This was a good debut. For a cover with Charlie bow after I expected less honestly. Lately books with her art have fallen flat for me, but needless to say this was one gripping YA fantasy! I’m glad I read it.

This book has a beautiful cover, I can't say I was blown away by this book but I did enjoy the idea of hidden identities, the magic system and the sizzling romance that is a steady burn.

The author did an incredible job of making the magic and the world complex yet accessible. I want to know so much more about the magic, but readers were given a lot to work with and explore right off the bat.

I appreciated how diverse the characters are and a lot of specific cultural elements were incorporated into the story. The characters were relatable and I felt invested in their storyline the entire way through the book. Everything felt authentic and well-researched.

The ending has a good cliffhanger that will make you want to pick up the sequel

This book was delightful! It was a joy to read and delve into an amazing story with strong characters, beautiful world building, and an amazing storyline. At a time where I’ve not been able to find a good book, this one comes along and sweeps me off my feet. The characters were rich and lush, they were real and they grew and were more and more complex as the story went on, I loved the twists and turns plus the depth of the writing of each main and side character was intricate and beautiful. The story was woven beautifully and the different worlds were special and outstanding. The cover art drew me in but the story made me read into all hours of the morning. This author is a new favorite and what an incredible debut! Loved this book, can’t wait for the next one and would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good story with vivid and outstanding characters. Also, the author’s note was moving and heartfelt, something about the way she writes is honest and lovely. This book was a favorite and highly recommend! I’m going to miss the characters and can’t wait to buy this one when it becomes available. Also can’t wait for the next book(s)!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was sooooooo good! Normally when praising a book, I’m much more eloquent, but I really have no other words to describe how much I enjoyed this read. I am a complete sucker for a well-written romance, and I also love the premise of this world. Though the author is white, she mentions in her Author’s Note that she wrote this book to honor her husband’s culture, as well as to make sure her children will see characters who look like them in fantasy in the future. I thought that was a wonderful motivation, and I also just really enjoyed this story and these characters.

Cast in Firelight is set in a fantasy universe where nine gods bless individual witches and wizards with certain powers. While some people are labeled as “Untouched,” others are given the ability to wield all nine magical abilities. For Adraa, the future maharani of a country named Belwar, magic has always been difficult. Though she excels at red magic (the magic of fire), she struggles with the others, and has marks on only one arm signifying that she has been Touched, a very unusual trait for a future ruler. At the age of eight, Adraa was betrothed to Jatin, the young son of a neighboring kingdom, and has been in fierce competition to prove herself to him ever since. Jatin, unlike Adraa, is a natural talent, one who has been training at an academy of magic for half of his life.

Upon Jatin’s return to his country, the two are set to meet again for the first time in nine years, and neither is particularly excited about it. Adraa, who has struggled to prove herself for years, has recently invented a helpful tool called firelight to help her people, and has been going undercover as a cage caster to uncover corruption and illegal drug trades in her country. Jatin, on the other hand, is returning to a father who is basically a stranger, and just hoping he can make a new first impression on the rani who he is sure can’t stand him.

When the two meet under assumed identities, however, things become more complicated, as both are fighting to stop corruption while also dealing with a mutual attraction that seems forbidden. The two future rulers will have to work together to bring peace to their kingdoms, while simultaneously facing the destiny that has bound them together since they were children.

Normally I’m not a huge fan of arranged marriage plots, as I think they’re cliche and overdone. There are also just a LOT of arranged marriage plots in YA, and I was a little nervous that this book would get annoyingly trope-y fast. As I read, however, I found that I genuinely liked both of the main characters, and thought they had real chemistry as a couple. Their budding relationship never once felt forced, and I loved seeing their cute banter and flirting throughout the book.

While the “secret identity” thing got frustrating for me at times, it was a frustration that hooked me and kept me reading to find out how and when their true identities would be revealed. Mercifully, Jatin finds out fairly quickly who Adraa is, and the plot doesn’t spend a ton of time on the inevitable “liar revealed/betrayal” moment that comes when Adraa finds out who Jatin is as well. Because the “liar revealed” plot is another trope I hate, I was glad to see that this book didn’t focus too much on it.

Like I said above, Adraa and Jatin are EXTREMELY likable protagonists, each coming with their own sets of insecurity and baggage. The two characters push one another past their comfort zones, and actually grow throughout the story because of it. Adraa is initially wary of Jatin, preferring to do things by herself, while Jatin feels an immense amount of self doubt. By working together, the two learn and acknowledge their own strengths and weaknesses, and I loved watching their (INCREDIBLY CUTE) relationship develop.

Even cooler, the plot moves beyond the “we’re both aware who the other person is and on the same page now” to MORE PLOT, which rarely happens in books like this. I like that Swift took an overdone trope and gave us more to the story, giving us more substance than the usual trope-y YA. What’s more, the two characters are actually able to develop feelings for one another, and it never feels rushed or forced. Jatin and Adraa have very real chemistry, and feel like a real couple to me, which is always good to see in a fantasy world where nothing is like it is in reality.

Good characters can really ground a story, and this book is chock full of them. I loved the relationships between the characters, not just the relationship between Adraa and Jatin. Both leads have close friends who actually serve a narrative purpose, and both have to reconcile particular familial relationships as well. For example, Jatin has to come to terms with the fact that he really doesn’t know his father that well, and must also overcome the jealousy he feels when he sees how close his father has gotten to Adraa in his absence.

Similarly, Adraa has a few great scenes with her mother and sister, the latter of whom struggles with being handed a gift she doesn’t necessarily want in the gift of healing. There is most certainly an abundance of strong female role models in this book, and I liked the inclusion of subtle feminism and girl power. It is never questioned that Adraa will be the one to rule her people, and her input is actually valued by male characters throughout the book. She also genuinely cares about ruling her people, and takes the responsibility seriously, something we don’t often see with “princesses” in fantasy.

While I genuinely enjoyed this story as a whole, I do have a few relatively minor criticisms. First, while I can feel a huge fantasy world brewing beneath the surface, this book doesn’t really explore that world the way series like Harry Potter do. I loved the information about the nine gods in the beginning of the book, and also loved the glimpses I got of other countries, some of which have serious problems with discriminating against the Untouched or certain magic users. While I loved the story Swift chose to focus on (a teenage ruler trying to save her country from corruption while unknowingly falling for her betrothed), I sensed that there is a LOT more to this world that could be explored, from the gods to the other countries to the lore behind the magic. I’m honestly sad that this is only planned to be a duology, as I think it could be a much bigger series with all of the material there is to work with.

Secondly, while I love Charlie Bowater’s beautiful cover art (I would seriously recognize it anywhere), it upset me that Adraa appears to be much lighter than she is described being in the story. She is described as having “rich dark brown skin,” but is extremely light and almost white-washed on the cover. This is, of course, not Swift’s fault, but something I wanted to point out in my review anyways. Representation is extremely important in YA literature, and I wouldn’t want a teen of color to see this cover and think it’s just another fantasy series featuring white characters. I think the cover art should reflect the ethnicity of the main characters, as Indian culture is very prevalent in the book, so that might be worth changing before the book’s official release in December.

Similarly, I would have loved to have a map and spell list in the front or back of the book, as I like to keep track of everything when I’m reading a large, sprawling fantasy. The information about the gods was wonderful, but I would’ve liked more background info I could flip to while reading. Of course, I read an uncorrected proof, so these things could very well show up in the final product.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this book, and will be happy to recommend it to lovers of fantasy when it comes out in December. Though the initial plot might seem cliche, Swift manages to put her own spin on things, with genuinely likable characters who have realistic and developing chemistry. I like that the heroine is fierce and stubborn, and someone who is smart and resourceful and desperately wants to help people. I think she’s a good role model for teens, and is also (and more importantly) a protagonist of color. I love to see diversity in fantasy, and it’s honestly rare to find YA based in Indian mythology and culture.

I would love to see this trend of strong, diverse characters continue in YA fantasy, which I think is doing important work. The author even acknowledges that she is speaking from the perspective of a white woman who married into this culture, and I think she treats it with a great deal of respect and dignity. I’m honestly going to have a hard time waiting until next fall for the sequel (one of the downsides of reading an ARC way before it’s release date), as this has been one of my favorite reads so far this year. I commend Swift on her debut, and can’t wait to see what she writes next!

<b> YA fantasy must read! Put this on your TBR </b>

I can't wait to get my hands on a final copy of this book! Color magic, duel perspective, interesting characters, and a well constructed and exciting plot.

This one was a lot of fun to read. It's one of those books that you just want to keep picking up. I don't want to give much away, but if you like YA Fantasy this is a 2020 must-read!

The romance is a funny and cute. I enjoyed watching their relationship develop.

I received a free e-copy from NetGalley.

#CastinFirelight #NetGalley
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley. I really enjoyed the adventure and characters. I cannot wait for my young adult fantasy readers to check it out.

This was such an enjoyable book! The writing style was fun and easy to read, and the characters incredibly likable. The summary might make this book sound like an enemies to lovers book, but it is more of a rivals to lovers book, and filled with adventure and mistaken identities. The progression of their relationship was a joy to read.

One complaint that I see often with past YA books is that they don’t think it’s believable that the characters would be doing what they’re doing, that they’re acting like adults. That’s not the case at all here, it is believable that the characters would take on the responsibilities that they do due to their positions. At the same time, they tease each other and still act like teenagers, so it was the perfect blend of responsibility and fun. That being said, everyone sounded the same regardless of their role in the world, grownups and children and servants and royalty sounded similar.

The world building here was very unique, though I would have loved to learn more about it. I can’t wait to see how everything develops in future books!

I enjoyed this book , Cast in Firelight
by Dana Swift.
A good YA selection. .

Absolutely loved this book! All the action and romance, I could not put it down! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes an interesting, exciting, young adult romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this early!

Things I liked about this debut novel:
1. The colorful magic system was a lot of fun. There are 9 types of magic based on different elements, and each magic type has an associated color: fire=red, healing=pink, war=purple, etc. The majority of the people in this world can access multiple branches of magic via the Touch - a tattoo-like design that swirls up one or both arms.
2. There was some interesting commentary on the different ways people are marginalized based on various factors: skin color, gender, how many branches of magic they can control, and the types of magic they can control (elemental magic being treated as superior to healing, war, shadow, cold, inner capability). I'm looking forward to exploring more of those issues in the next book!
3.The underground cage casting was SO FUN. More of that, please.
4. I loved our main protagonist, Adraa. She came across as such a relatable character. She deals with childhood insecurities that still influence her decisions years later. She's not whiny, though, and she also doesn't overcome her flaws within the space of a few pages, which I loathe. There's actual character development.
5. I also loved the other main protagonist, Jatin! Like Adraa, he has insecurities that manifest in different ways. I loved the second half of the book when they were investigating the disappearing firelight as their vigilante alter-egos. They worked so well together because they brought out the best in each other, albeit hidden in teasing comments and light competition.

Things I didn't like:
1. The overall voice of the characters was not very diverse. Another reviewer mentioned it and was absolutely right - every single one of the characters (including gods!) sounds exactly the same. Royalty sounded like peasants sounded like teenagers sounded like the antagonist sounded like ADRAA. Even the decisions certain characters made didn't seem unique to those characters. Like, I could >insert random character name here< and that wouldn't change a thing.
2. The antagonist was so distant for most of the story that when he's finally introduced as this terrifying, all-powerful, super cunning, evil being, it seems a little unearned. HOWEVER, the setup at the end was very well done and I'm eager to see how the rest of the story plays out in the next book.

3 1/2 stars!

I really enjoyed this book and all of the characters. It was a fast paced book with an intriguing plot line. I was never bored with it and I read it in like a day. I will be purchasing it for my libraries YA collection.

The settings, magic and characters of this story were compelling. and at times, utterly unique. But while the writing was good, the dialogue had little variety. I am all for characters communicating in a familiar, non-stiff way. But here, each voice seemed to be the same, as if the author poured only her writing voice into each character's words instead of giving them distinction. Made some of the older characters hard to take seriously.

Still, will be interested to see what happens. And that cover!! Definitely a fav.