This book held such an amazing premise when I started reading it: an evil queen, the never-ending darkness, a quest to bring back the Light, and save the kingdom. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to the premise.

Howard’s debut book Ignite the Sun is a fantasy young adult novel about a common 16-year-old girl with a fear of darkness in a kingdom where darkness always prevails. Overnight, she is thrust into an entirely new world, discovering she is not who she thought she was and learning about her duty to the kingdom and her people. On the quest, she tries to find herself through love, friendship, and magic.

Going into the book, I didn’t have necessarily high expectations, but the plot was something I would read in a moment if offered - just the thing that is right up my alley. But even after the first few chapters, I started noticing things that don’t usually bother me if done well, but they really weren’t: cliches. And deeper I went into it, more of them there were - and I wouldn’t have minded, but they were badly incorporated at inappropriate times, but I would have handled that if they were done and gone through properly, but they really weren’t. I think the sentence ‘One bed.’, is all I have to add here.

Siria, the main character, was a person I started off liking a lot, but that just stopped after we got around to the quest portion of the book. Her backstory somehow didn’t match a lot to what she was going through at that time - as a rebelling child, although she was supposed to be coddled and cherished, I didn’t expect to spend a good ¼ of the book with her muttering and holding grudges and being angry at everyone for not telling her something they possibly couldn’t. But again, I could have handled the growth of her character if it was done properly.

Especially looking at the world and how it is right now, I think we need more strong female characters that find strength, bravery, and magic in themselves, without a prince charming always standing around. And that might have been a bit of a problem here. Although in the beginning, I really liked the slow-building romance in this book, from childhood friends to starstruck lovers, as we might say, I think it would have been better if they stayed best friends as the book and their romance started dragging on.

Another thing that bothered me a bit was the ending: we get this pretty slow-paced story at the start, them travelling to the North on foot, and then suddenly we’re 80% into the book and everything, and I mean everything, goes down. The pace could have been a lot more thought out, and the ending shouldn’t have been rushed as much as it was.

Saying all of this, I can’t deny the fact that at times, I still enjoyed the book and its premise, thinking of it as more of a light, fun, romance-filled read with some feeble characters, but with some who I loved seeing grow: Yarrow, Elegy and Merrall. Although this was a 3 star read for me, I think some of you who are into light and fun novels with a twist of magic could still enjoy it a lot.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC!

I really wish I liked this more; I just didnt connect to the characters or story unfortunately. That's not to say its badly written; in fact, I found the world building fairly engaging. I just didnt get anything more than that from this novel.

This book had an shy opening,but suddenly it turns into something very brave . Siria is a very fierce character despite her fight to always please her grandfather. This books reminded me of Red Queen saga and has an amazing cast of characters (and how stunning this cover is ? I was like,omg !) But I think the history turns predictable next to the end. All the praizes for queen lyzabel,I love how spooky she was.

The synopsis was so interesting, so I expected A LOT. Unfortunately the plot was not so well handled and I did not  empathize with the protagonist, she was....kind of boring to read. She has a little evolution, but if this had happened earlier it would have been better and would have significantly improved the whole plot.

On the other hand, if you are looking for something to read in a chill afternoon, this is a good option because it is kind of enterteining though and it is not dense.

This book was entertaining and enjoyable, but also kind of predictable and forgettable after I finished it. It’s not bad or anything, but it’s not a book that I see myself ever want to read again.
I did enjoy the magic system though, which is always a plus. Just found certain parts difficult or boring.

Once I got into the plot of Ignite the Sun, I was ever so pulled into its world. The kingdom is shroud in darkness for as long as many can remember. Though, there are still a few citizens left that can recall a time before darkness. The premise of the book is a prophecy stating that there will be a sunchild born who can end the reign of darkness that Queen Iyzabel has built. The main character Siria, is a girl who knows little of her background, but is ever so interested in the stories that revel in the light-filled days. She and a few others that are close to her go on a epic adventure to make that prophecy come true. Read on to find out how Siria escapes the mundane and becomes her true self. 

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

The premise for this novel, a world shrouded in darkness and ruled by a witch queen who is in love with the darkness and a revolution to bring back the light, was so original in execution. While the idea was exciting and entertaining on its own, other aspects took away from my enjoyment of this novel.

Let's start with the characters. There was a total disconnect from the main character and I was irritated by Merrall as well as Siria (our MC). The character development is great in the last half of the story but the first half was hard to get through because of how annoying the characters were.

This was a very cliche book that includes the "chosen one" troupe as well as an underdeveloped "friends to lovers" troupe (among others). Due to these underwhelming inclusions, the writing quality and my enjoyment plummeted. 

It was honestly incredibly predictable in several aspects and I was excepting a lot more from this. I did manage to finish the book, after struggling through the beginning, and it was enjoyable and entertaining once I got passed the cliches and tried to pretend like I didn't have a clue how it would end. (Some aspects of the ending were a genuine surprise but...not much). 

Overall, it was fresh and exciting but the characters didn’t click with me and some troupes could have been left out to preserve the quality of the story..

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book. This book was great, I was very intrigued when I read the premise of this book and it didn’t disappoint the characters and the plot are well written and I could really get behind the characters, the writing in this book is also great. Definitely recommend this book. 4 stars

While the premise of this book was interesting, the writing was weak and the characters were so bland that it makes it hard for readers to even care about what is going. On top of that, the plot itself was flimsy, predictable, and full of loopholes. In summary, this is a book that had a lot of potential but did not live up to it in the end due to poor execution. I wouldn't recommend this.

*I received an e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

4.5/5

I was intrigued by this book from the beginning and I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next! I absolutely enjoyed the world this was set in, and the magic and mythology that was woven in. In this story, the kingdom of Luminor reigned and then was taken over by an evil queen who covered the whole kingdom in darkness. The main character, Siria always hated the darkness and would ask her best friend Linden, and his grandfather Yarrow to tell her the tales about the sun. Her parents never understood her fascination with the sun, but she yearns to please them. So, she heads to the royal city of Terra-Volat, the center of all the darkness, to find a place in Queen Iyzabel’s court. What she discover’s there sends her on a quest with a group of rebels.

Siria joins Linden, Yarrow, a spirited naiad, and a banshee on an epic journey to lead the rebellion as she tries to defeat the darkness and restore the light to the kingdom. It’s all or nothing, because if they fail, Terra-Volat  will be sucked into the never ending darkness. I enjoyed getting to know Siria and the whole cast of characters on this magical journey. I love the friendships that Siria makes along the way, and there’s even a dash of romance. We watch as Siria grows from a spoiled girl to a strong young woman. The ending of the book was satisfying, and I can see it being a standalone, but I felt as though there should have been an epilogue to wrap up a few things that I still was left wondering about.

An overall wonderful debut about light vs darkness that I could totally get behind! I hope that we get more from this wonderful world in the future. I would absolutely love a sequel!

This was a lot of fun to read - I've been slowly getting more into young adult fantasy and I really liked the characters and story telling.

Creative YA fantasy tale with various magical creatures and a missing Princess.  Lots to love in this tale!

3.5/5

I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Once upon a time, there was something called the sun.

Siria Nightingale has only ever know shades of Darkness. Since Queen Iyzabel started her reign, it has been clouded in Darkness to save the citizens from the evil that is the sun. Or so, that's what the Queen would like you to believe. On her sixteenth birthday, Siria learns she is the last sunchild and that she must stop the Queen and bring back the light.

Siria must first travel north to the resistance and master her sun powers. Luckily, she has the help of her childhood friends Linden and Yarrow, as well as a reluctant naiad Merall. I enjoyed the world building, and liked how the different magics correlated to a species of nymph. I also liked the explanations about witchcraft and how Iyzabel got her powers.

The characters weren't my favorite. I did come to love them eventually, namely Siria. At the beginning, it was really hard to relate to her. I get that she was brainwashed to think a certain way, but you'd think being faced with death would speed the process up a little bit. I did love the family bond between her, Linden and Yarrow.

The romance was fun as well, even if I didn't always ship Linden and Siria. I didn't realize this was a stand-alone so several times I thought the pacing was fast for a series lmao. I would've loved to see this expand. There's so much I'm curious about and I would've loved to see more magic training on Siria's part.

One thing I did love was how Siria eventually came to terms with the fact that she had magic and she had to learn how to control it. And she did! She accepted it and the fact that it could be dangerous. She told her magic F you, I am in charge. I am all for boss bitches!

In this world, Light is dangerous and the Darkness rules everything. The story begins with a prologue where a gardener called Yarrow tells Siria the story of the Sun before she is sent to a finishing school called Gildenbrook.  The aesthetic of the school definitely gives off steampunk/gothic vibes (makes me think of the Japanese lolita fashion movement).

While the premise is intriguing and the magic system has a lot of potential, I struggled to enjoy the story as the characters felt underdeveloped all the way through. There is a lot of information I'm supposed to take for granted, e.g. Siria is weirdly obsessed with Linden (related to Yarrow), and although this could be put down to teenage love, there's no explanation as to why she's so into him. Readers are just expected to accept that she yearns for Linden All. The. Time.

Siria's fate is connected to the mythical 'monstrous' sunchildren that were massacred by the Queen many years back, and while I know we are supposed to sympathise with her and be on her team, I struggled. I fully understand that she is betrayed by everyone and so cannot trust what people say (believe me, I would be the same), but it gets tedious. Maybe I missed a few points where she grows as a character, and if so, they weren't clear enough for me.

The last thing I wanted to comment on: Pacing. For some reason the pacing feels off. It's pretty fast from the beginning, which isn't a problem as it brings a vivacity to the plot, but the chapters seem really short and don't really develop from one to the next - in that, I think there are a few places where the chapters could be compressed to become one instead of two, if that makes sense. I read about 25% of the eARC before jotting down my initial thoughts, and at that point in the story I still felt no tension even though the stakes were high (Siria is being hunted down, she needs to escape the Queen). There are several parts where I feel the world building would have benefitted from more descriptions of the magic system as again, we're supposed to just accept things with no explanation. As an avid fantasy reader, I don't particularly need an in-depth exposition, but some contextualising would be nice.

My one favourite thing about the book is the character Merrall. I loved her because she would said what I thought about Siria and wasn't afraid to slap some sense into the girl on the odd occasion.

I enjoyed this story from the very beginning. I loved the world, the magic, the friendships & family. I only wish there were more. Exactly the kind of story I was looking for at this time.

Ignite the Sun is a fantastic debut novel by Hanna Howard. Set in a dark, mystic world with an evil witch queen we meet Siria and her friends Yarrow and Linden and her adventure to save the kingdom. I throughly enjoyed the setting, I do love an adventure or journey in a story which I think helps the characters grow and gives the author an opportunity to develop the world building. 

The descriptions of the mythology and lore was very interesting and fun. I enjoyed the relationships with the characters and the story was fast paced and action packed. At the beginning things happened very fast and I thought there needed a bit more depth, however once I read on I was happy with how everything developed and was explained.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to more from this author.

Sixteen year-old Siria Nightingale has never seen the sun. The light is dangerous, according to Queen Iyzabel, an evil witch who has shrouded the kingdom in shadow.

Siria has always hated the darkness and revels in the stories of the light-filled old days that she hears from her best friend and his grandfather. Besides them, nobody else understands her fascination with the sun, especially not her strict and demanding parents. Siria's need to please them is greater even than her fear of the dark. So she heads to the royal city--the very center of the darkness--for a chance at a place in Queen Iyzabel's court.

But what Siria discovers at the Choosing Ball sends her on a quest toward the last vestiges of the sun with a ragtag group of rebels who could help her bring back the Light ... or doom the kingdom to shadow forever.

I quite enjoyed this story even though in my opinion it is nothing new or unheard of when it comes to YA fantasy. 
Siria's journey to discover her powers wasn't the easiest but overall she was a likeable character so that certainly helped.
A quick read and if you're a fan of secret princesses with special powers this is a good choice for you

*Received a free ecopy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

“Once upon a time, there was something called the sun.”

Siria Nightingale is an ordinary girl living in a world of Darkness, where the light from the Sun has been banished for generations since Queen Izyabel vanquished the sun-worshipping kingdom of Luminor. Only, sixteen years ago, there was a prophecy that promised the birth of a sunchild, one who wielded the fiery powers of the sun, who would end her reign of darkness.

Surprise surprise, Siria is that sunchild. 

The premise of this sounded so interesting, and I always love a fantasy that feels grandiose and mythic in nature. The concept of a sunchild who is here to return light to a land of darkness was right up my alley. Near the climax of the story, there is some fantastic imagery that made my imagination sing with the poetry of it all. 

That being said, the story felt a little lackluster, a little "too YA" somehow. I'm not usually impressed by stories of characters who have to go on the run, and 80% of the story was just that. Coupled with the addition of several "astounding revelations" (e.g. Yarrow's backstory, Izyabel's motives, etc.) and a character who did essentially nothing, I feel that a lot of things could have been trimmed out of the story. There were also too many conveniently-placed "fade to black" moments. And, worst of all, I couldn't feel very deeply for any of the character interactions. Some of the characters, particularly Merrall, were interesting but were not given ample time to develop into something interesting. Linden was a nice dude, but the greatest pitfall of the childhood friend-to-lover trope is that while realistically it takes less build-up to get them to fall in love, the reader is not necessarily privy to those same pre-established feelings. The romance happened far too quickly in my opinion, and the clear inevitability of it made it less interesting. 

If certain extraneous plot-beats were removed in favor of giving characters more time for introspection, or maybe just some additional page-time dedicated to weaving a greater magical atmosphere around the world, I feel the whole mood of the book could have shifted to something more grandiose and emotionally-resonant. That being said, the overall writing style seemed more conducive to an action-adventure than a lush fairytale, so this could certainly be a matter of personal preference. 

At the end of the day, this is a fast, fun story that starts with a lost girl who doesn't fit in and ends with an empowered queen who has come into her powers. It's a solid read with an exciting premise that carries a lot of promise, although it falters in its delivery at times.

Finished #ignitethesun which was provided by #NetGalley

The story was Young Adult/fantasy and had the typical plot lines involving a hero who struggles with their new abilities, bond of family with people who aren’t her actual family and the story eventually finishing with sunshine happy endings.

Good
I like the story concept - a world cursed by literal darkness and how horrific it would be to grown in that world. The fantasy world #HannaC.Howard created was interesting and I wanted to know more about the magical backgrounds. 
It was a fairly easy read as expected for Young Adult with some nice life lessons about how you can be brave without being rash.

Bad
I just didn’t feel connected to the characters and I feel that is mostly down to how the story was told. I wasn’t really concerned about anyone but Elegy (she was adorable) and it was frustrating to not care about the rest of them most of the time.
The “Part” quotes in some places felt out of place. The one that stood out most was a JRR Tolkien quote, it didn’t feel right to use it and pulled me away from the story.

Honest view - worth the read if you like fantasy but I wouldn’t rush out to buy it

Outcast teenager Siria never feels she can meet her social climbing parents' expectations or be as refined as the other girls at school. Her world s kept in darkness by an all powerful witch and Siria longs for the sun and light, Upon the sudden discovery that she is the last sun-child with the power to defeat the witch and bring back the sun Siria sets out on a journey to escape the witch and seek allies. A wise mentor, a supportive cast of side characters and much self-doubt as she learns to harness her power... the no new territory covered here, but fans of Harry Potter or the Novice will find a familiar fantasy story.