(Flame and Thorns, #1) Empire of Flame and Thorns by Marion Blackwood review

 

Empire of Flame and Thorns by Marion Blackwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐½ 3.5 Stars
🌶️🌶️ 2 Spice

The banter and sass in this book could keep my little heart going for an eon.

Where should I start? The book is fun pretty much from the get go. There is lots happening, and the storyline was THICK in this one, but not so much that I was losing track of what was going on.

I have to say that the lead, at times, REALLY ticked me off due to her being so focused on people liking her that she all but curled in on herself. After a while, that started to get old fast, but I did understand why she was like that. She had a lot of baggage and distrust from the people who should have understood her. I loved it when she stood up for herself and just shone.

Now, I sort of called the ending of this book right from the start, but it did not take away from how much I liked the story. I would say the first half is slower paced, while the second half slowly starts to race toward the ending, where it becomes one thing after another.

Overall, it was a fun read, but it was not outstanding for me. Still good, though. The spice in the book was a highlight, even if it was not the main focus. Mostly, it helped break the book up a little. I do feel like more could have been done with the trials, and at times, it all felt a little like schoolyard bullying.

Here is one of my biggest problems. EVERYONE IS OLD. Like, these characters have lived for centuries, and yet no one seems to ask questions or learn from anything. I felt more like I was reading about twenty somethings rather than people who are centuries old. Maybe it is just me, I do not know, but I thought there should have been more substance there.

Also, there were a few questionable things in this book that really did not fit and had me doing mental math and coming up blank. I cannot really go into some of the problems because I do not want to spoil it for others, but those points definitely stuck out to me and left me a little miffed.

Either way, it was a fun little read and a great jumping off point for a series.

The absolute joy I got from Draven and Selena's ongoing banter battles made me giggle. It was one of my favorite things in the book. I would say things really picked up during the fourth trial for me. It felt like an explosion of even more events and action, and it was super fun.

I also would have loved to learn more about the side characters. Overall, a solid read.

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