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Review: Phoenix Flame by Sara Holland

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,
Phoenix Flame by Sara Holland

Phoenix Flame
Sara Holland
Bloomsbury USA
Published March 2, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Phoenix Flame

Maddie thought her problems were over. She saved the Inn at Havenfall—a sanctuary between magical worlds—from the evil Silver Prince. Her uncle the Innkeeper is recovering from a mysterious spell that left him not quite human. And there are still a few weeks of summer left to spend with her more-than-friend Brekken.
But there’s more work to be done to protect the Inn—Maddie must put an end to the black-market trading of magical objects and open the Inn’s doors to the once feared land of shapeshifters.

As she tries to accomplish both seemingly impossible tasks, Maddie uncovers secrets that could change everything. What if saving everyone means destroying the only home she’s known?

This next breathtaking fantasy from the bestselling author of EVERLESS is perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Holly Black.

My Review

NOTE: I’m really conflicted about promoting this book. On the one hand, I don’t want to harm the author or publisher, but there are serious allegations of racist behavior by Glasstown, and I’m uncomfortable promoting a book or series which benefits them at this time, even though a publisher and author I like are involved.

I think my favorite thing about this book is the plot about stopping a magical form of trafficking. Powerful people have been kidnapping magic-bearers of a certain race and forcing pieces of their souls to bind with objects, creating soul-silver. The practice literally destroys a person. Maddie and her friends have vowed to take down the trade and bring the perpetrators to justice.

From there it gets a little complicated. A couple times, Maddie and her friends use soul-silver, justifying it as a necessary step in their plans. It felt… icky. To me. I don’t know. Like, continuing to abuse someone because the end justified the means. The person whose soul was trapped in the silver had no choice, and the piece of their soul is lost when the magic is used. Which could prevent the person from being rescued, because too many pieces of their soul are missing or used.

I thought the tug of war between Maddie and her feelings for Brekken and Taya added some tension and interest. I couldn’t decide which I wanted her to choose. Until a thing happens– basically Brekken takes responsibility for something while Maddie’s like, yeah, but can’t we just not take responsibility?? And I get that she worried about the consequences, but it felt like another selfish choice, and made me feel like she kinda doesn’t deserve Brekken.

I feel like I’ve listed a lot of the things I struggled with in this book. To be honest, I still read it really quickly and enjoyed a lot of things about it. I liked the politics between the different worlds and Maddie’s complicated relationship with her mom. I like that Maddie never gives up.

If you enjoyed HAVENFALL, it’s worth reading PHOENIX FLAME to see how things resolve. The series is under contract for development with Amazon Studios, so it’s possible you’ll get to see it come to life on screen, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Maddie has romantic feelings for a boy and a girl. She and her family are white. Other characters are from fictional realms.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used about half a dozen times.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Black market sellers trade objects that have pieces of souls in them, giving them magical properties.

Violent Content
Maddie’s mom is on death row following her conviction of killing her son (Maddie’s brother). Some situations of peril. Some brief battles.

Drug Content
At a ball at the inn, Maddie hands out wine laced with truth serum. One reference to a practice at the inn where they offer wine that causes someone to forget what’s happened before that person leaves the inn, in order to protect the secrets of the inn.

Note: I received a free copy of PHOENIX FLAME in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Havenfall by Sara Holland

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Havenfall (Havenfall #1)
Sara Holland
Bloomsbury YA
Published March 3, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Goodreads

About Havenfall

A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it — at any cost.

Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds — each with their own magic — together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return.

For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie’s brother. It’s where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it’s where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle.

But this summer, the impossible happens–a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She’ll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she’s letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie–no one can be trusted, and no one is safe…

My Review

After reading both EVERLESS AND EVERMORE by Sara Holland, I was eager to get back into a world she’d created. HAVENFALL is super different than her previous books in that it takes place in this world, but adds other worlds and magic that are connected to this one through portals.

I liked all the politics between the different groups and the different characters with their own goals and secrets piled on top of those political rifts. It created a sense of complexity and made the world feel bigger.

I guessed some of the plot elements pretty early on, but others were a complete surprise to me, so I felt like it had a good mix of predictability and unpredictability. There were a couple of things I thought should have been clarified sooner– for instance, the shape-shifting race can’t just impersonate anyone. They have a really limited number of specific forms they can take.

Maddie and her allies don’t know this early in the story, though. But when someone behaves very strangely, it never seems to occur to Maddie that the person could have been a shapeshifter in disguise (even though she doesn’t know at that point what the limits of shifting are). It does eventually get explained, but not until much later.

That’s a pretty minor point in the story, though. Overall, I liked Maddie’s character and the way she navigates tricky relationships with the people around her. The ending leaves a lot open for a sequel, so I’m really interested to see what happens next.

I think readers who enjoyed THE IMMORTAL RULES by Julie Kagawa or ANGELFALL by Susan Ee should check out HAVENFALL.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Maddie’s uncle is gay and married to a man from Fiorden.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and reference to sex. (Maddie hopes to have her first time with a boy she’s in love with.)

Spiritual Content
Characters have magic abilities.

Violent Content
Some descriptions of battle and attacks. Some brief gory descriptions of injuries. One scene shows an enslaved child who has obviously experienced a lot of trauma.

Drug Content
References to teens (and adults) drinkng alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of HAVENFALL in exchange for my honest review.