About the Book
-
Author:
- Catherine Bakewell
- Genres:
- Boy-Girl Romance
- Fantasy
Cover Story: Fire and Ice
BFF Charm: Let Me Love You
Talky Talk: European Fantasy Kitchen Sink
Bonus Factors: Gods and Goddesses, Ballgowns
Anti-Bonus Factor: Toxic Masculinity
Relationship Status: Saw It Coming
Cover Story: Fire and Ice
Fiamma and Joseph look just like they’re described, and the art style is very pretty.
The Deal:
Fiamma, a young girl with fire powers, was separated from her parents under circumstances so traumatic that she’s blocked them out for years. The one clue she has to their whereabouts is the Westerly Mountains, where she and her parents once planned to live. When she asks King Vier for permission to travel there, though, he only agrees under one condition: that she accompanies his son, Prince Joseph, on a mission to hunt down a witch who has cursed the kingdom with an out-of-season winter. Fiamma has always feared her fire powers were too much … but what if they’re not enough?
BFF Charm: Let Me Love You
The cliché in stories about elemental powers is that fire people are loud and aggressive, but for Fiamma, that couldn’t be further from the truth. She’s timid, anxious, and painfully eager to please after too many years working for various abusive employers. All she wants is for someone to be kind to her, but even that only happens in fits and starts – see Swoonworthy Scale below.
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Joseph’s behavior runs so hot and cold, he could have stepped straight out of a Katy Perry song. One moment he’s asking Fiamma to drop his title, the next he’s snapping orders at her. He’s got his own issues, of course, but his issues really don’t mix well with hers.
Talky Talk: European Fantasy Kitchen Sink
I had the same feeling with this book I got while reading Where Shadows Bloom – namely, that the author borrowed words from European languages at random. Naming a fire witch protagonist after the Italian word for “fire” makes sense, but naming the king after the German number four? He wouldn’t be the first “Four” in YA literature, but still …
Bonus Factor: Gods and Goddesses
This kingdom worships “the Airs”, capricious wind spirits who sometimes help and sometimes play tricks on humans. Fiamma resents them for not answering her prayers the day her parents disappeared, but it turns out they haven’t forgotten her.
Bonus Factor: Ballgowns
Fiamma, a trained seamstress, has an eye for beautiful clothes. The ball gown Joseph commissions for her gives her a Cinderella moment that I wish we could have seen illustrated.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Toxic Masculinity
Joseph refuses to hunt for sport and prefers peaceful solutions to conflict. Fiamma admires these things about him, but King Vier – and sometimes Joseph himself – consider them weaknesses.
Relationship Status: Saw It Coming
I predicted the ending, but sometimes that’s the fun of a fairy tale.
Literary Matchmaking
Where Shadows Bloom by Catherine Bakewell is another fantasy romance by the same author.
Of Fire and Stars (Of Fire and Stars #1) by Audrey Coulthurst is also about a young woman with fire magic.
Stay For A Spell by Amy Coombe also features a royal curse.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review.
