturally the end leaves us wide-eyed with betrayal wanting more.

This is one of those books I enjoyed, but ultimately I will need to read the whole series to be able to say for certain where it fits.

I would think fans of Heartless Hunter and maybe These Violent Delights will enjoy the generational targets here and the seemingly impossible odds for the romance.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. This was a 3.5 star read for me. I enjoyed a lot of aspects of the book. The magic system is very interesting and the enemies to lovers is very good. This was a 4 star read for me but then I reevaluated and realized a lot of the lines were cringy and I had a hard time with some of them. I was kind of mad about the ending of this book and I’ll be honest I’m not sure how we’re supposed to have more books that have an interesting plot. I guess when it all came together in the end I just felt underwhelmed. I felt like we were building up to something huge but we didn’t really get there. It has a lot of potential but I’m not sure how interested I am in continuing the series. I think readers who enjoy magic, enemies to lovers, and rival gangs will enjoy this book!

the dagger and the flame | catherine doyle

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

_____

"Seraphine was a spitfire. And Ransom wanted to burn."

▫️ let's talk about it

Two rival gangs ··· revenge ··· magic ··· strange monsters plaguing the city ··· secrets ··· this book gave me These Violent Delights vibes and I was into it!

The world building was unique and intriguing! While I feel like there could have been more information to fill out the story, I'm pretty confident that things will come together in the coming books, so I'm not too worried.

As far as the romance goes, this one feels like it's teetering on the fence between YA and more. The relationship growth was lacking some depth, which is common for YA, but it made the jump to spicy before it felt natural. Not a huge deal, because this is definitely a plot > romance book anyway!

Overall, this is a delicious setup to what I think is going to be a fantastic series!

THINGS TO LOVE:
+ enemies to lovers
+ dual pov
+ rival orders
+ thieving and assasins
+ he's supposed to unalive her
+ shadows and cloaks
+ sidekick pup
+ mysterious monsters
+ "spitfire"
+ found family
+ a dangerous drug
+ uncovered secrets
+ the cliffiest cliff hanger

“...you came barreling over the horizon like a runaway sun. You shattered the darkness, Seraphine. And I realize now that all these years I wasn’t wishing for freedom. I was wishing for you.”

_____

{a gigantic thank you to Catherine Doyle, Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for the advanced copy!! Out 10/1/24}

The Dagger and the Flame

The magic of long ago is faded to almost nothing. All that’s left is dark and corrupted. Controlled by two rival gangs, only those willing to lose their souls use it. A deadly game ensues bent on revenge and power. But when lines blur something even more dangerous takes root.

Phenomenal. An almost perfect YA fantasy. Definitely an upper YA with the amount of violence and the spicy scene thrown in.

Romantic push and pull? Yes, please. High stakes with the lives of an entire city on the line? Sign me up. Monsters that lurk in the dark and magic gone astray? Say no more.

This is the kind of storytelling that has me binging a novel. The characters leapt off the page. Each one with motives of their own. The foreshowing is a little heavy handed but it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the story overall.

Content: violence (including within a family), death, a “bedroom” scene not appropriate for younger audiences IMO, explicit language

If you liked Lightlark, the Hunger Games, or romantasy in general, I think you'll vibe with this book.

While the plot was a bit slow in places, overall the story was entertaining and the chemistry between the main characters was top tier. I really loved the rivalry between the two characters, it gave me Pride and Prejudice vibes.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC!

The blurb comps are bold. The Leigh Bardugo comparison is setting impossible expectations considering the bland and flavorless prose, and Stephanie Garber, despite being unable to end a trilogy in a satisfying manner if her life depended on it, at least writes fun romantic tension. I’m no SJM fan, but even her books are easier to get through than this 500ish page slog.

I think readers of Powerless, Heartless Hunter/The Crimson Moth, These Hollow Vows will enjoy this.

In this book, generic YA heroine Seraphine flees from her burning home after her mother is murdered by a member of the Daggers, the most illogical guild of assassins to ever do it. Her plan is to join the Cloaks, a guild of thieves who have never heard of the words “subtlety” or “subterfuge” or have any grasp of the concept of “keeping a low profile.” She makes friends with various unmemorable thieves and a decoy silver-haired love interest named Theo to fulfill the found family trope. Ransom, our generic YA love interest, is an assassin from the Daggers and tasked with killing her, which shouldn’t be a problem for an assassin so skilled he’s been tapped to be second in command to the shadow mafia leader. Except oh no, he thinks she’s pretty and looks really sad and innocent, or something, and he likes how much she wants to live when he tries to kill her? They smirk at each other and snark back and forth trading juvenile quips in what I assume is meant to be banter. There’s not much else to summarize without spoilers because not a whole lot happens in this book. There are monsters, Seraphine and Ransom team up, they both have daddy issues and family drama, there are some silly reveals, minor cliffhanger for book two. Pippin the three-legged dog deserves better. I hope those cardboard cut out friends of hers adopt him.

The ultimate sin for me was the use of dual POV. There was so much repetition and rehashing. Every single time we saw an event happening in Seraphine’s POV, we then rehashed it and how it made him feel in Ransom’s POV, and then rehashed it AGAIN when we switched back to Seraphine. No wonder this book is 500+ pages despite having a pretty thin plot.

The worldbuilding feels small and ill thought out. I didn’t get any sense that anyone other than these two criminal gangs lived in Fantome. I got the impression that the author was trying to invoke an organized crime/mafia vibe with how the guilds operate with full knowledge of the crown, but in practice it made very little sense. The magic system is ridiculous. We are told the two guilds formed over the disagreement over the right way to use shade but it’s all pretty squishy. Why do the Daggers need to consume the shade at all to kill? (especially given the long term negative effects) Because consuming the shade means you can kill people by touch? The Cloaks have shown they can simply use the shade and become literally invisible, a skill that is just as useful to an assassin as it is to a thief. It seems like the shade is meant to be addictive and drug-like in nature but this is never fully explored so it makes character motivations very flimsy.

This book has an identity crisis. There’s liberal usage of profanity but characters refer to sex solely as “screwing.” The characters are instantly lusting after each other (albeit in a tame, YA fashion) and the banter is trying to sell the reader on a cat and mouse, enemies to lovers dynamic, but it is so incredibly childish. So it was certainly surprising to get to the alley scene, as vague as it was. I never knew it was possible but this book manages to make instalust into an unsatisfying slow burn. Seraphine and Ransom interact very little in a book that seems to be targeting romantasy readers, and when they do interact they are only thinking about how attractive the other one is, or how annoying (and hot) the other is, and very little progress is made towards an emotional or romantic connection or chemistry until they kiss at 70% and then decide they like each other and should be on the same side.

I don’t give out one star ratings lightly but unfortunately nothing about this worked for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a bit longer than usual, but I finally finished The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle, and wow, it was so good! The story is thrilling, and the banter is so much fun—I really connected with the characters and got completely invested in their journey.

If you enjoyed Powerless, I think you’ll love this book (though I might even think it’s better!). It’s got that same exciting blend of action and sharp dialogue.

Plus, this novel sets up a fantastic foundation for the series, and I’m already excited to see where it goes next. If you’re into fast-paced reads with great character building and are ready for a new series, be sure to check this one out when it releases on September 26th!

Thank you Simon & Schuster, Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending me a review copy in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my thoughts about the book in any way.

The first book in the City of Fantome series is nostalgic of every YA fantasy that I have loved and is perfect for fans of These Violent Delights and We Hunt The Flame. The engaging, fast-paced prose perfectly balances the buildup of the plot and romance through two alternating perspectives. Moreover, the characters were well thought out to fit the flow of the narrative, with the lack of a defining line of morality in Doyle’s storytelling making the book more thrilling and unpredictable.

THIS is how you write an enemies to lovers’ story because the weight of the themes weren’t toned down in favor of a love story and yet the undeniable tension and chemistry between Seraphine and Ransom was absolutely well done. It’s not every day that you meet a girl that will stab you and yet miss your liver, right? The Dagger & The Flame is a book about centuries-old rival gangs all vying for control of a city on the edge of destruction, an inevitable fate of ruin, and found family. Nothing could have truly prepared for that ending. Out on shelves on October 1, 2024!

A fun read from Catherine Doyle! A story of true enemies to lovers with angst that will have you unable to put this down. It has all of our favorite tropes- enemies to lovers, morally gray characters, found family, and dual POV. I picked this one up because I loved the Twisted Crowns series and this did not disappoint!

I went into this book knowing that it was young adult, and I do generally enjoy well written young adult stories but this one just missed the mark for me.

The pacing made the book feel like it was dragging on and on and I felt like the characters were very one dimensional most of the time.

I’ve read some of the authors other work and enjoyed it, so I had high hopes for this one that ended up falling a little flat.

I am hoping to reread it when the next book comes out to see if maybe it’s just first book syndrome and the story will improve as it continues.

The Dagger and the Flame hooked me from the first page and didn’t let go. With a setting drenched in danger, tension, and a palpable rivalry between two powerful guilds, the Cloaks and the Daggers, this novel brings serious Montagues and Capulets vibes—only with an added twist of illegal magic. Seraphine Marchant, an 18-year-old who’s just lost her mother in a brutal murder, is thrust into a world of heists and forbidden magic, with a relentless assassin hot on her trail.

The magic system is refreshingly easy to follow, adding to the thrilling heist plots and monster-filled moments. But what truly steals the show is the enemies-to-lovers arc—filled with sizzling tension and emotional stakes. By the end, I was left screaming OMG and eager for more of the City of Fantome series. This was a five-star read for anyone craving a story packed with high-stakes action, heartfelt romance, and a darkly enchanting world.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Dagger and the Flame
3.25 ⭐️

I picked this one up on NetGalley after hearing the description. Who doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers inside a unique magical city!?

Seraphine is on the run after her mother’s death when she’s marked by a Dagger who is planning to kill her. As she learns more about the magic and the city, she finds her mother may not have been as innocent as she seemed.

This book felt a little long but picked up at the end. I wished for a little bit more character development in it as I was reading it. And of course it ends with a cliffhanger!

This was a great first book! Fantasy, a heist, a mystery and enemies to lovers wrapped into one. What more could you want?

The overall story kept me interested and although I found a few things predictable, I still enjoyed it. It might also be because I loved the dual POV of the FMC and MMC. I found both interesting and only slightly frustrating at times (as any good fantasy FMC/MMC…). The side characters were amazing too and what the author did with them *cough* was so good!

My main critique would be this was a bit too long. I found myself bored a few times and felt it drag. It would’ve been perfect for me had it been about 100 pages shorter.

Even so, I had a great time and am excited to see what’s next!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC.

After reading the description for this book, I was very eager to get my hands on a copy! Super glad that I got a chance to read an early version. This book was just what I was looking for with a new series. The characters were really intriguing and I loved the world building and setting. The first half of the book just zoomed by and I could not put it down. I did take a week off reading after I started the first half, but not because the book was lacking. I had other commitments and I couldn't read at the time. The second half of the book wasn't as fast paced but it didn't lessen my enjoyment. I thoroughly enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope in this book. Very much looking forward to reading the sequel!