Member Reviews
I have been a fan of Sariah's for many years. This book is a departure from her normal sweet but slow burning modern romance novels. But it's an incredible departure. A Tribute of Fire has everything you love about Sariah's writing but with a twist. I had a hard time putting this down until it was done and I'm waiting impatiently for the 2nd book in the trilogy. It can't come soon enough.
Thank you to Sariah Wilson for providing me with a digital early copy of this book.
Let's start by saying this book could be the next Throne of Glass, Harry Potter or A Court of Thorns and Roses. Do I need to say more?
The synoposis is something like this: In a dying nation cursed centuries ago, Lia the princess of Locris is chosen as one of the two maidens to be sacrificed as an offering to the goddess. There is an attractive sailor in the midst, (Jason) and a lot of trickery, badass fighting....lots of secret to uncover.
Personally Sariah Wilson's books are always one of my faves, as soon as I saw this book was available as an ARC I did not hesitate to apply and read it. The romance in A Tribute of Fire is on point, exactly what is needed in a romantasy.
Since finishing this book I have been thinking about the next book in the series, I cannot wait so many months for another book when book 1 is so good.
If you haven't already be sure to preorder this book, it is due to release on the 1st of November 2024 and it will be a day to remember.
This book was okay. I didn't enjoy that the kiss was litterally 20% in and was so sudden. Also the facts that it has godnesses and temples.
Sariah Wilson's debut romantasy novel is full of mystery, action, and romance, and will leave the reader with a slew of questions that they'll just have to wait for the sequel to answer.
When Lia, the princess of a dying nation, gets chosen as tribute for a race against death (aka many men with weapons), she concocts a dangerous plan that could potentially bring her home back to its former glory. But Lia's plan has many obstacles, and the closer she gets to her goal, the more difficult it becomes to separate friends from foes.
The two aspects of the novel that stood out to me the most were the found family (as I affectionately called it the "girl gang") and the curated feeling of skepticism. I am always a sucker for a found family trope and the concept of the adelphias makes it even more intriguing as the group shares a connection that is yet to be fully understood. Lia's training emphasizes skepticism, and while on this quest to save her nation, it becomes even more vital to her as she attempts to find out who she can and cannot trust. Due to the use of first-person POV, the reader can only know what Lia knows which adds an extra layer of suspense as we are on the same playing field as Lia.
I often have difficulty starting fantasy novels, due to the world-building aspect, but A Tribute of Fire piqued my interest from the beginning and kept me enamored throughout. I highly recommend this novel to individuals who enjoy romantasy, slow burn, found family, and suspense. I will definitely be on the lookout for future novels in this series!
Thank you to the author for an ARC copy via NetGalley.
4.75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Never in my life has a cliffhanger wrecked me more than this! How am I supposed to read anything else to emotionally get over this! Sariah, how could you!!
This may very well be the Romantasy of 2024, I’m calling it now!
This book follows Lia the Princess of Locris, a nation that has been cursed by the Goddess after her ancestor committed a heinous crime. Leaving it barren and at the mercy of a rival kingdom. She is to be married to the Prince of Ilion but she has other plans, and desperately needs to save her kingdom. After training in secret to join a deathly trial, that no maiden has ever survived in 1000 years, to make it to the priestess temple, she is thrown a curveball that she never saw coming.
On the night before Lia is to depart she meets “Jason” and I might even say it was lust at first sight. Jason is a charming sailor who has secrets of his own. While Lia does her best not to fall for his charms he makes it incredibly difficult. The plot twist to this, I will never get over!
The found family, the absolute heart breaking betrayal, the goddess, the dreams, as well as the fantastical creatures in this book are like nothing I’ve ever read before. I am still processing the ending of this book, and it’s one that will definitely be difficult to recover from. Some of the plot twists in this book left my jaw on the floor!! I am absolutely waiting on pins and needles for the next book!
One of the best books I've ever read. How long do I have to wait for Book 2????? This is going to define the romantasy genre for me for a long time. I have such a bad book hangover!
Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-ARC. I was extremely excited to jump into Sariah's first romantasy. Her contemporary romance books are phenomenal, I was sure this would follow suit. There is a lot of promise with this one, however, as I was reading, I came across what I believe to be plot holes and/or areas where the story didn't line up. I was often left feeling what I read was contradictory or unclear which made it hard to wrap my head around aspects of the story as a reader.
The two cliff hangers at the end, I had figured they were coming, albeit I didn't know how (I called them both).
What was extremely enjoyable:
- The bander btwn the MCs -- no surprise there given Wilson's romance writing experience;
- The goose (hopefully geese, in book 2).
There is ALOT here, it's a big book and the whole priestess-thing is very interesting. Overall, a solid "stab" at a romantasy, this could be a fun read for someone new to the genre. I will plan to read book 2 as I want to see how the story unfolds; as I wrote above, it has a lot of promise.
A Tribute of Fire is... remarkable and I am EAGER to read the next book! ATOF has all the things you need in a romantasy read - enemies to lovers, slow burn, royalty, strong characters and even some greek mythology. And that cliff hanger - ugh! - it could not have been any better.
Lia is a princess from a cursed nation and has a plan to save her people. However this plan is quite dangerous and there is a chance it can fail. She decides to go through with it and along the way she comes across many challenges - including losing a loved one, gaining enemies and a handsome sailor, Jason, who she can't get over with!
Thank you Sariah Wilson and NetGalley for the eARC!
“𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙.”
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Another day, another ARC! holy wow I absolutely loved this book. I devoured it within a week because it was THAT good and captivating.
It gave the vibes of the hunger games, but with an Ancient Greek setting, which was executed really well. This concept was so cool! The world building and description of the scenes were amazing, it was like I could actually envision myself watching everything in the book happen.
Lia is a princess in a kingdom that is dying and barren, and of course she hates seeing her people suffer because of a decision her ancestor made. So, she takes matters into her own hand to try to save her people by participating in the life-or-death race to a temple in another city.
I love how bold and determined Lia is. She’s strategic and keeps herself calm, cool, and collected. She’s very mature for her age (I believe she’s 19?) but it makes sense that she had to grow up fast because of her circumstances. She is also a certified badass — to prep for the race, she trained her battle skills everyday with her mentor and the country’s soldiers. I really loved Lia’s character growth and her commitment to her beliefs and mission, despite the multiple obstacles that she faces. Her determination was admirable.
The plot twists in this book were actually wild. There were two major plot twists where I was like “HOLY SMOKES” and immediately had to pause for a second, digest the twist, and re-read it. You know when you read a really shocking part of a book and slap your hand to your mouth in response? That was me during the end of the book.
Overall, I really really enjoyed this book and think it was amazing. I would describe this as an upper YA, fantasy hunger games with an Ancient Greek twist — and I’m so here for it.
Wow! This is a wonderful, multi layered, exciting and interesting story. It's rich and detailed but there is no unnecessary filler. I really don't want to have to wait to read the rest. If you like well rounded characters, detailed world building and an exciting plot you will enjoy reading this.
The fate of a cursed nation depends on a princess who must outwit a mortal enemy and outlast the trials of a death-defying ritual in a thrilling adventure by USA Today bestselling author Sariah Wilson.
Lia is the princess of Locris, a dying desert nation cursed centuries ago by an earth goddess—one still worshipped by the thriving and adversarial nation of Ilion. Every year, Ilion offers the goddess a sacrifice: two Locrian maidens forced to compete in a life-and-death race to reach her temple. In a millennium, no maiden has made it out of Ilion alive. This year, Lia is one of the hunted.
An education in battle gives her a fighting chance, but the challenges are greater than she feared: Lia’s beloved but untrained sister Quynh has been put in the path of danger. The winding streets of Ilion itself have been transformed into a labyrinthine maze of countless choices and dead ends. And if the risks weren’t significant enough, Lia is reluctantly drawn to the commandingly attractive Jason, an Ilionian sailor she loathes to trust and desires like no man before.
The tribute game is on. It’s up to Lia to lift the goddess’s curse, restore Locris to its former glory, and change the fate of every young woman destined to follow in her path.
This is my first Sariah Wilson book and it did not disappoint in any way! This book has every element that I could ask for in a book along with an amazing plot.
Lia was such a strong character, she took heroine to a whole new level with A Tribute to Fire. Greek mythology is definitely in my top amount of favorites when it comes to reading and Wilson made this one another favorite.
The writing style was easy to follow, nothing over complicated or complex, it had a modernized way to it that didn’t leave you trying to understand what was happening.
I will definitely pick up more of her books!
Thank you Sariah Wilson for this ARC.
This book has Greek mythology, royalty, strong characters, romance.
Lia, the main character, is trying to save her family’s country after being cursed for thousands of years. Jason was very intriguing. I loved the banter between them two and I can’t wait to learn more about that.
The cliffhanger was just mind blowing. Totally didn’t see that coming. I’m so happy I got an ARC for this, but totally bummed I’ll have to wait so long for the next book. I’m hooked.
First debut into the romantasy world and Sariah did amazing! The story was everything I could have wanted!! A brave but naive heroine, the mysterious love interest, a goddess to please! I cannot wait for her next book in the series! The cliffhanger!!!!! Such a fun read!
Never has a cliffhanger had such a strong effect on me! This book... Wow! Sariah, you have officially got me in a chokehold and I am happy to remain here.
Where to begin...
So, Lia, our protagonist, is absolutely captivating. Her strength, determination, and unwavering commitment to her beliefs, even at personal risk, are admirable.
Her adelphia, her found family of sisters, are such a wonderful group of women and their bond is beautifully portrayed.
Jason, the love interest... Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy... He is intense, he is sexy, and he is undeniably mysterious. There's an instant connection between him and Lia, and while I'm usually not massively into insta-love/lust, in A Tribute of Fire this will make sense as the story progresses, and I'm certain book 2 will shed more light onto the situation. There's a very fated-mates feel to this story.
The banter and tension between him and Lia had me swooning - it was such a viscerally exciting development and it had me struggling to put the book down at all, I wanted more more more!
The world-building is unique and so interesting, and it's written in a way that is easy to digest. I love the Greek mythology aspect to this book, it is wonderfully written, taking from Greek history and weaving in magical elements in a creative way. I can't wait to find out more about the magic system that's being built.
I am desperate for book 2 - I don't know how I am expected to wait patiently, but I will do my absolute best!
When I saw that Sariah Wilson, a favorite author, was writing this book and stepping into a new genre, I knew I had to read this. A Tribute of Fire is amazing and I stayed up way too late reading it just so I could finish it-I didn't want to put it down! Sariah weaves an intriguing tale full of mystery and heart melting moments that keep you flipping those pages, eager for more.
Sariah did a wonderful job creating a unique story and memorable characters based around real events in history that we don't know a lot about. Lia is loyal, dedicated and has a fierce drive to protect and help. Lia's journey intertwines with Jason and together they are just fire. They have great banter and witty conversations. I have never wanted to skip to the ending of a story so bad in my life just to see what happens. (I refrained and let the mysteries unfold as I read). I loved the twists and turns of the story, even when they were driving me crazy at the same time. Definitely 'book hang over' inducing. I will go back for a re-read on this and eagerly await the next part of this story. I am not very patient and just want to dive right into the continuing story. It's going to be amazing!
ARC review 💫✨ 3.75 stars!
A Tribute of Fire was a glimpse into the fantasy realm of fictional Ancient Greece, with magic and malice at every turn.
This book is perfect your “new adult” fantasy/ mythology lovers looking for a fresh story. I especially loved the easter egg references to different elements of Greek mythology (the battle of troy, locrian maidens, politics and squabbles between gods).
Lia is a strong FMC who stops at nothing to achieve her goals. She loves fiercely and fights for what she believes in, even if it means sacrificing herself. The found family & sisterhood she creates was such a special element! Jason is a mysterious love interest who had me questioning a lot of morals… but like not in a bad way….
What’s holding me back from giving this book a higher rating is the pacing. I absolutely LOVED the first 1/3- it was fast paced, the romantic tension was off the charts, and the world was brutal and intriguing. From there the pace slowed down a lot for me, and I found myself wanting things to progress faster with less back and forth between characters over the same issues.
Thank you to the author for an ARC!
I have read every book Sariah Wilson has written, and I can unequivocally say that this is her best one.
Swoony heroes are a given, and Jason was no exception. Lia was an amazing, multi layered heroine and I loved her journey and growth (so far, there's more to go).
The mythology references were enthralling. I want to fall down a greek mythology rabbit hole to learn more about what is "real" and what the author developed or embellished for the story.
Also, I found the writing style really well suited. It had a vaguely modern feel that made the story easier to digest without going so far as to disrupt the tone and jar you out of the setting. A really well done blend that I have noticed some authors have difficulty with lately.
And finally, I need the next book immediately, please.
A Tribute of Fire is the perfect blend of fantasy and romance. I loved that it was set in Ancient Greece and based on one of its myths. It's engaging with great action, romance, and twists and turns.