Ok I knew this was a gamble, and I was right, it’s going to be hard to wait till July to get the rest of this little gem! It’s got Fourth Wing vibes for sure!! No dragons be we have Phoenix riders!! I only got the first 10 chapters but Mikayla’s easy writing style drew me in and hook line an sinker! So of course all I can do is mark my calendar for release day and swoop me up a copy to continue the journey of Kel and Coup!

Kel and her friends have a racing team which they use the winnings to survive. Coup is a cocky gorgeous rider that Kel can’t stand but somehow (wont tell) gets backed into a corner and has to team up with him in hopes they can win some races and she can save her home.

Thank you NetGalley and Mikayla Bridge for the free sneak peek for a honest review!! Can’t wait to read the full version of this one!!

I got a approved for the full ARC so I'll ne reviewing that! I'm excited to dive in.

Thanks netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!

This of flame and fury chapter sampler makes me anxious for the entire book! I cannot wait to read the entire thing as this sampler was enthralling and quite enjoyable.

In a world where phoenix racing can bring fame and, critically, fortune, Kel is desperate to win to stave off financial ruin. But even with a star phoenix, that's not an easy task, and she's left with the question: how far is she willing to go?

I read a ten-chapter sampler of the book, which is more than enough to introduce Kel and her teammates and to get a sense of the perils of the world she lives in. Kel and team are all teenagers, operating more or less without adult oversight in a wildly dangerous sport—phoenix racing is not just a matter of speed and skill but one of dodging obstacles designed to kill. Kel says that pheonixes are "godly creatures meant to be feared and protected" (loc. 135*) but also that because they are "continually captured for [racing] and killed on tracks, their population was dwindling" (loc. 662); I'm not sure how these two things are balanced—how widely phoenixes are viewed as godly—but I hope this dichotomy of Kel caring so deeply for her phoenix but also being heavily involved in a sport designed to kill both humans and phoenixes is explored in depth as the book goes on.

This is very very clearly set up as an enemies-to-lovers story—Kel knows Coup from the racing circuit, and she can't stand him (mostly, I think, because he's willing to take bigger risks than she is, and is more likely to win). I've never been one much for enemies-to-lovers stories (give me mutual respect and cooperation!), but I imagine that this will go over very well with readers who are fans of I-can't-stand-him-so-why-do-I-want-to-kiss-him YA romance.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing this preview through NetGalley.

*Quotes are from an ARC sample and may not be final.

Thank you NetGalley for this sample ARC. I truly loved the short snipped I got for this book and can't wait for July!! I have struggled after finishing Onyx to find a fantasy book that can grab my attention and isn't hard to follow. This book cured me of that and the cliffhanger that I finished on is going to have me counting down the days until July! The banter is good, the storyline is good, the characters have depth. I truly felt like I had stepped into a Star Wars podrace series but with phoenixes.

This was such a fun read for me, the sample I was given of the first 10 chapters already has me hooded on Kel and Savita's story. The race in the first story the immediate action. took me a second to realize where our main character was but that could have been my fault. There was a mistake on page 7. On the last paragraph it mentions " Kel shifted ba ^pck, eyes raking the track." that was something I did want to bring attention to, just so you guys knew. Overall Great story can't wait for July!

This Chapter Sampler covers around 100 pages of the book, which I assume should be around a quarter to a third based on the expected length.

Initially I didn't understand where the Iron Widow comp fits (I get Fourth Wing because of the romance and the phoenixes / dragons being intelligent and having a unique relationship with the riders). Now I assume it's because both Iron Widow and Of Flame and Fury are more YA sci-fi than YA fantasy, but because of some odd prejudice that "YA sci-fi doesn't sell" they're usually marketed as YA fantasy or science-fantasy.

We have a world where the only fantastical element so far are the phoenixes, except that it feels very dystopian sci-fi. We have television, tablets and pulse guns. We have greedy corporations and warmongering government that also destroys natural environment for profit. I think people who miss the ye olde YA dystopian vibes will enjoy this book.

The positives:
- the writing style is very accessible and while typical for YA SFF, it's in 3rd person which is more uncommon in YA, so far it was single pov of the protagonist Kel
- the friendship between Kel and Dira is really nice
- the worldbuilding is interesting with multiple breeds of phoenixes with unique properties, there's also a bigger world beyond the initial location for example we see Kel's mother being on a different island

The negatives:
- this is another YA book I'm picking recently that opens with random named throwaway characters we had no time to get attached to and who most likely won't be important to the plot later and they exist only to create a vague sense of "danger" and "loss"
- it takes long to get the plot rolling: in 100 pages we didn't even reach the end of the blurb! This part:
"As tensions rise on and off the track, Kel's home is mistakenly burned down, and she’s forced to take a job from a mysterious tech mogul with an unsettling interest in her phoenix, Savita. This sets in motion a conspiracy that threatens everyone Kel cares for..."
We just cut off at the "Kel's home is mistakenly burned down" and meeting the "mysterious tech mogul". We don't even get to the part where she takes the job! I really hate books where it takes a long time to cover what's mentioned in the blurb because I already know all that will happen anyway. Get to the new part!

And finally, the relationship between Kel and Coup... The log line says "enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy". Yeah, they're not enemies. The rest of the blurb calls Coup "an arrogant rival" and that's a bit more appropriate. However, this utilizes a YA trope I personally dislike, i.e. when the fmc "hates" the mmc for an unspecified reason just to create fake tension. Okay, he's cocky, he's handsome, he's a show-off, but that are typical traits of a YA mmc. Why does Kel hate him? Because she's jealous of him? Because she blames him for her team's loss? (Hey, it's a "deadly competition" btw, those things are written into it.) He does tell her some really mean lines like how she has "a stick up her ass" but it's hardly unprovoked. On the other hand, he constantly makes gestures not just to impress her, but to ingratiate himself to her, and she just keeps thinking how he pisses her off.

Finally, I did not enjoy the "evil government / corpos vs the idealistic poor environmentalists" trope, maybe it gets some nuance later on, but in every YA SFF it's always an evil king / emperor / government / organization holding power vs the poor oppressed good rebels / witches / insert group we're supposed to take the side of. The division is very black-and-white and obvious. I would hope the rest of the story will show some subversions of the trope or add some nuance, but I very much expect the "evil corp" will stay exactly that or be even worse than expected.

I will read reviews of the full to find out whether it's worth it for me to pick the rest of the book.

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Younger Readers for this Chapter Sampler.

A big thanks to Mikayla Bridge, the author, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this sampler scene from the upcoming novel Of Flame and Fury, which after reading, I am very much anticipating! I thought this was so intriguing and it definitely made me put it on my TBR to read as soon as I can. I mean, phoenix riders, how cool is that?! The descriptions were really beautiful and I can't wait to read more. I really liked the characters and the overall idea of the plot. I want all the phoenix racing!!

I can't wait to read the whole book because this sampler was amazing!
Phoenix racing,a taste of rivals to lovers...tech/cyberpunk vibes...I need more.
Thank you to netgalley for this sampler,

Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge starts with an action-filled scene and it sets the tone well for the book! I thought it was a nice touch to add the snippets about Phoenixes and subspecies in the beginning. The descriptions where well done in general to aid the reader in feeling like we are there within the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the sampler, and I am leaving this review voluntarily!

I devoured this and can't wait to read the entire book. With a exciting and unique start, and beautiful cover, I'm sold.

Seeing "Fourth Wing meets Iron Widow," I realized I wouldn't like it.
I didn't like those books.

But the synopsis was so interesting that I decided to read this excerpt, for which I'm immensely grateful!
The atmosphere is incredible; I want more, I want to keep going!

It reminded me so much of horse racing, those old movies I used to watch, and the feeling of riding, the adrenaline.

I will definitely read the whole book! 🙌🏻

I don't know how to rate such a passage, but on a scale of interest, it's 4,5/5

Of Flame and Fury is a fast-paced book about a Phoenix racing team focusing on 17 year-old Kel, the Phoenix tamer, and her struggles to keep her family farm that is drowning in debt and not fall in love with Coups, the Phoenix rider she is clearly obsessed with. Pitched as enemies to lovers, the story feels more like teenage obsession where you find reasons to hate someone because you can’t stop thinking about them. Overall, I enjoyed Kel and Coups’ chemistry and banter even if I don’t buy that they’ve ever been enemies. The story sees our characters in a constant cycle of tragedy, possible win, tragedy again and it kept me coming back to figure out what happens next. It has a strong start that I hope carries through to the end. I would love to see the found family trope used/fleshed out in the remainder of the book as it seems the author has given us the beginning of a really wonderful iteration of the trope. Some of the phrases the characters use felt a little forced as if it’s trying too hard to sell the setting of the world by substituting new words in sayings the reader would be familiar with. I look forward to reading the rest of the book when it is published later this year!

positively ECSTATIC for this release!!!! this simply wasn’t enough- i’ve seen this floating around book recommendation sites and i had to find out about it for myself (absolutely ate it up thus far). i can’t wait to read the book in full!!!!

While I wasn't able to read the entire book, the chapters provided a strong world building - I thought the imagery was reminiscent of the iconic pod racing in Star Wars, and there were clearly defined characters - Kel, her Crimson Howlers and their phoenix, Savita, who seems to be as much of a strong characters as the humans around her. There seemed to be the start of an enemies to lovers arc between Kel and Coup and a strong subplot about the cruelty of phoenix racing.

I am excited to see more of Kel's heroes journey and how her relationship with Coup develops - this excerpt has made me excited to read the entire book and I would love to preview it, if possible

I am very interested in the potential of this book.
Firstly, I don’t think there are enough books written about phoenixes! I think this will be popular simply because it’s not about a different, less popular magical creature. I also love the racing element and it really engages the reader from the first chapter.
It’s hard to make substantial judgements with just a few chapters but so far I would continue reading this one.

My only concern at this point is the pacing. Things are happening VERY quickly and I feel the characters/setting aren’t as developed as I would like. Again, this is probably because I’ve only read a few chapters but I hope the rest of the book proves to have consistent pacing.

I will wait until the book has released and/or I have finished a full arc to publicly review this.

I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE THE REST, PLEASE! I personally haven't read enough books with phoenixes in them, and this was a nice change of pace. Phoenix racing, snarky main characters, and I just KNOW there's gonna be some amazing twists in the journey ahead.

This does read very YA, with some of the dialogue being a bit choppy and the paragraphs weren't always structured well, but overall an enjoyable start to the book that left me wanting to finish it.

Of Flame and Fury is a fast-paced, adrenaline rush from the very first chapter!
This book is masterfully crafted. I was immediately immersed into the world of fiery phoenixes, and even fierier main characters. The attention to detail is incredible. The excerpt detailing phoenix subspecies was fascinating. The character building is done in such a deeply, rich manner. I felt like I knew them right away, and was invested in their journey which is sure to be flaming hot!

This book had me at the description calling it the next 5th wing.

I don’t feel like that is a fair descriptor and it sets the reader’s expectations too high.

Of Flame and Fury teaser pages left me feeling torn. I want to finish the story, but I am not ravenous to do so. It jumps right in with past paced world building, creature intro, character intro that it’s difficult to follow. There’s really no building I guess I should say, it’s very sink or swim. This can work when the writing has a magical flow that paints a picture with few words, but unfortunately this book does not do that. It is no where near the polish of 5th wing, and sets such an uncomfortable pace of thrusting you in what feels mid scene that it misses the mark for me.

It does have promise, but really does need work to get it to where it’s a book I would drop money on to own a keep on my bookshelf.

I’m giving it 3 stars. 2 for trying and 1 for potential

Since this hasn’t been published and still has time on the clock I am not posting online

Thank you to the publisher for this exclusive sample.

This was not the book for me and I'm glad I grabbed a sample instead of the full book.

The prose was awkward and I struggled to get into the writing.

I won't be picking up the rest of this book.