Ignite the Sun

I acquired an arc copy of this through Netgallery

Spoiler-Free and Spoiler Review now live!

Initial Thoughts: Really enjoyed the world this was set in and the mythology created felt different to anything I've read for a long time. My main problems with this book lay with how some aspects of the world were included for convenience or to give the characters a ‘get of jail free' card.

Spoiler-Free Review:

The book and the author both have a lot of potential but unfortunately the book didn't live up to what it could have been.

The story follows Siria, a young girl who lives in a kingdom shrouded by darkness and she has never seen the Sun. She hates the darkness and has grown up with her best friend and his grandfather telling her stories of Sun and light, two things she feels drawn to. However, she pushes those feelings aside and travels to the Queen's court, the one responsible for the darkness shrouding their kingdom, in hope of gaining her parent's approval. However, at the Choosing Ball Siria discovers something that will change her life and perhaps the kingdom forever.

Whilst this is a brilliant concept, it's unfortunate the characters fell flat for me. Whilst they all have distinct personality traits, none of the main or minor character felt like round characters and I doubt they'll leave any imprint on me for that reason.

As well as this, the romance in this book is not as great as I wish it would be as the romantic interest has no role other than that, we don't know a lot about him other than the fact he loves Siria. Although, the focus on family and friends, and in particular, female friendships are handled better than this and do feel a little more developed.

However, the world building is this book's strongest trait. Howard has created a world full of rich mythology and I wanted to know everything I could about it. It's clear the author devoted a lot of time to building this world and it certainly pays off with it's great twists on traditional fantasy.

Overall, the book isn't bad and clearly has potential but it felt a little underwhelming. The characters and their relationships needed to be developed further for it to leave an impact on it's readers. However, the author clearly has potential by judging her ability to world-build so it'll be interesting to see what she writes next.

Spoiler Review:

I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately I couldn't.

The lack of development and characters in this book overshadowed a lot of it's good points, and it meant I never fully connected with the story being told. However, the female friendships in this were a highlight, and whilst I would have enjoyed spending more time with Siria, Merrall and Elegy and exploring their friendships dynamic, I appreciate how the author tried to emphasise the importance of female friendships.

I did however love the world-building and I think Howard could continue to write in this world if she wishes to, I'd love to learn more about it or explore what it's like when it's thriving in Sun and in light.

My other main issue with this book is how at times it feels like certain plot points or concept are introduced as a ‘get out a fail free' card for Siria. The main example of this is Siria's ability to fly, it feels like that doesn't fit with the rest of the mythology within the world Howard has created, and without it being introduced Siria would have never saved Elergy from certain death or saved the Kingdom from the Queen's darkness.

Full review on my blog: https://moonlitbooks.home.blog/2020/05/04/ignitethesunarcreview/