Review: Fire by Kristin Cashore

Title: Fire
Author: Kristin Cashore
Publisher: Dial Books
Date Published: October 5th, 2009
Genre: Young Adult
Main Themes: Monsters, Family/Friendship, Powers/Magic, Love
Pages: 461
Plot (from back of ARC): "It is not a peaceful time in the Dells.
Young King Nash clings to the throne, while rebel lords, in he north and south, build armies to unseat him. War is coming. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves.
This is where Fire lives, a girl whose startling appearance is impossibly irrisistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her.
Everyone... except Prince Brigan."

Where to even start?! First off, I can tell you that Graceling was not a fluke. Kristin Cashore really is a remarkable writer - I have every confidence that I will enjoy every book she writes, if not love.

Fire was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Fire, the main character, is just as well written and engaging as Graceling's Katsa. Although, I will admit that I may be liked Katsa a bit more... Fire was still an amazing character though - I definitely felt that she was a strong heroine.

I loved that Fire was set in the Dells. It is such a magical and intriguing land and I felt that there was so much left to explore at the end of the novel. I hope that Kristin Cashore takes us back to the Dells in a future novel - perhaps during Katsa's time, as Fire takes place before the events in Graceling.

The romance between Fire and Brigan was well written. I am a fan of love stories that where the two characters overcome some obstacles before falling into one another's arms, and I think that Cashore does a wonderful job at writing this type of romance. I felt like there was bit more sex in Fire than in Graceling, but it was tastefully done and necessary to the plot. Everytime another illegitimate child was discovered it was a bit of a shock though, this novel was full of them!

Ratings (Out of 10):
Plot: 10
Characters: 10
Writing style: 10
Romance: 10
Originality: 10
Total: 50/50 (A)

I'd like to mention that it is not necessary to read Graceling before Fire - in fact, I think it would be interesting to read Fire first.

Now that I've read Fire I'll have to go dream about reading the next novel from Cashore, Bitterblue. I love Kristin Cashore's novels - they're just a bit painful to wait for! At least she doesn't leave us with a gigantic cliff-hanger...!