3/5
Flame in the Mist delivers the strong female lead promised, although in a different way than I expected. I was hoping she would be more of an aggressive lead, rapidly improving her skills and smarts, winning against her opponents. But like most firsts in a series, this novel is more setup for those showdowns to happen in the future. There definitely were moments where Mariko impressed, and I admired her determination and growth, but ideally I would have preferred to see more of those moments.
Unfortunately Flame in the Mist has a slightly similar vibe to Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses in that the female lead can be useless at times and there are some slightly sexist interactions occurring, but Flame also shares similarities with stronger novels such as Under the Never Sky and The Reader. Flame also brings up the interesting dilemma of independence and freedom versus loyalty, and pushes one to think about how far one would go to protect oneself. If you enjoy novels that pit smarts against strength, I would recommend giving Flame in the Mist a try.
No comments:
Post a Comment