Throwback Thursday Mini-Review: Trial by Fire

Title: Trial by Fire
By: Josephine Angelini
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 374
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

About Trial by Fire: 

The exhilaratingly seductive new series from the author of the bestselling Starcrossed series

Love burns. Worlds collide. Magic reigns.

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying many of the experiences that other teenagers take for granted…which is why she is determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily’s life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem – one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian . . . Lily’s identical other self in this alternate universe. This new version of her world is terrifyingly sensual, and Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences.

Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. Thrown into a world she doesn’t understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can’t hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.

But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N |  The Book Depository

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MY RANTS AND RAVES OF TRIAL BY FIRE

I had the hardest time getting into this book and then the hardest time finishing it. I am a sucker for books about witches, especially witchy books that encompass a nod to the Salem Witch Trials, so I had high hopes for Trial by Fire. But in the end, sadly, this book did not win me over.

Trial by Fire started out so slow, and nothing hooked me to the plot. I am still unraveling the idea of mixing fantasy and science in the storyline, and creating a dynamic binary between magic versus science/scientific method/medicine/atomic theory/pollution, etc. But overall, I don’t think the meshing of fantasy and science is what lost me in the book. There are some holes in this novel that made me feel like I was missing an inside joke or that I was purposely being left out of big secrets. I need a reason why I should be rooting for the main character/heroine, Lily, and I never got that reason, or I at least didn’t understand that reason.

I thought the premise of Trial by Fire was interesting (hello, Salem witches!), but this book fell flat for me. Hopefully in the next book the characters are more developed and there is more information given on the driven force between each of the characters’ motives/motivations.

My Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Note:  This review was previously posted on my Goodreads account on August 22, 2015, and has been edited/updated for my blog. I was not provided a copy of this book by the author or the publisher in exchange for a review. I bought this book with my own funds and reviewed it at my own discretion. All statements and opinions in this review are mine.

Throwback Thursday Mini-Review: The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

Title: The Witch Hunter
By: Virginia Boecker
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genres: Fiction, Paranormal, Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 362 (Hardcover
Format: ARC
Source: Won from NOVL newsletter (2015)

Synopsis:

The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut.

Your greatest enemy isn’t what you fight, but what you fear.

Elizabeth Grey is one of the king’s best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she’s accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.

Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that’s been laid upon him.

But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth’s witch hunting past–if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she’s thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.

Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut.

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MY RANTS AND RAVES OF The Witch Hunter

The Witch Hunter is a beautifully written and action-packed, debut novel about a young girl named Elizabeth Grey. Elizabeth has grown up learning the art of witch hunting. In the craft of witch hunting, she is inculcated with the idea that she is providing justice and purification for a kingdom that she is willing to protect. However, through life’s unexpectancies, Elizabeth’s world is put through a whirlwind, and she finds herself being accused of witchcraft. After weeks of incarceration, she is saved by the single wizard that she was told was her worst enemy–Nicholas Perevil. In Perevil’s protection, Elizabeth is healed by magic–something she was conditioned to loathe. More importantly, she discovers that she plays an important part in breaking the curse casted on Perevil by someone she trusted.

Elizabeth’s journey is filled with betrayal, a handsome healer, jolly pirates, whimsical forest parties, fancy ball gowns, cursed tablets, mythical swords, giant red-eyed rats, the crumbling of old friendships, and the growth of new friendships.

The Witch Hunter is a fast-paced, fantasy novel that will engross you in an enchanting world of betrayal, redemption, and a passionate heroine set forth to change a world she once loved.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

PURCHASE THIS BOOK FROM YOUR LOCAL BOOKSELLER/RETAILER 

Amazon   •     Barnes and Noble    •     Book Depository 

NOTE:          This review was previously posted on my Goodreads account in May 25, 2015, and has been updated for my blog. I received an Advance Reader’s Copy (ARC) as a winner of NOVL’s monthly newsletter giveaway.  Thank you, NOVL and Little, Brown Books! All statements and opinions in this review are mine.