🔥🐦‍🔥Of Flame and Fury 🐦‍🔥🔥

• Mikayla Bridge @mikayla_bridge

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Pitched as Fourth Wing meets F1, except with phoenixes instead of dragons, this is Mikayla Bridge’s debut fantasy. Kel is a phoenix racer, along with her underdog team the Crimson Howlers. But funds are tight and when disaster strikes at the final race of the season, Kel is left with no choice but to team up with Warren ‘Coup’ Coupers, her rival rider, the media’s darling. When the new and improved team are proffered a once-in-a-lifetime job offer from Cristo Industries, they soon begin to suspect there’s more to Cristo Industries than first appears. 

This is textbook YA fantasy, so of course, I had a good time with it. Kel is a fierce protagonist and I enjoyed reading about her fraught relationship with her phoenix Savita. It was a bit more explored than we usually see between mythical creatures and their human counterparts, and highlighted Savita’s vicious nature. I also enjoyed the romance between Kel and Coup, and the wider cast of characters, the Howlers. It worked really well as a standalone – I’m not used to seeing this level of detail in worldbuilding in standalone fantasies and I definitely think there’s enough potential for this to have a sequel. 

Overall, if you’re looking for a good standalone fantasy from a debut author, I very much recommend this. I also think this will appeal to fans of F1 (I’m not, but I still enjoyed this, so its definitely not a requirement), or if you love dragons and want a little twist on them.

Of Flame and Fury releases July 15th! Thanks to BookBreak for the physical ARC!