This was a really well constructed and interesting tale blending romance and fantasy in a delightful package. I thought Thanh's character growth was fascinating and her relationship with Eldris was powerfully wrought. I enjoyed the setting a lot and would welcome more stories in this world. Overall, this was a great short read that I would definitely recommend.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really wanted to love this book but I found that I just wasn't a fan. The characters fell pretty flat to me. I found that I was dragging my feet towards the end just wanting the book to be over.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

while the different ingredients (court intrigue, enemies-to-lovers romance with a queer twist, female protagonists) may feel a little half-baked, the tale itself is pretty interesting and engaging for the most part. Perhaps it is not very suitable for lovers of high fantasy with intricate world-building (think J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, or Sanderson); but I’d recommend Fireheart Tiger to those who enjoy the novella form and shorter fiction, as long as they’re not too taken in by the blurb.

Archita Mittra

This fantasy novella is a bit heavy but it was a wonderful read. I definitely recommend it and would happily read a full sized lenght book by this author set in this world. Fantasy novellas are difficult imo because they need so much to stand on their own with less and this was honestly very good. It's pacing was steady and overall it was well rounded.

This was such a whirlwind of a book and truly, I mean that. The book was less than 100 pages and while it'll sweep you off your feet with its romance, you'll also finish reading this book in one sitting. The story drops you in immediately providing information through Thanh's perspective on what happened to her for the past few years; the court she was told to live in, the romance she had with Eldris, and the terrible fire that caused her mental and emotional harm.

In this new world, she's her mother's diplomat forced not only to work with the kingdom she was hostage to, but also with her first love. It felt like this story focused more on the romance than the fantasy and I wasn't mad about it. I assumed the story would be more about the fantasy, but romance never hurts. Thanh's relationship with Eldris seemed both desirable but also forbidden since Thanh's position in Eldris' court was as a hostage.

It's also about the mental and emotional struggle of surviving a massive fire. Thanh's survival guilt is obvious as she remembers a young servant she helped to escape the palace only to lose her before it was too late. It was definitely a huge part of the story as she finds out more about the servant she held hands with and the surprise behind that story was totally different than I imagined.

While I really loved this story, there's always pitfalls when it comes to a novella. One mainly is that I want to see this world expanded with much deeper lore and worldbuilding and watch the romance between two main characters really come to life. I really loved the backstory for Thanh, the romance between her and Eldris, the mysterious person she meets during the fire, and the surprise behind her story. I think this story could easily transition to a 500-page fantasy romance filled with indecision about her romance, powerful magic, and so much growth for Thanh. Because even though this book is a novella, you see Thanh go from being a quiet observer to a vocal decision maker. It was truly an interesting story and would definitely make for a bigger tale.

Overall, this is a great romantic fantasy that's super short to read and easy to follow. I just wish there was more.

This was so boring, I was fighting myself to finish it even though it is only 100ish pages long. A semi-fantasy story about a princes who wants everyone to loves and acknowledge her but who doesn't want to acknowledge her own mistakes in return. Might have been better as a full book.

A gorgeous queer novella about overcoming toxic relationships, asserting autonomy, and finding your "fire"—literally, in this case, but the metaphor for a fire elemental as personal strength and resolve is definitely there. It also has a strong anti-colonial bent as well. I love everything by Aliette de Bodard and this one was no exception.

This novella is compulsively readable (thanks in part to the short length) and filled to the brim with Good Things™. I enjoyed the characters, the conflict, the slip of a plot we were given, the setting, but mostly the queerness (obviously). My main complaint with this title is that I wanted more! I hope that we get a full-length novel exploring this setting and these characters further. I'll keep my eye on this author!

This is blurbed as The Goblin Emperor meets Howl’s Moving Castle… and it’s really not like either of those, to my mind, so I really wouldn’t recommend it as such. There’s a touch of politics, yes, but Thanh isn’t much like Maia and nor is her position very similar except in that they’re both in a precarious position in a court (though Maia’s risks feel quite different to Thanh’s)… though now, a few weeks after reading the story, I suppose I do recognise Maia’s road to taking control of some of his power echoed in Thanh’s story. It might be more alike than it seemed on the surface, now it’s settled.

When it comes to its other big comparison point, for me it lacks the humour of Howl’s Moving Castle. It is also obviously completely devoid of any Welsh influence, and is not aimed at the same age group. It shares one central plot element, sort of. I’m a little confused about these comparisons, to be honest; I always suck at comparing books to one another, but I still don’t see the comparison here.

In any case, it’s a queer story set in a Vietnamese-influenced court. Thanh is a princess, but she’s most definitely a spare: originally sent away as a hostage, now returned and asked to negotiate with those who previously held her hostage. She has two main memories of her time at the other court: her affair with another princess, and a massive fire that overtook the palace and nearly left her stranded.

Both of these things are, obviously, relevant.

I found the way the plot played out fairly obvious; as a novella, it paints in pretty broad strokes. There are some hints of nuance in Thanh’s mother’s characterisation and motivations, which helps, but mostly it’s fairly straight-forward and works out the way I expected. (I’m very surprised by people who don’t recognise the abusive relationship for what it is, though, and think that’s intended to be the romance — so maybe it’s more subtle than I thought and I just trust Aliette de Bodard a bit too much!) For a story of this length, I don’t usually expect to be surprised, though, and I did very much enjoy the queer relationships and the glimpses of a different kind of court life and attitude to that more familiar to me from history and Western-inspired fantasy.

In the end, it didn’t blow me away as much as I’d hoped or expected — which is partly, I think, due to those comparisons to two books that mean a lot to me. It was enjoyable to read, but not like The Goblin Emperor in the ways I hoped for, and even less like Howl’s Moving Castle. We all take different things away from stories, and it’s clear that my version of The Goblin Emperor and Howl’s Moving Castle don’t overlap with the understanding of them taken away by those who made these comparisons. It’s worth keeping that caution in mind when comparison titles make something sound like it’s going to be completely up your alley, I guess!

Included as a top pick in bimonthly January New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached)

This is too short/underdeveloped for the ship to be satisfying. If a sort-of-love-triangle is at the center of the story, it better be good (it was not). It’s a shame because the worldbuilding and anti-colonialist themes are decent; the flaws overshadowed what I liked about FIREHEART TIGER. I’m super disappointed because I expected to love this.

'Fireheart Tiger' by Aliette de Bodard is a fantasy novella set in an interesting world.

Thanh has returned home to the royal court after being held hostage in Ephteria. She brings those memories, along with her first love, Eldris. Her mother disapproves and may not be wrong in her feelings. Thanh fights to keep her inner and external fire in check.

I liked this pretty full story in 112 pages. I liked the interesting world and characters and it feels like there is a lot here in the edges and margins that we don't get but helps to flesh out this story.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This novella is a quick dive into a world where a daughter navigates her empress mother's strong personality at the cost of her own self-esteem, self-worth, and self-interest. I'm sure there's a deeper concept of repressed desire of women who love women even while in power here but I'm not sure that this work - whether because of brevity or this narrative style lacks a point of view that gives the reader a better understanding of the stakes faced by the primary characters.

This was a very enjoyable book that I wish was longer. I'd love to see a full length novel following these characters and this world.

This novella was great!

Magic, political intrigue, queer romance, and absolutely gorgeous writing. My only complaint is that it is not a full length novel. I wanted more Thanh!

A quick note before this review begins:
1) The story is about an abusive relationship between two women. It doesn't get graphic, but this is a romance about two women and a fire spirit (elemental?), the politics surrounding them, and how entitlement becomes abuse.

.Sooo I often dislike novellas because I want more - the story somehow feels incomplete. But Aliette de Bodard tells a full, well-developed story with dynamic characters in an incredibly short span of pages. I would gladly read more about these characters and this world, but I don't *need* to for this story to feel full and complete. Biggest gripe I think is worldbuilding. This is obviously such a rich universe with many stories and facets to it. Sadly, much of the universe was never really developed. Sure, this is perhaps more a novella than a novel, but the universe still deserved to be expanded and explained because it was really quite interesting.

Plus there is a large range of the human heart in this short story - joy, pain of love; greed; loyalty. If you want a emotional ride, highly recommend.

Thematically, this reminded me a lot of C.L. Clark's The Unbroken, in that it also features a relationship between someone from a conquering nation and someone from the nation they want to conquer. In this case, though, it's two princesses, so the balance of power is quite different; though Thanh struggles with self-doubt and doubts her own worth, still has some power of her own by virtue of her position. The nuances of Thanh's relationship with Eldris were done so, so well, particularly the abusive elements.

This is my first work by Aliette de Bodard and I'm so glad that I absolutely loved it! In such a short space she made me connect so strongly to all the characters and their relationships! I also really loved the writing here; it was spare but lovely, with an intimacy that took us right into Thanh's headspace. This read so fast and by the end I was wanting far, far more, which is always a mark of success!

I’m always delighted when authors step out onto the vertiginous tightrope strung between romance and second-world fantasy. FIREHEART TIGER (Tordotcom, 104 pp., paper, $13.99), by Aliette de Bodard, is a delicate novella with threads of imperial politics, magical beings, queer romance and the psychology of trauma. It’s a bit of a miracle to feel as if you’ve read a six-book fantasy series in so few pages. This book is elegant and hypnotic as the flame of a candle, and I’ll be thinking for some time about the shadows it throws into relief.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Princess Thanh was a royal hostage for many years in the northern country of Ephteria before being sent back to her home country of Bình Hải. Two years after her return, she’s a disappointment to her mother, the empress, who hoped that Thanh’s time in Ephteria would give her insights into that country’s government and culture, making her more useful as a diplomat. It’s especially important now that an Ephterian delegation is arriving, certain to make demands and threats that will encroach on Bình Hải’s independence. But Thanh is a quiet, somewhat uncertain person — too thoughtful and discreet, according to her mother — rather than a power player. Thanh is also hiding a secret: since a disastrous fire in the Ephterian palace, small items in her vicinity have a mysterious habit of catching on fire. And the only real relationship she had in Ephteria was a clandestine love affair with Princess Eldris, the heir to the throne.

So Thanh is startled, and not entirely sure whether to be pleased, when Eldris shows up in the throne room as part of the Ephterian delegation. Eldris is confident and proud, the kind of princess who rescues herself rather than needing to be rescued. Her blue eyes still make Thanh’s heart skip a beat, and when Eldris follows Thanh out of the throne room, it’s clear that she still wants a relationship with Thanh. But political pressures, along with a blackmailing third party, threaten this sapphic connection between the princesses as well as Thanh’s position in her mother’s court. When the magical cause of the fires reveals itself to Thanh, it complicates her life even more, but offers Thanh some new choices and options when walls close in around her.

In Fireheart Tiger, Aliette de Bodard spins a lushly-told tale set in an ancient Vietnamese type of kingdom, where a more powerful northern country of white people send their youth on Grand Tours to southern countries and have aims of colonizing those countries, extending their influence and power to other parts of the world. The power of Ephteria is echoed in the character of Princess Eldris, who sees what she wants and pushes to obtain it. Eldris makes a tempting offer to Thanh, but Thanh has some hesitations. While Thanh “knows” her mother won’t approve, the problems with their romance aren’t due to prejudice —homophobia seems to be completely absent from this world, unlike colonialism. So it’s never entirely clear why the Bình Hải empress wouldn’t jump at the chance to have one of her younger daughters married to the future ruler of Ephteria.

Eldris is a potent symbol of a colonizing power, but it struck me that she could have just as easily have been a male character by simply swapping out the pronouns, and the paternalistic aspects of the story and her character would have even made more sense if that had been been the case. I almost wonder if she was a man in an early draft of this novella, because there’s so very little about Eldris’s character that seems innately female. It left me a little dissatisfied with Eldris as a character. The third part of the love triangle was intriguing, but not convincing to me as a love interest for Thanh, because her actual character — equal parts vulnerable child and threatening monster — simply didn’t strike me at all as one to inspire romantic feelings.

So in the end, the political negotiations and conspiring were much more interesting to me than the romance(s) in Fireheart Tiger. If you're excited about the lesbian love triangle, it's pretty tame from a heat point of view. If you're not excited about it, well, it's a pretty minor part of the plot in one sense, but it does echo the larger themes of this novella in a very interesting way. In either case, there’s much to recommend about Fireheart Tiger, between the lovely, evocative writing and the layered description of a more vulnerable country (and person) being simultaneously seduced and threatened by a more powerful one.

3.5 stars