Unfortunately this was not for me, I was at about the 20% mark when I knew I should have DNF’d it but I didn’t and now I regret it. I was bored through most of the book because I’ve heard this story before in From Blood and Ash, and because of that book I predicted the ending to this story. Also the fmc being a maiden and developing red hair is a little too similar to Poppy. It also aggravated me how much the fmc talks about kissing? No joke it was so repetitive I should have done a tally every time she mentioned it. I think what led me to push through the book was my curiosity of the world building which was actually pretty good in comparison to From Blood and Ash, and the side characters were pretty interesting as well. The ending was also pretty obvious, and it sucks because this book has so many good reviews, but again it just was not for me.

A Tribute of Fire is an engaging take on Gods and mythology. The world building was sufficient to paint a picture but didn’t go overboard where readers are lost in the details. The writing is also done in such a way that those new to the fantasy/romantasy genre can dive in without being overwhelmed. I enjoyed the FMC, Lia, especially her growth journey throughout the story. The chemistry and draw between Lia and Jason is palpable. You can’t help but root for them from their very first meeting. More than that, though, I loved the found family Lia created with her adelphia. Each sister in the group balanced the others out. The plot is full of twists and secrets to keep readers engaged. There’s an overwhelming sense throughout the story that something isn’t quite right and that feeling is reoccurring with the various situations Lia finds herself in. While certain reveals felt predictable, that may be a “me thing” with the overwhelming number of romantasy books I’ve read. It also didn’t take away from my enjoyment reading the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it. I also can’t believe Sariah ended it the way she did. I am in desperate need of book 2.

Lia is about to have an arrange marriage but with the women in her kingdom dying she knows it can wait. She has trained to save the women who are put to death all to settle an ancient grudge. But maybe things are not as they seem.

This is the first book in a series and wow it’s amazing. This sets up the world for what is to come and I can always feel the Easter eggs for the next books.

This reminds me a lot of Ember in Ashes meets the Hunger Games. If you are a fan of dystopian/ fantasy worlds with strong female characters you will love this!

Thank you @netgalley and @sariahwilsonauthor for this ARC.

Release 1 of November

A Tribute of Fire is an amazing fantasy debut from Sariah Wilson! The story is compelling, fast-paced and action-packed. I love the main female and main male characters, and the writing really conveyed how much they cared about and wanted each other. If you enjoy fantasy, romance, enemies to lovers, Greek mythology, and adventure, then you will absolutely love this book. I just finished it, and I already cannot wait for the next book in the series!

Rating 4.5

I love discovering new to me authors, I enjoyed this so much

What a ride, Author Sariah Wilson masterfully weaves tension through every twist and turn in the labyrinthine streets of Ilion, where danger lurks at every corner. Lia’s fierce determination and unwavering love for her sister give her strength as she faces the life-or-death challenges ahead. The vivid description of the landscape, the palpable heat of the desert, and the political tensions between the two nations enhance the urgency of Lia's mission.

One of the most compelling aspects I enjoyed in this story is Lia’s inner turmoil. She is not only fighting to survive but also grappling with her unexpected attraction to Jason, an Ilionian sailor. Their chemistry crackles on the page as Lia struggles between her hatred for Ilion and her growing desire for him. Jason’s complexity as a character adds layers of intrigue to their relationship, making it hard for Lia—and readers—to fully trust him.

The themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and empowerment pulse through the narrative as Lia fights for her own life and seeks to lift the curse and change the fate of her nation. Wilson creates a balance between action-packed scenes and emotional depth, especially through the sibling bond between Lia and Quynh. The tribute race tests more than just physical strength; it challenges Lia’s moral compass, forcing her to make gut-wrenching decisions that will have lasting consequences.
As the first installment in The Eye of the Goddess series, A Tribute of Fire sets the stage for an epic fantasy filled with rich mythology, intense action, and a heroine willing to defy the gods themselves.

The book left me breathless, eager to see how Lia’s journey continues.

An action-packed, heartbreaking story of devotion, sisterhood, loss, love and betrayal. Set in ancient Greece, Lia just wants to save her people. But this won’t come easy. She will need to fight, sacrifice everything and trust no one.
The plot twists and the fantastic writing kept me up late multiple nights in a row! The relationship dynamics and the world-building set the fast-paced tone, allowing us to walk through Locris and Ilion, meet new characters and combat fiercely. A highly recommended read!

Inspired by Greek mythology, this novel pulls you into a life where one country has been cursed for a thousand years with drought and famine, trade route blockages, and losing two daughters a year in a terrible tribute. In secret, Lia, one of the younger daughters of the king of Locris, has been training to be one of those chosen as tribute in hopes to make it to the goddess' temple and avoid her arranged marriage to the younger son of Ilion. Of course, things do not go as planned, and she finds herself both attracted to an enemy and trying to save her beloved sister unexpectedly. There are plenty of politics and myths that come to life, as well as the unexpected romance and new friends she makes in Ilion. Lia is a fabulous character, although some of her choices remind the reader that she is also very young and in a terrible situation generations old. I loved Jason as well and their mystical connection is fantastic. The cliffhanger! Oh my! I'm so excited to see the title and release date for book 2 already because I will be desperately awaiting more answers to the questions this novel raises.

This book was an amazing start to the series. Lia, the princess of Locrain, going through trials and tribulations not only outside but inside the temple was a great way to introduce characters and pull the reader in. I loved the characters and the bonds they shared. Just like many romantasy books the last 100 pages go completely insane. I can’t wait to continues this series!

It was overall enjoyable and I was able to finish it but it didn’t necessarily catch my interest the entire time.

Wow. I cannot believe I have to wait till 2025 for the sequel. She leaves us on such a cliff-hanger. I will be getting my hands on the second book ASAP!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lia is the princess of a failing country. Dealing with overwhelming taxes, a trade blockade, and famine means the end is in sight for the Locrians. So she has decided to put herself to the test and get sent to Illion to run for her life and try to save her country. But of course, nothing works out as planned and things are not always as they seem.

What a fun ride! The pacing of this book was perfect and I loved that there was romance but enough of a plot to carry the book forward with some fantasy thrown in as well. This book was right up my alley and really did a good job of throwing some twists and turns in with multiple subplots going on mixed in with the main storyline. I love all the characters and all their sides. I highly recommend this book to a romance or fantasy reader but would say it’s a must read for romantasy readers… so good! The only bad thing I have to say is the cliff-hanger at the end is deadly and if you buy this book you’ll be mad at the author too for making us wait while she writes the next book!

Don't mind me....I'll just be staring at a wall and pouting until I get the next book. My soul feels absolutely drained, my heart is pained, and my brain is WIRED! I can usually hop from book to book, but I may need a moment after this one to digest.

SO. MUCH. HAPPENS! There is a lot of history and world building in this book, but it happens over time. I still had to go back and read a few pages, not because I didn't understand it but because I could tell it would be important later and I didn't want to forget.

Lia is everything you want in a FMC. She is smart, she is brave, she is caring. And she gets gloriously side-tracked every time a certain sailor enters the scene. Her internal conflict is one of my favorite parts about the story, because you're equally as conflicted and confused as she is.

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about Jason, but I'm going to keep them to myself. Just know....I have high hopes, and I think good things, but given I've just finished the book I'm still processing how I feel about him. So circle back with me after book 2.

I felt like this book has everything you want and love in a Romantasy. Enemies to lovers? Check. Deep family bonds? Check. Found family? Check. Mysterious magic system that no one truly knows about? All the checks.

This is such a special world that Wilson has created, and I cannot wait to get more of it!

Overall: Highly Recommend!

WOW! I will start this review by saying that I need the second book right now!! I flew through this story, and I loved Lia and Jason’s characters. Lia is a princess, who plans to find a way to end the curse that was placed on her home, Locris, centuries ago by an earth goddess. She unexpectedly meets Jason, who is a handsome sailor, that Lia feels an immediate bond with, and is confused about why she feels this way.

I really loved the chemistry between Lia and Jason, and the slow burn and banter is done really well. I thought Wilson did a great job balancing the time that Lia and Jason spend together, while giving Lia her own time to shine in the story, sans love interest.

Lia makes for a great lead character, and I loved seeing her character growth through the story. She is loyal, brave, and inquisitive, while also being reckless and not always making the best decisions. Her character definitely kept me interested in the story and I loved following her time in the temple and the relationships she formed with the other women in her adelphia.

The mythology references added a great feel to the book, but I still felt like it was its own original story. My favorite reference was the story of Hades and Persephone, that Maia told the sisters about, during one of their classes.

A Tribute of Fire definitely kept me caught up in the suspense of the story and the cliffhanger is “chef’s kiss”, and I feel like I will have an impatient wait for book two to come out and continue the story. I’m looking forward to seeing more revealed about Lia’s role with the goddess and seeing where Wilson takes the tension that is building in Lia’s relationship with Jason.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC

A fascinating and good fantasy debut! I was immersed in the story and throughly enjoyed my time reading it. The author did a great job with the world building and made the book easy to read and get into. The fmc was a so badass and strong and I really liked her. I had a great time with the book and can warmly recommend it.

This was so fast paced from page one, I was instantly hooked. I loved the adaptation of a traditional Greek Myth and thought the inspiration was reflected really well in the story.
I loved the relationships throughout the book, especially the mentor/mentee! It’s hard to craft such a special figure early in the book but it was really enjoyable.

Young/ new adult (which I’d class this as) isn’t usually my first choice but the story telling, characters, friendships and love story had me devouring every last page of this book.
It had me giggling and my tummy flip flopping, reading as fast as I could to see what would happen next
10/10 would recommend

This was really great! I loved the characters and the FMC was such a badass. The setting was really cool as well and the story kept me engaged and not once did I feel bored at all. Will be adding to our library 100%!

It's difficult for me to give this novel a star rating, For purposes of goodreads and instagram, I set this one as somewhere between a 3.5 and 4 star, and said: "The writing (like in terms of actual sentence structure) is very basic/YA, and the novel most certainly would’ve been elevated by a better edit. But also: OH MY GODDESS, I LOVED THIS STORY AND COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN (even knowing exactly where it was going).

All that is true. I also said, "I hate/am grateful that I read this as an arc (thank you Literary Media Tours), because it’s 2am on a Sunday (I started this yesterday) and I would’ve gone straight into the next in the series if it was available." This is also true. I got very caught up in this story and very much want to see where it takes me next,

Having said that, I'm now reviewing on netgalley, where people are here (I think) for more than just vibes. I'm truly not sure how I would rate this book for people who read as a very serious hobby or as a profession. As thoroughly engrossed in the book as I was, I was pulled out of the story in every single chapter, like literally EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER (there are 68), finding edits to the sentence structure, word choice, grammar, and punctuation. The story itself was also very predictable, like zero surprises here. And I am truly shook, SHOOK, that this isn't a work of YA. All that being said, however, as I mentioned above: OH MY GODDESS, I LOVED THIS STORY AND COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN. It is truly rare for me to lose track of a bad edit bc I'm caught up in the story/vibes. Normally all the aforementioned problems (aka a bad edit) would INFURIATE me and, ultimately, lead to a DNF. It speaks volumes, i think, for the storytelling, that I not only loved this, but am WAITING WITH BATED BREATH FOR BOOK 2. So do with that information what you will.

“A Tribute of Fire” by Sariah Wilson is an electrifying, mystifying and sensational fantasy read, mixed with a passionate slow-burn romance that is bound to capture the reader’s attention within the first few pages. Wilson tells the story of Lia, a princess from the lands of Locris, a decrepit nation struggling on the brink of famine after being cursed by an earth goddess. The earth goddess is worshipped and praised by the nation of Ilion, who every year for a millennium, offers two Locrian maidens as a sacrifice to their goddess. The maidens are forced to run for their lives in an-all out death race, hunted by Ilion men, while trying to reach the goddesses’ temple, where they can see refuge if they manage to get there. The plot twist is that a maiden has never made it before. This year, Lia is one of the maidens forced to run the race, something she has been training and preparing for her whole life. She has a plan to save her nation, and her first step involves making it to the temple alive. Lia may have planned to be selected but a number of things she didn’t anticipate come to fruition, some welcome and others desperately not.

This book follows the story of Lia, a courageous, strong and powerful female character, as she embarks on a journey that no women has ever survived. It features adrenaline-filled battle scenes that will have the reader sitting on the edge of their seat, unable to put the novel down, as well as swoon-worthy, slow-burn romantic scenes between Lia and her forbidden lover. This story not only contains an amazing, thrill-seeking fantasy, and an electrifying romance, but the story of found family and sisterhood.

Readers looking for their next fantasy read should look no further. This book will not disappoint, with its cleverly crafted storyline, passionate romantic scenes and continuous plot twists that will keep the reader engaged for hours. The characters in this story have been developed with a level of great detail and intricacy that make them extremely interesting and likeable. Readers that are fans of the enemies- to-lovers trope with a fierce female main character will love this read. It gives off Ancient Greece meets The Hunger Games vibes, which fans will fall in love with. I loved this book and am eagerly awaiting the second installment in this series.

5⭐️

A Tribute of Fire is the first book in a three book series and honestly, I think this has become my favourite read of the year.

I was completely hooked from start to finish. The world building was great, I loved the lore of the world and premise of the yearly sacrifice (think a simpler hunger games/maze runner vibe) and the FMC was great. She felt well rounded and fully relatable.

The book does end of a cliff hanger which I know a lot of people won’t like but I believe (and hope) the payoff will be worth it in the next book.

Troupes:
Enemies to lovers ☁️
Slow burn 🔥
Found family/sisterhood 💞
Forbidden love ❤️‍🔥
A sprinkle of dragons 🐉
Badass female characters ⚔️

I love a good mythology inspired book, and this book was no exception! The story blends Greek mythology with a new and exciting world and story to create a both familiar and unique world. The world building was excellent, and the romance was sweet. The cliffhanger at the end has me DYING for the next book. This is definitely a good book worth checking out!