Gathered for you today are three books with the same themes. All three focus on a main character with powers of fire. But what ties them even closer together is that each one is a tale of brokenness and rising again. The main characters are knocked down time and time again. And yet…they rise.
How? Through God, of course. But these stories are anything but preachy. In fact, these are some of the most powerful tales I’ve ever read. I cannot recommend them enough. But prepare to watch these books break your heart and piece it back together again.
Ignite
Kara Swanson
Can Mara survive in a world where the fire in her veins is worth killing for?
In a frozen wasteland suffocating beneath a dying sun, Mara is a young phoenix raised by her father to explode at his command. He’s the only one who can help her control her fire, and Mara desperately follows his orders to protect their phoenix family from relentless human hunters.
Her sheltered existence is shattered when her family mysteriously vanishes, thrusting Mara into a perilous quest to find them. Along the way, she unravels a devastating truth: her people may not be the innocent victims she’s been taught to believe.
When she comes face-to-face with the kindhearted Eli, she begins to wonder if the humans aren’t the monsters she’s always feared. What if the greatest danger doesn’t lie in the icy world outside–but in the truth of who Mara really is?
Ignite is a powerful Christian fantasy. Mara crumbles over and over again, struggles to her feet each time, overcomes her brokenness, and burns again. Only a Christian storyteller, and a skilled one at that, could tell a story of such despair and powerlessness–and then reminded us of the flame of hope that keeps the dark of despair at bay.
That’s what this book is. Ignite is ultimately a message of hope, a fierce reminder that no matter how broken you are, God will strengthen you. He will use your brokenness.
Content Warnings:
Violence (lots of blood), mental health/abuse, mentions of human sacrifice, and romance.
Ratings:
Appropriate content: 4.5/5
Story construction: 5/5
Writing skill: 5/5
Ethics: 5/5
Other Information:
Christian: Yes
Point of view: First person alternating with the occasional third person limited
Tense: Present
Romance: Yes
Series: Yes
Age recommendation: 15+
Of Fire and Ash
Gillian Bronte Adams
She rides a fireborn, a steed of fire and ash, trained for destruction.
Ceridwen tal Desmond dreams of ruling like her father over the nation of Soldonia, where warriors ride to battle on magical steeds–soaring on storm winds, vanishing in shadow, quaking the earth, and summoning the sea. After a tragic accident claims her twin brother, she is exiled and sworn to atonement by spending her life–or death–for her people.
But when invaders spill onto Soldonia’s shores and traitors seize upon the chaos to murder her father, Ceridwen claims the crown to keep the nation from splintering. Combatting overwhelming odds and looming civil war, she begins to wonder if the greatest threat to the kingdom may, in fact, be her.
With fire before her and ash in her wake, how can she hope to unite instead of destroy?
Of Fire and Ash is like a love letter to epics of old. Tolkien would have been proud.
The characters? Real and true, lovable at every turn. The plot? Ever-expanding, endlessly intricate. The emotion? A blow to the gut every time our characters fall, a lifting heart as they struggle back to their feet. Truly, this book is a masterpiece.
Not a single dull moment dares slip onto these pages. Everything burns and shatters to pieces, even as Ceridwen, Jakim, and Rafi fight to build it up again. At its core, Of Fire and Ash is about three characters who must first rest in who they are and their identity in God before they can save their crumbling nations.
Content Warnings:
Lots of violence, death, potential romance, slavery.
Ratings:
Appropriate content: 4/5
Story construction: 5/5
Writing skill: 5/5
Ethics: 5/5
Other Information:
Christian: Yes
Point of view: Third person limited
Tense: Past tense
Romance: Yes
Series: Yes
Age recommendation: 15+
Of Sea and Smoke
Gillian Bronte Adams
He rides a seablood, a steed of salt and spray, born to challenge the tides.
Six years ago, the wrong brother survived, and nothing will ever convince Rafi Tetrani otherwise. But he is done running from his past, and from the truth. As civil war threatens Ceridwen’s tenuous rule in Soldonia, Rafi vows to fight the usurper sitting on the imperial throne of Nadir, even if it means shouldering his brother’s responsibilities as the empire’s lost heir.
The stolen shipload of magical warhorses offers just the edge he needs. But the steeds have been demanded in ransom by the emperor’s ruthless assassin, and if Rafi hopes to raise a band of riders, he must first outwit his brother’s murderer.
Yet when his best efforts end in disaster, and an audacious raid sparks an empire-wide manhunt, even forging an unexpected alliance might not be enough to help Rafi turn the tides, let alone outrace the wave of destruction intent on sweeping them all away.
Just as shattering and just as hard to put down as the first book in the series, Of Sea and Smoke thunders into the wake that follows Of Fire and Ash, bringing with it a final note of hope in what seems like descending darkness. Of Sea and Smoke is as much of a wild ride as the first book, but now we finally see shards of their destiny falling into place, clearing the path for the final charge into battle.
This final charge is also known as Of Dawn and Embers. It concludes the trilogy upon its release.
Content Warnings:
Lots of violence, death, potential romance, slavery.
Ratings:
Appropriate content: 4/5
Story construction: 5/5
Writing skill: 5/5
Ethics: 5/5
Other Information:
Christian: Yes
Point of view: Third person limited
Tense: Past tense
Romance: Yes
Series: Yes
Age recommendation: 15+
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