The Boy With Fire by Aparna Verma Review

     I want to thank Net Galley for sending me a copy of The Boy with Fire by Aparna Verma. This story takes place in an Indian inspired fantastical world called Sayon. Throughout the story we spend most of our time in the kingdom of Ravence. We follow three characters, Leo Ravence, the king of Ravence, Elena Ravence, the princess of Ravence, and Yassen Knight, a former assassin who worked for a terrorist organization called the Arohassin. After getting an offer he can't refuse from his friend Samson, Yassen becomes Elena, the princess's guard in order to eventually gain his freedom. Leo, the king, is on the search for the Prophet, who he believes is destined to destroy Ravence and he will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.

    As I mentioned earlier, we get three points of view in this story and the author did a great job at giving them very distinct voices and struggles. I never mixed them up which is something that often happens when I pick up a book with multiple povs's. My favorite character was Leo Ravence, and I see him as the shining star of the book. He has the most interesting conflict and he never backs down when he thinks he's doing the right thing for his kingdom even when he does something despicable. I've seen him described as an "unhinged dilf" on Twitter and I can stand by that statement. Whenever any of the characters went through something I could feel their pain, I think the author did a great job making them feel real despite them being in a fantasy setting. I enjoyed the subtle enemies to lovers plot line. I actually didn't go into this book expecting there to be any romance but I was left pleasantly surprised. I really appreciated the cast being fully bipoc and the references to Indian mythology. There are rarely any desi fantasy books, so I'm happy to see they are getting more representation.

    My biggest problem with this book would have to be the pacing. The first 50% was a bit slow, although I did still enjoy it because it gave us a chance to get to know the characters. After the 75% mark, things got super slow and that's when it started to lose me. I'm hoping that these pacing issues will improve with the second book. 

    Regardless, I thought The Boy with Fire was an amazing book and I can't wait to pick up the second one in the nearby future. Make sure to preorder a copy of The Boy with Fire. It comes out on August 31st!