Tuesday, November 17, 2009

[Review]--- "Daughter of the Flames"

Title: Daughter of the Flames

Author: Zoe Marriott

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: February 2009

Genre: Teen Fantasy/Romance, Magic

Summary (B&N):
In a world of clashing cultures, a girl fights for freedom — and finds a surpring romantic ally — after learning a startling truth about her identity.
Inside an ancient temple in the mountains, fifteen-year-old Zira trains in the martial arts to become a warrior priestess who can defend the faith of the Ruan people. Bearing a scar on her face from the fire that killed her parents, the orphaned Zira is taught to distrust the occupying Sedornes. Terror strikes when the forces of the tyrannical Sedorne king destroy the only home she knows. To survive, Zira must unravel the secrets of her identity, decide her people’s fate — and accept her growing feelings for a man who should be her enemy.
Order your copy of Daughter of the Flames at:
Amazon.com


My Review:
Another captivating cover-- and story-- by the talented Zoe Marriott! Prepare to be engulfed by the fire in this one--- Daughter of the Flames is even better than her first novel, with more action and romance, yet still containing the magical quality that grabbed my attention in The Swan Kingdom.

Once again, Marriott's characters are very well developed and a joy to read about. Zahira (or Zira) is even more of a kick-a$$ heroine than Alexandra (from Swan Kingdom). Fiery, passionate, training to be a warrior priestess but suddenly destined to be queen of her people, she's everything you could ask for in a heroine. She's not perfect, her life has been hard, but you can easily relate to her-- and isn't that one of the best things you can say about a character?

And with such a strong heroine, you need a hero that can match her, right? Sorin, the Lord she falls for (despite that fact that he's the "enemy" at the beginning) fits the job perfectly. He's not a wimp, but he's not too rough either--- the right medium between the two, combined with the sweet moments he has with Zahira, makes him a good choice for a husband. I can easily see why Zahira would fall in love with him!
Even better, you can clearly watch them connect, getting to know and trust each other, instead of just falling straight into lust like some other books. Although, for a YA novel, the romance does get fairly heated at times... But nothing too graphic, for those of you that are worried about it! It's a nice addition to the emotional connection you can see between them, without making their love seem cheap.

To sum it up, this is a mesmerizing story, set in a fantasy world, with a good dash of all the requirements for a perfect novel: action, suspense, romance, and the fight between good and evil. In other words, Daughter of the Flames has it all! The touching romantic spots, the adrenaline-laced fighting, and the enchanting descriptions-- together these will keep you up all night just to finish the book!

And, as much as I enjoyed her previous novel, I have to say that Daughter of the Flames is much better-- and one that you definitely shouldn't miss if you love a good fantasy novel, YA or not!
4.5 Stars! Who needs paranormal worlds all the time when you can lose yourself in a good fantasy romance like that of Daughter of the Flames? No matter the age, if you enjoy a good magical story, this is the book for you! If nothing else, the covers themselves are breathtaking-- and the story? Even more so!


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Thanks again to The Shady Glade, whom I won this from last month-- and to Zoe for supplying the goodies to begin with! :D
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Enjoy!






Until Next Time,

2 comments :

maybe said...

I'm appreciate your writing skill.Please keep on working hard.^^

Teddyree said...

You make this one sound wonderful, *sigh* I can't resist putting it on my wishlist :-)