Thank you to Disney Hyperion for a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. These are my initial thoughts and will have a full review on http://biblioxytocin.wordpress.com

Incendiary was one of the 2020 YA releases I have been looking forward to and is very glad to have been granted an advance copy of the book. The book is inspired by 15th century Spain and is definitely a big interest of mine, However, I might be the few that found it... so-so.

Ren (Renata) is a Robari. She has the power to take away memories from people. She is currently with the Moira as part of the Whispers, the rebel group of her people. Despite being a Moira, she is also not very well-liked and even feared. Ren has the power to take all the memories of a person that can render them Hollow. And this is what she used to do when she was trapped in the service of the King. She is out in the capital with the rest of her team for a mission that ultimately leads to the capture of their captain, Des. Ren is determined to save him, even if it means her throwing away her own freedom and going back to the dark shadows of her past.

At first, Ren narrates as if we are well known already about the world we are in. Which throws the reader into a confusion. The world-building is dispersed within the story and feels a little too late when you're already in the gist of things that were happening. Withholding the information is also due to the plot itself, but there should have been a better establishment on the world and magic system.

The characters are interesting and the relationships are intertwined and complicated. Ren was well portrayed but could have been better crafted. There were times when she was too careful, but then we see her too reckless, I couldn't connect with her at all. Even the side characters are also wishy-washy in a way. Only a couple of them felt solid.

The plot itself was enjoyable, albeit a little predictable. It got really exciting about 20% in the story and I couldn't stop myself from reading. Overall, an okay set up for a series. I'm looking forward to reading more in the future.

I really enjoyed this authors Brooklyn Brujas series and I thought that I would try another one of her books! Disney usually has home runs for me so I was totally down to try this. My favorite part is that this is a DUOLOGY--I need to read more standalones and duologies because trilogies and series are quite a bit to commit to. I enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written and set up the magic system well. The writing was the best part about the book: I think this author has a way with words and it feels like they are flowing off the page like sweet butter. That may be just about the weirdest analogy I have ever written... but alas! This is a great example of loving the author's writing style and reading yet another book by them to not be disappointed. I liked the characters in this book and felt that they were relatable and this was a fairly quick read, which I also enjoyed, because as of this writing I am catching up on review books during the quarantine. I hope by the time this is published, this whole thing is over... anyway, to my dislikes. I think there was a lot of info dumping and a set up for the next book in the duology. I do enjoy that and I think that it was done in a way that didn't feel like it was an overload. But, in my opinion, not as much happened as I had expected. I absolutely love the cover and I think this would totally be a cover buy for some who would stay for the magic and the story!