Thank you to @simonandschuster and @cat_doyle0 for this e-ARC!

The Dagger and The Flame is the first book in a new YA fantasy series. And it is DELIGHTFUL. I laughed, I squealed, I bawled my eyes out, and was on the edge of my seat.

A true enemies to lovers, found family, coming of age story.

We follow Sera and Ransom as they both deal with the fallout of Sera's mother's untimely death. Written from both POVs, our lovers are members of rival factions vying for control of the city's underground: the Cloaks (thieves) and the Daggers (assassins).

The Cloaks: "Take only what your cloak can carry, and your conscience can bear."

The Daggers: "Those who refuse to wield the dagger are doomed to die by its blade."

And when I say "true enemies to lovers", I mean attempted-murder-as-a-love-language.

But what I truly loved about this book was the friendships both of them have. True, unconditional, deeply wanting what's best for the other person friendships. Plus, those friendships play an integral role in the plot, which makes them all the more meaningful. I love it when relationships like those aren't just a fun side-story.

One critique I have is that the rivalry seems unbalanced, with The Daggers definitely have the upper hand.

All in all, The Dagger and The Flame is a joy to read. And I literally CANNOT WAIT to see how the story plays out in future books.

3.75/5
Interesting magic, fun plot, okay characters. This a dual pov fantasy with a more true enemies to lovers plot. The tension between Ransom and Sera is there it's just the pacing of this book is off. The book is suppose to be tense and mysterious and to me with the Ransom chapters it came off that way but the Sera chapters they seemed wordy and drawn out. The world is built very well and the magic system is explained so you understand what's going on. It's just side characters are don't really give much to the story. They are there but all of them seem kind of the same. I couldn't really tell you the difference between them. Overall it's a decent different story but it does seem drawn out at times.
I want to thank NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for opportunity to read this e-arc. This is my honest opinion.

Overall a really solid ya fantasy. I loved that Sera and Ransom were actual enemies to lovers. The pacing was as some others have said somewhat off but I enjoyed it. There were highly predictable plot points but I am interested to see where it goes in book 2.

4.25 stars!!

I already knew I loved Catherine Doyle’s writing going into this. I devoured this book so fast as it was paced so well and full of adventure and magic and characters you’ll love. This is a true enemies to lovers as well. This book took me to the magical landscape and feeling of being in a fantasy world. I can’t wait to see where this series goes. I will definitely be continuing it!

I really enjoyed this book. The world, the characters, the magic….it was all intriguing and had me hooked! The main characters were definitely closer to actual enemies than a lot of books who do enemies to lovers, which I appreciated. I love the dog side kick, too! The pacing was pretty good, though it dragged just a bit in the middle. There was a make out scene during a really inopportune time that I thought was pretty weird. There were a few times where scenes felt slightly out of place or like not consistent with the character. That being said, I definitely want to know what happens next and look forward to the sequel!

4.25 stars!! The enemies to lovers, the complex relationship between cloaks and dagger, as well as general personal conflicts made this such a fun read!!! From the very start the actions of even the side characters keep you invested and the world itself is so fascinating to think about despite being super easy to understand. I think my favorite part however was the relationship dynamics being formed between our FMC and those around her. She ends up being forced into the thick of conflict so fast and watching her adjust and find people she can trust was my favorite. I cannot wait to see where this story goes!!

This book was nothing like I expected and yet it was really good! I felt nostalgic while reading as if the story reminded me of something else I've read (but I don't know exactly what) and this gave me a super cozy reading experience. For me, it wasn't 5 stars because I found the beginning a bit slow, although some important things were happening, the reading lost me a few times.

If you like a slightly darker setting and rival groups, you'll love this one! In this universe we meet the Cloaks (thieves) and the Daggers (assassins), of course our main characters are from different sides (and he is sent to kill her 👀). Don't go into this book expecting a lot of romance, the characters (Sera & Ransom) barely meet at the beginning of the book, but don't worry because the rest of the book makes up for it. One thing that also made me lower the rating a little was that for me, it shouldn't be marked as YA. Although the language was ok, there’s a scene that was waaaaay far from being YA!

Anyway, it was definitely a worthwhile read and I'm sure it will be a very successful book when it's released 🫶🏻

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this great arc! The city of Fantome is a dark and magical setting, and I appreciated the unique spin on shadow magic. I LIVED for the witty banter between the main characters, Seraphine and Ransom. They had such great chemistry and really fit the enemies to lovers trope (as they start out as true rivals), which I absolutely love.

The romance was spicier than I was expecting for a YA novel, so young readers might need to be aware of that!

The magic, saints, and world-building were told/explained in the beginning a little more than I would have liked instead of letting me experience it, and I ended up skimming those parts a bit.

Overall I loved this story though and can’t wait to read the sequel after that cliffhanger! Definitely recommend this for fans of YA romantasy!

3.5 stars!! first i want to thank the author and publisher for receiving this as an ARC❤️

this was such a fun read and i loved that the magic was from a plant and not powers necessarily, i also really liked that it was true enemies to lovers but it felt kinda rushed to me, one thing that wasn’t my favorite was that the side characters didn’t feel that important like sera did a lot of the planning then told everyone what was going on idk but overall had a lot of fun with this and i’m so ready for the next book!!!

For fans of We Hunt the Flame, Six of Crows, and A Darker Shade of Magic (WHAT a collection of comp titles), a new sensation emerges. I am so excited to see this blow up on booktok in a month or two because it deserves it so much more than some of the romantasy that makes it on there. The enemies to lovers was IMMACULATE, the side characters were fantastic, the conflict was real and messy and fit perfectly in with the impeccable world-building, and DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT ENDING. I laughed, I cried, I kicked my little feet. Golden age of ya fantasy we are SO back. Immediately checking out the author's backlist while I impatiently wait for a sequel.

So this story was so fun. It's a fabulous series starter with great forbidden romance. The magic is so unique and I loved the characters. I was completely hooked right from the start.

But there were some intimacy choices made here that I absolutely do not agree with for a YA novel. I also didn't love the sheer amount of f-words places throughout, especially since it seemed to be almost the only curse word used.

That said, I'll probably still continue the series but with slightly different expectations now.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for my complimentary e-arc. All opinions here are my own.

The Dagger and the Flame is a dual POV fast-paced enemies-to-lovers romance filled with magic, mystery, and revenge. It has an intriguing premise and was a true enemies-to-lovers, including multiple murder attempts between our main couple! This book is a good match for anyone who enjoys the dark grittiness of Six of Crows but with a touch of the rivalry and monsters of These Violent Delights.

This story was a roller coaster read for me. I adored the beginning and was sure we were on our way to a solid five star read. In the last third of the book, however, the pacing was a bit off. By biggest issue is the last one hundred pages or so. We were flying through plot and the pacing was just too fast to appreciate what was happening. Because of this, characters started to feel a little all over the place. It was harder for me to buy into a lot of the conclusion since I ended up feeling very disconnected from our characters. I especially felt this with the Daggers – we don’t spend enough time with them to get that connection that was needed. It was unfortunate the ending didn’t really hit for me, since I really do enjoy the set up and premise of the story.

I really liked the relationship between our main couple, both in their murderous interactions and eventual banter. Sera and Ransom’s romance was a little insta-lovey and a lot of insta-lust, but it was fun regardless. I absolutely LOVED the window scenes; a few moments made me laugh out loud. Pippin the dog stole my entire heart and I hope to see even more from him in the next book. I liked the magic system and the city torn between the Orders of Cloaks and Daggers. I especially loved reading about House Armand – it was such a fun and whimsical building. I want to know more about the city itself – we hear about a king but do not get more information about him. I hope we see a little more of that world building fleshed out in the sequel.

Despite my criticisms, this honestly was a fun read. It was fast-paced and easy to grasp from the beginning. I was captivated and blew through it in 2 days. I am interested to see where this story goes, so I will absolutely be picking up the sequel with the hopes we get more of the magic I felt in the first half of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This one has a lot of potential. I felt like the pacing was off a little and sometimes seemed slow during important events. The relationships hit sometimes and other times didn’t. The heists were a bit repetitive but overall an interesting story. I love the word choice and the way the author writes. I think with a little refinement on the relationship interactions it could be amazing.

It took me a minute to get into this one but once I did… I was hooked. The banter, the romance, the rivalries and the reveals. I mean it had everything you could ask for bundled up into a story you just can’t stop reading. I will be not so patiently waiting for the next book because I need to know what happens next.

Thank you to netgalley for this arc!
I had a great time with this book. The plot kept twisting in somewhat predictable ways but I had a great time. This book does read very YA at parts but then there's bits of Spice that makes it lean towards NA.

Enemies to lovers (Like they actually try to kill each other)
Shadow daddy (somewhat, pls expand upon this in a second book unf)
Found family

I felt like Sera was a very unreliable narrator. At first you believe that she is naive and doesn't know much but then as the plot unravels more and more is shown especially since she's a bit blood thirsty lol. With the bits of spice shown I wish this was just fully adult book that had more thought out plot devices. But I did enjoy it for what it was. The male lead, Ransom, was also a good high point to this book. The banter between him and Sera had me kicking my feet.

Highly recommend this book to my romantasy girlies that don't mind YA with some spice.

I was hooked from the beginning and I loved every second of it!

I really enjoyed Sera and Ransom's scenes together. The pacing of the enemies to lovers was so well done, just perfect!
The whole plot was just to die for. I loved all the magic, the angst, the assassins, just everything.

Also, dying at that ending. I need the sequel immediately!

I highly recommend to fans of fantasy!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4⭐️ this was such a fun read!! An enemies to lovers, cat and mouse fantasy romance that I couldn’t put down.

In this world there is something called Shade which basically gives you shadow magic. Daggers which are assassins ingest it and can wield shadows. While Cloaks wear it and are thieves. Seraphine’s mother is murdered and she ends up running to join the cloaks. Ransom who is a dagger is sent to kill Seraphine.

This was filled with so much action and adventure, it even had reveals that had my jaw on the floor. An honorable mention to one of my favorite characters, Pippin the dog.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Nothing about this book really story really stood out to me. I found that it just follows the same formula as all other YA fantasy novels: boy meets girl; boy and girl hate each other; boy and girl banter; boy and girl don't hate each other; boy and girl get together; one betrays the other; setup for second book. At some point along the way, there is probably only one bed or something like that. Just incredibly formulaic. I'm not saying this is a bad book or anything. If you know you like that fantasy formula, this book would be great. The environment was pretty cool, but other than, everything just felt like it had been done before, many times. I found this forgettable, but would not be surprised if it found an audience just due to the nature of what people are reading right now. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but this book just felt pretty cliché.

The story begins with the night of Seraphine's mother's murder, which forces Sera to flee for her life. She seeks refuge with the Cloaks, a thieves guild vying to control Fantome's underworld. Seraphine discovers her magic and sets on a mission to avenge her mother. She crosses with Ransom, the heir to the assassin's Order of Daggers; he is intrigued by Seraphine's magic, but she is soon his new target. They are entangled in a complicated relationship between the conflicting guilds and the mysterious magic. The tension draws them together in a deadly struggle for dominance with a dash of revenge.

Seraphine (Sera), as a character, develops from a simple farm girl to a formidable foe as part of the Cloak, the thieves' guild in the city of Fantome. As she discovers her magic, she becomes confident and resilient. She's filled with anger and revenge for the killing of her mother. Sera does doesn't fully grasp her mother's role in the monsters that endanger the city. Ransom is part of the Order of Daggers, the assassin's guild, who stays in the shadows. He is bound by duty and loyalties, which are the struggles of his morality once he meets Sera. He is drawn to her, and together, their sense of justice is challenged. Both characters are on a journey of self-discovery that will impact their identity and sense of power and control.

The city sets a gothic and yet opulent backdrop to the story. The secret catacombs enhance the aspect of the mystery and danger, creating a darker atmospheric quality. The rivaling characters and intricate plot keep me engaged until the last page. Sera and Ransom's intertwined fates have me eagerly anticipating what will happen next in Fantome.

I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books

─ 3 stars
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for freepass arc

This book definitely has an intriguing and promising plot, and it actually served its purpose. I would say the whole book contains 50% romance and 50% main plot. It has unique magic and some twists that caught me off guard. I enjoyed it until halfway through the book because it started relying too much on romance tropes. Despite how good this book was, I found some flaws here and there. Some of the writing felt too juvenile for YA; the world-building felt small despite mentioning the city's workings and the whole government. It seemed like an addition to make it more crowded because all I saw were these two rival places going back and forth. Some chapters felt too rushed and lacked depth in how events unfolded.

I didn't really enjoy the romance in most parts. It is an enemies-to-lovers trope, so as expected, the characters started as enemies wanting to get rid of each other and eventually fell in love. While it started with a good enemies-to-lovers dynamic, I didn't see much chemistry between the love interests. In some parts, they didn't even seem to trust each other, and the unnecessary "spice" thrown in for tension kind of ick me. The characters themselves were just okay in their own ways. I agreed with some of their choices in certain chapters, but in specific scenes, I was annoyed by the low level of trust and bravery they displayed.

I actually wanted to give this 4 stars, but some specific scenes made me lower my rating. I liked the first half, but the second half to the end of the book was not my favorite. I don't think I'm hooked enough to read the sequel; it didn't interest me enough, but who knows, I might change my mind.