Going by her previous two books, which were science fiction of very different stripes, Grace Curtis’s Idolfire is unsurprisingly darkly delightful. Frontier was a sapphic, post-apocalyptic road trip with Western styling while Floating Hotel was a found family story set on an interstellar luxury cruise liner that got progressively darker as it went. Idolfire shares some of the DNA of these stories but is very different again. Curtis has built what appears to be a fantasy road trip through a richly imagined world, using historical models for its various extant and former civilisations. She anchors the whole endeavour around three complex, slightly damaged characters who find strength in their mutual support.
Idolfire opens in two very different parts of Curtis’s world. Kirby lives a hardscrabble life in a small village called Walls End, nestled up against the ruins of a once great city. The god of that city was taken when it fell and that loss has left a blight which continues to affect the village. Following yet more tragedy Kirby sets off to retrieve that god from the former great city of Nivela and break the curse. On the other side of the world, Aleya is kind-of heir to the throne of the city of Ash but has her own baggage. Rulers of Ash claim their birthright by going out and returning successfully from quests. Ayela is given a seemingly impossible task that also involves going to Nivela but she has hardly started before she is waylaid and encounters Kirby.
As noted, the world of Idolfire, though fantasy-based, is built on real historical precedents. The city and people of Nivela are based on the Roman Empire, who blazed through the world, building straight roads and destroying other Empires before itself disappearing. The inspiration for Walls End were villages in Europe built in and around Roman remains, with little memory of the original. But Curtis has also drawn on Assyrian, Babylonian and other ancient empires to build her world. She builds a god-driven magic system on top of all of this which underpins and drives some of the wilder action scenes, particularly towards the end.
Curtis once again leans on a bit of a found family approach as the two travellers learn to live with each other, and more, and then the group becomes three, though not without some trauma. Similar to authors like Becky Chambers, there is a humanity to Curtis’s approach, which softens some of the darker, more dangerous parts of the story. Because there is plenty of danger, conflict, desperation and death. But much like her previous two books, it feels like a steel hand within a silk glove.
Idolfire is fantasy in a richly imagined world, built around real world analogues but powered by a fascinating magical system and peopled by engaging characters on a seemingly impossible quest which, of course, changes them. In doing so, Curtis demonstrates an ability to deliver her engaging form of narrative, characters and concerns in a different setting and different register.

Thank you to Net Galley and DAW for the ARC. I really enjoyed Floating Hotel so I was looking forward to reading another book by Grace Curtis. The beginning started strong, I liked the characters, and even the road trip was not so bad at the beginning, but as the story went on, the travelling was endless, and there seemed to be no purpose or direction beyond reaching the destination. The characters visited a lot of places, the prose used to describe these places was pretty, but I can't say I remember anything about the world. The ending was also super anticlimactic, and made me wonder what the point of reading this book was.

IDOLFIRE - GRACE CURTIS

Have you ever had that moment of realisation when you are reading a book and you feel almost like it's been written FOR you? That's what reading Idolfire felt like to me.

This book feels like an ode to travel, history and the fantasy genre all at once - and these happen to be some of my favourite things. Since Idolfire was inspired by the fall of Ancient Rome and other civilisations, you can expect that this book is truly epic in scale. The two FMCs, Aleya and Kirby, are part of communities who are living amongst ruins and the aftereffects of such a powerful colonising force. One that was a ruling menace until it suddenly snuffed out.

The first part of Idolfire sets the context and purpose of their respective journeys, and what a journey it is. You'll follow along as they each encounter new lands, with different people and belief systems, with many perils and mysteries to overcome as they go on their way.

If that sounds heavy, it doesn't actually feel this way as you read. Instead, this book has many cosy elements, with funny banter between characters and an eventual feeling of found family. And the magic is some of the best and most unique I've ever read. Imaginative and memorable, I genuinely never knew what to expect and I loved the magical powers and places that the characters encounter.

While their journeys and the world they're in feel truly epic in scale, other aspects like the romance and character development feel more subtle. This made it all the more believable, and I went through every emotion because of these incredible characters; I laughed, I felt fear for them and I cried.

I believe that Grace Curtis will be writing another standalone book set in this world, occurring many years after the events in Idolfire, and I know that I'll be reading it as soon as it's released. In fact, I'll read anything by Grace Curtis and if I could give this book more than five stars, believe me that I would!

Thank you to Grace Curtis, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Release date: 11 March 2025

Review score: 5/5

Trigger warnings: Violence, injury detail, war

Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for the preview. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars?

Journey before destination. Never have words applied to a book more. This is a slow paced, character driven quest story, with all the focus on the journey. Two characters find themselves on the same road to the same destination and pair up (initially much to Aleya’s chagrin). Later, a third character joins them. They all experience much character growth along the way, along with their at times harrowing journey.

The world was interesting, and I appreciated the author’s note at the end explaining her inspiration. But I just never connected with our characters. I didn’t FEEL things. And the end is an absolute fever dream, with a bittersweet epilogue. But I just feel kind of cold about it all.

Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC.

My prior exposure to the work of Grace Curtis was through the Floating Hotel which I only realized after reading Idolfire and seeing the book end “About the Author” blurb is actually a follow up to Frontier (🤦🏻‍♀️ how did I miss this? No wonder there were parts of Floating Hotel that felt like I missed some info somewhere, sigh). This book however unlike the prior two is fantasy and not science fiction, and at times I wanted it to break from its genre and head into space.

If you enjoy your fantasy threaded through with historical inspiration this will be an extra fun read for you. The “which civ is this?” Game was a delightful one for me and I was rewarded when my guessed civilizations proved correct by reading the “Author’s Note.”

I appreciated that this was a fantasy romance without insta-lust and was glad I didn’t have to skip over sex scenes (huzzah no mentions of “moist loins”). The love story felt believable and didn’t seem to overshadow the stakes of the quests they were on either. I find it incredibly annoying in books when characters are so focused on describing the object of their lust’s thighs that they literally ignore buildings being fire bombed around them.

Not going to get into spoiler territory here when I say the magic system was neat. If you geeked out about how the magic worked in Sanderson’s Warbreaker and Elantris you will likely enjoy this system as well and like me, wish for more info on this… I feel like the lack of grounding of the magic is a setup for book 2 (not that I know if there will be a book 2).

I think I’m going to select this for my book club to read if only to discuss the historical inspiration and magic system….

This was an utter delight! I’m so excited to read Curtis’ previous work!

Aside from the beginning being a little slow, I can’t think of anything bad to say about this book. The prose was lovely, Aleya and Kirby’s relationship was so real and sweet, the meditation on empire was thoughtful, and the ENDING!! I was almost crying in Itsu.

What really makes this book stand out to me is the pacing and the characters. The journey takes up most of the book, but it doesn’t feel padded or too short. It feels a lot like Katherine Addison’s writing in that way, though the road trip gives it a little more of a plot structure than Addison’s work tends to have. The main three characters, Aleya, Kirby, and Nylophon, are relatively simple, but they feel so lively and real. I loved all three of them. I think Curtis could have done a little more to differentiate their point of view, because sometimes I did lose track of whose point of view it was (particularly between Kirby and Aleya towards the end), but it wasn't a huge problem.

I've been doing a lot of repeating "people lived meaningful lives during the fall of the Roman empire" to myself as of late, and it was nice to read a book that was mostly about that. Just a wonderful book.

I received this book from Net Galley.

I do like traveling in fantasy books, but I also like it when characters eventually reach their destination. This book is about the journey, and I'm not sure if that was enough to fill the pages. The story follows two, later three, main characters coming from very different places in the same world, setting out for a journey to the once greatest city in existence. Kirby (not a fan of that name in a fantasy setting) is leaving her dying village in the middle of nowhere to find her lost Goddess, and Aleya is following her Calling so that she might finally take her previously denied place with the royal family. I really liked the way how these two characters were set up in the beginning of the story, although the pacing was a little weird with the time jumps from childhood to adulthood. But then they began their journey – first alone and later together – and I don't know what it was, but it just didn't work for me. They go from place to place and meet a whole variety of characters along the way, but I never felt like we were making progress in the story. The different places didn't serve a greater purpose and felt mostly random. And I say that even though I actually liked the worldbuilding. It wasn't super detailed, but many interesting ideas were presented. The world is full of great cities that once conquered the world but are now only ruins, of stolen and lost Gods and Goddesses, of magic that is powered through faith and prayers. Still, I wasn't invested in the story itself. From the cover, I expected it to be more on the cozy side and while it did feel calm, it was also full of attacks and fights, even death. It wasn't graphic or anything, but the vibes just didn't match at times. There were also things I didn't like altogether, like the somewhat pointless second person / you-are-the-city POV, or the messy ending. It wasn't an unpleasant reading experience, but also not an exciting one. The story basically went by without ever really catching my attention and that's unfortunate for a book that had a good beginning.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and DAW for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Idolfire is about two women, Kirby and Aleya, and their quest to reclaim icons stolen from their homelands by a conquering nation, a nation that has since withdrawn into isolation and become fodder for ghost stories. The two are eventually joined by a directionless mercenary, Nylophon, who surprisingly ended up having the most moving character arc to me. I also liked how he and Kirby had the same shared dream of retiring to the countryside with your beloved and growing plants. The universal queer fantasy?

This novel has one of the most fascinating magic systems I've read recently: being able to imbue/bring to life religious icons, with the icons' power based on how long and how many people have prayed to them. And how this builds the backstory: a foreign empire absorbing neighboring lands, literally stealing their gods and turning the gods against the people to fuel their own imperialist crusade...

The vibes were an interesting blend of gentle but cutting, horrifying but heartwarming. It was a little dissonant at times but also made the emotional beats hit harder. The ending wasn't particularly happy and I'm not sure how to describe my emotions, other than the tears and snot were flowing.

There's a scene later in the book that'll stick with me for a while, in which the three characters come across a tablet in the ruins of a large city. The tablet depicts people -- the former inhabitants of the city -- plowing, eating, talking, dancing... the only thing left intact amongst "bone-littered rubble." Something about that, about those long-dead living in art when everything else they touched has been destroyed... I cried.

I loved this. It introduced an entirely new magic system, and then mostly ignored it, focusing on the characters and their journey. I'd read Curtis's Floating Hotel, so I was expecting something not quite like this, but this was delightful. I only wish I'd been able to access a bigger version of the map.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an early copy of the book for review.

The story was setup in a unique way, with different POV and narrators driving the story.

This is simply an adventure, a quest, with a sapphic love story. The world building was satisfying and allowed me to feel immersed in the scenes as the story unfolded. I found the writing easy to follow and the story itself was engaging, the characters likeable in their own ways.

I would say this is more of a gentle unfolding of a story rather than an epic tale of war and romance. It was satisfying nonetheless to see the characters arcs through to the heartbreaking end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Oh my god. I am so overwhelmed with how much I loved this. I laughed out loud as I read and by the end I was full on ugly crying. Snot and all.

THIS is what fantasy should be!! But also maybe I’ve reached the pinnacle of fantasy and I’m ruined for all other books.

Also:

Nylophon of Carthe, son of Daxxies, lover of Nachi 🥹😭🥺🥹🫶🫶

A great journey!! A really good book and I was pretty interested the whole time! I was a little confused at some parts but I figured it out at the end. Super good! Make sure to read this when it comes out!

🔥ɨɖօʟʄɨʀɛ🔥

In the dying town of Wall’s End, Kirby seeks to break an ancient curse laid by a stolen Goddess. Across the world, unwanted princess Aleya will risk everything to prove her worth.

Now, fate will bring them together as their paths collide on the road to the ruins of a long-fallen empire. But deep in the heart of Nivela, something ancient still stirs—and Kirby and Aleya are will have to work together to prevent it from rising again.

This was a fun, slow-burn sapphic romance. I enjoyed the storyline and the world-building, especially the fact that Nivela is based on the Roman Empire. I also loved how certain chapters broke the fourth wall, with the narrator speaking directly to the reader as if they were the founder of Nivela, recounting their own history.

Kirby and Aleya were fantastic FMCs, but Aleya was definitely my favorite. I loved her independence, feistiness, and foul mouth. Their forced proximity, slow-burn, odd-couple romance was so sweet—it had me cheesing over their cutest moments

That said, a few elements didn’t quite work for me. There was another POV that I wasn’t a huge fan of—not bad, just not something I felt added much to the story. I also wasn’t entirely sold on the ending. It wasn’t bad (in fact, I’m sure some readers will love it), but it didn’t unfold the way I was hoping. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (Rounded up for NetGalley)

Pub Date: March 11, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Asta Publishing house for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun character driven quest story. I really enjoyed getting to know Aleya, Kirby, and Nylo too eventually. Though they all grew on their journeys, Nylo actually had the most character development, but to be fair, he had the furthest to go too.

The world was really interesting and I loved traveling all over it. The mysterious "You" interlude chapters were intriguing and I'd have liked more of them to really build up this person. This book was kind of somewhere between cozy and epic. The sapphic element was a bit light and I wasn't overly invested in the relationship, but happy for them nonetheless.

While the ending made sense and I was happy for what Kirby and Aleya were able to accomplish respectively, the ending between the two of them was a bit disappointing for me.

Thank you DAW and NetGalley for the ARC!

Overall, I did enjoy the book, though I think the marketing of this as a road trip story was off. It felt more like an adventure story where they happened to travel as I believe roadtrip story comes with certain plot expectations and certain character growth that this book didn't really have. That phrasing set my expectations in a certain way that the book didn't meet which I don't think is necessarily the book's fault.

Idolfire sets up a world that’s visually compelling and full of potential. However, while the concept is engaging, the execution doesn’t always land. The pacing can feel uneven, with moments of intense action that sometimes drag into long stretches of exposition or slower character development. The protagonist is intriguing but not always relatable, which makes it harder to fully invest in their journey. Some of the side characters feel a bit underdeveloped, and there are parts of the plot that seem to rush by without fully resolving or exploring the stakes.

For a story rooted in such an imaginative world, the emotional weight doesn’t always hit as hard as it could. The writing style is solid, but there are moments where it feels like the potential of the world is greater than what’s on the page.

Overall, Idol, Fire has flashes of brilliance and some compelling ideas, but it doesn’t fully stick the landing

Floating Hotel was one of my favorite reads of 2024, so I was ecstatic for the chance to read Idolfire. But honestly, I'm not sure exactly what to make of this book. There were parts I liked but also parts that I didn't particularly care for; overall, this was just an okay book. I really struggled to get into this at first: I didn't feel connected to the story at all, and was completely lost on what direction this book was going in until about 35% through.

This book is an interesting take on the hero's journey—kind of boring at times and pretty much just built on vibes. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and was a bit confused on the lore, though I'm not sure if this was an intentional choice by the author to make the reader feel more connected to the protagonists, since they themselves didn't have much knowledge on what exactly awaited them on their journey. The magic system presented in the book was interesting, and I wish that we had gotten to see and understand it a bit more in the book.

It took me about halfway through the story for the characters to grow on me, and I found their adventures together engagingly companionable and pretty humorous at times. I applaud the author's ability to make the most unlikeable character in the story into someone I began to grudgingly adore haha!

3.25 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A walking book that I actually liked! That is hard to do but this one was overall lovely. Obviously the world has some "fall of the Roman Empire" vibes but it is also very obviously NOT just the post-Roman Empire world re-skinned. The locations are unique (though Curtis does talk about her inspirations in the afterword) and there is a distinct lore from our Earthly history. The magic system of Idolfire itself was one that really hit for me. I loved Aleya as a character and liked Kirby (more on that in a bit). I originally wasn't sold on Nylophon, mostly due to how he was introduced relatively late in the story, but he did grow on me. There are also some cool horror-like elements that come in towards the end of the book. The ending itself is one of those that just FITS the story so perfectly even though it might not be what everyone wanted.The ending is one of those that just FITS the story so perfectly even though it might not be what everyone wanted.

There was one thing I thought was a HUGE gap in this book, and that was an actual conversation between Aleya and Kirby about WHY EACH OF THEM WAS ON THIS TRIP. That just...never happened. And part of that conversation, which really leaves me wondering WTF was up with Kirby, would have been Kirby's backstory--how did her brother die? What was up with that line about it taking two days to kill his son (from an ambiguous point of view)? Kirby and Aleya never actually told each other who they were which also makes Kirby showing up to see Aleya in the end very odd. Had that tension point of conversation been added in and resolved, this would go up to a five-star read for me.

3.5 stars

I found myself quite misled by the synopsis; perhaps this is just my own bias, but the word “roadtrip” to me implies something rather unserious, often cozy. But this was, at its core, a quest novel. And a quest is very different from a roadtrip because the quintessential road trip involves deliberate detours and joyful discoveries whereas a quest has roadblocks and perils and catastrophes that blow one off course.

I also very much did not like the “you” chapters, the weird little colloquial history lessons that just felt super tonally off from the (unexpectedly serious) quest novel.

Though, more like a roadtrip than a quest, it felt rather like Kirby lucked into success more through sheer good cheer than any sort of directed growth. Indeed, she changes very little over the course of the story (acting instead as more of a catalyst for Aleya and Nylophon).

I did really like the nods to history (which are mentioned in more detail in the Author’s Note at the end) and the descriptions of the various cities and settlements - especially the ruins.

*3.5 stars*

I usually don’t do half-star reviews, but I’m struggling with this one, so it is what it is. In general, I really liked this book - the premise was interesting, the characters were appealing (though not always likable), the “You” interludes were intriguing, and the ending was tidy yet emotional.

So, why am I giving it 3.5 stars, you ask? There is something about the writing style that is just lacking - lacking flow, lacking clarity, just lacking that oomph. There were several instances (I can remember at least 4 specifically) where I had to go back and reread a section because there was a jarring jump in the dialogue and/or description, and I thought I missed a line or paragraph. Nope, that was just the writing, I guess? It took me out of the story, and I felt like the text could have been much more impactful without those blips.