The Fire Children

The Fire Children
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!

Two children escape the darkness of their underground dwellings, to find adventure, magic and terrible danger await anyone who ventures above ground.

Fifteen years have passed since Mother Sun last sent her children to walk the world. When the eclipse comes, the people retreat to the caverns beneath the Kaladim, passing the days in total darkness while the Fire Children explore their world. It's death to even look upon them, the stories say.

Despite the warnings, Yulla gives in to her curiosity and ventures to the surface. There she witnesses the Witch Women -- who rumors say worship dead Father Sea, rather than Mother Sun -- capturing one of the Children and hauling her away. Yulla isn't the only one who saw the kidnapping; Ember, the last of the Fire Children, reveals himself to Yulla and implores her to help.

Trapped up above and hunted by the witches and the desert wind, Yulla and Ember must find a way free his siblings and put a stop to the Witch Womens' plans, before they can use the Fire Children to bind Mother Sun herself. 

Okay, so this book is super awesome, it's imaginative and original and it brings a new world to life right off the page  and I loved it! 

I'm a big lover of worlds that have some rich mythology and history to them, and this book has that in spades, without giving you too much information at once, you learn all about the folklore of the world of the book, and it's fascinating. It made me sad that the book wasn't longer as I loved the world so much and was so engrossed in it while I was reading. 

I was hooked from the start of the book, the writing in the book is very strong, smooth and flows perfectly from point to point. What hooked me along with the writing, was the premise of the book, the characters and the way they prepared for the darkness, the ideas in the book were so interesting and they caught your own interest at the same time. 

Yulla was a great character, she was easy to connect to and get on side with, her narrative was engaging and entertaining. Yulla was very realistic and believable, as was her relationship with her sister, not that I have any siblings to compare to really, but it seemed to be fairly realistic and very natural and organic. 

The book had a very strong start and once Yulla was above ground the pace picked up as did the plot, there was lots of action, and while I enjoyed reading all the action, I did get a bit confused at one point or two and find it hard to keep following, but at the same time, the pick up in the action was enjoyable. I wasn't really big on the romance either. Ember was great, and so were the other Fire Children, I enjoyed reading about them, but Ember is like a god of sorts to Yulla and so I found the romance between the two a bit weird, as well as the fact that it came out of nowhere and seemed a bit sudden and a bit insta-love kind of. 

Overall, however, it was an enjoyable fantasy read, with rich lore and mythology and a world that is engrossing. The characters are realistic and believable and bring the world to life even more. I found myself fascinated with the book and the ideas behind it, even though I found a few bits a bit hard to follow.