Publisher: Harper Collins
Length: 384 Pages
Publishing: 30th September 2021
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fireborn-1-Aisling-Fowler/dp/0062996711/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56554614-fireborn
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.
My Review
Thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book, and to Dave at The Write Reads for organising this blog tour.
Twelve has a troubled past and no friends at The Hunting Lodge. Revenge pushes her to learn the skills of a Hunter but not build the connections she’d need to succeed as a Hunter.
Seven is a slight, frightened girl with no friends, either. She has her own secrets and tries to make friends with Twelve.
Five is a bit of a bully, insecure and taking it out on everyone else, but mainly Seven and Twelve, for being different. Being different is dangerous in his experience.
Six is Five’s best friend. Quiet, thoughtful and clever, Twelve can’t fathom why he would be friends with Five.
They have nothing in common, no chance of being friends.
Until Seven goes missing. Goblins attack the Lodge and Twelve feels compelled to help her. The two boys, for their own reasons, follow Twelve and the Lodge’s Guardian, a spirit made of stone, called Dog.
More than just a random attack, the youngsters search for an answer to why the goblins attacked now, and why they took Seven. They must travel through mountains and forest, fight monstrous creature, make new allies and learn each other’s secrets before finding their answers.
Oh, my, this was delightful adventure. The world building is inspired and clearly integrated into the narrative. I found the characters brilliantly rendered. They grow in understanding of themselves and each other and learn important lessons. They have real pasts and complex motivations that change over the course of events.
The plot was really good, I was gripped by the well-paced tension, the personal development of each character and the final excitement of the battle. There was some truly terrifying monsters and some moments of high-emotion. I cried a few times towards the end. I’m a bit soppy about these friendship things.
The writing is easy to read and follow, flows well and is highly descriptive. I particularly liked the description of the moxie Foxpaw, and found the reference book Twelve quotes entertaining. It’s just the sort of ‘spotters guide’ to monsters that a trainee Hunter needs.
I was very happy to read a fantasy for early teens where the boy and girl leads aren’t destined for each other. One, because incest, (oops, slight spoiler), two, one of the boys ain’t into girls, and three, the pair that might possibly be ‘destined’ are clearly not into each other, they’re friends. Can’t we have a few more stories where people of different genders are simply friends with each other with no romantic undertones? There are a few adult fantasy novels where the main characters aren’t in romantic relationships with each other/have a romantic relationship subplot, and I would like to see more of those in YA and MG fantasy. My favourite books at twelve, The Song of the Lioness series and the Wild Magic series by Tamora Pierce, were great but even so there was a romantic subplot that looking back was really quite dodgy – power imbalances, age differences, that sort of thing. It can’t have ben healthy for my psyche.
Highly recommended for your 10 – 14 year old fantasy fans.
About the Author
(from https://www.rcwlitagency.com/authors/fowler-aisling/)
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.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 
Fab review!
Thanks.