TheWriteReads Blog Tour: Fireborn – Aisling Fowler

Blurb

Lyra. Lucy. Percy. Once in a generation, a hero emerges whose story enthralls readers worldwide.

Fireborn is an epic quest, perfect for fans of the His Dark Materials and The School for Good and Evil series, that will spin readers into a magical world like no other–and introduce them to an unforgettable new heroine named Twelve.

Ember is full of monsters.

Twelve gave up her name and identity to train in the art of hunting them–so she says. The truth is much more deadly: she trains to take revenge on those who took her family from her.

But when Twelve’s new home is attacked, she’ll find herself on an unexpected journey, where her hidden past is inescapably intertwined with her destiny–and the very fate of her world.

Review

I would very much like the sequel to this to be in my hands like, now, please. Yes, I am impatient. But this book was so good and such a fun world to spend time in, I really didn’t want it to end!

Twelve is a huntling. As such, she has given up her name and identity, pledged herself to The Lodge and the protection of all of Ember. And Ember needs that protection. There are monsters everywhere, and the clans don’t exactly get along. But while the other huntlings are dedicated to their lessons and cause, Twelve is different. She seeks the training in order to take revenge on those who destroyed her family and home.

But when The Lodge is attacked and a fellow student kidnapped, Twelve is plunged into a journey alongside some unexpected companions.

I loved this book. Put simply, it’s a fun, magical adventure with some truly dark moments and monsters straight out of nightmares. It has intrigue around all the characters, as their new lives forbid them from speaking about their past. But despite not really knowing anything about each other, the huntlings work together to combat the dangers they face in this magical world. Fowler’s world-building feels natural to the characters, and there’s a nice technique of using one of Twelve’s textbooks to give us information about the creatures they face, allowing the reader to picture them more fully and increase the tension with their ‘difficulty’ ratings.

I adored the relationships between the characters, and the importance of working together, especially as these relationships were really developed well throughout the book. And Dog, the lodge’s guardian, was so much fun to read, as well as Twelve’s pet, Widge.

At the start of the book, we’re introduced to this world through Twelve’s eyes, and we get glimpses of the Hunters themselves, those who have been blooded and have taken their own names. Silver and Victory are the two Twelve has the most to do with, with Victory being the weapons master training the huntlings, and Silver the Elder who Twelve is taken to when she has misbehaved. I really liked how these adults were aware of Twelve’s faults but still pushing her to reach her full potential, encouraging her to work better with others rather than remaining separate from them all.

Again, I would love to see a sequel to this, and can imagine this easily becoming a long running series. If you’re looking for a fun, magical adventure – either for yourself or younger readers – Fireborn is a perfect adventure.

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers on this fantastic tour, too!

About the Author

Aisling was born in 1985 and wishes that she had grown up in a magical, mountainous kingdom, but was actually raised in Surrey on a diet of books and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her early ‘adventure’ stories involved surprisingly little action and her first novel (3 pages long) was politely declined by publishers at age 11. After earning a BSc in Biology and working as a support worker and then a nurse, the idea for her debut novel, Fireborn, came to her as she moved back and forth between London and the US. Now based in Hackney, when she is not reading or writing, Aisling loves cooking and plotting adventures (for herself as well as her fictional characters). Fireborn will be published by HarperCollins in 2021.