The Dagger and the Flame follows two POVs on opposite sides of a generations-long rivalry for the magical underbelly of a city: the daggers, who use magical (and deadly) Shade to complete assassinations for hire, and the Cloaks, who wear their Shade in clothing that helps them commit thefts & heists.

The worldbuilding in this is a little sparse, and some things don’t make a lot of sense (why is the king okay with thieves? why can’t assassins also steal? why is this entire city seemingly empty of every character except the named characters in the plot 95% of the time?) and there are a slew of side characters that are meant to add interest, depth, additional plot lines, etc but really don’t get fleshed out. We know the most about Ransom’s relationship with Lark and Nadia—not a ton, but a little—but Sera’s found family team just instantly assembles itself. The plot is also reasonably predictable BUT not 100% and not more so than other YA fantasy. I would actually say this is a little less hand-holding, plot wise, than many other YA fantasies and I appreciated that.

However, what I really liked was the relationship between Ransom and Sera. Its enemies to lovers in a way that it makes a ton of sense for them to be enemies, but also not so deep that it makes no sense for them to change their minds. The banter is funny & works, which is so refreshing after reading a bunch of romantasy books this year where “banter” is just two people insulting and cursing at one another. I liked the build up of the relationship.

I do kind of wish this were a standalone. I thought we were headed in that direction until the last few chapters and I feel like it could have been wrapped up without a need to take the story further. I will be picking up book 2 though.

The Dagger and the Flame
by: Catherine Doyle

My rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

An action packed adventure filled with magic and mystery, this YA Romantasy was a fast paced and easy read! A bit predictable if you’re not new to the genre, and I found it to be one dimensional at times.

A must read if you like:
🗡️ Enemies to Lovers
🔥 Dual POV
🗡️ Twisty Plot
🔥 Animal Sidekick

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This was a book I enjoyed reading. The banter between Sera and Ransom was so fun. It took me a little bit to get into the book at first as the setting/characters are set up, but once Sera and Ransom start interacting the story just took off. I giggled multiple times as these enemies picked and fought each other. The magic system of Shade is interesting. I was sometimes confused about how it worked, but I wasn't too worried about that. The side characters and friends of the main two characters were good though I can't say I was too invested in them because the romance had me laser-focused on Sera and Ransom! The issues of the families both main characters came from was very compelling to me. I think that gave a lot of perspective and insight into how they acted in the story. I would say one of the romance scene near the end of the book did seem kind of misplaced given how far it went and the circumstances of the scene. I wish I could read the sequel with how the story ended!!

Something about this book didn't work for me,and I sadly had to dnf it at 18%. I would like to try it again after it is released and see if maybe the physical book is easier for me to get into.

4.75 stars

If you are looking for your next action-packed YA with a strong dose of romance, look no further!

The Dagger and the Flame was an exciting ride all the way through. I was instantly interested in the characters and drawn into their story. I can see this being a popular read amongst YA readers (teens and adults).

If you are looking for a YA romantasy with enemy’s to lovers… this is it! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

I don’t think I have EVER rooted for a bad guy to be the love interest more than with Ransom! Even before sparks flew I liked this guy. He is bad, but he is changeable right??? Maybe?? I know it’s never a good idea but it could work right?? No?? Just me 🤷‍♀️

I liked the concept of the magical system, there was a point in the middle, I struggled a little and had a “where is this going” moment, but the end was worth it.

This is true enemy to lovers, I am excited to see where the series goes with this!

I like the twist at the end, I saw some things come but not THAT! So excited to see what unfolded in the next book! I am hoping some of the side characters on the Cloak side (now Flames) get a little more time, we seemed to get more introductions into the Daggers in this book.

I really enjoyed this book. And I cannot wait to read the next one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Dagger and the Flame has been one of my most highly anticipated releases of 2024, which means I was also terrified to read it because I had so high expectations. I NEEDED to like it, and whoa, how I loved it!!

It's a dual POV book, written by Sera's and Ransom's POVs. I love it when books are written by both main characters, and I was delighted when I realized that this was the case with this book. Sera is a girl who just lost her mother and makes the decision to join the Cloaks-an organization that can shield her from the Daggers who are responsible for her family's ruin while she plans her revenge. She is continuously torn between what she needs to do to survive and belong among the Cloaks and what she thinks is right. Ransom is the Dagger assigned to kill her, and while he is a competent Dagger, he is also questioning why he's doing all this and what it means for his life and his soul. He's someone who is terribly tired and alone and feels defeated, to be honest. Even in scenes with his friends, he always seemed to be alone to me. I really felt for him. One decision made at his lowest, weakest point, and it has had catastrophic consequences for his life. Until Sera comes, and he sees a way out--and a love interest to boot! haha

cw: abusive fathers, though.

I really liked both main characters and their romance. It felt like they came together by a fateful serendipity in a brutal, corrupted city.

The worldbuilding was interesting. I had high hopes and nerves because while it did sound intriguing, I hadn't enjoyed These Violent Delights. I am so relieved that I fell into this story and didn't want to get out. It was such an addicting read! It was fast-paced, suspenseful, romantic, and it had both a crime fantasy vibe and a sort of historical myth vibe as they investigated into the past about how the city came to become the way it is.

Plot wise, okay, it wasn't the most unpredictable read ever. BUT I devoured this book!! I was COMPELLED to read more. And to be frank, I had a great time reading it. At the end of the day, that's all that counts.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an enemies-to-lovers romance, a crime and fantasy city whose magical elements are lost in history *for now*, and a great fast-paced fantasy read.

It is the monthly pick for a September YA box, and I recommend to renew! It also has 2 different Waterstones exclusive editions with incredible edge design!

This is a great first installment to the series!

In Fantome, there are two controllers of shade magic- a scarce and deadly resource -the cloaks and the daggers, the thieves and assassins. Two sworn enemies. But monsters roam the streets of fantome bringing darkness no one could have imagined.

My thoughts: this book was over all well thought out and I had a fun time reading. I found the magic system to be fresh and exciting. The enemies to lovers kept a nice touch of romance throughout the book-which I loved. I definitely will be reading the next installment!
I only really found two things to amiss.
First: the pacing. I just couldn’t understand how we would go from one insane chapter to the next dragging to the point where I felt bored and underwhelmed.
Second: the imagery. I found myself constantly wondering what the characters were looking at or the space around them. The building of the visual representation was just a bit murky. And it made me feel like a bystander in the story, keeping me from fully engrossing myself with the story.

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for a chance at reading this book prior to it’s publication.

This book was great! It reminded me of Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare and probably should’ve been NA/A instead of YA but I had such a blast reading it. Phantome was the place to be - and I felt like I was there! The chemistry and sexual tension between the FMC and MMC was ELECTRIC and such a powering force. The writing style was brilliant and I can’t wait for the sequel!

Stunning. Absolutely a page-turner. Incredible world-building that had depth and lore, but nothing that would overwhelm or confuse a reader. Extremely dynamic characters that you instantly either root for or fall in love with. Superb writing by Doyle.

If I was forced to give critiques there would just be two - even though this book is characterized as a teen romance, I found the flirting dialogue between the FMC and the love interest(s) to be too juvenile, borderline cringey. They sounded more like 10-year olds instead of older teenagers closer to twenty. And last, the FMC herself is naturally considered a "spitfire", but that was not the first impression that was portrayed in the book. It's not until several chapters in that we see those first glimpses, and from a reader's perspective it felt a little confusing and there could've been a smoother transition.

Other than that, absolutely excellent read! Thank you Netgalley for the digital ARC!

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙄’𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 m𝙮 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩“
🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️🔥🗡️

It’s been a long time since I read a romantasy with REAL enemies to lovers. I’m talking about he was legit sent to unalive her and she hates him because he’s part of a group of people who unalived her mother. But there’s also a mix of forbidden romance up there too…

I had the most joy with this. I was literally giggling blushing and kicking my feet. Aside from the romance being absolutely toe curling, the plot itself will absolutely have you hooked and it’s probably what I enjoyed most of all. The family drama was insane and the entire time I was like “ohhh TEAAAAAA”.

There’s so much to unpack in this book and it’s clear there will be more coming. I absolutely adored it and can’t wait to see what’s next. I also love how we have main characters that are not insufferable. I can always trust this author to serve.

I also can’t wait for you guys to meet Theo who recently became the love of my life. Yes he’s a side character I just always weaken for them. If he dies I will die too.

Release: September- make sure to add to ur tbr!

I was very excited about this book after Catherine Doyle's Twin Crown series! I will admit that I was hesitant after finding out this was a "solo" action from her part, but I was NOT disappointed!

This is a fun adventure for everyone! Main characters are entertaining and keep you rooting for them at the end. Supporting characters were also surprisingly entertaining.

I have not read other books by Doyle, but I am planning to explore more of her works for my younger students in class!

The Dagger and the flame will have you hooked from the very first line. I could not put this book down. I loved the enemies to lovers almost Romeo and Juliet in a twisted way. Sera is running from the darkness of the daggers that chase her and have taken everything from her finding refuge with the cloaks. She is strong yet vulnerable and Ransom has thrived in the darkness the daggers have been his refuge or have they? Is this all he wants in life or will a little flame spark something in him? He is broken yet a pillar and so much more then you can imagine. I couldn't get enough of these two. But I'll admit Pippin was my favorite. I loved the mystery, the action the romance this book has everything you could want. I would recommend the NA audience it does get a tiny bit spicy not overly spicy but a touch. I cannot wait for the next book I am so stoked to have found a series that has put a little spark in myself.

DAGGER is one of those rare books that got better the deeper I delved into it - a very welcome surprise! After the first 40% or so, I was ready to assign it 3 stars. After two-thirds, 3.5. And by the end, 4. I confess I struggled with the set-up. The minute Sera's mom Sylvie poisons/experiments on a stray cat at the top of the book, I decided Sylvie was the absolute worst. It was tough to care about Sera's quest to avenge her mother bc, frankly, she could rot in hell for all I cared. I also struggled with Ransom as a love interest. Despite his tragic backstory, the dude straight up murders people for money. Without remorse. Doyle works valiantly to gradually paint him in a more sympathetic light - starting with his very own "save the cat - er - dog" moment. But when he inevitably transitions from enemy to lover, it didn't quite feel earned to me. (Still, I admit I warmed up to him considerably.) All of this aside, the action-packed cliffhanger ending more than convinced me to continue with the series.

3.5 stars, rounded up

It's so hard to find a true enemies to lovers romance, and The Dagger and the Flame actually captures that! Absolutely loved the banter and chemistry between Sera and Ransom, but wished their romance hadn't felt as insta-lovey as it did, but oh whale. I also really enjoyed the rivalry between then Cloaks and Daggers, and thought the world building and magic system was great as well.

Overall really solid!

I thought this was a fun & entertaining read! It felt like true enemies to lover and I really enjoyed learning about the magic system. I thought the pacing was a little slow but it makes sense for the start of a series plus I actually really enjoyed the introduction to the characters. I loved that there was a little bit of mystery thrown into the mix! I would say I did not love the romance aspect in the book. There were times I enjoyed it but something was lacking. I love me some tension and build up. Which it seems like the author was going for that but maybe the delivery was not great. It almost felt like not a lot was happening and then all of a sudden BOOM!

Overall, I love the concept of this book and I am excited to see where the author takes this story!

Thank you Simon Teen & NetGalley for the early copy!

oh. my. gosh. wow. This book was highly anticipated for me as I loved the Twin Crowns series but this honestly blew me away by the end. As a very quick overview and decision maker - if you loved The Serpent and The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent as well as the Throne of Glass series by SJM then this is the book for you.

Now to get into the more nitty gritty of the review (Please note all details are confirmed to be in the books public synopsis and as such as not spoilers) -

First I want to start off by saying this is a magic system that I found rather unique. It definitely has a few elements that have been seen before but as a whole the magic system was one of a kind and definitely aids in my anticipation of the rest of the series as I cannot wait to see where it goes from here and what else there is to learn.

As for the characters, the two main characters are Seraphine (Sera) and Ransom. Ransom is the heir to the Order of Daggers and is hunting Sera. However Sera won't go easy and is driven by her need for revenge of the death of her mother. Honestly there were parts of this dynamic that weren't my favorite but there were also parts that had me kicking my feet and giggling and giddy. They were a TRUE enemies to lover romance as they spent much of the book literally trying to kill each other, their banter was TOP TIER. The part that I didn't like is that the romance did have an air of insta-love to it that I can by in books with things like fated mates or some other cosmic force drawing them in but that wasn't this book. If insta-love isn't your thing this book will definitely illicit an eye roll or two from you.

The side characters of the story were truly great - every single one of them. Some were cynical, some had golden retriever personalities, one was even actually a dog. They all fit very well not only into the story but also with the main characters they were along side. Overall the interpersonal relationships in this book were so realistic and believable that they added to the story in all the best ways and I am so excited to hopefully learn more about them in the rest of this series.

Now I feel it very important to call this out, you will spend 95% of this book thinking it has the most obvious plot on the planet and you will not be wrong or surprised by that 95% in any way (at least I wasn't). However, the last few reveals I NEVER saw coming, so much so that I feel as though the obvious plot was intentional and likely a red herring to keep you distracted from the last few reveals. My jaw ON THE FLOOR the last page of this book and I am already eagerly awaiting book 2 and love/hate that I have already read this book as it just means a longer wait for me.

I will also mention that I found the beginning of this book to be a little slow, however it was not in any way abnormal for the start of a fantasy series set in a fantasy world. There was a lot of world building that needed to happen to fully understand the book and I felt as though the world building did really pay off in the end.

All in all, I LOVED this book. It was fun and a great start to a fantasy series that I cannot wait to continue.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Content Warning: violence, death, domestic violence, abuse, profanity

I was looking for an enemies to lovers romance and I got it with this book! Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

I’ve been craving for an enemies to lovers romance and this one has banter, violence, and sizzling chemistry that had me riveted. Now I say this is new adult because there was steamy scene. But I loved the cat and mouse between them – and the sending notes to one another scenes? Loved it.
I enjoyed the world building and how the Cloak (thieves) and Daggers (assassins) are rival organized crime groups. Central to these two sides is Seraphine who’s mother was basically a drug manufacturer (the drug being Shade) and was killed by a Dagger. Now Sera is out for revenge and I like the twists in the story. It doesn’t help Sera’s dreams of revenge that Ransom is tasked to kill her.
I love Pippin, Sera’s dog.
Both Sera and Ransom have found families but Sera’s found family is tighter and more trustworthy whereas Ransom’s is a little more cutthroat. I definitely felt for Ransom, poor guy.

Dislikes:

I wanted more interaction between Sera and Ransom in the first half but it’s a slow burn between them.
The beginning of the story is slow but I’m glad I stuck it out.


My Thoughts:

I found this story pretty entertaining and I loved that it was enemies to lovers with some blood involved. This story has action, found family, a lot of chemistry between two rivals, magic and some interesting twists. I was rooting for Sera and Ransom until the end, so we’ll see what happens in book two!

This was a fun story. I love a good enemies-to-more! It was a gritty and well-paced story. I would have liked a little more world building, more of Sera’s journey becoming a Cloak. The interactions and banter with Ransom were so good! If you like morally-gray, you’ll like Ransom. I’m interested to see what comes next.

I would not classify this book as YA. There was a decent amount of physical longing and one brief open door scene, along with a sprinkling of language.

Massive thanks to the publisher and netgalley for granting me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Sad to say the only thing I really liked about this was the romance between the two main characters. A TRUE enemies to lovers story (you don’t see those often). Loved their tension filled moments and how they grew towards each other during the story (we don’t talk about the ending though).

Unfortunately the rest of the story was just lacking something? I really liked the beginning but I lost my interest somewhere before the half way mark and kind of had to force myself through it. The suspense I felt at the start was gone, and while lots of reveals happend towards the end, I was a bit overwhelmed by it all? Just a lot of information to process and it felt like it was dropped in for shock value rather than actually adding something to the story.

In my opinion this could’ve worked pretty well as a standalone, but due to the ending and this being marked as a series on Goodreads it was definitely set up to have a sequel (or two). Although this was not my kind of read, i’m still curious where the author is gonna take this story next