i received a copy of with fire in their blood from penguin nz in exchange for an honest review.



star rating

with fire in their blood review

i was very excited to read with fire in their blood. i had a friend who absolutely loved it. unfortunately, it wasn’t something i enjoyed.

the first thing that really threw me off was how much i disliked lilly. she was overly emotional (like, getting angry over nothing). one situation, not long into the book, she’s walking down the corridor of her school, and a boy (potential LI) moves out of her way. the way i saw it, she was going to walk into him, and he was being polite. the way she saw it, he was clearly hell bent on ignoring and avoiding her. there were several overreactions that didn’t make a lot of sense throughout the book. (maybe more clarification from the author could’ve resolved the confusion on my part?).

not only was she angry over the slightest thing, she seemed to fall in love with every character she met. we get it: every single character in this town is beautiful. stop fawning over them already.

it wasn’t even a love triangle. it was a hexagon. or some other such shape.

aside from lilly, none of the other characters were particularly likeable either. everyone overreacted for no reason about stupid shit. they were all petty and excessively angry. unfortunately, this also covers the adults. no one was safe from the built up anger in this town.

another issue i had with this book was how predictable it was. because of this, i found the book horribly boring as nothing shocked me. i guessed every plot point well in advanced.

on the plus side, the italian setting was very nice. i just wish the author spent more time detailing it. i was expecting more gothic setting, but it was largely left to my imagination.

with fire in their blood is another one of those books that’s just a pretty cover. it’s not something i’d rush to pick up, nor do i plan to read the next book.

buy your copy now!

the nile | mighty ape | fishpond | the warehouse | whitcoulls

10 Comments

  1. avatar

    Too bad, the characters were unlikable to such an extent. Hope your next read is great!

    1. avatar

      thank you! i hope my next read is better too.

  2. avatar
    WendyW says:

    So sorry this one didn’t work for you.

    1. avatar

      yeah, i’m sorry too. :/

  3. avatar

    Ugh. Love hexagon, double ugh! Thanks for your review so I can avoid this one.

    1. avatar

      i wish i knew about it prior to reading it tbh. i would’ve avoided it too.

  4. avatar
    Rachel @Waves of Fiction says:

    I’ve fallen for a pretty cover and then been burned, too. It’s hard to love a story when you don’t like the main character. Sorry to hear this didn’t work out! On to the next one! 🙂

    1. avatar

      at least it’s not just me that falls for a pretty cover lol.

  5. avatar

    I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy this although it’s kind of a relief to know that it wasn’t just me. I loved the idea of this book & found the setting intriguing but I couldn’t get into the story at all. Like you I found it ridiculous how everyone seemed to become a love interest. Certain aspects reminded me too much of other books too.

  6. avatar

    it’s always nice to find out you aren’t alone in your thoughts!

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