Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: November 22, 2016
Number of Pages: 368 (Hardcover)
Description from Goodreads:
Years ago, everything changed. Phantoms, massive beasts of nightmare, began terrorizing the world. At the same time four girls, the Effigies, appeared, each with the unique power to control a classical element. Since then, they have protected the world from the Phantoms. At the death of one Effigy, another is chosen, pulled from her normal life into the never-ending battle.Some of my fondest memories from my childhood involve watching cartoons on YTV (it's a Canadian children's network for anyone not from Canada); YTV introduced me to some AMAZING shows, including Sailor Moon, so as soon as I saw the description of FATE OF FLAMES, I was pretty much jumping up and down with excitement! It's been pitched as a mix of Buffy, Pacific Rim, and Sailor Moon, and I think that description is perfect!
When Maia unexpectedly becomes the next Fire Effigy, she resists her new calling. A quiet girl with few friends and almost no family, she was much happier to admire the Effigies from afar. Never did she imagine having to master her ability to control fire, to protect innocent citizens from the Phantoms, or to try bringing together the other three Effigies.
But with the arrival of the mysterious Saul—a man who seems to be able to control the Phantoms using the same cosmic power previously only granted to four girls at a time—Maia and the other Effigies must learn to work together in a world where their celebrity is more important than their heroism.
But the secrets Saul has, and the power he possesses, might be more than even they can handle…
FATE OF FLAMES starts off with a bang. We meet the main character, Maia, and quickly see our first Phantom. Then we see one of the famous Effigies, Belle, fighting the Phantom, and we're thrust into a world eerily similar to our own. The big difference between our world and Maia's is that monsters called Phantoms exist and the only things keeping us from all being destroyed are anti-phantom technology and young women imbued with the power to control the elements, called Effigies!
Since I loved Sailor Moon and Buffy, I definitely enjoyed seeing the Effigies and their various powers! I really liked Maia as a narrator because I loved her snarky sense of humour, but I was a little disappointed that she didn't push herself to try her powers more. She did have reasons for holding back, but I still wish she'd pushed herself more when she actually was trying to train...if I had the kind of power that she had, I'd be all over it! I really loved seeing Belle, Lake, and Chae Rin use their elemental powers though, and I absolutely loved seeing all of the dynamics develop between the four girls!! I also really loved Rhys...I'm always a sucker for a good romance subplot, and I was definitely rooting for Maia and Rhys!
Other than the amazing elemental powers that the Effigies had, my favourite part of FATE OF FLAMES
was the world-building. I thought it was extremely interesting, and all
of the technology that they'd created to combat the Phantoms fascinated
me! I also loved seeing how Maia's world differed from our own. FATE OF FLAMES seemed
to take place during our time now, but it was as if their history had
been rewritten to include Phantoms and Effigies⎯like an alternate
universe dystopia!
What do you think?
Does FATE OF FLAMES sound like a book you'd like?
YAAASSS Sailor Moon and Buffy on YTV FTW!! Their programming was always the best :D Remember Sugar? I loved her. Anyways, I bet I would enjoy this one too because I tend to love things involving elemental magic like The Grisha Trilogy and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
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